Living in the Last Days (15)

“The Sixth Trumpet of the Seventh Seal”

Revelation 9:13-10:11 “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And t…”

I. Intro

The last seal of the seven-sealed scroll contains two judgments. First is the seven trumpets, and second is the seven vials, or bowls of wrath. Last time, we went over the fifth trumpet as the first of the three woes. When the fifth trumpet sounded, a fallen star-Satan- was given the key to the bottomless pit. When Satan opened the door, evil spiritual beings were loosed to torment unbelievers on earth. As with the fifth trumpet, at the sound of the sixth trumpet, another judgment is unleashed on earth.

II. The Army of 200 Million (9:13-21)

When the sixth angel blows the trumpet, John hears a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. The golden altar is the original altar of incense. In the OT, the altar of incense was overlaid with gold and had four horns, one at each corner. Exodus 37:25-28 “And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same. And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about. And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal. And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.” This replica was constructed according to the original in Heaven, which God allowed Moses to see while on Mt. Sinai. Exodus 25:9 “According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” From the golden altar, comes a loud voice speaking to the angel who has the sixth trumpet. Revelation 9:14 “Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.” Since they are bound, these are fallen angels, or demons. Jude 1:6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” The expression ‘the great river Euphrates’ occurs several times in the OT. It marked the eastern boundry of the Promised Land during the reign of King Solomon. 1 Kings 4:21 “And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.” It symbolically marks the boundry between good and evil, or between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. So, when these fallen angels are released, the gates of hell are opened. What does Jesus say concerning the gates of hell in Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The loosing of these fallen angels is precisely timed at an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year when they are to slay the third part of men. Revelation 9:15 “And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” At the opening of the fourth seal, one-fourth of the population of the world was killed. Therefore, these two judgments alone will result in the death of approximately one-half the world’s population. This fulfills Daniel’s prophesy that there will be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. Daniel 12:1 “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Next, John sees a massive army. How does he describe it? Revelation 9:16 “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.” This army can be taken literally or interpreted as an army of demons. A literal interpretation is most likely, although the closet army to 200 million is that of China, or the PLA (People’s Liberation Army), with around 3 million active troops. China has a population of 1.3 billion, so they could theoretically draft and field an army of 200 million. John describes the army’s horses as wearing breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. These are obviously not literal horses but could be a literal description in ancient terms of modern warfare with tanks and mechanized armor. Whatever John sees, the result is a third part of mankind are killed. The word ‘plagues’ is used in the book of Revelation to describe destructive judgments. Those who are not killed by these plagues at the sounding of the sixth trumpet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood; which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. Today, many people worship things made of these same materials. Idols are anything that takes God’s place, including money, power, possessions, etc. The fact that they do not repent is almost incomprehensible, considering all the judgments that have been taking place on earth and the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. This corresponds to the ministry of Jesus. Judgments and miracles do not cause people to believe and repent. Therefore, unbelievers on earth during the Great Tribulation will not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. The word translated ‘sorceries’ (pharmakon) [far-mah-kon] is the word from which we get our word “pharmacy” which means drugs. This seems to indicate widespread drug abuse during the Great Tribulation. However, the Greek word can also refer to potions, mediums, and witchcraft. The trumpet judgments become progressively more devastating, yet there is no evidence of any repentance on the part of most of humanity.

III. The Mighty Angel and the Little Book (10:1-11)

There is now an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets, as there was between the sixth and seventh seals. John sees another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, which symbolizes power and majesty. The angel having a rainbow on his head may symbolize God’s covenant with Noah that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood. Genesis 9:8-17

Genesis 9:8–17 KJV 1900

And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

b. His face is shining as it were the sun, which means he comes from the very presence of God. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, the people were afraid to come near him. Exodus 34:30 “And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.” The mighty angel also has feet as pillars of fire, symbolizing God’s judgment. Malachi 4:1 “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; And all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, That it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” The angel has in his hand a little book open, which contains the rest of the message John will deliver. The mighty angel sets his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth. This reveals the massive size of this angel. His feet being on both land and sea indicate his words will affect both. The angel calls out with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth and the seven thunders sound. in verses 5-7, John describes a solemn scene of the angel lifting his hand to heaven and swearing that there should be time no longer. This doesn’t violate Jesus’ prohibition against swearing, which forbids swearing or taking oaths with the intent to deceive. Matthew 5:34-35 “But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.” The time of waiting is now over. This is the answer to the prayers of the martyred saints who asked God how long it would be before He judges the earth. It also answers the prayer of all saints throughout the centuries: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now, when the seventh angel blows his trumpet, the mystery of God will be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Next, John is commanded to take the open book, or scroll from the angel’s hand and eat it. He also tells John the scroll will make his belly bitter, but in his mouth it will be sweet as honey. The symbolism is obvious: John is to be a spokesman for God. We also must eat, or digest the Word of God before we can be His spokespersons. Though God’s Word is sweeter than honey in our mouths, Psalms 119:103 “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” it can become bitter when digested. This is because it reveals sin in our lives. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” When John eats the little book, it is as sweet as honey in his mouth, but in his stomach, it becomes bitter. This may symbolize that God’s Word is sweet to believers, but to those who reject it, it is very bitter. Finally, John is told, “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” This means the prophesies John is to write relate to the entire world. It is a warning to the world that God’s judgment is coming. God wants the entire world to hear His message through John and respond.

IV. Conclusion

God desires all people to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. That’s why Jesus gives us the Great Commission. The message of the army of 200 million and the mighty angel and the little book is a warning-time as we know it is running out.