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Bible Study: Revelation 7 and Revelation 8

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Bible Study

Revelation 7 and Revelation 8

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Bible Study: Revelation 7 and Revelation 8

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In this study, the following scriptures are are covered: Revelation 7 and 8.

Transcript

Welcome to those on the webcast as well. Good to have you joining us. As you know we are in the middle of a study on the Book of Revelation. Prophetic material tends to bring in the audience a little more than the other chapters.

I sent a blog out today that captured some attention and the title of the blog was “Don’t forget the Wednesday night Bible Study.”  The blog title was “Who are the 144,000?” because everybody wants to know that. I’ve got a list here so everybody stand by. We figured everyone who came to the Bible study might be on that list (joke).That is one of the prerequisites.

Opened with prayer by Steve Myers.

The way we’ve divided it up tonight is I am going to primarily cover Chapter 7. Mr. Myers is then going to start with Chapter 8. If he has any comments along the way, he is certainly welcome to make them.

I have one comment as we start. Remember to send your questions to ucgbiblestudy@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to answer them tonight. So, we have a little reminder.

Unless you ask for a list of the 144,000 (joke).

You can send your questions in on the web. Or, if you are in the room, you don’t have to send it on email. You can just write it down and send it up and we’ll do our best to answer it.

As a bit of a recap and a reminder for those who may have missed a study or two, The Book of Revelation’s main prophetic message is unveiled through seven, prophetic sets of symbols or seals. We have covered up to the first six so far. We’ve got the seventh seal now to go. As you recall from previous studies Jesus Christ is the One who breaks open the seal on the scroll and does it right before John’s eyes. You read about that in Chapter 6:1, where Christ does it and it is before John’s eyes. John sees and describes the symbols of the vision he is having and each seal has a prophetic significance. Christ alone has the right to unveil the meaning of the seals and the Book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It’s not John’s revelation. Before His death and then His resurrection, Jesus Christ added some information that would help us to understand the seals of Revelation. That’s Matthew, Chapter 24, and its Luke 21, and Mark, Chapter 13. You put those together with the Book of Revelation to understand more about what these seals are.

Most of Revelation, about 2/3 of its content is devoted to the seventh seal. In fact, only one chapter for the first six. That was in the last Bible study. So the contents of the first six seals are Chapter 6 and, when we get into Chapter 7 and 8, we do the seventh seal. That is pretty much, then, the rest of the whole book is the seventh seal alone. And as we’ll see it’s broken up into many sub parts.

Now, do you ever get confused when you are in the middle of the Book of Revelation, as to exactly which seal you are in or which trumpet blast, or which plague?  Well, I did. So what I did in my Bible was I actually, you may not be able to see this but I’ve got a red coloring pencil and I started marking them on the side where I was as I went through. As you go through you’ll see these markings coming up in my Bible. What I am going to do is give you what I did here and just mention them to you. If you want to make a note of you and help you keep track of where you are. So, right in my margin I wrote these down.

The first seal is Revelation 6:1. So put a big “1”.

Revelation 6:3 is Number two.

Revelation 6:5 is Number three.

Revelation 6:8 is Number four.

Revelation 6:9 is Number five.

Revelation 6:12 is Number six.

That was the easy part because the Day of the Lord, and the seven trumpets, and the seventh seal begin in Chapter 8. But where they first get mentioned is Chapter 8:7.

I’ve labeled, not just “7” for the 7th seal, but I’ve labeled it “7.1”, because it’s the seventh seal but it is the first trumpet. So, Rev. 8:7 is “7.1”.

Revelation 8:8 is “7.2”

Revelation 8:10 is “7.3”

Revelation 8:12 is “7.4”

Revelation 9:1 is “7.5.1” because, what happens in the end of Chapter 8, it says, there are going to be three angels that are going to be the last three woes. And it says in the end of Chapter 8, “woe, woe, woe”. It says there are three woes. Those woes are all part of the fifth trumpet. So, you’ve got the 7 seals, “.7”; “.5” the fifth trumpet; “.1”, the first “woe”

Then I did Revelation 9:12, is 7.6.2., because now it is the sixth trumpet and the seventh woe of the seventh seal. So you’ve got 7.6.2 at Rev. 9:12.

Then there is this interlude for several chapters and then you come to Chapter 16.

In Revelation 16:2, is still the seventh seal, the seventh trumpet, but now it is the third woe and the first plague. So I called it 7.7.3.1.

Then you have the second plague of the third woe of the seventh trumpet of the seventh seal. So, it’s 7.7.3.2.

It’s in Revelation 16:3, 7.7.3.2.

Revelation 16:4 is 7.7.3.3, that is the third plague.

And then Chapter 16:8, 7.7.3.4, it is the fourth plague.

Revelation 16:10 is 7.7.3.5, and then

Revelation 16:12 is 7.7.3.6.

And then the end of all this is in Revelation 16:17 is 7.7.3.7. It’s the seventh seal, which is what most of the Book of Revelation is about. Then it is the seventh trumpet and it’s the third woe of the three and then it’s the seventh plague. You notice that on that verse it says, “…and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is (now) done.”  That’s the end of all of God’s wrath right there in Revelation 16:17, which I labeled 7.7.3.7. But now, when I go back through my Bible and I am reading a chapter, and I can figure out which seal I am in; which plague I’m in; which trumpet I’m in; which woe I’m in, and it really helps me. I thought I’d just give that to you tonight.

In our book of “Revelation Unveiled”, we also have a chart. It’s not as specific as that with every single verse but it does tell you where the seven trumpets are; where the interludes are – where the chapters take a digression for a while, before they get back to all of the plagues – and so that is really handy to have from our booklet “Revelation Unveiled”, too. Just go to our website, download the PDF and print it off if you want. Keep it in your Bible or something. It’s from Pages 6 and 7 in the booklet. But that is really helpful to have as well.

So, what happens here is Chapter 7 now, going back to Chapter 7 in Revelation. Chapter 7 interrupts the explanation of the seals for a moment before it says exactly what the seventh seal is, after giving the first six. And it interrupts to explain that 144,000 of the tribes of Israel, after being spiritually converted, will be protected from the seven plagues that are part of the trumpet blasts. It also explains here, in Chapter 7, that during the Great Tribulation a great multitude from every nation on earth will repent and turn to God, which is an interesting concept to consider. The events corresponding to the seventh seal dominate the remainder of the whole Book of Revelation here from Chapter 7 on.

The first five seals correspond to various adversities on this planet that are to afflict various portions of mankind, including, even, some of God’s servants. And these things happen between Christ’s first coming and His second coming. But, as time progresses, those first five seals get progressively worse. Wars get worse. Famine gets worse until, at the very end, in the Great Tribulation, it is the very worst. Some of these hardships had already begun in the life of John but today we are seeing them progressively becoming worse.

The first five seals describe conditions that pre-date the Day of the Lord. So, it’s now that we’re going to get into the Day of the Lord, in particular when Mr. Myers talks about that. But, these are the afflictions that make God’s intervention and judgment on this world necessary and just. Humanity is destroying itself and eventually God has to intervene and say, “That’s enough”. The first five seals describe, basically, Satan’s influence and Satan’s affect and Satan’s deception on humanity. The first five seals are not caused by God but the Day of the Lord specifically is something that He is involved in.

So remember that the primary time frame for Revelation’s main prophecy now that we are coming up on is the Day of the Lord; the day of God’s judgment and wrath on the nations and Revelation uses that term, “wrath”.

Under the sixth seal, which is the end of Chapter 6, we see portrayed a stunning display of wonders and signs in the heavens to the point that people will become terrified of what is happening above them and around them. That will transpire just before the Day of the Lord. So it almost those heavenly signs are announcing that God’s wrath and judgment are at hand, about to take place. Those heavenly signs occur after the time of the Great Tribulation but before the Day of the Lord begins.

If you notice the description of the sixth seal in Revelation 6 ends with these words. Revelation 6, at the very end says,

Revelation 6:17 “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

And so Chapter 6 ends setting the stage for the time of God’s wrath and the Great Day of His wrath, also known as the Day of the Lord. You may want to make a note in your notes tonight of Joel 2:30-32. Joel writes, in prophesying of the end time,

V. 30“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood,” so it is talking of the heavenly signs of the sixth seal “and fire, and pillars of smoke.

V. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

So Joel prophesied of the Day of the Lord and said it would be after those heavenly signs just like Revelation 6 says. Joel continues,

V. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”

Which leads us into a lot of what happens in Chapter 7. Apparently a great multitude call upon the Lord and are saved just like the prophet Joel predicted in Joel 2:32.

So there will be a remnant that is saved in the end time.

Revelation 6:17 announces the Day of the Lord; the subject of the seventh seal.

But the opening of the seal doesn’t happen until Chapter 8 because John interrupts the story flow, here, to show that 144,000 are sealed and a great and innumerable multitude is converted from all nations during this time of worldwide turmoil.

Now some ask how long will this Day of the Lord be?  That was mentioned at the end of Chapter 6 and the prophet Joel mentioned. The actual length is not actually specified in the Book of Revelation as far as a number of months or days. Unless you look at the term, “the great Day of His wrath”, in Chapter 6:17, and then do the “day for a year principle”. Are you familiar with the “day for a year principle”? In prophecy it is mentioned in Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel, Chapter 4. The “day for a year principle”.

So, in other prophetic passages, God specifies that day often represents a year of punishment. And if that same principle applies here in Revelation, then the “Day of the Lord” or the “Day of His wrath” would be the final year before Christ returns. In fact, Isa. 34:8, refers to the “day of the Lord’s anger” as a yearlong period. You start putting that together.

Isaiah 34:8 “For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.”

The Lord’s “year of recompense”. So it does seem that the Day of the Lord is a day for a year; it’s the year of the Lord. The plagues we are about to see throughout the rest of the Book take approximately twelve months. So you are 2 ½ years into the final 3 ½ years of humanity ruling itself. You are 2 ½ years into the Beast power controlling the world. 2 ½ years into the false prophet leading a religious crusade across the planet when the Day of the Lord begins. This Day of the Lord year compares to the last year of the 3 ½ years of Satan’s wrath. The final year of the last 3 ½ years.

Let’s read Chapter 7:1

V.1  “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.”

So perhaps this is the wind that blows the trumpets. The wind is being held back so the trumpets are not blown yet. And here God interrupts the flow of events by asking that His angels perform specific instructions, specific functions.

First, the forces of nature are held back as the four angels hold back the four winds of the earth. So this signifies the global nature of this activity. It is not talking about one specific location like Jerusalem or Zion. This is a global event and the graphic description of standing at the four corners of the earth conveys an image of a universal, sovereign event to save God’s holy people on a global scale.

V. 2 “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,”

So an angel approaches from the east. Just as good news came from the east during Jesus’ first coming, likewise good news is going to travel from the east in preparation for His second coming. Kind of a parallel there. And the term, “living God”, “the seal of the living God”, is an echo of Joshua 3:10, which proclaims to the Israelites that the living God is among you.

Joshua 3:10 “And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you …”

This is a living God that is among His people. He is alive. So very real and active among His people of every generation and even in the most doubtful and darkest moments that confront us, He is there. Of course, this should not be lost on us today. He will once again be proclaimed to a future people about to cross from one age into another under the guidance and protection of the living God. God is not dead.

V.3 “ Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”

This Divine seal of protection stands in stark contrast to another seal known as the “mark of the beast”. Now this is the seal of God that these people have on their foreheads. This type of language is also used in Revelation 9:4

Revelation 9:4 “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 foreheads.”

What does it mean to “not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees”?  What kind of warfare would make that possible, where you can harm people but not the trees?  Well, we have been hearing here lately of things like an EMP attack that can totally cripple our society. All electronics fail but the trees don’t know that. The flowers. The grass. It doesn’t affect them but it affects the rest of our infrastructure to the point that many people start to starve to death. But also things like biological warfare, nerve gasses that affect people and don’t affect the trees and the plants. So “don’t harm the earth or the sea until…”

7:4 “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

The 144,000 will be converted individuals who will be spared from God’s judgment upon the wicked of the earth. Even though they will be living on the earth and suffering the effects of the Great Tribulation, they will not have to endure God’s punishment on the rest of humanity. They will be sealed and protected. The seal provides special protection from God’s wrath in what is now being announced as “the Day of the Lord”. The Day of the Lord is not going to begin in Chapter 8 until these people are protected and set aside and sealed.

Let’s read from Verses 5 down through 8:

V.5 “Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

V.6 Of the tribe of Asser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

V.7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

V.8 Of the tribe of Zebulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.”

Some people note that the Tribe of Dan is omitted. Why?  We don’t know. We don’t know for sure. We’re not told. But some people have speculated over the years as to why that might be. Many of the descendants of Dan live in Ireland today. Perhaps they will have sympathies for the Beast and the false prophet and its Catholic influence. I guess we’ll find out one day. That has been one hypothesis.

12,000 from each tribe are represented by those in God’s church around the world. These are spiritual Israel that would, obviously contain elements of all of the twelve tribes. But these are spiritual Israel, converted Christians. Not necessarily all of them have the exact DNA of descendants of the physical twelve tribes. But they will have God’s DNA, His Holy spirit, and represent spiritual Israel and represent all twelve tribes.

Now the question is “Why are the 144,000 sealed?” 

Well, let’s reiterate it again. To protect them from what is to come in the one year period of the Day of the Lord. God will, unfortunately, have to punish the world for its sinful ways but His people will be protected. The sealing of those who are chosen by God is completed here in Chapter 7. And now, as we go into Chapter 8, the massive devastation of the coming trumpet plagues that God will inflict on mankind during the Day of the Lord, will not harm that 144,000. Now they may continue to experience some of Satan’s wrath and vengeance. The conditions in the world; the tribulation that is going on; even during the Day of the Lord. But their sealing guarantees that punishments representing God’s wrath will in no way affect them because God’s wrath is going to be a step up from what the world has experienced up to this point.

Who are the 144,000?  How are they identified?  How will you know if you are one of the 144,000? 

The sealing has to do with the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit so that one becomes spiritually converted. Notice Eph. 1:13-14 as an explanation.

Ephesians 1:13 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,”

V.14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

So we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Romans 8 talks about those that are filled with the Holy Spirit are the sons and daughters of God.

Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Let me read one other.

2 Timothy 2:19 “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

This tells us a little bit more about the kind of person that has the seal of God on their foreheads.

Each of us wants to know that God knows who we are. We don’t want to be left out. We don’t want to be left alone. We want to know that we are His. And how are we His?  By the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. That’s what seals us. That’s what reminds God who are His.

Turn over to Ezekiel, Chapter 9, for a moment. We’ll read verses 3 and 4 because a passage in Ezekiel here is very similar to verses in Revelation 7 that we just read. It shows that those who are deeply committed to God’s way will be sealed.

Ezek. 9:3-4 “And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;”

V.4  “And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.”

So God marks the foreheads of those who are grieved for the condition that the world has become. Sigh and cry over the abominations that are done. So, those who have the mark of God; those who are sealed, on their foreheads, are filled with the Holy Spirit and they hate sin. They hate so see what is happening to this world and they are looking for a time that will be much better.

Notice Revelation 14 because the 144,000 of Revelation 7, are mentioned again in Revelation 14, where it becomes clear that these are the spiritual first fruits who will have repented and been converted before the beginning of the Day of the Lord. The Feast of First Fruits we observe. Those who are called and a part of God’s church today are the first fruits. So, it is starting to identify, even more closely, who comprises the 144,000. They are described as being redeemed and without fault. They are represented as having a relationship, both with God the Father, and with Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God.

Revelation 14, the first five verses, John says,

Revelation 14:1 “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.”  It’s kind of like Ezekiel, isn’t it?  The mark on the forehead of men.

V.2 “And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:”

V.3 “And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.” These are those who have been converted and are now saved.

V.4 “These are they which were not defiled with women;” So, if you want to be part of the 144,000, you cannot be part of a false church. The woman here represents false religion; false Christianity. You cannot be defiled with false Christianity. You have to be “a virgin”, Verse 4, a spiritual virgin, “for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”

And so we are reminded, at the time of Pentecost, of the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks, sorry, Unleavened Bread as well, that we are the firstfruits to the Lamb and to God.

I like this part where it says, “who follow the Lamb wherever He goes…” and Christ talks about this in John, Chapter 10. I’ll just read you a couple of verses because it signifies a people completely yielded to God. I’ll read to in John 10:3-4, cutting to the middle of the story.

John 10:3 “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”

V.4 “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.”

So, the sheep follow Him. Of course, Christ was talking about Himself in John, Chapter 10.

If you want to be part of the 144,000, you’ve got to follow Christ; you’ve got to follow the Lamb everywhere He goes. You cannot be defiled with false religion. You have to be filled with the Holy Spirit and have God’s seal on your forehead. Then, Verse 5, of Revelation 14,

Revelation. 14:5 “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

The 144,000, have to be genuine from the inside out. No deceit. No hypocrisy. Nothing phony.

You cannot be seeking middle ground, trying to serve God while, at the same time entertaining Satan’s devices and looking at the world, wishing you could do a bit of that, too. You have to be completely without fault and without deceit. For the 144,000, there is no third option. It can’t be Satan. It can’t be any other option. It has to be God only. They have access in incredibly horrific times and the only One who can step down, step in, reach out, and save them, the 144,000.

So, what is the message for you and me? While we may not fully understand every nuance of the numbering of the 144,000, until it is fully revealed, in time, we can plainly determine what it takes for you and I; for me to be in that number. (Side comment to Steve Myers:  Don’t go and start singing, “When the Saints go Marching In”, okay?  Mr. Myers laughed.)

But if you want to be counted in that number; if you want to make sure you are on that list; you follow the Lamb. You follow Christ wherever He goes. The spiritual qualities of the 144,000, are no mystery. We may not have a list of names up here but it’s not a mystery who will be on the list. It’s the same list that determines what we need to do to stand now in our current society. We can’t wait until the end to be made right with God. You’ve got to be living that way now if you are to be counted on the list. Until that time, the sealing of 144,000 and we, have something in common. We exist before the Living God who does not forget His promises. He remembers where we are at all times. Who knows our name and knows our very deepest personal moments. So, we have to be living right with Him. We worship God who has ultimate control over all elements and entities, no matter what they are. He has ultimate control over Satan, the beast, the false prophet. The 144,000 reminds us that in His time and way, God cares for people who have spiritual integrity. That I what He is looking for in the 144,000.

V.5 “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

Then, the innumerable multitude.

Revelation 7:9  “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;”

Revelation 7:10 “And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:11 “And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,”

Revelation 7:12 “Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen”.

Revelation 7:13 “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?”

Revelation 7:14 “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me,” So, who is this innumerable multitude?    “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:15 “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”

Revelation 7:16 “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.”

Revelation 7:17 “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

Notice, in Verse 17, the “living fountains of waters”. It is mentioned in Revelation 22, the first 2 verses.

Revelation 22:1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

Revelation 22:2 “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

So, it is the water of life, the tree of life, the power of God.

Notice Jeremiah 2:13 specifically talks about the fountain of living waters.

Jeremiah 2:13  “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

So, the fountain of living waters is God. It is the power of God. It is life, eternal life that He possesses.

So this multitude is made up of people from the many nationalities and ethnic groups on earth. From their tribes, clans, and languages.

What makes them special is they have all come out of the Great Tribulation, as it says in Verses 13 and 14. They “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”. These are converted servants of God having suffered greatly from, and it seems to be implied, have been converted during the first 2 ½ years of the Great Tribulation before the beginning of the Day of the Lord. So God seals these 144,000, but then there is the innumerable multitude that are converted in that 2 ½ years of the Great Tribulation.

There is no firm agreement among Biblical interpreters as to what the text of Revelation 7 implies about the immediate future of this multitude. These people are, though, promised eternal life and salvation with the rest of the saints when Christ returns at the 7th trump. These people will have eternal life but it appears they will have to go through the Great Tribulation to get there.

Some interpret the receiving of the white robes by the great, innumerable multitude as an indication that they may have been martyred by the beginning of the Day of the Lord. That is what some scholars say. That represents them having been martyred. And, if so, they will be resurrected, then, at Christ’s coming. Just as those martyrs were given white robes in Revelation 6:11, which was read last Bible Study.  Revelation 6:11 says that they must wait until their deaths are avenged, during the Day of the Lord, to be resurrected to eternal life at Christ’s return.

Revelation 6:11  “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

So the white robes may once again that they die for their faith during that 2 ½ years and have to pay the ultimate penalty, or make the ultimate sacrifice with their lives, if they want to be in God’s kingdom during the Great Tribulation.

But there is another view that the innumerable multitude will survive the Great Tribulation and continue to live and be sheltered by God during the Day of the Lord. That is due to a rendering in the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of Verse 15. The NRSV says this in Verse 15: “For this reason they are before the throne of God and worshipping Him day and night within the Temple. The One who is seated on the throne will shelter them.”  Will shelter them. But, other translations are not that specific. The Greek simply says that God will “dwell” or “tabernacle” with them. But the conclusion that they remain alive and are sheltered from further harm during the Day of the Lord is deduced from this promise in that translation.

Unmistakably clear, though, in Revelation 7, is that a great harvest of true and faithful Christians will occur through the first years of the Great Tribulation period. That immense, spiritual harvest will be reaped, not only from the literal tribes of Israel, but from other nations and people, throughout the earth, who become spiritual Israelites, who “become Jews inwardly” as said in the Gospels.

The powerful preaching of God’s two witnesses will no doubt greatly contribute to that when people realize that they are right in the middle of a frightening and deadly time and that what the two witnesses are saying is true and they will want to obey God and have eternal life no matter what the consequences they suffer during the Great Tribulation.

Here today, in the United Church of God, we’re reaching millions of people with the true message of God’s way but we don’t see a lot in the way of conversions. Not much in the way of new members beating down our door. We have a few. After all, in today’s world, God’s message is not a very popular message. People are somewhat laxidasical; afraid of commitment; a bit difficult for them change the way they live. It takes work to give up Sunday for the Sabbath. It takes faith to leave your family to keep the Holy Days and not go to Christmas, Halloween and Easter with them. But, we, as a church, are storing and producing a wealth of information about the Gospel of the Kingdom. Much of it on servers on the internet. It is going to be there for a long time. It will provide a huge resource for those who want to study and learn even on their own after the church is no longer able to publicly preach the Gospel.

I’ll just read you a quote as I finish this section. Fifty-three years ago a faithful minister of God wrote this about the innumerable multitude and about the heavenly signs. And the message remains very poignant for us today. See if you can recognize who wrote this.

“After the Great Tribulation, when men are seized with stark terror at the supernatural signs, multiplied thousands will at last recognize that it is really God warning them. Ye, multiplied thousands who now heed this warning from God, will not heed it now. They are not repenting and turning to God now. Oh how well I know that.”  How well we know that. “But, when they see these things actually occur. When they see these terrifying supernatural signs in the heavens, then, at last, hundreds of thousands of them…” Then he says, “Perhaps even some of you reading will at last recognize the Truth, at last turn to God in complete submission, fully repenting and coming through Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. We of this ministry well know that our real reward in the harvest of precious lives will mostly come after our labors are finished.”

In some respects that’s what we’ll see in United Church of God, too. The labors of our work, in many respects, will come later, when the world is in crisis and we’re no longer on the scene and able to preach any longer, and when the two witnesses are preaching.

That was from “The Book of Revelation Unveiled At Last”, Page 32, from 1959, by Herbert W. Armstrong.

Now, Chapter 8 goes into detail about the actual Day of the Lord.

One of the interesting things about the tribes; this 144,000. It doesn’t seem that this is the entire church. I think it is hard to say that this would be the entire church, or even the church throughout time for a couple of reasons. When you see in Verse 4 it talks about those who were sealed. What would be the point of sealing those who are already dead?  And there would have been many saints who would have died in the faith previous to this who would be considered first fruits as well. So, it doesn’t seem likely that it could be the entire church. And there is a few groups out there who believe that just their church.

And all that have ever lived since 30 AD.

Yes, some that believe that. There are others who believe that, starting in 1914, there was 144,000, and that generation is running out. And that comprises their church. But that doesn’t seem to fit very well with what it says. Even over in Romans it says that “those who are of Israel are not all Israel…”  So the tribal distinctions here don’t seem to fit if you take it just literally as a physical tribe itself. So there are some challenges if you are trying say that these were all converted throughout time. Why would they need to be sealed and protected if they are already dead?  That doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.

What about the Philadelphia Church?  We read about the Philadelphians were already protected. Back in Verse 3. The only way you can get around that is if they were both one and the same or part of the same number as well because in Chapter 3:10, it talks about “I’ll keep you from the hour of trial that will come upon the whole earth.” 

So there is some, you know, special situations involved in that as well. And, you can see why there are some different interpretations of those things. As you think about the 144,000 as well. In fact, there is probably 144,000 ways different people interpret it too. So that could be a challenge as well.

But, if you want to be sealed, you know what to do.

That’s right. And that is the most important thing, I think. That passage in Ephesians 1 is fantastic. You know, you’ve got to have God’s Holy Spirit and you have to be accomplishing His will in your life.

Alright, over to Chapter 8, then.

It begins with that seventh seal is where it starts out. He opened that seventh seal; that scroll. This is the last seal, the seventh seal. The entire scroll, now, is finally open. So, if you can imagine the scroll, not entirely open until this very point. When that finally happens, it says, “there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour.”  So we have this seventh seal. Of course seven is a very significant number in the Bible. It seems to represent perfection, completion, totality. Those are good words to describe the number seven.  You’ll find it used so many times throughout the Book of Revelation. There are seven churches. There are seven spirits. There are seven stars. There are seven seals. And seven trumpets. And seven vials. All of those things, over 54 times throughout the Book of Revelation you will find the number 7 mentioned.

Now, as Mr. Eddington mentioned as well, now we are entering the period of the Day of the Lord. Up until this point, it has been Satan’s wrath. So Satan’s wrath has been poured out and there is a separate distinction between Satan’s wrath and God’s wrath. So now we are moving into the time of God’s wrath. Satan’s wrath has been going on for 2 ½ years. Now we are entering that Day of the Lord which we looked at as actually, more than likely, lasting a year, which would complete 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation. So, God’s wrath is going to begin to be poured out here.

There is an interesting connection as well if you think about just the days of the week. You know “six days shall you labor and do all your work but the seventh is the day to rest.”  And it is interesting, 6,000 years man has had to accomplish his will and now it is time for God. It is time for the Day of the Lord. So there seems to even be a connection there.

Just to set the stage. This has been a lot of bad news up until this point. It’s not like, all of a sudden, bad things are going to happen. I mean terrible things have been happening all the way up to this point. By now, 2/3 of Israel are dead by the time we reach the Day of the Lord. That’s happened because of the red horse and the black horse and the pale horse. All of those things have happened have taken the lives of 2/3 of Israel.

Just a couple of verses ago, Chapter 6:8, it tells us, “death and Hades followed him…”

Revelation 6:8 “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

Here you have the pale horse and ¼ of all mankind, ALL MANKIND, are dead by the time we reach the Day of the Lord so, just imagine what that is. I mean today, if we figured that out, we’ve got about 7 billion people in the world. Imagine ¼ of the population 1.75 billion people are dead by the time we reach the Day of the Lord. That is phenomenal when you reach this point. And, from here on out these things are going to be multiplied when we run into God’s wrath. I mean, Satan has been on the warpath up to this point but now God’s wrath is going to be poured out on spiritual Babylon and the world. So, we see that beginning to happen. This seventh seal, the seven trumpets, are representing a final judgment on this world.

Revelation 8:1 “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.”

It is interesting as it begins, what does it start with?  Silence.

It says for about a half an hour. Nothing is heard. Now, why would that be?  Why would there be nothing? 

It is interesting; some interpretations try to fit these passages and, not only these others that follow, into some of the historic things that happened during the Roman Empire. It is interesting to read about some of those kinds of things. Sometimes they’ll say, “Well this ½ hour represents the wonderful times from the Apostles up until Constantine because the church was so wonderful during that period of time. But, we know that is not the case at all. Within 100 years or so, we know that the true Gospel was already being perverted. So, you’ve got to be really careful when you read some of these scholarly interpretations when they try to fit this into some of the historical things that happened during the Roman Empire. So, I’m not going to take a lot of time to rehearse some of those kinds of things because that doesn’t seem to fit almost in any way.

What is interesting though is this idea of silence. When you talk about quiet, absolute quiet. Half an hour doesn’t seem like very long. But, you’ve probably been listening to the radio or maybe you’ve had the TV on and, all of a sudden, there is dead air. How long does it take you to notice it?  Just like that, “dead air”. It’s quiet. Nothing’s happening. Somebody’s going to get fired because of that, right?  It catches your attention. I mean, just imagine, I’m sure you’ve been at a meal where no one is talking. It’s uncomfortable. It gets your attention. Maybe you’ve been in a car; having a car ride and things are absolutely quiet. A half an hour is a long time when things are absolutely silent. So, if you can imagine; here we are at the throne of God, everything becomes silent.

Normally there are angels that are praising and honoring God. Normally there are angels that are singing and praising and honoring God. But, all of that comes to a dead stop. So there is this silence of almost expectation. A silence that is so profound that you are just forced to think, “What’s coming? What’s next?  What’s going to happen?”  It seems likes there is this extraordinary preparation of something that’s going to come about. What is happening?

I think it’s kind of interesting because there is a connection here between what actually happened with the priesthood in Levitical times, in ancient Israel. In ancient Israel, when the priests were doing their sacrifices, the musicians would sing and they would play their instruments as those sacrifices were being offered to God. But it’s also interesting that when they got to the incense, when they go to that portion of the Levitical service, the music would stop as they offered the incense. Of course we find that connection coming up next with the angel offering incense before God.

There seems to be this connection as well, with the incense or the prayers of the saints, and this preparation of silence. There is some amazing passages that reflect this in the Bible. There is one over in Habakkuk, Chapter 2:20 that talks about this silence because it’s certainly getting your attention, helps you to realize the awesome nature of God. How awesome and powerful and amazing He really is.

Habakkuk 2:20 “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.”

So, may be reflecting that very time. These Minor Prophets often have some duality that reflects to this time of the end. There is another passage in Zechariah, Chapter 2, that reflects upon this time as well and you can just write this down, Zech. 2:13, talks about this silence before in God. In a way, almost a dramatic pause before these awesome events begin to unfold because the seventh seal is divided up into seven trumpets as Mr. Eddington was pointing out in the markings of his Bible. So we have seven trumpets that will follow this. Leading up to that, there is this dramatic pause; this profound silence that seems to precede some momentous events. Some have even considered it a Sabbath pause before God starts that work of wrath which is going to come about.

If you turn back to Chapter 8, in the Book of Revelation, you will notice what happens next.

Revelation. 8:2 “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.”

Here we have the seventh seal made up of seven trumpet plagues. The angels didn’t have these trumpets to begin with. It says they were given them. So they are furnished with the things that they need and the instructions that are necessary to complete the task at hand. Of course, what are they given?  They are given trumpets. I think we are probably familiar with what trumpets mean throughout the Bible. When you look anciently, the trumpet or the shofar, were two different types of instruments that were called trumpets. Sometimes the shofar, the ram’s horn, was called a trumpet as well as the priests who blew silver trumpets back in Numbers, Chapter 10.

Numbers 10:2 “Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.”

These trumpets were used for different purposes. We see those purposes come into play with these seven trumpets that comprise the seventh seal. Trumpet often times, was used as an alarm; as a warning, to warn of danger. The alarm would go off. The trumpets would sound that, perhaps, enemies were attacking. Beware. Be on guard. Wake up. Prepare. And so trumpets were often used for that. Of course we can see how that would fit with the time that we’re entering here with the Day of the Lord.

These trumpets were also used to announce things. New months; the trumpets were blown. Feast days the trumpets were blown. The trumpets were also blown when royalty would arrive. And, of course, here we are hinging on the arrival of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No wonder trumpets are leading the way when that event is about to occur.

Then, of course, a third way that trumpets were used were to warn of war. To summon the people to battle. Of course we are entering that phase as well as we get into the seven trumpets. So, certainly the use of these trumpets are reflected in the fact that these angels are given these trumpets and are preparing to blow.

Then we get to Verse 3.

V.3  “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.”

We’ve got the seven angels that have the seven trumpets and now we have another angel. This angel is doing some things with this golden censor and he’s at an altar. Now this could certainly be just another angel that is doing this task before God. Some have speculated that, perhaps, this angel might be better as an “Angel”, that this might be Jesus Christ before God at the altar of incense.

Why would that be?  Well we see what’s happening, that there is much incense and it’s being offered with the prayers of all the saints. Who is our Intercessor when it comes to our prayers?  There is a passage over in Romans, Chapter 8, if you’d like to turn there with me – hold your place here in Revelation. Whether it’s an angel doing this on behalf of Christ or perhaps Christ Himself.

Romans 8:34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

The prayers need intercession. They need this incense that makes them complete before God. So we see this connection between incense and prayers. God’s people are a praying people.

Psalm 141:1 is a remarkable Psalm. I’ll flip back there as well. This talks about God’s praying people.

Psalm 141:1 “A Psalm of David. LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.”

Psalm 141:2 “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

So we see the connection between prayers and incense. Prayers come up before God in this great cloud of incense. In fact, back in Revelation, there is an earlier comparison to this in Chapter 5, V. 8. Notice what it says. Even in the Book of Revelation you can see this interpretation of the incense and prayers and this connection here.

Revelation 5:8 “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.”

What I that?  It says it is “the prayers of the saints”. So we see that connection made there as well. Undoubtedly we see the prayers of the saints and this connection with the incense.

This particular altar that this angel, or perhaps Jesus Christ is standing at, is represented at the Tabernacle and also in the Temple in ancient times. There was the altar of incense and that altar is actually described back in the Book of Exodus. We’re going to look at the Book of Exodus. Exodus 30, right at the very beginning we see the physical representation of this altar that is actually in heaven. Exodus, Chapter 30 describes this particular altar and what took place at this altar of incense. This is not the altar of burnt offering. That was not the altar that is being described here in Revelation. The burnt offering is where they offered the sacrifices of the animals and that sort of thing. But that is not the description we see in Revelation but we see this altar of incense.

Exodus 30:1 “And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.”

Then, down in Verse 6, it says,

V.6 “And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.”

V.7 “And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.”

V.8 “And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.”

So you can imagine this scene now, instead of Aaron burning this incense in the Tabernacle, we have angel or perhaps, Jesus Christ, burning this incense. And where is it?  It’s right before the throne of God. If you can imagine that representation. Of course, here in Exodus this was a golden altar; an altar that was covered with gold about an arm’s width – about 18 inches or so – around and it was just covered with gold, with little horns on the side and a little railing around so it would hold the coals; these hot, burning coals where this incense would burn.

It’s also interesting – did you catch what was happening here?  In the Old Testament, when they offered this incense, it started at the beginning of the day, before the sacrifices were offered and it also was at the end of the day when the sacrifices were completed. Take that to a spiritual level. It makes a very interesting point. We have incense. We have prayers surrounding this beautiful incense. It’s like an offering that is wrapped around incense in a way. Back in ancient times the burnt offerings were wrapped with this sweet smelling aroma. Of course we know that that is also a representation of Jesus Christ. Write down Ephesians 5:2. It talks about Christ being a sweet smelling aroma.

Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

Christ is the amazing aspect of this whole scene. When we fast forward, then, back to Revelation, we are not talking about the burnt offering. There is no reason for sacrifice any more. Christ has completed that work. But now we have the prayers of the saints coming up before God. We see that down in Verse 4.

Revelation 8:4 “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.”

Here is the saints. We have this incense there as well; the sweet smelling aroma.

Revelation 8:5 “And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar,” because it wasthe fire that made the smoke with this incense; and what does He do with it? He fills the firepan, or censor, with fire from the altar… “and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”

So we see the smoke of this incense. Often times, when you read of smoke throughout the Bible, you’ll be right there in the presence of God. You are right there in His presence.

I couldn’t help but think, and often times, throughout this whole Chapter in Revelation, Chapter 8, has a lot of connections back to the Exodus. As the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, there are some amazing connections here between these trumpet blasts that sound from the first four angels and connections back to Exodus. Right here, with these prayers and this smoke, it takes me back to Exodus, Chapter 19. We want to look at it. See if this sounds familiar?  After this angel, in Revelation, fills this censor, throws it to earth. What happened?  It says: “and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”

Go all the way back to ancient Israel at Mt. Sinai.

Exodus 19:16 “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning,” what’s happening?  “that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.”

Exodus 19:18 “And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke,” Why “…because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”

So here we are in the presence of the Lord and there is smoke wrapped around it. Pretty amazing with what is happening here. So we see this connection back in Exodus.

We can ask ourselves, “Does prayer matter?  Does prayer accomplish anything?”  This is pretty amazing when you think about it. What was happening?  Well, we have the prayers of the saints coming up before God, mixing with this spiritual incense and what happens?  Nothing?  No. We see a result of that prayer. As a result of this prayer, it says,

Revelation 8:4 “And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.”

What happens?  The angel takes the censor, fills it with fire, and throws it to the earth. As the result of prayer there is this direct connect to noise, thunders, lightenings, and an earthquake. Does God answer the prayers of the saints?  I think you have to say, absolutely, He does.  Absolutely He does.

It is interesting because, up to this point, just about everything has been happening in heaven. There have been a lot of things that have been happening in heaven. If you look back to

Revelation 4:5 “And out of the throne preceded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”

So there is lots of noise; lots of earthquakes; lots of things going on. Thunderings, lightenings, happening in heaven.

Now we have this thrown to the earth. Yes there has already been a lot of bad things happening but now it’s going to be exponentially increased. Not only were there rumblings in heaven as in Chapter 4 but now those rumblings are on earth. That God is showing that His intervention is beginning.

 

You read these amazing things about thunderings and lightenings; it makes me think of that passage where it talks about our God is a consuming fire. Talk about the power and the authority of God Almighty. That passage comes to mind. I think it’s in Hebrews, Chapter 12, maybe.

Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”

What an amazing thing.

Back to Chapter 8 (Revelation)

We finally get to that first angel who was given the trumpet and he begins to sound.  

Revelation 8:6 “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”

When you first read that I wonder, “Well how exactly did they prepare themselves to sound?  If it were me, and I was going to play a trumpet, I guess I’d have to take a big breath, right?  Prepare to blow that thing. But angels don’t have to breathe so I’m not sure, exactly, how they were preparing for this. But, maybe it’s just taking that trumpet and being ready to go. So, as we begin to see, we have four trumpets that these first four angels have that are mainly going to affect the environment. They are mainly going to have their impact on the environment. Let’s notice that in Verse 7.

Revelation 8:7 “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”

This doesn’t seem to be just judgment on the Roman Empire as some might interpret this. But this seems to be a literal thing. This is something that will actually happen; that this first angel is going to sound and there’s going to be this incredible storm. It describes this hail and fire, mingled with blood. How could that be?  What would bring about some type of amazing, terrible storm like that?  As you think about that, hold your place there, turn back to Exodus 9. We see a representation back at the Exodus. Remember I said there were a lot of connections with the Israelites coming out of Egypt?  As they were getting ready to leave Egypt there were all the plagues that were poured out. In Exodus, Chapter 9, we have a parallel to this first trumpet. It was the fourth plague in Egypt.

Exodus 9:23 “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.”

V.24“So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.”

V.25 “And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.”

So we see this parallel between that fourth plague in Egypt and what this first trumpet sounding is going to be like. In fact there is another connection, back to the Book of Joel. If you want to turn to Joel maybe on your way back to Revelation.

Joel, beginning in the Book, Chapter 1, Verse 19, seems to be describing the same time period. This first trumpet where this vegetation is struck down. Joel describes it here.

Joel 1:19 “O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.”

V.20 “The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.”

So we have this description of something that is happening that seems to indicate a similar type of incident. In fact Chapter 2, Verse 3, also points to that time.

Joel 2:3 “A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.”

We see the result of this first trumpet blowing. 1/3 of the trees are burned up and the green grass is burned up as well. It doesn’t say that all the grass is burned up because a couple of chapters later – I guess it’s just one chapter later – that there’s still grass there. Either the grass grows back or, maybe the grass by those 1/3 of the trees that are burned up is the grass that is burnt up at that particular time.

One thing that’s interesting with all four of these angels, here in this chapter, is that fire is involved. Verse 5 says that “the fire from the altar of God was cast to the earth;” like this bolt of fire hits the earth and it results in all of these things, too.

Is this some kind of supernatural storm that brings this about? Volcanoes?  Could be?  The earth erupting?  It could be supernatural. It could be some type of terrible, massive battle that is happening on the land that causes something like this to come about. Certainly, warfare could be described with hail, fire, and mingled with blood. It certainly could be something like that. It is hard to say, exactly but you can certainly see how that could be a possibility as well.

As Mr. Eddington mentioned, we see fire mentioned in this second trumpet as well. The second trumpet, back in Revelation 8:8, says:

Revelation 8:8 “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;”

V.9 “And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed”.

Once again we have some amazing things that are happening. Think of the connections back to Israel coming out of Egypt once again. You could write down Exodus, Chapter 7, which describes that very first plague. Remember the first plague that was poured out upon Egypt?  The rivers turned to blood. So, here, it’s a similar thing. It’s not exactly the same; the second trumpet. Here you’ve got 1/3 of the sea becoming blood. You can see why that might be if 1/3 of the living creatures in the sea die. That might contribute to the blood in the sea.

It is interesting that it is not limited to just the sea creatures but 1/3 of the ships are destroyed. What could cause something like that to happen?  Many scholars would point, well, something like a great mountain burning with fire thrown into the sea. Is that like a giant volcano that explodes?  We’ve seen some of these things in recent years that have been filmed, that are just amazing when you see just mountains just blow apart and lava flowing into the oceans. Some think that this maybe points back to where maybe John would have envisioned Mt. Vesuvius exploding back in 79 AD. Maybe that was something that came to mind. Could it be a super volcanic eruption or something like that?  Possibly. Maybe something causing a tsunami that would cause 1/3 of the ships to be destroyed?  Or, maybe just some type of massive sea battle that would take place. You could imagine if ships are being destroyed the way it is described here. That would certainly have an impact on what was happening.

Of course, what’s that going to do to the earth?  If 1/3 of the sea going vessels are destroyed and we have these other things happening; 1/3 of the sea becoming blood; these living creatures that are dying, 1/3 of them, it’s going to affect commerce. It’s going to affect food supplies. It’s going affect commerce and trade. It’s going to put the world into turmoil when this second trumpet blows so it’s going to be just a phenomenal event as we get into the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

Alright, back to Chapter 8 once again. If you look at Verse 10, we have the third angel sounding. Once again we see the fires burning.

V.10  “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;”

V.11 “And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”

We see this great star falling from heaven. Is this some kind of supernatural event?  Some will say, “Well, perhaps, oftentimes, throughout the Bible, a star can represent an angel. Is this an angel that is falling from heaven that is punishing the earth in this way?  Or is it something more literal?  Could it be something like a meteor or a fragment of a comet or something like that?  Amazing things have been recorded on the earth.

I was reading, recently, about, probably an asteroid, is what they think it was. It exploded over Siberia in 1908 that created just a monstrous, monstrous pit. Doing calculations and different things, scientists feel that it was something like a thousand times the power of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Just imagine something like that. When you think about the damage that a meteorite or a comet fragment or something like that could do, certainly this could be the case. It would raise so much dust into the atmosphere you could see why waters would become wormwood. This wormwood means “bitter”, literally, “bitterness”. It can talk about a specific plant. There is a wormwood plant where they used to produce absinthe from that. This little green liqueur that was really popular in France at the turn of the last century that they would drink. It was a very, very bitter drink. They’d drink it with sugar cubes and it really was addictive because it had opiates and things like that in it. This wormwood seems to imply this bitterness that the waters turn bitter.

I had heard that, in the Ukrainian translation of the Bible that the word for wormwood here, is Chernobyl, which is where that great nuclear disaster took place in the 80’s. I was talking to Victor Kubik today and asking him if that was true. He said it was. That Chernobyl, in the Ukraine, has a representation, a connection to wormwood. Is it coincidence?  I don’t know. Could it point to the fact that maybe this, instead of a meteor?  Could it be some type of radiation that would be like a great star; maybe like some type of nuclear warfare? Could this be the results of fallout?  It’s hard to say but you can see how that could be a connection there as well.

As you look throughout the Bible with this parallel between wormwood and bitterness, often times, whenever you check that out throughout the Bible, when wormwood or bitterness is mentioned, you will also find the judgment of God. God’s judgment is poured out, especially on those who disobey. Those who disobey or anciently those who would spread idolatry. You can see why this is something that would happen on the Day of the Lord. We have an idolatrous world who God is going to pour His judgment out upon. We see even anciently, ancient Israel, Jeremiah talked about the fact that God was going to give them wormwood to drink because He was sick and tired of their disobedience and idolatry and their unwillingness to worship Him as the true God.

Some pretty amazing connections here when you look what’s happening with that third angel. We had the sea struck with the second angel. The third angel, the fresh waters were struck here as well.

Of course there we also have that parallel back to Exodus and that first plague. Of course you think about warfare, and the difficulties in fighting these great battles. Humanly speaking if you don’t have fresh water, how are you going to carry out a very effective battle?  It’s not going to happen. We see God’s judgment being poured out here with this third trumpet.

We’re getting kind of tight on things, what do you think. Should we pause there or maybe answer a couple of questions?  Or, what do you think?  Should we go on?

There are a couple of simple questions here.

Maybe I could just zip through this and finish the chapter?  Yeah, maybe I could just finish it up here real quickly. Maybe we’ll go a minute or two too long here but that’s okay.

Here at Verse 12, we have the fourth angel that’s sounding.

Revelation 8:12  “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”

With this fourth angel; is this the results of a nuclear winter?  It doesn’t seem like the sun suddenly have 1/3 of its size or the moon has been chopped away so there is only 2/3 of it left. That doesn’t seem to be what that is referring to. It seems to be indicating here 1/3 of the brightness of the light is blocked so that it is still there but something is causing it not to be able to shine on the earth. So something is causing that. You could imagine, with the kind of warfare, if you’ve had a massive land battle with that first trumpet. Then there’s been a massive sea battle with the second trumpet and there is fallout with the third trumpet. Debris that is in the air is going to block out the sun and the moon and the stars. It seems to fit with that. Also, it harkens back to Exodus again. Remember that the ninth plague was darkness on the land before Pharaoh let the people go. You also have that. In fact we sang that song the other day on the Feast of Trumpets; Joel 2:2, we read earlier. It’s a day of darkness and gloominess when we look at the Day of The Lord. Some amazing connections there as well.

Let’s wrap it up here with Chapter 8:13

Revelation 8:13  “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”

Up till now we’ve have the seven angels are kind of subdivided. You’ve got four to begin with that we’ve talked about, that are mainly affecting the earth and plants, vegetation. Now they’re going to more concentrate on people and it is going to be terrible. Probably a better translation for angels, it says, “I looked and heard an angel flying through the midst…” probably should be translated an “eagle”; an “eagle flying through the midst. That seems to be a better rendition because it ties in a little bit better with Chapter 4:7, where you’ve got the living creatures. Sure enough, the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle in that reference. It seems that this creature “flying like an eagle through the midst of heaven” kind of ties back to that fourth living creature that is described in Chapter 4:7.

Revelation 4:7 “And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.”

It’s also interesting that an eagle can sometimes be connected to vengeance. Of course that would certainly be the case because you’ve got these three “woes” that are mentioned:  “Woe, woe, woe…”. That’s not saying, like stopping a horse or something like that. This is saying, “Watch out. Beware.”  It’s “woe” because these last three are so severe; they are so catastrophic, that we have this initial warning that this is going to be something that nothing can compare to what’s about to come. If it wasn’t bad enough, the increased intensity is going to make things that came before pale in comparison; it’s going to be so terrible. In a way, you know, if some of these battles have been taking place. If that’s the fulfillment of these things – it’s not a supernatural thing – if it has been land battles and sea battles and nuclear war and things like that, people could almost look at that and say, “Yeah, all these things happened because of us, because of mankind.”  But now you’re going to come to a point there will be no other way to explain what’s going on. Why would people keep doing what they’re doing?  Why would they continue to dishonor God and keep up their evil ways if there was no other way to explain these things So you can see, maybe, part of the deception is people will be kidding themselves and trying to explain these things because of the circumstances that have been happening but, you get to the “woes” and you’ll see that there will be no explaining these things any more except by the awesome power of God. So, “Woe, woe, woe” because the last three are about to sound.

They are really big “Woes”. The first woe is related to the Beast Power. The second “woe” is related to the 200 million man army. The third “woe” is the twelve last plagues. All the armies of the earth gather at Armageddon to fight Christ when He returns. So, it’s like this HUGE lead up to a final battle that is coming.

I think, maybe, with all the bad news here, it can be kind of depressing; kind of a downer, when you think about these things. But I also wrote down here, at the end of my notes, Ezekiel 33:11. You can write that one down.

Ezekiel 33:11 “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”

God doesn’t like this. This is not something that He takes pleasure in. But it says that “the wicked turn from his way and live.”  We know the ultimate end of the story and that is really fantastic when we can finally get to the Kingdom of God and the millennium and things will be perfect. It will be wonderful. We can certainly look forward to that. Some bad things in the meantime though.

Let me just mention some questions here that are very quick.

Going back to the 144,000, of all things. This one from the Caribbean. I recognize this name.

Q:  “Would the 144,000 described in Revelation 7 be in the first resurrection?  What about the great multitude?  Would they be in the first resurrection?”

A:  The answer is “yes”. The sealed servants of God will be in the first resurrection. The sons and daughters in His family when Christ returns.

This one is another question.

Q:  “A magnificent explanation of those who constitute the mentioned tribes, is the number 144,000 literal or figurative?”

A:  What we find here, in Revelation Chapters, 5, 6,7, and 8, are some very specific things that will happen, and the 144,000, I would say, is fairly literal. It’s a large group of people, 12 X 12,000. Whether it is 144,000 + 1, or 143,999; not that literal perhaps. But it is a literal number that is large and it is counted to be like 12 legions.

It may be symbolic in the sense that there is the idea of the 12’s. The perfection that is involved in that as well; that God’s going to seal those who are perfectly following Him; who are His saints. Those who are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. It seems to tie in that way as well.

This other one is a little bit longer. And this one I may respond to tomorrow by email or something, okay, so we don’t keep everybody too long.

Well that should do it then.

Alright. Have a good evening. Thanks for your attention. Hope it was helpful and educational and interesting.

We’ll pick it up again after the Feast then. We’ll have a break for the Feast and come back at the end of October.

Mid to late October.

Good night everybody.