I really feel like the bearer of bad news
today. I say this because in Revelation 8:1-9:21, John recorded the
outpouring of God’s judgment upon the
world. But John recorded these things in
order to encourage believers and to
call unbelievers to repentance. This bad news was actually good news to the
original readers. We too live in a day
when a message about God’s judgment is very unpopular. However, believers need a Bible saturated
view of God and the world that will help them see God’s judgments as an
encouragement and unbelieves need to heed the call to repent in light of God’s
coming judgment. One thing we will see
today is how this passage echoes the Exodus story in order to point to a greater Exodus. The news of God’s judgment upon Egypt was an encouragement to the Israelite
slaves. Let’s ask God to hear this
passage as He intended and to respond Biblically to the certainty of His
judgment.
[8:1] When the Lamb opened the seventh
seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. [2] Then I saw
the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
[3] And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer,
and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on
the golden altar before the throne, [4] and the smoke of the incense, with
the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
[5] Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar
and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes
of lightning, and an earthquake.
[6] Now
the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. [7] The
first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with
blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was
burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was
burned up.
[8] The
second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning
with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.
[9] A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the
ships were destroyed.
[10] The
third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a
torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
[11] The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became
wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
[12] The
fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third
of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be
darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a
third of the night. [13] Then I
looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly
overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the
other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
[9:1] And
the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth,
and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. [2] He opened
the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke
of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from
the shaft. [3] Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they
were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. [4] They were
told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but
only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
[5] They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill
them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings
someone. [6] And in those days people will seek death and will not find
it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. [7] In
appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads
were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,
[8] their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;
[9] they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of
their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into
battle. [10] They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to
hurt people for five months is in their tails. [11] They have as king over
them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in
Greek he is called Apollyon. [12] The first woe has passed; behold, two
woes are still to come.
[13] Then
the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of
the golden altar before God, [14] saying to the sixth angel who had the
trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
[15] So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the
month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. [16] The
number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard
their number. [17] And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those
who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of
sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke
and sulfur came out of their mouths. [18] By these three plagues a third
of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their
mouths. [19] For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their
tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they
wound.
[20] The
rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the
works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver
and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, [21] nor
did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality
or their thefts. (Revelation 8:1-9:21 ESV) What is the Biblical Response to the certainty of
God’s judgment?
- PRAY
(8:1-5)
Once the Lamb opens the seventh seal, there is
nothing but “silence” in heaven for
about half and hour. This silence is
probably due to the certainty of God’s judgment and the anticipation of God’s
kingdom. Remember that this scroll of destiny, which mainly contains
how God will bring the world to its appointed end in judgment, had seven seals,
so it is now open and ready to be executed.
The Old Testament often calls for silence
when “the day of the LORD” arrives: Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day
of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his
guests. (Zephaniah 1:7 ESV) Be
silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy
dwelling. (Zechariah 2:13 ESV)
Once this period of silence is over, seven angels
step forward and are given seven
trumpets that will each signal an outpouring of God’s judgment when blown. Before the trumpets are sounded, however,
another angel comes forward and is given much incense to offer “with the prayers of all the saints”
(3). That the smoke of this offering
rises “before God” communicates that
God is hearing, savoring, meditating upon, and going to respond to these
prayers. Remember what the saints have
been praying for. It’s found in Revelation 6:10: “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge
our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
They have been praying for their own vindication and the vindication of
God’s name so that His kingdom will finally come.
What I want to point out about this scene is that
God here answers the prayers of all
the saints by pouring out His wrath
upon the world. His response is His judgment
upon the world. This is what is pictured
in the censer being filled with fire and thrown down upon the earth, causing
the cataclysmic events we read about in verse 5, as well as the events that
take place as the seven trumpets are blown.
This is our first Exodus connection.
We read in Exodus 2:23-25: [23] During those many days the king of
Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried
out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. [24] And
God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with
Isaac, and with Jacob. [25] God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. God answered these prayers by judging
Egypt. God will answer the prayers of
all the saints by judging the world.
Do you pray?
How do you pray? Do you pray for
vindication of God’s name and the suffering of His people? Perhaps if you truly experienced the
persecution and oppression that many of them do, you would. The children of Israel cried out for
deliverance from the Egyptians because they had been slaves there for
centuries. Could it be that such a
prayer is foreign to us because we do not truly understand that we too are
foreigners in bondage in this world? May
we pray for vindication, for victory, for God’s kingdom to come, and also for
the repentance of those who will face the coming judgment of God.
- REPENT
(8:6-9:21)
Our second septet, the seven trumpets, is found in
8:6-11:19, and their structure is very similar to the seven seals of
6:1-8:5. As with the seals, the first
four trumpets are grouped together (8:6-12) as well as the last three (8:13:
called three “woes”) and there is a
break, or interlude, between the sixth trumpet and the seventh. Again, notice that these trumpets are
specifically called “plagues” in 9:20.
This is our second Exodus connection.
These judgments are meant to bring to mind the plagues that God
inflicted upon Egypt in the Exodus story. While not all the details will parallel, these
trumpets, which herald the great day of God’s wrath, will globalize the Exodus plagues.
With the sounding of the first trumpet, a violent
hailstorm destroys a third of the
earth’s surface. This somewhat parallels
the seventh plague in the Exodus
story (Exodus 9:13-26). With the sounding of the second trumpet, “something like a great mountain” is
hurled into the sea, turning a third of
the marine waters to blood, killing a third
of the sea creatures, and destroying a third
of the ships. The third trumpet likewise
signals for “a great star” to fall
from heaven, contaminating a third of
the world’s fresh waters by making them bitter and apparently poisonous
(8:11). “Wormwood” was a bitter herb well known in John’s day (Jer. 9:15,23:15). These two trumpets somewhat
parallel the first plague in the
Exodus story, where the Nile River was turned to blood, devastating the water
supply of Egypt (Exodus 7:14-25). With the sounding of the fourth trumpet, a third of the light of the sun, moon, and
stars is struck, causing a significant darkness. This trumpet somewhat parallels the ninth plague in the Exodus story (Exodus 10:21-29). What these first
four trumpets are communicating is a dismantling
of the natural world modeled after the Exodus plagues. One commentator called this a “de-creation,”[1]
which would cripple the world just as the plagues crippled Egypt.
At this point in the vision, “an eagle” (a bird of prey) pronounces a triple “woe” upon rebellious humanity, or “those who dwell upon the earth.” A woe is a
pronouncement of doom, and what is being pronounced is that what has seemed
bad up to this point is about to get much worse. God’s judgments are escalating in their intensity.
With the sounding of the fifth trumpet, another star falls from heaven
(probably an angel in this case) and is given
a key to the Abyss, or “bottomless pit.” They Abyss is a place of punishment or
confinement of wicked spirits (11:7,
17:8, 20:1-3, Luke 8:31). When he
opens the shaft of the pit, smoke rises, darkening the air and the sun. Out of this dark smoke comes a plague of locusts that inflict torment
upon rebellious humanity. This recalls
the eighth plague of locusts in the
Exodus story (Exodus 10:1-20), only
these locusts aren’t your average locusts!
Much of this detail is an allusion to Joel 1-2, where Joel is alluding to the Exodus plague as well.
These locusts are said to have the power of a
scorpion’s sting and the ability to inflict torment
that lasts for five months, causing a person to wish they were dead but not be
able to die. It is said that in this
torment, “people will seek death, and
will not find it. They will long to die,
but death will flee from them.”
Sounds like torture doesn’t it?
It is. These locusts are also
said to have a king named “Abbadon,”
or “Appollyon,” which mean
“Destroyer.” Here is yet another Exodus
connection: the angel of death is called “the
destroyer” in Exodus 12:23. Now I am going to skip some of the details
given about the creatures because I am simply not certain what they are meant
to communicate. What is clear is that
this trumpet signals some type of demonic
plague that will torture all
those who do not belong to God.
With the sounding of the sixth trumpet, “the four angels who are bound at the great
river Euphrates” are released, unleashing an army of 200,000,000
troops. The purpose of this army is to
kill a third of mankind with fire,
smoke, and sulfur. The fact that this is
a plague of death recalls the tenth plauge in the Exodus story (Exodus 12:29-32) and the details
recall the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Again, there isn’t a satisfactory interpretation of who these angels or
this army is. It could be a literal army
or a demonic one. This big idea is an unfathomable invasion bringing unfathomable death.
Another Exodus connection that we see is the
refusal to repent on the part of the unbelieving world. Just as Pharaoh hardened his heart and would
not repent, lost humanity will refuse to repent despite God’s powerful display
of judgment. Revelation 9:20-21 reads,
“[20] The rest of mankind, who were
not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor
give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and
wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, [21] nor did they repent of their
murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
Notice something here. The fact that we are told that the rest of
mankind did not repent implies that one of God’s purposes in these judgments
was for them to in fact repent. Why the natural disasters? Why the torment? Why the death tolls? The reason is so that those who remain will
see the hand of God and repent. These judgments
are not meant to only judge wickedness in the world, although they are intended
to do that. They are also meant to turn people to God.
A good question to ask today is this: where will
you turn when the world falls apart, when everything you place security in
crumbles? You might disagree, but it’s
probably safe to say that if you won’t turn to God now, you probably won’t
then. This may be your last opportunity
to even do so. The world is going to
fall apart one day and suffer this type of devastation. Only those who have trusted in the person and
work of the Lord Jesus Christ will be spared God’s wrath. As in the Exodus story, on those who have
been covered by the blood of the Lamb will see God’s wrath pass over them. The reason this is true is because Christ has
already bore the entirety of the wrath that they deserve in their place on the
cross. He has done that for you as
well. Will you repent and come to Him
today?
- DO
NOT FEAR (9:4)
Just as the Israelites were protected during the
Exodus plagues, so are the people of God in Revelation. We are reminded here in 9:4 that God’s people
have been sealed (7:1-8) and will therefore be protected from God’s wrath. God’s people will not experience the wrath of
God and they will not be separated from the love of God in Christ by any
natural disaster or persecution. These
events will ultimately only result in their exodus
from this fallen world into the eternal presence of God.
It is curious why so many believers seem to be
frightened by what they read about in Revelation. Maybe we should ask ourselves why such
realities make us afraid. When we fear someone
or something other than God, we normally are experiencing unbelief on some
level. These verses are intended to make
us fearless in the face of such events because we can trust that we will be
protected from the wrath of God and preserved through the persecution and
suffering of this world.
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