Rev.#27~8:1-7 7TH SEAL 10-17-09
We’ve been reading and studying the many things that are revealed under the 7 sealed judgments, as six of the seals have now been open by the Lamb, the Lord Jesus, we’ve saw many things that were under 6 of these seals, --“the Antichrist bringing a false peace, then God bringing Russia and her coalition into the mountains of Israel at the mid way point of the tribulation, as He destroys 5/6 of that coalition referred to as Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38:-39:, and then under the 5th seal was the Tribulation Martyrs calling out from under the Altar for vengeance, and then under the 6th seal was a Minnie picture of the Great Tribulation.”--
And then the chronological order of events are interrupted as chapter 7, “a parenthesis” is inserted to inform us about two different companies of people that will be saved in the Tribulation, and that is “the 144000 Jews, 12000 from each of the 12 tribes as their sealed in their foreheads with the seal of God”.
The other great company that we read about in chapter 7 is the great multitude of Gentiles the world over that are saved because of the preaching of the 144000 in the Tribulation that never heard the truth to do with Jesus before the rapture, their preaching message at that time is, “the gospel of the Kingdom” which will consist of the fact that King Jesus is about to set up His Kingdom on earth and its now or never for all who’ll receive the message.
So there is a prophetic insert, “a parenthesis” between the sixth and seventh seal, which is chapter 7:; and also let me say that between the 6th and 7th trumpet judgments is another “parenthesis” as more information is revealed, and an extended insert or parenthesis, between the 7th trumpet and bowl judgments.
Because of the similarity of the seventh judgment in each series, it is possible that the three sets of judgments take place with some overlap so that they all terminate with the return of Christ.
The catastrophic events in most of the trumpet judgments that we’re about to get into are called “woes.”
The prophetic interlude, or parenthesis, between the sixth and seventh trumpets (10:1–11:14) adds more details about the nature of the Tribulation Period and mentions a fourth set of seven judgments (the “seven thunders”), which John was not allowed to pin down.
Ø But now lets take back up with where we are today, The Lamb, the Lord Jesus resumes the opening of the last seal, seal number 7, as the chronological order of events resume.
He opens seal number 7 that we find in chapter 8:1-6, and that is where we take up today, under this 7th seal are the 7 Trumpet judgments, and under the 7th trumpet judgment we’ll find the 7 Vial judgments which are the most horrific and destructive of all, and these 7 vial, or bowl judgments are emptied swiftly on the earth dwellers, just prior to the Lords return to earth.
Many, many angels are seen used of God in the Revelation, these seven angels that we’ll see in these verses have a particular mission and that is to announce and to execute judgment through the sounding of the trumpets. But they are restrained for the space of about half an hour.
Gods angels will carry out what ever they are commanded to do, they don’t form a committee and discuss the situation, there are no questions ask.
The opening of the seventh seal reveals the second series of judgments. The trumpet judgments, and they are more intense and severe than the seal judgments.
Under the seal judgments, one-fourth of the world’s population, about 1.5 billion people will be killed.
And then the trumpet judgments will kill another third of the worlds population: and then the worst of all; The bowl judgments will leave only a fraction of the world’s initial population alive, and they are wishing they could die, let me say that all these earth dwellers that die in these horrible judgments suddenly realize that now their worse off than ever before as they lift theirs eyes in hell.
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Lost and ungodly sinners may laugh and mock the things of God today, but God will have last laugh.
Proverbs 1:24-31 24Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all
these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Jude –14-15 Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Ø . Listen now as I read from 8: as the Lord Jesus, the Lamb opens seal number 7.
1And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Let me say here that it appears according to these verses, the people that are in heaven know what goes on here on earth, and they realize what was about to take place here.
They know when one of their loved ones on earth gets saved and they rejoice.
Luke 15:7 I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,
Can you imagine the deafness that will grip all of heaven as there is complete silents for about ½ hour, there never have been a quit heaven before, the saints, the angels, the 4 living creatures have been shouting and praising God as we read in chapter 5: and now total silence as they understand what is about to take place on the earth dwellers, you and I might use the old saying, {they were shocked.}
We’re told in Rom.1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; --
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2And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Ø Notice, John testifies that he saw these things.
3And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
If you’ll recall, the “golden Altar” was the Altar of Incense, that stood near the “HOLY OF HOLIES” in the Tabernacle and also the Temple. This is not the “ALTAR OF sacrifice, the brazen Altar” just in side the gate of the Tabernacle.
Here is an angel with priestly prerogatives. Exactly who he is we are not told; some say it may be the Lord Jesus, but I personally believe he is “another angel” just as it says.
4And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Who are these saints, and for what are they praying? If you’ll recall under the fifth seal the souls of the martyred saints cried for vengeance (6:9-10).
The prayers of the saints crying out from under the Altar in that day will be for vengeance, realize that the day of grace is over and now it’s the day of the wrath of God.
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5And 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.
There seems to be a connection between these prayers that go up and the judgment that comes down, because verse 5 says that the same censor that carried the prayers up to God is dipped down into the fire of the altar and cast onto the earth.
As soon as the prayers ascend, the judgment descends. The fire represents the judgment of God upon sin as seen in the Levitical offerings.
These voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquake are causing great convulsions and disorder in the earth, but they are only the beginnings of other terrible calamities, which will be following with the sounding of the other trumpets.
Lets be aware that the seven trumpets are not the same as the seven seals. Both the trumpet judgments and the bowl or vial judgments are within the 7th seal judgment
The Bible records occasions when God used hail or fire to judge his enemies: Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24); the seventh plague of Egypt (Exod 9);
Those on the earth, who rejected the Saviour before the rapture will now receive the Lambs wrath.
Ø Who has ever heard of a Lamb bringing wrath?
Revelation 6:16-17 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Hebrews 10:26-27 There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries-
The Saviour has now become the Judge. The casting of the fire onto the earth is only a forecast of what is about to follow as the “trumpet judgments” are sounded.
When the Lamb loosed the seventh seal John saw a whole new series of judgments.
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6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
I can picture these angels as they’re standing at the ready and bring their trumpets to their lips, as they’re about to sound the trumpets.
The remainder of chapter 8 gives us the first four trumpet judgments.
The first four trumpet judgments fall on creation --and the last three on mankind (9:1-21).
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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.
The word “third” appears 11 times in Rev 8.-and 21 times in the book of Revelation.
These plagues are not symbolic. The plagues in Egypt, similar to these, were literal (Exodus 9:---
There in Egypt the plagues were to save Israel; but here in the tribulation they will trouble her.
Its called Jacobs trouble- remember God changed Jacobs name to Israel in Gens.32: and again we find it in Gen. 35:--
Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Ø There will be 2/3s of the Israelis destroyed in the terrible Tribulation period.
Zechariah 13:8-9 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9And I will bring the third part through the fire, **and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
In that day they’ll finally recognize Jesus for Who He is, their Messiah and King, that day He’ll literally become their Saviour.
Ø When He returns and they see Him they’ll ask Him this question;
Zechariah 13:6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Lets be sure and notice they don’t ask Him where He got those “scares” I believe Jesus will always bare the wounds in His hands and feet as a reminder to one and all of the awful crucifixion He went through because of the great love He had for us, He died in our place as He paid our sin debt, He certainly didn’t have to but He did, and we will be eternally grateful to Him.
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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.
At the sounding of this first trumpet, one-third of all vegetation on earth will be destroyed. This leaves a bleak picture of desolation caused by hail and fire. God’s judgment under the first trumpet is potent.
This first trumpet blast signaled the beginning of a judgment that involved hail, fire, and blood.
Joel 2:30-31 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Hail* is only mentioned here in the Revelation in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, hailstorms are a common element to do with judgment.
Blood is the symbol of vengeance. Blood and fire were often combined as symbols of judgment in the O.T.- Isa. 9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
This is similar to the seventh plague on the Egyptians in Exo.9: in which Moses raised his staff to the sky and God sent hail mixed with lightning and thunder. This was the worst storm in the history of Egypt, as it destroyed all vegetation. This judgment in Revelation resulted in the fiery destruction of one-third of all the vegetation of earth.
A third of all lumber-producing trees which will effect everything from home prices to the availability of paper, this first judgment will also have a great impact on peoples most basic need—oxygen, which is a by-product of trees and vegetation.
But these earth dwellers wont have to worry about building homes, their days of planning for the future is over.
We see fire in California it seems all the time on the news, what a time the people have out there as their homes and valuables are consumed by these fires, but nothing as severe as this plague, and the worst hasn’t started yet, this is only the beginning.
Just think of all the great forest on earth that we personally might know about or heard of.
(The Amazon, the Congo, Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Great smoky mountains), think of a third of them being burned down.
It is a disaster beyond anything imaginable. All the fire fighters of the world cannot contain theses fires; they’ll burn out when they have fulfilled their purpose but not until then.
Revelation is a reminder that human wickedness will not go unnoticed or unpunished.
