The Terrible Trumpets of Tribulation

Tonight, we want to see that no matter what man does, no matter how hard he tries, no matter how many ecology seminars he holds, No matter how many people attend Earth Day, no matter how many movie stars support Earth Day, and Put Mother Earth up on a pedestal, they will not be able to stop what God will do during the terrible trumpets. Of tribulation. God's going to destroy everything. In fact, He will destroy the heavens and the earth and rec. A new heaven and a new earth, according to 2 Peter 3, verse number 10.

But tonight, as we look at these terrible trumpets of tribulation, I want you to notice three things.

Number one, the preparation for their sounding. Number two, the devastation upon their sounding. And then, number three, the proclamation of an eagle and what that means for you and me this evening.

First of all, the preparation. As you recall in our last study, verses 1 to 6, we were concerned about What would happen when the seventh seal was broken? And so, as we look at the preparation for these trumpets, notice three things with me.

Number one, The postponement of judgment, number two, the prayers for judgment, and number three, the point out of that judgment.

First of all, the postponement of judgment. We realized back in chapter 8, verse number 1, that when the seventh seal was broken, there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour. There was a postponement of judgment. The second thing you need to see in terms of the preparation of these terrible trumpets is the prayers for judgment.

We saw this last time. There was a special angel who took a censer that was filled with the prayers of the saints. That was with the breaking of the fifth seal, if you've been with us in our study. As those tribulational martyrs would plead, how long, O Lord? How much longer to the day of your vengeance? When will you avenge our death? When will you avenge all the wrongs done to us? How long, O Lord? And it's in Revelation chapter 8. up the breaking of that seventh seal, that that special angel takes that censer filled with the prayers of all those saints and hurls that censer to the earth.

The prayers for judgment. It has often been said that prayer Is not to get man's will done in heaven, but to get God's will done on earth, even if that will involves judgment. Matthew chapter 6, verse number 10, Thy will be done on ear as it is in heaven. How many times have you prayed that prayer? Do you really want God's will done on earth as it is in heaven? If so, then you are praying. For the tribulation, you are praying for the seals to be broken, the trumpets to be blown, the bowls to be poured.

Well, it se us to the third point under the preparation, and that is the pouring out of judgment. We saw that in verse number Six. And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves To sound back up in verse number five, it says: The angel took the censer, he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth, and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and An earthquake. We talked a little bit about this last time. I just want to refresh your memory.

I believe that this earthquake is probably of a greater magnitude than the one in chapter 6. Which set us around the breaking of the sixth seal. Let me refresh your memory.

Revelation chapter 6, verse number 12. And I looked when he broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair. The whole moon became like blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up. And every mount and island were moved out of their places. The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the commanders, and the rich, and the strong, and every slave and free man.

Hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the presence of him. Who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb? For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? Now, when the angel throws a censer in Revelation chapter 8 to the ground, there again is another earthquake. Think about it. There's been silence in heaven for about a half hour. With the silence in heaven for about a half hour, that probably means that there has been silence on the earth for About a half hour.

We recall back in Revelation chapter 7, there was a brief interlude. An interlude in which John was able to see the salvation of a multitude of people. How long that took? We don't know. All we know is that there was silence in heaven for at least 30 minutes. Can you imagine the people on earth crawling out from under the rocks? From within the caves, within the caves, coming out thinking it's finally over.

Maybe it's done. After all, it's silent now. Nothing is falling. Nothing is moving. All the mountains, all the islands have already moved. It's all over and earth. Maybe now.

We can begin to put Mother Earth back together again. Maybe now it's going to be okay. Maybe now there's not going to be any more problem. Can you imagine? And all of a sudden, out of the sky comes a sensor. Filled with the prayers of all these saints who have been praying for God to enact His judgment, for the will of God to be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. And with that censor come peals of thunder and lightning, the text says, and another earthquake. Just when they thought it was safe to go out once again, God says, uh-uh-uh, don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

It's coming again. There's only one thing that's unshakable, that's his kingdom. And because his kingdom is unshakable, his kingdom is unmovable, you need to trust the one who will make sure that you are secure in that kingdom. For if not, there is a consuming judge who is going to set you ablaze with his consuming fire. Leads us to point number two: the devastation.

The devastation. Tonight, we're going to look at four trumpets and they're sounding. It covers seven verses. The remaining three trumpets cover fifty verses. We will study them one at a time in the days ahead. I want you to notice that these trumpets are brief.

They are straightforward. The Bible does not tell us how long it is between the sounding of the trumpets. Except for one. We know that one trumpet lasts five months. That's trumpet number five. But I want you to notice that these trumpets are all literal.

They're all actual. They're all physical events that happen on the earth. They are not symbolic. And so we want to be able to look at them as God will use nature, man's idol.

To destroy man. Let's look at the devastation by looking at all Or the first four trumpets. Revelation 8, verse number 7. And the first sounded.

And there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass Was burned up?

The fact that fire and hail are mixed with blood, what does that mean? Well, there are some who look at it from a scientific perspective.

They suggest that when the earthquake happens, as in verse number 5 of chapter 8, it would likely trigger a worldwide volcanic eruption. The flaming lava, blood-red in appearance, being thrust upward into the atmosphere, would trigger violent thunderstorms that would produce large ha. That could be the case. I don't think that's the case, but that could be, because scientifically that could actually happen. But if you go back to chapter 8, verse number 5, the result of the censer being thrown to the earth, there followed peaks of thunder and flashes of lightning.

Whatever happens, the results are devastating. I believe that the blood mixed with the hail and fire. Is the blood of the people killed by the judgment when it hits? God rained fire and hail and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah back in Genesis chapter 19, and many were destroyed. And to this very day, God has left a symbol of his judgment there at the Dead Sea. By leaving a land devastated by his judgment. Those concerned about the ozone layer. And its effects need no longer be concerned. Those concerned about the rainfore.

And the plants need no longer be concerned because God will begin to destroy them all. Then we have the second trumpet.

Second angel sounded, verse number 8, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea.

And the third of the sea became blood. And the third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died, and the third of the ships were destroyed.

The first trumpet affects the land. The second trumpet affects the sea. Now, what is the sea? Some commentators believe that this is the Mediterranean Sea because of the definite article the. It is the sea, the particular sea. And so there are some who believe it's the Mediterranean Sea. I tend to believe it's the oceans of the world. I tend to go that direction with it. But no matter what you believe, the truth of the matter is there is something like a great mountain. It's not. A literal mountain that burns that's coming down out of the sky, but what John sees is something that looks like a great mountain that's on f.

Maybe it's a giant meteor. Maybe it's an asteroid. I don't know. Many of you have probably seen the movies Armageddon or D Impact. Both dealing with meteors or some semblance thereof that's on its way to earth, and people are fearful for their lives. Hollywood tries to depict the end of the world and what's going to happen and the fear in people's eyes. I believe that around the world, people will see this mountain-like thing coming at them. Whether it's on CNN, maybe it's on a moment of time, they're going to be able to see whatever it is coming toward the world, and terror will fill their eyes.

It strikes the ocean, and upon striking the ocean, one-third becomes blood red. I believe this suggests animal life. As well as human life. And therefore, it causes one-third of the sea to turn red.

One-third of the ships are destroyed. How's that going to happen? Know what a tsunami is? The way that is so huge and so large. Even naval vessels, cruise ships, fishing boats, boats of all sizes will capsize, be destroyed. Therefore, The trans from one port to another will affect the economy and chaos will res. The second trumpet sounds.

The sea is affected. The first trumpet sounds. The land is affected. Number 10, or verse number 10, the third trumpet sounds.

And the third angel sounded, and the great star fell from heaven. burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers, and on the springs of waters, and the name of the star is called Worm.

And the third of the waters became wormwood. And many men died from the waters because they were made bit. While the previous object, whatever it was, hits in one special location. This burning star affects many different are. While this one particular Asteroid or meteor that fell during the sounding of the second trumpet, landed in the ocean and affected salt water.

Whatever this Star is that falls to the ground and lands in various areas affects all the fresh water supp. At least one-third of it.

Rivers, springs of water. The word for torch was used in ancient times to describe comets or meteors. The debris would fall and pollute fresh water around the globe. And let me remind you that all this is happening because man is unwilling to repent.

Man is unwilling to submit himself to an all-sovereign God. Man is unwilling to let go of Mother Earth. And hang on to what they believe will save them and not submit to God. People say, man, this is just terrible. I want to, no, don't you see God's grace in it? God's grace is that he can destroy it all at once. He doesn't do it that way. He does bits and pieces at a time because God is. Long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So He doesn't wipe everybody out all at once.

He gives them the opportunity to repent. He wants them to come to Him. That man somehow would turn from his wicked way. God is a God of grace. We all need water, it's basic to human survival. But many men will die because of the lethal po of wormwood. Well, it leads us to the fourth trumpet. For now, the focus shifts from earth to heaven. First trumpet, land.

Second trumpet, salt water. Third trumpet, fresh water. Can you imagine what Earth Day is going to be like during the tribulation period? Could be gathering together trying to figure out what to do about how to get fresher water, how to bottle water, keep it going, how to survive in a land that's been scorched. If they gather together to meet, God then begins to deal with the heavens. And the heavens begin to fall. It says the third trumpet, or excuse me, the fourth trumpet at verse number 12.

And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were smitten, so that a third of them might be darkened, and the day might not shine.

For a third of it and the night in the same way. The heavenly bodies now are smitten. One-third of the sun, the moon, the stars are darkened.

A partial eclipse takes place. With that comes the loss of heat from the sun. That will cause temperatures to plunge drastically all over the world. Earth's weather patterns will be disrupted, un storms, sea tides will be affected as with The first trumpet judgment.

This judgment reminds us of the ninth plague in Egypt, Exodus chapter 10, verses 21 to 22. Remember what Christ said in Luke 21? Luke 2, verse number 25? He said, and there will be signs. In sun and moon and star, and upon the earth, dismay among the nations. And so God brings judgment upon mankind with the blowing of the fourth trumpet. Can things get worse? Oh, yeah. Oh, they're going to get really bad. And we'll see that next week. But point number three, I want you to notice the proclamation, verse number 13.

And I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in mid, saying with a loud voice, Whoa, whoa, whoa, to those who dwell on the earth. Because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound. Not woe because of what's happened. But woe because of what about to happen So as you look at the proclamation the proclamation is by what it's by an eagle in the sky some some commentator thinks it's an angel Is it?

Well, my Bible says an eagle. I tend to think it is an eagle. Say, well, why would it be an eagle and not an angel? Because an angel has been involved in warning and judgments before. Well, I just think it's an eagle because my Bible says there's an eagle there. And that's pretty basic to me to understand that. It's going to be necessary that this big bird be visible to all with a loud voice ruling the world. Whether it's an eagle or an angel, whatever it is, it's going to get the people's attention.

They're going to hear it. Woe, woe, woe to who? To those who dwell where on the earth. Remember, that's a key phrase in Revelation. We refer to it back in Zephan chapter 1, verse number 18: the inhabitants of the earth. Those who dwell upon the earth, a phrase used 12 times in the book of Revelation, it's more than just people who live here. It's people whose citizenship is here. These are earth dwellers. These are people who live for the earth. These are people who are for the things that the earth can give them.

This is a characteristic of the unbeliever. He loves the earth. These are earth dwellers and those who dwell upon the earth. This eagle says, Whoa, whoa, whoa, a triple woe. Not just a double woe. Double woes are for emphasis. Triple woes. Triple woes. Our double, triple emphasis. Three woes for the three remaining trumpets. And the three remaining angels that are yet to sound. The woe is a warning of what is to come. For what is about to come is far worse than what has already taken place upon the earth.

God's judgment, God's wrath, God's justice. They're not sermons we necessarily like to hear. We'd rather come and get a feel-good kind of sermon on the love and mercy, forgiveness, and grace of God. And yet there's something about the judgment of God that helps us. It helps us because it alarms us to the seriousness of sin, doesn't it? Nah chapter 1, we read it earlier. God will not let the guilty go what? Unpunished. When you hear a message about the judgment of God, you've got to realize that God is serious about sin.

And so, therefore, we need to be aware. And even alarmed to the seriousness of our sin, and realize that God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that will he also reap. God's judgment not only alarms us with the seriousness of sin, it announces to us the responsibility to repent. It announces to us clearly our responsibility to repent. God says, turn from your ways.

Turn to me, repent of your ways. I've given you more chances. I'm giving you warning signs. Turn from your sin. But I'm afraid that a lot of people just ignore them. And thirdly, judgment al us with the directives of the Divine God.

God has a set of directives. They're all divine. He wants us to follow them. That those who look at us would see that we serve a master, we serve a king.

Who rules in our hearts and one day will take up his rulership on this earth for all to bow before him and submit to his kingship. Let's pray.