Revelation 8:1-2
A Sour Note
Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal,
there was silence in heaven about the space of
half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before
God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Let me say up front that there is not a less qualified or less gifted
person to discuss music in a message than I; however, if we are going
to discuss being off key and sour notes, I am your man. In today's
text, we will hear a heavenly song played in divine pitch and
harmony, but to its hearers on earth, the notes are going to sound
very sour.
Four thoughts:
I. THE Band
A. We began talking about the seventh seal judgment and the
transition to the Trumpet Judgments last week, but there is
more to say.
B. The Bible does not say that seven angels which stand before
God get their trumpets but that THE seven angels that stand
before God do.
1. I am sure that God has many, many angels; but these have
the definite article "the" in their introduction.
2. I believe we are being introduced to a specific group of
angels whose normal position is to stand before God.
a. They are called angels, not cherubims or seraphim;
but that definite article "the" makes them an elite
and specific group.
b. They appear to be the only seven who stand "before
God," or at least whose regular position is to stand
before God.
3. I believe we might already know one of the seven by name:
Luke 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him,
I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God;
and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee
these glad tidings.
C. What else these angels do, we do not know; but during the
Tribulation, they seem to be God’s angels of judgment.
1. In Revelation 8-9, they blow seven trumpets of judgment.
2. In Revelation 15-16, the same seven seem to return to pour
out the seven Vials Judgments on the earth.
3. In Revelation 21:9, they will be on hand to show John the
New Jerusalem as it descends out of heaven to hover over
the earth.
D. What that means, I do not know. I simply note with you that
the Bible calls them "’the’ seven angels which stood before
God."
II. A Key Change
A. Something is different between the Seal Judgments and the
Trumpet Judgments, something that I will call a key change.
B. The Seal Judgments seem to be continuous and progressive while
the Trumpet Judgments seem to happen, run for a period, and
then end.
C. Remember the Seal Judgments:
1. The white horse with the anti-Christ goes forth. The
anti-Christ will work on his rise for at least the next
3 1/2 years and will work to keep his power for the next
3 1/2 years.
2. The red horse took peace from the earth. Once peace is
gone, it will not return until the Prince of Peace comes
at the end of the Tribulation to restore it.
3. The black horse brings famine, a condition that will last
last throughout the Tribulation.
4. The pale horse brings death to live and damnation to the
souls. Their work will only increase as the Tribulation
continues.
5. Fifth seal mentioned the martyred saints. There are no
saints to martyr at the beginning of the Tribulation but
as more and more are saved, more and more will be
martyred.
6. The sixth seal is the best bet for a quick beginning and
finishing and perhaps the sun turning black, the moon to
blood, and the earthquake to come and go quickly; but I
suspect for numerous reasons that once the stars start
falling, they will continue to fall for a long while. In
part I believe that because something like a star falling
takes place in the Trumpet Judgments as well.
7. Last week, I explained that the seventh seal actually
begins a series of judgments that will last all the way
through to the end of Revelation 19.
D. But when the angels sound their trumpets, their judgments seem
to reach an apex much sooner. read.
III. The Notes Played
A. \\#8:7\\ The First Trumpet
Rev 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there
followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and
they were cast upon the earth: and the third part
of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was
burnt up.
1. Hail and fire mingled with blood are cast to the earth.
a. Is that literal or just a figure?
(1) Unless there is a reason to think the language
is figurative, I will take it literally.
(2) When would there be a reason to think it is
figurative?
(3) When words like "as" or "like" are used in the
description.
Re 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and AS it
were a great mountain burning with fire was cast
into the sea….
Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were LIKE
unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their
heads were AS it were crowns like gold, and their
faces were AS the faces of men.
b. How could this happen? At present, I have no idea
other than that God will do it!
c. I encourage people, through my website, to send me
Biblical questions that I attempt to answer. Someone
send a very deep question that dealt with Biblical
truths I could not prove by physical means. I told
her that was no problem for me because the Bible had
verified its trustworthiness enough times with things
that I could verify that when I came to something
that I could not verify with sight and science, I was
all right with it. I explained that was what faith
was, not a blind leap in the dark, not me checking my
brain at the church door; but people studying the
Bible and verifying what could be verified enough so
that we could trust the Bible in the things that we
cannot verify. I hope you have that kind of faith.
d. Something similar happened with Moses in Egypt (Ex 9),
a rain of hail and fire destroyed that their fields.
(1) Where did it come from in Moses’ day? From God.
(2) What caused it? God did.
(3) Was there a scientific reason for it? I do not
know and it does not matter. When God says
something that unusual is going to happen and it
does, it is a miracle—plain and simple.
e. There is a difference in the judgment in Moses’ day
and the one still future.
(1) In Moses’ day, the judgment was local, just in
Egypt, maybe just a small portion of Egypt.
(2) The future miracles will be worldwide.
2. Results
a. 1/3 of all trees and all the grass (including
vegetation) are destroyed.
b. The world will already be reeling from peace being
removed (whatever that means), two supernatural
earthquakes, disease, death, and famines.
(1) If you are wondering about the TWO earthquakes:
(a) The first earthquake happened in
\\#Rev 6:12\\.
Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the
sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
earthquake…
Rev 6:14 …and every mountain and island were
moved out of their places.
(b) Another one happened when the seventh seal
was broken:
Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and
filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it
into the earth: and there were voices, and
thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
(2) No details are given as to how bad the second
earthquake was, but it did occur.
(3) Judgments and disaster are happening so fast, it
is hard to keep up with them.
c. All of the conditions of the seven Seal Judgments will
be made much worse by 1/3 of the growth on the
planet’s trees, grass, and—I suppose—crops being
destroyed.
d. In addition, with two major earthquakes, fresh air
is probably going to be at a premium now as well.
1/3 of the trees being destroyed will not help that
situation.
B. \\#8:8-9\\ The Second Trumpet
Rev 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as
it were a great mountain burning with fire was
cast into the sea: and the third part of the
sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which
were in the sea, and had life, died; and the
third part of the ships were destroyed.
1. \\#8\\ The word "as" is used meaning it will not be a
mountain that falls into the seas but it will be like a
mountain falling into the sea.
a. We often think of this as being some kind of meteorite
or asteroid falling from the sky, but the Bible never
said so.
b. \\#Rev 6:13\\ As I have mentioned stars did start
falling to the earth as part of the sixth seal so
this could easily be a rock from heaven.
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the
earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely
figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
c. But this could also be another man-made disaster.
d. Man has the tendency not only to shoot himself in the
foot, but in the leg, the torso, the head, and the
heart--all at the same time.
e. It is possible that the first two trumpets are man-
made disasters.
2. Wherever it came from, it goes into the sea.
a. Because the salt waters are all connected, the results
of this falling mountain are likewise worldwide.
(1) 1/3 of the salt waters either become blood or
blood-like.
(2) 1/3 of the life in the seas die.
(3) 1/3 of the ships in the waters are destroyed.
(4) Floods, tsunamis, and probably storms will be
caused - all of these do to the seas what the
last judgment did to the land.
b. However those effects will not stay in the sea.
(1) Shipping and fishing will come to a halt,
increasing the famine.
(2) Japan’s 2011 tsunami, caused by an earthquake,
killed more than 16,000 people and caused a
nuclear meltdown that they people may still be
dealing with to this day.
C. \\#10-11\\ The Third Trumpet
Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there
fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were
a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the
rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:
and the third part of the waters became wormwood;
and many men died of the waters, because they
were made bitter.
1. We are told that this object came from heaven.
2. Regardless of where they are coming from, these objects
are getting bigger.
a. The last one was like a mountain.
b. This one is like a star.
c. I’m going to call this one a meteorite.
3. For it to spread across 1/3 of the fresh waters, it would
seem as though the meteorite would need to break up and
scatter across the land over a period of time.
4. The meteorite is called WORMWOOD which we understand
means BITTER or POISON.
5. Results - 1/3 of the rivers, lakes, and water tables are
polluted, directly causing human death.
6. Meteorites strike the earth often and often break up,
scattering residue across their path.
On October 9, 1992, a fire ball was seen streaking across the sky all
the way from Kentucky to New York. A 27-pound stony meteorite
(chondrite) from that fireball fell in Peekskill, New York, punching
a hole in the rear end of an automobile parked in a driveway and
coming to rest in a shallow depression beneath it
Falls (have also been documented) landing in a Connecticut dining
room and an Alabama bedroom… in this century. A 10-meter (33 foot)
body typically has the kinetic energy of about five nuclear warheads
of the size dropped on Hiroshima, however, and the shock wave it
creates can do considerable damage even if nothing but comparatively
small fragments survive to reach the ground.
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/back2.html
7. Notice the use of the faction, A THIRD.
a. Why 1/3?
b. It is used 11 times (not counting the reference to the
angel).
c. Why? Two thoughts:
(1) First, I believe this is God's signature of
authenticity. The repeated mathematical results
of these judgments will demonstrate to the world
that these catastrophes are not hap-hazard but
designed by a Force bigger than themselves.
(2) But still, why not 1/4 or 1/5? Could it be
because of how this world treated one Member of
the Trinity? Perhaps God is telling the world
that they treated that member of the Godhead
very badly.
D. \\#8:12\\ The Fourth Trumpet
Rev 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the
third part of the sun was smitten, and the third
part of the moon, and the third part of the
stars; so as the third part of them was darkened,
and the day shone not for a third part of it, and
the night likewise.
1. The fourth trumpet unleashes a judgment that does not land
on the earth even though it effects it.
2. 1/3 of the sun, 1/3 the moon, and 1/3 stars stop shining.
3. How can that happen? I don’t know.
4. Did the sun turn to sackcloth, the moon to blood, and the
stars fall to earth like a scroll back in the Seal
Judgments? Yes, it did; but things continue to happen
in the skies.
5. What are the results?
a. This reduces heat and light for a time. In
\\#Rev 16:9\\, the sun will shine too hot.
b. This judgment again demonstrates the judgments are not
limited to the earth. All of creation is being
attacked.
IV. \\#13\\ The Tenor Sings
Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying
through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud
voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the
earth by reason of the other voices of the
trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to
sound!
A. Okay, it does not have to be a tenor. It could be a bass,
a baritone, a soprano, alto, whatever.
B. I do not think the earth will see or hear this angel, just
the inhabitants of heaven.
C. But what is his message? It was, "You haven’t seen anything
yet!"
1. Three more angels have yet to play their trumpets so three
more judgments have yet to fall.
2. Question - How are you like things so far?
a. A famine that I believe will last for seven years must
be well underway by now.
b. Chaos, fighting, and death is common place.
(1) Perhaps by this time the figure given to us when
the fourth seal was broken is getting close to
being reached.
(2) There God told us that 1/4 of the world’s
population would die.
c. And in the first four trumpets, the heaven and the
earth turn against mankind virtually eliminating his
food and water supply.
(1) How long that will last, I do not know.
(2) But I don’t think the people of that day will be
as worked as the people of our day have been to
find toilet paper.
D. But as bad as all of that is, this angel is singing out that
you have not seen anything yet!
1. I can see the politicians and scientists scrambling for
explanations.
2. And I am sure they will have some—even if they have to
make them up they will have them.
3. But no one will have explanations for what is about to
happen, for what the next angels are about unleash on
this earth.
Let me tell you again. You cannot prepare for the Tribulation ON the
earth. You can only prepare for the Tribulation by getting OFF the
earth. You do not want to go through the Tribulation. You want to
go OVER it but being part of the rapture of the church.
Two things are required: Faith and repentance.
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