Rev.# 28~8:8-11 2 ND & 3rd TRUMPET JUDGMENTS
Let me say before we began today, for the sake of those listening that may not understand, there are 3 set of judgments in the Revelation, there is the sealed judgments, the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, and all 3 sets of these judgments have 7 different applications in each of the 3.
The seals are 1st, and then the trumpets are 2nd, and the last set of the 3 are the bowl or vial judgments. As each new judgment is opened and directed on the earth dwellers each new one becomes worse than the last, I say earth dwellers because these are the people that were left behind on the earth when the rapture of the True Church takes place in chapter 4:1-2.
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Let me point out again that the “6th sealed judgment”, is a Minnie picture of the great tribulation, the last 3 ½ years of the 7 years tribulation.
Ø Listen as I read the 6th sealed judgment again, a minni picture of the last 3 ½ years.---notice, it’s the 6 the seal judgment, not a trumpet judgment.
7:12-17 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13And 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. 14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16And 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?
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Last time we read that the Lamb, the Lord Jesus opened the 7th and last seal, and we read in verses 1-6 of chapter 8: that 7 angels prepared them selves to sound the 7 trumpets of judgment, and that as heaven looked on, all of heaven was silent for about ½ an hour as they saw what was in store for the earth dwellers, listen as I read again verses 1-6.
1And when He** had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
2And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
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.
4And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
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.
Notice as the angel cast the fire*{speaks of judgment} onto the earth, the entire world becomes convulsive.
6And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
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Let me point out once again, the opening of the seventh seal, the last 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 and death will flee from them, all these earth dwellers that do die in these horrible judgments suddenly realize that now their worse off than ever before as they lift theirs eyes in hell.
Ø The first four trumpet judgments fall on creation --and the last three trumpet judgments on mankind, called the “woe” judgments (9:1-21).
Listen- 4 of these trumpet judgments fall on creation-4 being the number of creation.
(1) On the fourth day God finished the material creation, the heavens and earth.
Gen.1:14-19 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
2) Rev.7:9 gives us four divisions of created mankind: nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.
(3) There are four directions or regions: north, south, east, and west.
(4) There are four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter.
(5) In presenting the Lord Jesus to created men, there are four gospels.
(6) There are four kingdoms: animal, mineral, vegetable, and spiritual;
(7) And in Daniel’s portrayal of the times of the Gentiles, we are given four great world powers or kingdoms in his prophecy, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
Therefore, the seven trumpet judgments are divided into four and three. The first four bring devastation to the world, God’s creation.
The last three of the trumpet judgments are aimed more directly at man although mankind is affected and hurt by all the trumpet judgments.
Gods creation was intended to be a help and blessing to man, and yet man, on the whole today, attributes this world to evolution rather than to a personal God.
Ø 3-is a number that speaks of God, God is a Trinity.
-Jesus arose on the 3rd day--- God is referred to by the formula, “Who was, Who is, and Who is to come.”
Most of the time when we read about “3” if you’ll look closely you’ll find that God is involved. ----Such as John 3:16
John 1:33 And I knew him {Jesus} not: but he {Father}that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit {Holy Spirit} descending, and remaining on him, {Jesus}the same is he {Jesus} which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
In this verse, John 1:33 we have the God Head, the Trinity.
1 John 1: 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Genesis 18:1-2 1And the LORD appeared unto him*{Abraham} in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: --and if you’ll read on you will find that One of these 3 was the Lord.
Just remember that where “3” is involved most of the time you’ll find God.
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We’ve already read 8:7 to do with the 1st angel sounding his trumpet and how that 1/3 of all vegetation was burned up.
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.
This is a direct judgment from God. Judgment falls upon plant life, from the grass to the trees. Every form of vegetation is affected first.
Notice, that it is only one-third, but it makes a tremendous impact upon the earth and its inhibiters. Fire, is the means God uses first.
One-third of the earth, tells us of the extent of the damage.
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Ø Today we’ll see the 2nd angel sound the 2nd trumpet of judgment.
Listen as I read verses 8-9 as he sounds his trumpet, the 2nd trumpet.
8And 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;**
Now this is not a literal mountain. Whatever it was, it looked like a mountain, “as it were a great mountain.” This gigantic meteorite mass resembled a mountain ablaze.
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9And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
The sounding of the second trumpet has a serious effect upon commerce, the third part of the world’s ships being destroyed. Could this Hugh meteorite be the cause of a gigantic tsunami?
We see nothing in chapter eight to indicate we should take verses 7-13 in any way symbolic.
So these verses must be understood to be taken literally.
It would be very inconsistent to take these judgments to be symbolic, and then interpret the 10 plagues of Egypt in Exo.7-11: to be real and actual.
Lets notice that the object, which is cast into the sea, is compared to a great burning mountain.
It was a huge mountain-like ball of fire, which was cast into the sea. It is the perfect picture of what we know today about Asteroids, and Meteorites.
Asteroids are literally mountains hurling through space. There is one family of asteroids called the Apollo group with an orbit that crosses directly across the Earth.
As I was gathering this information together, I found that these asteroids are masses much like rock, which vary in size from just a few miles to several hundred miles.
About 3,500 asteroids have been cataloged, and more are discovered each year.
This object that we’re told about here, which was cast into the sea, is compared to a great burning mountain.
The largest asteroid named, “Ceres”, is about 620 miles in diameter.
Next in size is “Pallas”, about 332 miles in diameter, and then, “Vesta”, about 240 miles in diameter.
It was a huge mountain-like ball of fire, which was cast into the sea. It is the perfect picture of what we know today about asteroids.
What do you suppose would happen if even a small asteroid struck the earth?
First, as it entered our atmosphere, it would begin to heat up and glow white with fire by friction. It would begin to burn.
Then, when it hit the sea it would cause tidal waves and devastation for hundreds of miles.
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The meteorite, which fell in Siberia in 1908, devastated over 1,000 square miles. The shock was felt as far away as Europe while trees up to 20 miles away were blown down. Yet the 1908 meteorite was only about 200 feet across—a far cry from one mile across!
Most often a “meteorite” comes from a shattered asteroid.
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All of these plagues that we read about in Revelation are to be understood as real occurrences, unless we’re told other wise.
When we read words like “as it were’ or “like unto” then we can apply some thing other than the real thing, but if we don’t see these words, “like unto” or “as it were” it is to be taken literally.
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10-11 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; 11And 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.***--poisonous—
As this star enters our atmosphere it begins to burn and to break up affecting the land and especially the lakes, rivers and streams.
This will cause a chemical change making the waters bitter. He star is called “wormwood.”
Notice this star has a name; God has named it “wormwood”.
Ø God knows the very number of the stars and He has named them all, He placed them in the heavens as it so pleased Him.
Psalm 147:4-5 4He telleth the number of the stars;** he calleth them all by their names.** 5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
Gen. 1:14-16 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, {sun} and the lesser light to rule the night:{moon} he made the stars also.
God will use that which He created to affect His ends.
As His star “wormwood” is sweeping across the surface of the earth, parts are burning and falling off, it turns one-third of the drinking water in the earth into a deadly liquid. It affects lakes, rivers, springs, and wells, all drinking water.
Most stars would dwarf the earth as most are hundreds of time bigger than the earth, but this is a special star.
There is a type of wood growing in Palestine that has a very strong and bitter taste.
Jeremiah 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
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The star is called wormwood because of the affect the star has on the water. It makes the water like wormwood, bitter, but while the wormwood in Palestine is not poisonous, this star will poison the water because those who drink this water die.
Therefore one-third of the fresh water supply of the Earth is made unfit for human consumption.
I love good ole cold ice tea and probably drink more soft drinks than I should, but when you get right down to it, there’s nothing that can take the place of a good cold glass of water, nothing can quench our thirst like water. If I could never have but one drink from now on it would be water.
I remember back yonder when we lived in the country, we had a well, and I remember drawing a bucket of that water, when it come to the top of the well it would have on the out side of the bucket sorta a frosty looking appearance it would be so cold, a lot of the country folks would have a dipper made from a gourd, this tap water most of us drink today is good but nothing like that freshly drawn bucket of well water.
But these earth dwellers in the time that these plagues are being poured out on the earth will never get a good glass of water again. Think of the poor souls in hell that are at this very minute crying out for just one drop of water and will never get it.
Listen sinner friend-----
