Wait & Witness
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Revelation 8 is the start of John’s second vision of the future.
These chapters communicate the same basic picture of the future found in the first vision. The first vision—the seven seals—and this vision—the seven trumpets—describe the complete future. It’s the same series of events, just envisioned a little differently.
Like with the seven seals, the first 6 trumpets are blown, and then there’s an interlude, a pause, a break in the drama. It’s the break, the interlude, that expresses an important point for us.
In between the 6th and 7th seal, there’s a powerful reminder for God’s people that they are held safely and securely in God’s hand, despite and amid the terrible suffering they’ll face.
Here, between the 6th and 7th trumpet, there’s another powerful reminder for God’s people—then and now.
As we read Revelation 8-9, we’re meant to see a kind of “Second Exodus” for God’s covenant people.
God’s mighty deliverance in the future will look a little bit like the Exodus story.
John’s first readers would have been well aware of the Exodus account; it was part of their verbal history. What God did for His people in bringing them out of Egypt was the most well-known and incredible thing they’d ever been witness to or heard about.
How many of you had a conversation this week about the divisional playoff game, Chiefs vs. Bills? Most incredible football game I think I’ve seen. We’re gonna talk about that one for a while.
The people of God retold the story of the Exodus every chance they got, generation after generation. We’re still talking today about what God did in Egypt thousands of years ago.
John uses imagery connected to the events of the Exodus to describe what is to come, to describe what the immediate future is going to look like.
What God is going to do will be a little bit like what He did in Exodus. Here are some of the parallels:
In Exodus 1-6, Israel, the OT people of God, suffer oppression in Egypt under the evil Pharaoh.
In Revelation 8-11, John portrays Christians as the “new Israel”, the true people of God, who are enslaved in a truer sense in the present evil age. Christians are oppressed by the powers of evil; they’re living with labor pains (an image the NT authors use to describe what the Church suffers).
God sends ten great plagues on the Egyptians so that they might let God’s people go (Exodus 7-12).
John describes the present evil age in language that reminds us of the ten plagues. Listen and see if the images are familiar:
7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
This is reminiscent of the 7th plague on Egypt in which thunder and hail and lightning destroyed crops in the fields.
8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
This sounds a little like the 1st plague where the water of the River Nile was turned into blood and the fish died.
10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
This, also, a like the 1st plague; the water turned to blood and made undrinkable. It’s also like the 10th plague where many Egyptians died.
12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
It was the 9th plague in Egypt during which darkness descended on the land.
The 5th trumpet (Revelation 9:1-12): a star falls from heaven to earth and is given the key to the abyss. When the abyss is opened, smoke ascends out of it and darkens the sun and the sky. Locusts emerge.
This trumpet recalls the 6th plague on Egypt, the dust that spread throughout the land and produced boils on men and animals alike. Also, the 8th plague where locusts devour the plans left after the hail.
When the 6th Trumpet sounds, four angels leading a demonic army are released to kill a third of mankind.
Again, like the 10th plague in Egypt where the angel of death kills the firstborn male offspring of every person and animal in Egypt.
The 6th Trumpet, like the 10th plague, is the last thing before rescue.
In Revelation, the 6th Trumpet is the last trumpet before the 7th, marking the consummation of God’s Kingdom—the New Exodus of God’s People.
The present evil age looks similar to what God did in Egypt during the time of the Exodus.
As you read Revelation 8-9 you can “focus on the individual leaves and miss the beauty of the tree.” You can “lean in too close and look at a single brush stroke, but we have to take a step back and look at the whole painting.”
We can’t get so caught up in the details that we miss John’s point.
John is describing the coming salvation of Christians as a “Second Exodus”. That’s the idea.
Await the Second Exodus
Await the Second Exodus
We have to remember that the 10 Plagues on Egypt were intended to lead Pharaoh to repentance. God wanted Pharaoh to repent of his opposition to Israel and Israel’s God.
John makes it clear that the troubles of the present time are intended to impress upon humans beings their need for God and their reliance on God.
The world’s suffering and delay of Christ’s return is an act of God’s mercy toward sinners.
Given our stubborn obstinacy and disobedience, God would be well within His rights to turn the judgment to 11 and wipe out mankind in its entirety. But He doesn’t.
God turns up the heat to get our attention.
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
We have to believe it has a purpose.
It’s no accident that set of judgments is symbolized by trumpets. All throughout the Bible, trumpets signal that something momentous is going to happen: a king is about to enter, an army is about to attack, God is going to save.
Trumpets were warnings. Trumpets announce, “Make yourself ready!”
John is reminding his Christian readers that the ultimate Exodus—the final deliverance of God’s people from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God—is about to occur. It’s coming ‘round the mountain; be ready!
This is to be a word of hope to us. And a call to perseverance.
Let us eagerly await the Second Exodus where God brings His people out of this, when He judges and ends evil completely.
Jesus Himself encourages us:
28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
By presenting the future from his time on to the very end as a series of trumpet calls, John invites his readers—us—to view the time in which we live—now—as one long trumpet blast announcing the coming Day of the Lord—the final triumph of God.
Await the Second Exodus
Await the Second Exodus
As we come to Revelation 10-11, we find that these two chapters are the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets.
The interlude between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals reminded the saints—Christians—of their security in Christ.
But here, the pause/interlude between trumpet 6 and trumpet 7 reminds the saints—Christians—of their responsibility to witness.
The first six trumpets picture a lost and sinful world and a terrible coming judgment; someone must speak up, someone must call the world to repentance, someone must point them to salvation.
Who is that someone? It’s the Church—the people of God who belong to Him by faith in Jesus Christ.
Without the Church, without the people of God, who’s going to witness?
There are more details in Revelation 10-11 than we could enumerate (and more than enough details to get lost in). Let’s focus on the big picture.
Let’s see the main characters: John and Two Witnesses.
Their activity: they are commanded to speak the message of God.
We know John. Disciple of Jesus. Elder in the early church. Exiled to the island of Patmos in his later years. He wrote a couple of best-selling books (The Gospel of John, the letters of 1, 2, 3 John, and Revelation).
But who are the two witnesses? We don’t know for sure.
But there are some clues.
4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”
The olive tree symbolized Israel, the Old Testament people of God.
The lampstand pictured the Church, the New Testament people of God.
The have the power of Moses and Elijah:
6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
Those silly, fictional books which shall not be named present these “two witnesses” as two actual men. Some believe these two are actual, end-times reincarnations of Moses and Elijah.
For what it’s worth, I think that’s missing the symbolism of Revelation and, really, the whole stinking point.
I think these “two witnesses” represent the Spirit-empowered church of God which is made up of both Jews and Gentiles, all those who believe in and belong to Jesus by faith in Him.
The Church has the power of God’s Word, the same as Moses and Elijah, the power of the Law and the Prophets.
We—the Church—are empowered to proclaim God’s truth. We are called to speak God’s message to the world.
Too many of us would rather spectate than speak God’s truth.
The old comedian, Flip Wilson, once joked, “I’m a Jehovah’s Bystander. They invited me to be a Witness, but I didn’t want to get that involved.”
Like ol’ Flip, too many Christians have neglected their responsibility to witness; we’re bystanders, spectators, viewers.
Too many, with the Good News in their pocket and in their heart, watch as the world burns and people die without Jesus. A casual shrug of the shoulders or a tinge of regret, but not enough care or concern to actually go out and speak God’s Word.
You see, it’s not an invitation. Jesus didn’t say, “If you feel up to it, make disciples as you go.” Jesus COMMANDS us to “make disciples of all nations.”
If you’re a Christian, your job is to witness. You entered into ministry the moment you put your faith in Jesus.
I like the lady who, when asked what her job was said, “Oh, I’m a missionary…cleverly disguised as a grocery store clerk.”
No matter what your hands find to do, no matter what it says on your business card or Facebook profile under profession, in a lost world, each and every Christian is a missionary.
In Revelation 10, John sees an angel holding a little scroll. He’s told by God, “Go, take the scroll...”
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
Like John, our task is to
Witness While We Wait
Witness While We Wait
Revelation 10-11, the interlude between the 6th and 7th Trumpets teach us about how we are to witness.
An angel gives John a scroll and tells him to eat it. We pick up pretty quick on the fact that this scroll is the Word of God.
The OT prophet Ezekiel ate a scroll of Scripture (Ezekiel 3:3). Just like Ezekiel, John said it tasted like honey.
God’s Word is sweet, sweeter than honey from out the comb. To a hungry world, a world starving for truly Good News, the Good News of God’s grace is truly sweet. And satisfying—the way nothing else is.
When we witness, we always point people right to the Bible. The Bible—not me, not you—the Bible has the power, the Bible contains the Words of life, the transformational truth.
It’s not in us to change a person. That’s what God uses His Word to do.
My preacher friends and I talk regularly (usually on Mondays) about how Sunday went, how the sermon went over.
Most of the time, we talk in baseball terms.
“It certainly wasn’t a home run, but I think I got on base.”
“I fouled it off the end of my bat, hard.”
“It was a bunt, an accidental one at that.”
Matt Proctor tells about a friend who preached a clunker one Sunday. As he shook hands at the door after worship, the kind church folks all said, “Nice sermon. Nice job. Nice sermon.” But one honest older lady said, “Nice try.”
But you know what God does with clunkers and poorly preached sermons? He uses the Word of God as it’s preached to change lives.
It’s the sermon I preach thinking it’s terrible that God tends to do something with.
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
When you witness to the world, give them the Good News they need to hear. It’s right here in God’s Word.
Witness While We Wait
Witness While We Wait
When John tastes the scroll, it’s sweet. But then he swallows it, and it turns his stomach.
10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
It’s sour, because not everyone likes to hear the truth. In fact, few people do. Increasingly so, the Word of God, the truth of God’s Word is more and more unpopular. God’s truth is not always welcome.
Trust me. Take a stand on God’s Truth, declare God’s truth in a dark, lost world and see how popular that makes you. You’ll lose some friends and gain more than a few enemies.
Just ask the two witnesses in Revelation 11. When they finish their testimony, they are attacked and killed.
Read through your Bible and you’ll realize that God’s messengers have a pretty high mortality rate. They pretty much all end up dead prematurely for preaching God’s Word. The word for witness is the same word for martyr; that’s no mistake.
When we faithfully proclaim God’s Word and stand on the truth of God’s Word, we will face hostility.
People will think we’re intolerant or judgmental, holier-than-thou and hypocritical.
That’s why Revelation 10-11 are necessary chapters for us. It’s not that there’s a lot of instruction here about how we are to witness. It’s not instruction so much, but inspiration.
We don’t need more explanation; we need examples.
We don’t lack information; we lack courage.
Richard Wurmbrand was a pastor in Romania and was arrested in 1948 and tortured for 14 years because of his faith in Jesus. In his book, Tortured for Christ, he wrote:
“It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners. It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating. But a number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal: we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching; they were happy beating us—so everyone was happy.”
Ha! Shouldn’t we be happy to preach, happy to share God’s Word while we wait for Him to return? Happy to proclaim the Good News, boldly, courageously.
If Christians all around the world are preaching and losing their lives for it, I can go talk to my neighbor about Jesus; you can chat with your friend at school; you can invite your coworker to Bible Study.
In Revelation 11:11, God raises the “two witnesses” from the dead, picturing the resurrection of the Church at the end of time; the vindication of God’s people.
When the seventh trumpet blows, we are brought to the end of the world.
Christians are caught up into heaven, “raptured” if you will, though notice not before the Lord’s return, but at the very hour of Christ’s Second Coming and final judgment.
Christ’s kingdom has arrived and the time has come to judge the living and the dead.
The time for our witness is short. The way I understand it, the very next blast of the trumpet will be Jesus’ return.
This present evil age in which we live will come to a crashing halt. We have to speak God’s message with URGENCY.
We do not know when our friends who are lost (our friends who don’t know Jesus) will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But we know they will.
We’ve seen what it looks like—the coming plagues, the terrible suffering we’ll endure, the judgment those outside of Christ will face.
The time is short, Church, and our task is clear:
Witness While We Wait
Witness While We Wait
Because the end is near, we must witness. This is the reason we’re here.
The Lord will keep us, protect us, secure us so that we can witness while we await His return.
Soon, this present evil age will give way to the great and terrible day of the Lord.
The kingdom of this world will become the Kingdom of the Lord and of His Christ.
Jesus will usher in the kingdom of God fully, once and for all. The final judgment will commence.
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
The great promise, our great hope is that the Lord will, on that Day, be present with His people. Unfettered access to the Father will be ours, forever and ever.
Until that Day, Church, we wait and we witness.