Revelations Ch 8-9
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
REVIEW
Before we get into these two Chapters lets just do a little review of what we learned
John is on he island of Path-mos and has a vision
Vision of Jesus
Vision of the Throne Room - with all the nuances of that.
Prayers saints, etc
Visions of coming disasters - four horsemen-
The tribulation, the 144,000 marked Jewish saints, Rapture of the church.
The seals
This was written and given to the seven Churches which would be located in Turkey today
The early church took this vision very seriously thinking all these things would happen in their lifetime.
In turn we take these things very seriously knowing they could all happen in our life time.
We know that a lot of what is said has symbolic features to it. Especially when it comes to numbers like 7
In all we have worked through we realize Worship is a key theme, Gods sovereignty is another, and i think also Hope. For those in Jesus we have great hope - for those not in Christ there really is no hope.
We ended Chapter 7 with 7 attributes of God and the multitude in White robes
Gods great Character is on Display
He is our Salvation - means there is no other - then 7 attributes ( I love the number 7)
He is Blessed - He is the Blessor
Glory - He is glorious
Wisdom - He has all Wisdom
Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving belongs only to him
Honor - There is no one higher to honor
Power - He is omnipotent
Might - He has the capability to use all this power.
To the Multitude who survive the Tribulation he ends with - God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Today we move through the Seventh Seal and Six of the Seven Trumpets
We are going to cover two chapters.
We will read them and break them up into there natural pieces.
We will also see at the end that there is a theme that makes you really wonder why?
Ok turn in your Bibles to
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,
and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.
A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.
Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.
They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.
And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,
their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth;
they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle.
They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails.
They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God,
saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.
And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.
By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,
nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Now just before we break them down remember these don’t have to happen one after the other, they could all happen at the same time or overlap each other.
Some say these are the judgments during the first half of the tribulation ( 3 1/2 years) and the bowl judgments come in the second have of the tribulation.
I don't particularly want to be around for any half of the tribulation
These parallel the plagues God sent on Egypt
SEVENTH SEAL
Silence? For a half an hour - lets just take 1 minute.
Why Silence? To me it is a picture of God putting his head in His hands and saying I have done all I can do , there is nothing more. It is a moment in heaven that only silence can make sense. It
It is unnerving to us.
The prophet Habakkuk says , the Lord is in His Holy Temple let all the earth be silent.
It is the time when the King stands up and everyone is silent to hear what he is going to say or do.
The lull before the storm
The center of the Hurricane is said to be an eerie silence
Let me share just for a moment on silence. It is slowing down and placing oneself in an attitude of quietness and reception
I call it getting into a frame of mind to hear God
Silence allows you to humble yourself and let God speak to you and actually listening
In our frantic world today we are not stopping to look and listen. We are running blind and deaf
Solitude should be liberating
Bonehoffer quotes that real silence, real stillness, really holding ones tongue comes only as the sober consequence of spiritual stillness
Solitude allows you time to cope with distractions.
How about a silent sun rise or sunset – How about a half hour coffee somewhere with no appointment but you and Jesus
The prays of the saints rise up to God He recognizes their cry and it finally comes down to the final hour.
1st TRUMPET
What is the significance of Trumpets - According to Numbers 10, trumpets had three important uses: they called the people together (Num. 10:1–8); they announced war (Num. 10:9); and they announced special times (Num. 10:10). The trumpet sounded at Mount Sinai when the Law was given (Ex. 19:16–19), and trumpets were blown when the king was anointed and enthroned (1 Kings 1:34, 39). Of course, everyone familiar with the Old Testament would remember the trumpets at the conquest of Jericho (Josh. 6:13–16).
These first four are natural judgments or catastrophes
Hail and Fire - 1/3 of the grass burned up (wet grass - not dry grass) It is a description of a Calamity of nature namely the land.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
This creates an instant famine. An environmental disaster that is much bigger than greenhouse gas problem.
2nd TRUMPET
Calamities at Sea - 1/3 become blood - could be a meteor or something - it kills 1/3 of the fish and it would seem the tsunami that is created wipes out a third of the ships as well.
This is an ecological and economic disaster.
Imagine most all shipping lanes would have been affected. Everything from small vessels to container ships and oil tankers to cargo ships down at the bottom of the ocean or washed up on the shore.
3rd TRUMPET
Calamities on the Rivers - ( all of these not from natural causes.
Wormwood -defined as “bitter sorrow” - undrinkable
The Prophet Jeremiah speaks of this.
therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.’ ”
1/3 of All fresh water gets polluted so much so that drinking their water untreated would result in death.
This also is said it might be a meteor that falls apart before striking the earth.
This action also reveals to us the answer of how bitter water can be made drinkable again it is found in Ex 10:21-23
When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
4th TRUMPET
This effects the whole world
Darkness extended - massive climate change and drop in temperatures.
like the 9th plague in Egypt
The darkness could be spiritual as well and natural.
Natural judgments now end and now it gets even worse
A great eagle or as some translations say angel announces judgement on man
Only those marked or sealed by God will be saved from the effects.
5th TRUMPET ( Woe number 1)
It seems Satan is allowed to open the Abyss ( a place of fire and smoke). Jesus holds the key to hell and death. This is the temporary prison for the fallen angels.
Released is the smoke of deception, delusion, sin, sorrow, moral darkness and degradation
Like the 8th plague of Egypt
Out of the abyss are no ordinary locusts - These inflict intense pain
- Only on those not sealed
It seems probable to some that these are demons. They are given the picture of being intelligent, protected, and are bend on destruction. Like a swarm of Locusts that destroy and strip every tree and blade of grass in front of them
This is considered an army of demons from the pit of hell. They want to attack people
Woe - is like the only word that works.
Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run.
With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.
They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like soldiers; And they each march in line, Nor do they deviate from their paths.
They do not crowd each other, They march everyone in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks.
They rush on the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief.
Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
At this point it would seem the church is not here. If this is true you would think that people would still be reeling because many are gone. They have been raptured. You would suspect that it is about to get very, very bad.
6th TRUMPET ( 2nd Woe)
The warning voice of God calling all to repentance
Horses symbolize vehicles of war so they are probably not horses as we know them.
Like the first century church feared the parthians . The fear of death will be upon the people.
1/3 of mankind die
This could be 4 demonic beings inflicting this kind of massive death or it could be four nations united and a military assault that kills 1/3 of the population. There were 200 million off them. It really means a incredible amount.
Thes are bound at the Euphrates river . interesting to note this river flows through Iraq, Syria and Turkey. It is a boundary river.
This is after the 1/4 in revelations 6:8 - so half the population of the world will be wiped out. So far that would be 3.5 billion people.
Resistance - deep rooted pride that says no matter what happens I will not bow and serve the living God. They says they will die on this mountain of murder, witchcraft, sexual immorality and theft or wealth at your expense - ( they robbed you to get wealthy) (like oil companies and banks)
The answer to the saints is at hand. When are you going to do something about all horror that is going on. Don’t you care God
When are you going to deal with the slaughter of unborn children
When are you going to deal once and for all Human Trafficking, rape and murder
When are you going to deal with demonic dictators,
When are you going to Judge rampant sexual immorality.
When are you going to deal with those who persecute and kill Gods saints.
The answer is - NOW
God will have justice.
This was another act of Mercy allowing people to repent.
Vs 20 ends up being the main point
They did not repent - but continue in defiance, worship idols and gross sexual immorality, murder, etc
They were hard hearted.
A hard hearted heart leads to eternal separation from God.