Revelation 8-9 – Seventh Seal Broken Brings Judgments to Earth and Unrepentant Mankind

Revelation 8 – 1^st – 4^th Trumpets

 

We have seen the breaking of six seals now we are going to see the seventh broken which is focusing on the wrath of God.

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for half an hour.   Why silence?  The wrath of God is beginning and is so dramatic that all worshipping and praising of God stopped.  This silence is in anticipation of the most terrible judgments to ever come upon the earth.  God’s great wrath is coming!  (Rev. 8:1)

John saw 7 angels standing ready to serve God.  7 trumpets were given to them.  These trumpets would bring God’s 7 horrific judgments to the earth.  Another angel stood at the altar and had incense, which held the vengeful prayers of the saints in chapter 6 when they ask God how long would it be before He sent His judgments.  The sweet smell of the incense and prayers went up to God.  Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire and threw it to earth causing thunder, lightning, and an earthquake.  As the prayers go up to God, a fierce storm comes down in response.  This showed that God was angry for the evil deeds of the people.  They would not obey and now He will send judgment on them. (Rev. 8:2-6)

These angels are special angels who have been trained to do a job for God.  As you study your Bible and spend time with God, you are being trained to do a job.  You are being trained to help others - to tell them about Jesus.  You are His witnesses.  The way you live and handle trials will influence others.  They will see you and want what you have.  Always remember there is someone watching what you do and how you react to situations.

Who do you need to tell about Jesus?

Will you pray for them?

Trumpets are used many times in the Bible:

Joel 2:1 – warned that the Day of the Lord is coming.

Exodus 19:14-18 – called the community together to meet God.

Numbers 10:2 – called the community to break up camp.

Joshua 6:2-5 – a signal when God brought judgment on Jericho.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 – will call all believers from the grave.

Now it’s time for the trumpets to sound.  (Rev. 8:7-12)

1^st trumpet:

The first angel sounded his trumpet and there was hail and fire mixed with blood which was thrown down to earth.  One third of the earth was burned up.  One third of the trees and all the grass were burned up.  This will be worldwide destruction!  How terrible this will be!

2^nd trumpet:

The second angel sounded his trumpet.  John saw something like a great mountain burning with fire and thrown into the sea.  One third of the sea became blood.  One third of everything living in the sea was burned up even one third of the ships were destroyed.  God can use and natural phenomena to judge the world.  It could be an asteroid, tsunamis, earthquakes, or whatever He wants.  But remember He will do it as He says.

3rd trumpet: 

The third angel sounded his trumpet and one third of the waters on earth became bitter because a great star fell to earth.  The star’s name was Wormwood, which means bitter or poison.  Many people died who drank this poison water. 

4^th trumpet: 

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet and something struck the sun, moon, and stars.  One third of them became dark and didn’t shine for one third of the day and night.

Each time a trumpet sounds, God waits and provides time for anyone willing to repent.  He could send His judgments all at once, but He doesn’t.  He wants sinners to come to Him as ask for forgiveness.

Then John saw an eagle flying and saying, “Woe, woe, woe, to those who dwell on the earth, because the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the 4 angels who are about to sound!” – Rev. 8:13.  Woe means a sign of warnings and troubles.  These first 4 trumpets will be terrible, but the last 3 will be even worse.  They will affect only part of the earth, but the last 3 will affect all people on the earth. 

Revelation 9 – 5^th & 6^th Trumpets and First Woe

5^th trumpet:

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet and a star fell to the earth.  The key to the bottomless pit was given to him.   What is the bottomless pit?  I had a wonderful knowledgeable Bible teacher a few years ago who explained it like this:

There is a place called “Tartarus”, where there are fallen angels (Jude 6).  There is Hades where people’s spirits descend to at death.  Before the resurrection of Jesus, Hades was divided into a place of torment and fire and a place of comfort called “Paradise” or “Abraham’s Bosom”.  Paradise is now empty, because they are all now in heaven.  The Abyss is a bottomless pit leading to Hades.  It is a place of confinement of supernatural beings until the Day of Judgment.  Earth is safe as long as the pit is locked. (Rev. 20:1)  Then on the Day of Judgment, those in Tartarus, Hades, Satan and his followers, and all unbelievers will be thrown in the “Lake of Fire”. (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:14-15).  Maybe the diagram below will help.

The angel opened the bottomless pit and smoke went up like a great furnace and the sun and air were darkened by the smoke.  Out of the smoke came locust and power was given to them.  They were told they shouldn’t hurt the grass or anything green, but only the men who don’t have the seal of God on their foreheads.  These are not normal locusts, since locusts normally like vegetation.  These were demonic locusts – thousands upon thousands of them.  They weren’t permitted to kill anyone, but were to torment for 5 months.  They would sting like scorpions, which is the most intensely painful sting you can receive.  How terrifying! 

The only people protected from the locusts were the ones with the seal of God, like the 144,000 in chapter 7 and anyone who was saved during this tribulation.  God protects is for those who belong to Him.  The pain will be so terrible that people will want to die, but will not be able. (Rev. 9:1-11)  Why did they not wish they were sealed?  Their heart must be so hard and they so stubborn that they would rather die.

God warns repeatedly in Scripture that there will be judgment of those who ignore Him and His Word.  God does, however, provide rescue to those who believe and trust in Him.

The first Woe is past with 2 more to come. (Rev. 9:12)

6^th trumpet:

The 6^th angel sounded his trumpet and to release the 4 angels who were bound at the river Euphrates.  They were kept ready for the very hour, day, month and year.  These angels were not good angels, but bad.  There was an army of 200 million with fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur breastplates.   One third of mankind was killed by 3 plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.  Power came from their mouths and tails.  Their tails were like snakes to inflict injury.

The rest of mankind weren’t killed by these plagues, but they still did not repent.  They kept worshiping idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood.  They didn’t repent of their murders, magic, sexual immorality or thefts.  What was wrong with these people?  Why did they not repent after seeing all these horrible judgments?  Sin blinds people.  They see only what they want to see.  They probably tried to reason why all these things were happening.  Maybe they tried to explain them away, maybe blaming it on global warming.  Who knows?  Their hearts were hardened and sin had blinded them.

What sin is blinding you?

Of what sin do you need to repent?

With all these judgments of plagues and death, still people did not repent.  It’s exactly like that today.  People are still worshipping idols like their jobs, homes, family, TV, self desires, sexually immorality, money, etc.  They turn away from God and do not believe His Word or His promises.  If you are not a believer, wake up!  The time is near.  When God’s judgments come, it will be too late.  Christians need to be intentional in witnessing and praying for the lost.  I am sure you don’t want anyone to go through such horrible times that are to come.

Principle:  God will judge the earth and the unrepentant.

How are you prepared for God’s coming judgments?

What idol will you abandon for God?

Wow!  What a terrifying time this will be.  All the more we need to be witnesses for Jesus so others will not have to experience these judgments.  Next week we will study Revelation 10 and 11.  Hope to see you here next week.

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Revelation 7 - 144,000 Sealed

John saw 4 angels standing at the 4 corners of the earth.  They were holding back the 4 winds of the earth.  Then he saw another angel with a seal of God telling the 4 angels to not harm the land, the sea or the trees until the 144,000 of God’s servants have His seal on their foreheads.  These 144,000 are 12,000 from each tribe of Israel. (Rev. 1-8).

These winds probably mean violent destructive winds of God’s judgment, which will be released soon.  For now there is a clam before the storm.  These 144,000 servants were new Jewish believers that live on the earth and will become evangelists to all people.  They are about to be sealed.  God will seal them with His Spirit marking them as His, just as the church is sealed with His Spirit.  They are marked showing God’s ownership.  See 2 Cor. 1:21-22, Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30.  We don’t know exactly what this seal will be, but scripture tells us it will be visible.

How has God held back His judgments that you deserve?

Are you sealed with God’s seal?

If so, how do you know? 

How does your life show it?

There are several opinions of who these 144,000 are.  I believe these 144,000 will be witnesses of Jesus to the world.  Because of their witnessing we see in Rev. 7:9-14 a great multitude from every nation and all tribes of people, Jew and Gentile worshiping the Lord.  They were wearing white robes and worshiping God saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” – Rev. 7:10.  “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation…” – Rev. 7:14.  This will be a true revival.

Are you committed to serving and being a witness for God?

This angel in verse 2 is special and is sent from God and will be entrusted to mark God’s people to protect them in the mists of the wrath that is coming.  This group will be on earth during this terrible wrath, but will be protected from it because of the seal with God’s name is on their forehead.  Since all believers have been miraculously removed from the earth - known as the rapture, they will be God’s witnesses.  God has not and will not ever leave earth without a witness of His salvation.  God needs them to tell the gospel to the world. 

There are several beliefs on when the rapture will occur.  Will it be before, during or at the end of the 7 year of tribulation?  The 7 years is broken up into two 3 ½ periods.  The first is called the tribulation and the second is called the Great Tribulation.  I believe the church will be raptured or taken to heaven before the 7 years starts.  I believe He will rescue believers from His wrath.  “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” – 1 Thess. 1:10.  Whatever you believe about the rapture and if believers will go through it, Jesus is the only way to heaven.  (John 14:6)  God has the final say and believers have eternal security.  We may suffer in this life here on earth, but the pain we suffer is only temporary.

We cannot take credit for our salvation.  It is a free gift through the God’s grace.  Jesus deserves all the credit, because of His bloodshed on the cross for us.  We must praise and worship Him for what He has done.

This great multitude is not the same as the 144,000.  The 144,000 are on earth and the great multitude is in heaven, who have received their white robes.  These are Jews and Gentiles who have accepted Jesus after the rapture and have been martyred for their faith during the tribulation.  (Rev. 7:14)

The great multitude is praising God for their salvation.  In the presence of God there will be no hunger, thirst, sunburn, heat stroke, or tears.  The Lamb will be at the center of the throne and will be the Shepherd.  He will be the protector of all believers.  (Rev. 7:15-17).  It will be a happy time.  It will be eternal peace and joy.  It will be an eternal life with Jesus.

The whole purpose of this chapter is that God offers protection to all believers.  Chapter 6 had relentless punishment of the wicked, but the focus is now on the security of the faithful.  God will protect His people.  He deserves our praises.  He knows everything and has all wisdom.  We should constantly thank Him for all He has done for us.  Only He deserves honor and glory.  He sent His son, Jesus to die on the cross for us while we were still sinners.  Jesus has overcome all that is against us.

Do you know where you will spend eternity?

Principle:  In the midst of tribulation God’s people are eternally secure.

Next week we will study Revelation 8.  We will see the seventh seal broken.  The seventh seal includes 7 trumpets and 7 bowls.  With each seal broken the judgments increase with intensity.  The end of the world comes after the 7 bowls.  Hope to see you here next week.

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Revelation 6 - Breaking of 6 Seals

 In this chapter the scroll with the 7 seals needed to be broken.  The breaking of these seals is known as The Great Tribulation”.  We see 6 of the 7 seals broken by the Lamb, Jesus.  They were broken in heaven, but its effects will be on earth.  The 4 horses mentioned are the 4 Horsemen of The Apocalypse.  See Matt. 24 for signs of the end of the age.  All these horsemen are symbolic of the different events which will take place in the end times. 

John saw the Lame break the first seal and heard one of the creatures say “Come”.  Then John saw a white horse and the one sitting on it had a bow.  He was given a crown and went out conquering. (Rev. 6:1-2)  The crown indicates that he was given authority to conquer all who oppose him.  He wants to conquer the world and have complete domination over it.  He is most likely the Antichrist, since he is an imitator of Christ who will also return on a white horse in Rev. 19. 

The Lamb broke the second seal and John heard the second creature say, “Come”.  Then John saw a red horse and the one sitting was given a great sword.  He was granted to take peace from the earth.  Men will slay one another. (Rev. 6:3-4)  This seal releases terrible warfare that will break out in the end times.   There will be violence and death and there will be no peace on earth.

The Lamb broke the third seal and John heard the third creature say, “Come”.  John saw a black horse and the one sitting on it had a pair of scales in his hand.  Then he heard a voice saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Rev. 6:5-6)  Black is symbolic of famine.  A denarius is a day’s wages.  This rider indicates prices of food will be out of sight from the normal.  There will not be enough food so it will be very expensive and some may starve.  This is probably the result of the wars from the second horseman.

Then John saw the Lamb break the fourth seal and with it he saw an ashen horse or a pale horse.  The one sitting on it had the name of Death and Hades was following.  (Hades is a temporary place when unrighteous souls are held until the end when they will be thrown into to Lake of Fire.)  Authority over ¼ of the earth was given to him to kill with the sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts.  Many will die by the sword because of wars and murder and many more will die for lack of food.  Many will die because of diseases and attacks from wide animals.  There are about 6 billion on the earth today with 7 ½ billion being projected in 20 years.  A fourth of the population – 1 ½ - 2 billion - will die in a short period of time resulting in war and famine, disease and wild animals.

Do these verses frighten you? 

What frightens you in today’s world? 

Is it threats of war or terrorism?

Is it rising fuel and food prices?

How will you prepare your children for the future?

Remember as you read this our Redeemer still holds everything together.  He rules with love in catastrophe as well as in peace.

Then the fifth seal was broken and John saw the altar of the souls who were slain because of the Word of God.  The souls cried out, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”  - Rev. 6:9.  Each of the souls were given a white robe and told to wait a little longer, because people on earth will kill more of God’s people.  Then the time will come and God will act. (Rev. 6:9-11)  They were the faithful followers of Christ who paid the ultimate sacrifice for Him with their lives during the Tribulation.  They never denied the truth of God and were a testimony for Him.  These martyrs are kept close to God.  They died violent deaths and wanted justice.

What prayer are you waiting for God to answer?  He has a purpose for His waiting, but He will answer in His own timing.

Many believe that Christians will be taken up to heaven before the Tribulation begins.  (1 Thess. 4:14; 1 Thess. 2:1).  This is called the “rapture” although this word doesn’t exist in the Bible.  Rapture means “caught up” and occurs in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 and Rev. 19.  There are several beliefs about the rapture:

A-Tribulation – no literal tribulation period

Post Tribulation – means after the tribulation

Mid-Tribulation – Jesus will return for the church age believers in the middle of the 7 year tribulation period

Partial Rapture – Spirit filled believers will be raptured before the tribulation and carnal believers afterward.

Pre-Tribulation – Jesus will get His people before the tribulation and then return to earth to set up His Kingdom for 1,000 years.

Remember no one knows when the end will come.  (Matt. 24:36-51)

After the rapture there will be many people who will wake up and realize they were left behind.  They will repent and turn to Jesus for salvation.  But the world will be different – no religious freedom, preaching of the gospel will not be permitted, many people will be killed because of their new found belief in God.  They will be martyrs.  God will be waiting for people to repent, but for many there will be no repentance.  They will acknowledge that the judgments are from, but they will not repent.  So while you have an opportunity to avoid these terrible times, repent and believe in the gospel.

Then the sixth seal was broken and there was a great earthquake; the sun became black and the moon became like blood; the starts fell; the sky was split apart; and every mountain and island moved out of their places. (Rev. 6:12-14).  These are signs that something BIG is about to happen and soon.  These six signs are designed to get man’s attention.  No one can deny that the Great God of heaven is coming with His wrath.

Then everyone from kings to slaves hid themselves in caves in fear.  They were so frighten they called for the mountains and rocks to fall on them and kill them and even hide them so they would not have to face God’s judgment.  “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Rev. 6:15-17)  No one can stand up against the wrath of God!

If God is full of love, how can He have so much wrath?  God is holy and He wants us to be holy.  His wrath is His holy desire for justice and for righteousness to prevail.

Are you terrified now?  Reading Revelation is eye opening and all the more reason to repent of your sins and confess that Jesus is Lord.  God promises believers will not suffer the Great Tribulation.  If you are not a believer when Jesus returns, you will see all these things that John has written about.  I know you don’t want to be here on earth when these things happen.  So get on your knees and surrender to Jesus Christ.  See the bottom of this blog page for helpful steps on “How To Be Saved”.  Don’t put if off.  He is coming soon!

Next time we will study Revelation 7.  Before the seventh seal is broken, we will see the 144,000 sealed – 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel – indicating they belong to God.  Hope to see you here after the Christmas break.

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