Revelation
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Chapter by Chapter
Chapter 8
REVELATION 8:1-5
(8:1-5) Introduction: remember what we have just seen. God has just handed Jesus Christ the great book of destiny, the book that tells about the end of the world. The book was so full and so mysterious that it was bound with seven seals. When Christ began to break the seals, the most unusual thing happened. A picture, a movie-like scene, began to be played out’ before John and the heavenly host. What they saw was the horror and the terrible things that are to happen at the end of: the world.
ð The first four seals showed the four horsemen of the apocalypse storming over the face of the earth. These~ four horsemen represented the havoc that shall be brought upon the earth by the antichrist. They show his gaining control of the world through war, famine, and economic controls. The events are characteristic of. Most ages, but they are to be intensified in the tribulation at the end of the world.
ð The fifth seal (Rev.6: 9) showed the martyrs who were slaughtered by the antichrist while he gained control of much of the earth and its economy (Rev.6: 6).
ð The sixth seal showed the rumblings of God’s judgment being prepared and simply says, "the great day of’. His wrath is come," the very threshold of the great tribulation (Rev .6: 12)
Now, it is time for the seventh seal to be broken. When it is broken,. There is seen the awesome preparation for judgement.
Picture 1: a shattering silence (v. 1).
Picture 2: the instruments of judgment (v.2-4).
Picture 3: the signs of the coming judgment begin upon earth (v. 5).
8: 1 Seal Judgments: when the seventh seal is broken, there is the picture of a shattering silence.
This was the silence of awe and of reverence before God, fearing what may be coming forth. The heavenly host had seen so much that they were stricken numb with silence.
When the seventh seal is broken, nothing happens.
There is stillness, complete and absolute stillness. Christ stands there in stone silence. He does not move or speak. Neither does anyone else
8:2-4 Trumpet Judgments:
There is the picture of the instruments of justice and judgment.
1. There are seven angels who suddenly lurch out from the Book of Destiny and immediately take their place before God.
God hands them seven trumpets.
Again note this: the seven angels come forth when the seventh seal is broken
Picture the scene:
ð Picture the heavenly host surrounding the throne of God.
ð Picture all the spectacular scenes; horror, and suffering that have been witnessed.
ð Picture the breaking of the seventh seal and the stone silence for thirty minutes-stone silences.
ð Then bursting into view are seven mighty angels taking their place before the throne of God.
Picture standing there tall, broad, and erect. The power they possess is clearly seen in their very persons.
The heavenly host knows something: when God hands these mighty messengers seven trumpets, the judgments about to take place will be coming directly from God Himself.
Trumpets always symbolize God intervention into human history.
God is about to move against the godless and evil society of earth.
The judgments of God are to fall only upon the unbelievers of the world,
Only upon those who have followed the antichrist,
Only those who have the mark of the beast.
"And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any
Green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their fore
Heads" (Rev.9: 4).
"And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and
Grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his
image" (Rev.16: 2).
"So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that
judgeth in the earth" (ps.58: 11).
3 purposes for the blowing of a trumpet that are worthy of our note:
1. It can sound the alarm. It can waken from sleep or warn of danger. And God is always sounding His warnings in the ears of men.
2. It can be the fanfare, which announces the arrival of royalty. It is a fitting symbol to express the invasion of time by the King of eternity.
3. It can be the summons to battle. And God is always summoning His people to take sides in the. Of truth with falsehood, and to become soldiers of the King of kings
Judgment: there are the signs of the coming judgment beginning upon earth. Note the verse.
"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" (v.5).
The angel takes fire from the altar, and note where he puts it: he mixes it in with the prayers of the suffering Saints."
Their prayers for vindication and justice and the fire of God’s holy wrath are mixed together.
Why? To be cast upon the earth. The day is coming when God will be ready to judge the godless society of the earth; He will be ready to avenge HIS name and the faith of His dear people who have been treated so savagely.
The justice of God will strike out in wrath against the ungodly and evil of the earth.
The purpose of these natural disasters will be to bring people to repentance.
The first trumpet: a fierce storm (v.6-7).
The second trumpet: a massive volcanic explosion (v.8-9).
The third trumpet: a meteoric mass (v. 10-11).
The fourth trumpet: an astronomical eclipse (v. 12).
8:6-7 there will be the blast of the first trumpet judgment, that of a fierce storm.
Remember the terrifying disturbances that will be taking place in outer space and upon earth in the latter days. The universe and the laws of nature will be swaying: enormous and violent disturbances will be taking place all throughout the universe. We saw this under the seal judgments.
’.
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, 10, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven [meteorites] fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places" (Rev.6: 12-14).
These cosmic disturbances will cause utter chaos in the earth’s weather. A violent storm will brew someplace on the earth,
,
A storm more violent than any storm ever seen before. The storm will rain hail that looks like fire mingled with Blood. The reddish color will no doubt be a mixture of sand blown up into the clouds by some of the fiercest winds ever seen by man.
Look at the force of the winds. The storm will be so strong that its winds will carry it across one third of the earth-strong enough to destroy and devastate one third of the vegetation (grass and trees). Think of the enormous destruction and utter devastation:
ð The destroyed crops and food supply for both man and animal
ð The interrupted agricultural rotation through lack of seed and ability to plant again
ð The shortage of food
ð The dry, desert lands that will result from the destruction of trees
This judgment will be a WARNING: People Must Repent or even worse judgments will come.
ð This judgment will be similar to the plagues upon Egypt by Moses.
Ex.9: 23-24
ð This Judgment will be similar to the storm upon the enemies of Joshua and Israel.
Josh.10: 11
ð Other Biblical references to hail storms are as follows
Psalms.18: 13
Is.28: 2
Ezk.13: 11
(8:8-9) There will be the blast of the second trumpet judgment. This will probably be some volcanic explosion either from underneath the sea or else close to the sea. The explosion will apparently be as forceful as an atomic explosion, forceful enough to explode a mass of rock as large as a mountain into some ocean
ð The explosion will be so forceful that the mass of rock flying upward is so large that it looks like a great mountain.
ð The explosive mass will still be ablaze when it hits the earth.
ð The explosive mass will be cast into one of the seas.
ð One third of that particular sea will turn blood red.
ð One third of the sea life of that sea will be destroyed.
ð One third of the ships in that particular ocean will be destroyed.
Picture the shortage of sea life for food, the devastation to the fishing. Industry
ð The destruction of fish will be similar to the plague upon Egypt.
Ex.7: 20-21
8: 10-11there will be the blast of the third trumpet judgment, that of a meteoric mass.
This will apparently be some huge meteor that explodes before it hits the earth.
It will scatter over one third of the world.
The balls and particles that fall into the rivers and springs of water will drastically affect the water systems in that part of world.
It will actually poison the water, and before men become aware of it, many will die from drinking the water.
Because of the bitter taste of the water, the star is called wormwood.
Wormwood is a plant that is very bitter.
How the bitterness of wormwood is used in Scripture.
1) Wormwood became a symbol of idolatry because of its bitterness.
Idolatry is a bitter taste for God to swallow; therefore,
He will give the idolater the bitterness or wormwood of judgment.
Jer.9: 13-15
2) Wormwood is used to symbolize the bitterness that an immoral person brings into one’s life.
Pr.5: 3-5
3) Wormwood is used to symbolize the way people dismiss & treat God with disregard.
Dt.29: 18
Jer.9: 13-15
Jer.23: 15
8: 12 there will be the blast of the fourth trumpet judgment, that of some astronomical eclipse.
Some kind of unusual eclipse is going to happen in the heavens.
Just what Scripture is saying here is difficult to understand. It seems that one of three things is meant.
1. That one third of the sun, moon, and stars will be eclipsed.
2. That there will be an eclipse that will blacken out one third of the day; that is, there will be one third less light.
3. That there will be no light whatsoever for a third of the night; that is, the moon will be eclipsed for one third of each night.
The picture is this: God has had enough. It is time to stop all the evil and murderous behavior of people.
8: 13 the trumpet blast of the fifth judgment will be far more severe than the other judgments. The other four trumpet judgments were directed against the earth itself and involved natural catastrophes.
Now the judgments will be directed against the ungodly and evil of this earth.
It will not affect those who refuse to give their allegiance to the antichrist, who refuses the mark of the beast (Rev.9: 4).
Remember: God will seal His followers
