FEARLESS FIDELITY
Revelation 8:1 – 9:21
Sermon Objective: The resurrection of Jesus Christ empowers his followers to live lives of faith with boldness and confidence.
Supporting Scripture: Psalm 118:1-9, Matthew 10:27-28, 2 Corinthians 4:3-5, 2 Timothy 1:7, Hebrews 13:5-6
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
“The Seven trumpets”
THE TEXT: REVELATION 8-9
I know it is a lengthy passage. But may I read all of chapters 8 and 9 again this morning?
Why? Because that was how it was meant to be read and heard. The Revelation is designed to stir the imagination and leave one with lasting impressions before it is designed to be studied in minutia … it is apocalyptic literature … it is colorful and emotive.
Imagine yourself in a small first century house-church in Sardis. You are listening to a reader read John’s letter to you. Most people, Christians included, could not read and none of them had a personal copy of the letter that they could follow along with. Keep your current situation in mind as you listen; specifically the peril you are in because of your faith and your cries to God for strength, wisdom, and help.
I suspect that you will notice, as I read to you, that:
1. The beginning and the end of the account frames the whole episode.
2. The largest portion of the trumpet’s events are not written about you – albeit they are written for you.
>> Read Rev. 8:1 - 9:21 <<
INTRO
For some it is roller coasters. For others it is a horror movie. Others might get their fix by reading suspense thrillers. But there is something in the human psyche of many that loves to be scared! Neurologists tell us that it is the adrenalin rush and that the same neurotransmitters are engaged when one is riding a rickety wooden roller coaster or watching an intense plot unfold as are triggered when we laugh. It’s a hormonal storm.
Maybe that is why some like to read John’s Apocalypse like it is a suspense thriller. Never mind that the book says it is revealing (that’s what “apocalypse” means) truth; not hiding truth or trying to scare us. There is something about the foreignness of the imagery and the darkness of the book’s tone that immediately fashions it into something mysterious and suspenseful.
Maybe we can blame the way we read it on Edgar Allen Poe.
And it is precisely portions like chapters 8 and 9 that evoke these sensations and assumptions. And yet, John’s writing was not intended to fill its readers with fear. In fact, that is just the opposite of what it was designed to do. John’s apocalypse was designed to stir hope, boldness, and faithfulness. Whenever we flip it and make it a suspense thriller, however, it does just the opposite and then it strips the text of all its power to be a transforming spiritual force in our lives.
The readers and hearers of John’s apocalypse had enough real horror taking place in their lives … they didn’t need to read a Stephen King-styled book to get their endorphins fix. JOHN’S BOOK, AS STRANGE AS IT SEEMS TO SOME IN OUR DAY, WAS DESIGNED TO ELICIT PEACE, CONFIDENCE AND PRAISE.
FEARLESS FIDELITY
The trumpets are God’s response to our prayers and His attempt to get the attention of the world. God’s wants those in bondage to sin (known throughout the book as “the inhabitants of the earth”) to turn to him for deliverance through repentance.
AND GOD TRIES EVERYTHING HE CAN TO ACCOMPLISH THIS DOESN’T HE? HE LEAVES NO STONE UNTURNED IN HIS CALL TO REPENTANCE.
TRUMPET BLAST #1 AFFECTS THE LAND (8:7)
TRUMPET BLAST #2 AFFECTS THE SEA (8:8-9)
TRUMPET BLAST #3 AFFECTS FRESH WATER SOURCES (8:9-10)
TRUMPET BLAST #4 AFFECTS THE HEAVENLY BODIES (8: 12)
Then there is that eerie, quiet scene, of a lone eagle flying in midair as if taking inventory; as if determining whether man has responded and then proclaiming the severity of the final trumpets. And it is here, with trumpets number 5 and 6 that “all Hell breaks loose.”
John required but six verses to set forth the first four trumpet-plagues (8:7-12). But now he will devote over three times that space to the next two. This added emphasis corresponds to the seriousness of the calamities that follow.
TRUMPET BLAST #5 IS A DEMONIC HORDE OF LOCUSTS LEAD BY APOLLYON (9:1-12).
Interestingly, both Hebrew’s “Abaddon” and its Greek equivalent, “Apollyon” both mean “Destroyer” (or “destruction”).
There is reason to believe that these verses contain a derogatory reference to the Greek god Apollo. Even more accurately, it may be a derogatory reference to the emperor Domitian, who ruled while John wrote this book. You see, Domitian regarded himself as Apollo incarnate. And, like the god Apollo, one of Domitian’s representative symbols was … the locust. John is saying that, in reality, Domitian is not a god but a manifestation of the powers of the underworld … he is inspired by demons and the very Lord of the underworld Himself. What he insinuates here he will say far more explicitly in chapters 12 and 13.
TRUMPET BLAST 6 TELLS OF PURSUIT BY A FIENDISH CAVALRY (9:13-19)
This demonic cavalry is immense. John does not know how to write the number it is so big. It literally reads: “two myriads of myriads.” The double myriad of myriads is best understood as an indefinite number of incalculable immensity very similar to the chariots of God in Psalm 68:17 (NASB), “The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.”
Yes, indeed God tries everything to get man to repent … but alas.
Rev 9:20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.
One would think that the terrors of God’s wrath would bring rebels to their knees. Not so. Instead of looking to God and the Lamb for deliverance, they looked again to the demonic itself. The scriptures teach that all idol worship (any object we revere more than God) is demonic (Deuteronomy 32:17 and 1 Cor. 10:19-21) at its essence.
As a consequence, “the inhabitants of the earth” fall into social disruption and evil. The four offenses John mentions (murders, magic arts, fornications and thefts) are, in other biblical texts, associated with the sin of idolatry (note: 2 Kings 9:22; Isaiah 47:9-10; 48:5; Jeremiah 7:5-11; Hosea 3:1-4:2; Micah 5:12-6:8; Nahum 1:14; 3:1-4; Acts 15:20; Romans 1:24-31; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5 and Colossians 3:5.)
Unfortunately, we Christians sometimes read this as if we are the one’s this is written about. We fail to distinguish between it being written to us and written about us. In doing so, we create a scenario that is far from accurate. It is more paralyzing than encouraging. WE BECOME FRIGHTENED INSTEAD OF FEARLESS.
The truth is, as Christ-followers we are spared the judgment scenes that I just read. We are protected; 9:4 reads, “They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”
So what is this passage supposed to do for those John is writing to?
What is it designed to create within us?
I’m glad you asked.
What does this mean for us? It is a call to:
1. COURAGEOUS (BOLD) EVANGELISM
John’s Apocalypse calls us to live a life of witness. We are called to witness to God’s mercy and pardon.
The first four trumpets have strong overtones of the Exodus story. There is reason for that. Life has an end; a dramatic and drastic end for those without Christ. And like the original Exodus, God has a plan to deliver those who come to Him. It is probable that there were more than just “Hebrews” who left Egypt under Moses. Others who were oppressed joined the Moses and company. And, as in that first Exodus, God will, again, deliver everyone who calls on him.
This is serious. Apart from our offer of salvation, the “inhabitants of the earth” will turn to the very thing destroying them in an attempt to find relief. They do it every day! They RE-turn to alcohol, drugs (the term for “magic arts” is “pharma”, and every other vice in hopes that this time it will bring solace not pain.
THE MESSAGE THAT WE HAVE (AND THE LIFE THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN IN JESUS CHRIST) IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD. LIKE THE FIRST CENTURY WORLD, WE LIVE IN A TIME THAT DESPERATELY NEEDS OUR SAVIOR AND DESPERATELY NEEDS TO SEE A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE FAITHFULLY LIVED.
It is a call to:
1. COURAGEOUS EVANGELISM
2. COMMITTED DEVOTION
When your life is on the line (or your job, or your friendships, or family relationships, etc.) it is easy to become timid and fearful regarding the consequences of faithfulness. But tucked inside 9:1-5 is a beautiful little term that can rejuvenate our commitment. It’s easy to miss its significance … easy to overlook. Listen,
Rev 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
Rev 9:3 And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
Rev 9:5 They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
The demonic forces were GIVEN limits to their power. On March 21 of this year I presented you with a sermon on God’s sovereignty in The Revelation; you may remember me talking about the word, “edothe`”. That is used here. The word is used at least 15 times in The Revelation (cf. 6:2, 4, 8, 11; 7:2; 11:1-2; 13:5, 7, 14, 15; 16:8; 20:4).
John’s use is intentional. It is not a mere side note; it suggests God is in control. It is woven into all the events of the book. This tells us that a being or object’s power comes from (is given to it by) God and is under God’s authority. EVEN THE DEMONS WHO OPPOSED GOD ARE LIMITED AND REQUIRED TO FULFILL GOD’S WILL NOT THEIR OWN!
John understands that God controls human destiny. As incredible as it seems, God is using this horror to realize His purpose of judgment/salvation.
In John’s portrait the horror harbors good news. There are three indications of it.
• First, despite the apparently chaotic way in which history is unfolding, God remains in charge.
• Second, because the trumpet catastrophes constitute an act of preliminary and not final judgment, there is opportunity for repentance.
• Third, these destructive acts are God’s just and liberating intervention in the world.
AND A NATURAL BY-PRODUCT OF THIS SOVEREIGN LOVE IS A MOTIVATION (AND POTENTIAL) FOR CHRIST’S FOLLOWERS TO LIVE LIVES THAT ARE FEARLESSLY FAITHFUL.
We can serve God without a need to compromise with the world. In fact, I am convinced that one of the reasons many Christians live compromised lives is because they have never grasped God’s sovereignty, love and control. They do not believe God can and will take care of them and so they (like the seven churches in chapters 2-3) are tempted to “help” God help them by compromising with the world.
Sadly, everyone loses when we do this. BUT EVERYONE STANDS TO GAIN WHENEVER WE REMAIN FEARLESSLY FAITHFUL (chapter 10 will show this to be true).
It is a call to:
1. COURAGEOUS EVANGELISM
2. COMMITTED DEVOTION
3. CONFIDENT PRAYER
We have covered this the past two weeks; but we must never forget that prayer is not an escape it is an engagement. Prayer is a powerful weapon and God in heaven responds when we pray. Not only is that made clear in 8:1-6 but we are reminded of that near the end of the trumpet’s calls as well:
Rev 9:13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
This golden altar is a reference back to 8:1-6 where God listened to our prayers. God is indeed responding to His people’s prayers. THAT MEANS WE CAN PRAY WITH COURAGE AND CONFIDENCE. WE CAN PRAY FEARLESSLY!
Specifically, it motivates me to pray in three ways:
• First, it encourages me to pray for the lost … that they will have their eyes open to impending judgment and receive pardon.
2 Corinthians 4:3-5 teaches us that humankind cannot see God’s goodness … they are blind. 3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
I trust you are still praying and seeking the opportunity to share God’s love with 3 new people. God will be faithful to such a prayer I assure you.
• Second, it encourages me to pray for myself and the church.
In John 17 Jesus prayed for His church. He wanted us to stay united and strengthened.
The Apostle Paul both prayed for the church to be strong and asked the church to pray for him to be strong (c.f. Romans 1:9, 15:30).
REMEMBER, PRAYER IS ENGAGEMENT. IT IS A POWERFUL WEAPON. AS WE PRAY FOR EACH OTHER WE CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT GOD IS RESPONDING BY GIVING OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS FEARLESS FAITH IN THE MIDST OF ADVERSITY.
• Finally, it encourages me to pray for Christ’s second coming.
There are many, like myself, who see the seals, trumpets, and bowls not as sequential events but as parallel events – different perspectives or vantage points of the same accounts in human history. One of the reasons for this is because the seventh movement in all three series seems to point to Christ’s second coming. All three leave room for that; but only after the final series (the bowls / vials) is that return described in detail – which makes sense it brings a conclusion to the book.
That final account encourages us to pray with confidence for His return. GOD WILL RECLAIM HIS WORLD; BRING JUSTICE, AND “SHALOM”! God will make all things right and we are encouraged to pray to that end all throughout The Apocalypse.
In fact, as you know, in the final scene of the book John himself prays to that end. “He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.” (Rev. 22:20-21).
WRAP-UP
We are called to:
1. COURAGEOUS EVANGELISM
2. COMMITTED DEVOTION
3. CONFIDENT PRAYER
We are never called to live in fear and this book is not designed to inflict fear … only hope and courage.
Christ’s followers need not fear:
• Death and the grave (Rev. 1:17-18)
• Persecution and hardship (2:8-10)
• Man
• The world
• The Devil
• Hell
• Or even the end times!
Rather, we are taught to fear God! Last April I preached on “The Fear of the Lord” in The Revelation. The fear of the Lord is not a terror that makes us afraid or compels us to shrink back from God.
• It is a fear that actually spawns from love
• It is a fear that draws us to him in reverence and awe.
• It is a fear that gives us courage. Specifically it empowers us for
1. COURAGEOUS EVANGELISM
2. COMMITTED DEVOTION
3. CONFIDENT PRAYER
He who has an ear
Let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
