End Times #6 Seven Trumpets
Crisis has an incredible power to “expose either our lack of preparation or
the foolishness of our presumption of security.” (Dan Allender, Leading With A Limp, p. 64)
When everything appears to be going well we get very proud of our
self-sufficiency.
We create an illusion that convinces us that we can take care of
ourselves, that we can go it alone, that we do not need help.
We delude ourselves into thinking that tomorrow will be just like today.
I’ve got my job, I’ve got discretional money,
I’ve got my health, I’ve got home and hearth,
And I’ve got friends to play with.
Life is good.
There is nothing like a crisis to wake you up from that dream.
We learned last week in our study of the Book of Revelation that the End Times is
a time characterized by Trauma and Crisis.
The world that we have become so friendly with is crashing down all
around us.
And the times reveal how totally unprepared we are to
deal with reality, with the truth.
As we seek a definitive answer to the question:
Are we now living in the end times?
Is the world that we know coming to an end?
Is Jesus coming back this year?
We turn our attention to the Revelation of Jesus.
Today we will learn about God’s Wrath,
That its purpose is not to punish but to motivate repentance.
We will again consider the worship of idols and what it means to eat
the food sacrificed to idols.
We will discover who the two witnesses of God are,
And the fate of the church
Finally we’ll get another glimpse of the end.
We are covering Chapters 8 through 11, The vision of the seven trumpets
Time considerations dictate that we can just touch upon the highlights.
Regardless if you have a question, please feel free to raise a hand and
ask it.
The brackets [ ] indicate that this information was not included in the podcast.
[Has this already happened or will it happen?
“Eschatological events are foreshadowed in historical events” (Ladd 156)
What this means is that what has happened before is characteristic of
what is to come.]
Revelation 8:2-6 (NIV)
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
Seven angels,
Seven servants of God.
Again that number 7 means fullness and completeness.
But tradition has named the 7 who stand before God.
[Enoch 20:7, Tobit 12:15, Luke 1:19]
They are referred to as Arch Angels.
Gabriel,
Michael,
Raphael,
Uriel,
Raguel,
Saraqael,
And Remiel.
If you ever think that your prayers don’t make it past the ceiling
Think again.
The 24 elders each have golden bowls that are filled with the prayers
of God’s people. (Rev 5:8)
And here we read of an angel who offers those prayers up
to God like incense.
One thing I know about incense, its hard to ignore.
I still do not know why,
I still do not know how,
But I do know that prayer changes situations.
Prayer either changes the circumstances or it
changes me to be able to deal with the
circumstances.
What John of Patmos tells us is that God is going to act on behalf of the
prayers of the saints.
The question of How Long before everything is set right is
about to be answered.
Trumpets have a special meaning.
The Jewish New Year begins with Rosh Hashanah which is a ten day
celebration ending in Yom Kippur the day of Atonement.
The ritual observation begins with the day of judgment,
a shofar trumpet sounds to warn of the coming
judgment.
Zephaniah 1:14-17 (NIV)
"The great day of the LORD is near-- near and coming quickly. A day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.
The trumpet sounds as a warning to get right with God.
Egoism never changes when it sees the light,
It is motivated to change when it feels the heat.
The trumpets turn up the heat.
The purpose of God’s wrath is not to punish,
Rather it is like an alarm clock that seeks to wake a person up
Before it is too late.
2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
The Angels start blowing the trumpets.
The first four trumpets announce more devastation of the environment.
The first trumpet sounds and a third of the earth is destroyed by fire.
(Rev 8:7)
The second trumpet sounds and a third of the sea is destroyed.
(Rev 8:8)
The third trumpet sounds and a third of the fresh water is ruined.
(Rev 8:11)
The fourth trumpet sounds and a third of sun, moon and stars darken,
Somebody is turning out the lights. (Rev 8:12)
Revelation 9:1-6 (MSG)
The fifth Angel trumpeted. I saw a Star plummet from Heaven to earth. The Star was handed a key to the Well of the Abyss. He unlocked the Well of the Abyss—smoke poured out of the Well, billows and billows of smoke, sun and air in blackout from smoke pouring out of the Well. Then out of the smoke crawled locusts with the venom of scorpions. They were given their orders: "Don't hurt the grass, don't hurt anything green, don't hurt a single tree—only men and women, and then only those who lack the seal of God on their foreheads." They were ordered to torture but not kill, torture them for five months, the pain like a scorpion sting. When this happens, people are going to prefer death to torture, look for ways to kill themselves. But they won't find a way—death will have gone into hiding.
With the 5th trumpet there is a clear distinction between those who are following
Christ and those who are following the Anti-Christ.
Do you remember what happened when the 5th seal was opened—
The martyred cried out for justice.
That’s another line of distinction between those who
abide in Christ and those who do not.
I think what this tells us is that during the 5th there is “no middle ground.”
“every person’s loyalty” is out in the open and plain to see.
(Ladd, p. 123)
In the text the Star is another angelic being set forth on a divine commission.
The angelic being holds the key to the Abyss.
John Lenon’s theology is clearly mistaken,
Imagine no heaven above us no hell below us.
Sorry John.
For certainly the Abyss is a picture of the underworld.
For some reason human beings tend to have this concept of heaven
being up there and hell being down there.
One this is for sure—it’s not the place you want to be in.
[Luke 8:31: Romans 10:7; Revelation 11:7; Revelation 20:3]
Bad things come out of the Abyss.
The angelic being unlocks the Abyss,
Smoke billows out followed by demonic powers,
These demonic powers, John describes as locusts.
Locusts are a symbol of destruction (Mounce p. 193)
(Exodus 10:13; Joel 1:4)
The locusts have the tails of scorpions.
I have squashed a few scorpions but I have never been bite by one,
I am told that the venom is not fatal but that it does cause
excruciating pain.
These demonic powers are a plague upon those who do not have the
seal of God upon their foreheads. (Rev. 7:1-4)
Those that abide in Christ are not harmed by these
demonic powers.
The time of the locusts is 5 months, a limited time.
The lesson of the locusts is that wickedness cannot
continue on indefinitely before it invites divine
retribution. (Mounce p. 195)
[
Revelation 9:11 (NIV)
They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.
The Hebrew name translates as destruction,
The Greek name translates as destroyer.
To understand what the original readers may of understood those names to
signify we need to get a glimpse of their times.
The god Apollo is a god of war,
His symbol is the locust.
Caesars Caligula, Nero and Domitian all claimed to be
Apollo incarnate.
John’s readers just might have understood that these “destructive
demonic forces had as their king the emperor of Rome.”
(Mounce p. 198)
But I think that such an interpretation is getting ahead of John.
The Caesar is going to play a role but I don’t believe now is the time.
We would have to create a logical scenario in which Caesar torments
his own citizens while leaving the Christian community
untouched.
This would be especially difficult consider it was
the faithful who are persecuted by the state.]
With the sixth trumpet things go from bad to worse.
“The torment of the first woe gives way for the widespread massacre of the
second.” (Mounce p. 201)
A third of the human race is killed by the plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur
that come out of the mouths of the horses of 200,000 million riders.
(Rev 9:15)
That number 200,000 million should be understood as an unlimited
number.
There just seems to be no end to them.
No one can escape such a gigantic force.
(Mounce p. 202)
What we have with these demonic locusts and these demonic horses is a picture of
the agony and the pain that humankind inflicts on itself.
These woes serve as divine judgment against a corrupt civilization.
(Ladd, p. 135)
So in a sense evil is devouring itself.
Aren’t human beings the source of the greatest torment and death of other
human beings?
Egoism if left unchecked can objectify anything,
Making everything it views as things to be used in order
to be god.
We have the ability to visit unspeakable horrors on each other.
We have meet the enemy, and discovered that we are them.
Will we as a race ever wise up?
I am afraid John’s answer is no.
Revelation 9:20-21 (MSG)
The remaining men and women who weren't killed by these weapons went on their merry way—didn't change their way of life, didn't quit worshiping demons, didn't quit centering their lives around lumps of gold and silver and brass, hunks of stone and wood that couldn't see or hear or move. There wasn't a sign of a change of heart. They plunged right on in their murderous, occult, promiscuous, and thieving ways.
I wanted to revisit that issue of eating food sacrificed to idols that played such a
prominent role in John’s letter to the churches.
Here in verse 20-21 John adds worshipping demons along with
worshipping idols.
A demon is obviously anti-God.
Is there anything in your life that is anti-God?
Do you allow something in your life to exist that is contrary to your
commitment to abide in Christ,
to be a disciple of Jesus,
to live a holy life?
If so you’ve got to kill it, you’ve got to put it to death,
Before it becomes the death of you.
Idols represent what you trust in.
When we considered Jezebel’s heresy in the church at Thyatira (Rev. 2:18)
To make money all you had to do was enjoy the guilds common meal
given in honor of their patron god.
The guilds had gods that blessed them, and made them prosperous.
What do you trust in to make you prosperous?
If its not God and God alone you may be worshipping an idol.
Granted a conventional, “everybody does it” idol of the popular
culture, but an idol none the less.
Now this is a little nuts and I don’t want to open a can of legalistic worms,
but one reason I don’t watch the Academy Awards,
or the Golden Globes or the Grammy’s is because I feel that
I’m eating the food sacrificed to idols.
If you looked close enough at me I’m sure you could point out a
couple areas in my life where I am eating the food sacrificed to
idols and you are not.
I think of the words of the Apostle Paul come to mind:
Romans 14:2-4 (NIV)
One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls.
So concerning worshipping demons and idols, examine your life,
Search your attitudes,
Put your behavior under the microscope,
and be clear before God that your lifestyle is a holy one.
Let’s get back to the text.
As with the Seven Seals after the 6th there is an interlude.
John gives us a glimpse of what is happening in the church.
In chapter 10 we have the vision of the angel and the scroll.
This scroll is different from the one we have already considered.
This scroll is a prophetic commission given to John.
He is authorized to preach the message of the mystery of God.
With this symbolism John is telling us that he hasn’t made any of this
stuff up, it is the message of God to His people.
Revelation 10:5-7 (MSG)
Then the Angel I saw astride sea and land lifted his right hand to Heaven and swore by the One Living Forever and Ever, who created Heaven and everything in it, earth and everything in it, sea and everything in it, that time was up— that when the seventh Angel blew his trumpet, which he was about to do, the Mystery of God, all the plans he had revealed to his servants, the prophets, would be completed.
We’ve already established that with the 7th comes the end.
But what is this mystery of God?
The writings of the Apostle Paul give us insight.
Ephesians 1:9-11 (NLT)
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
The mystery of God’s plan is that by bringing everything in creation under the authority of Christ, God the Father, reconciles all creation back to
Himself.
The contents of the scroll concerns the church. (Rev 10:11)
And that the contents turned John’s stomach bitter,
It means that its bitter news for the church.
I know we have hopped over a bunch of stuff, but we must press on in our
interlude leading us to the 7th Trumpet.
Chapter 11 really requires more time to understand than what we can give it today.
I will post my notes online on the hbcc.org website and try to guide you
through the chapter with more detail.
And here that information is---
[
Rev 11:1-2
The temple taken figuratively represents believers who abide in Christ.
(John 2:21; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Ephesians 2:22; 1 Peter 2:5) (Barclay)
Measuring the temple is a way of speaking about its preservation. (Ladd, p 152)
(Zech 2:1-5; Ezekiel 40-42)
It is very similar to the sealing of the faithful in Rev 7
This is not a guarantee that believers escape suffering, (Mounce p.219)
Rather that they dwell in a spiritual sanctuary already joined in the
victory of Jesus. (John 11:26)
There is a lot of speculation about the meaning of the outer courts of the temple.
This is my take on the topic:
The outer courts represent both all the non-essentials of church the
way we do it and those whose belief is merely lip service.
All of that gets trampled, or destroyed by the gentiles (gentiles
referring to non-believers).
1 Peter 4:17-19 (NIV)
For it is time
for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what
will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, "If it is
hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves
to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
The holy city is a reference to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem comes to symbolize the rightful dwelling place of the righteous.
(Eller, p. 115)
By verse 11:8 we will see that John has “de-mapped” the holy city
and given it a universal meaning.
The time of the trampling is 42 months (Rev 11:2; 13:5), 1,260 days (Rev 11:3;
12:6), “a time and times and half a time” (Rev 12:4; Dan 7:25; 12:7)
or 3½ years
John is drawing form the book of Daniel 8:9-14
“ The origin of the phrase “a time and times and half a time” comes from that most
terrible time in Jewish history when Antiochus Epiphanes, King of Syria,
tried to force Greek language, culture and worship upon the Jews and
was met with the most violent and stubborn resistance.
The toll of the martyrs was immense but the dreadful process was finally
halted by the rising of Judas Maccabaeus.:
(Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
Most protestants don’t know what the Apocrypha is.
In catholism the Apocrypha is comprised of 14 additional books that
are considered as authorities as the 66 books of Protestantism.
In the Apocrypha are the books of 1 & 2 Maccabees.
When one has an understanding of 1 & 2 Maccabees the book
of Daniel truly comes to light.
Daniel when interpreted without a knowledge of
the 1 Maccabees tends to produce some wild
speculations about the end times.
From Daniel and the story of the Maccabees we learn that 3 ½ represent a time of
“terror and suffering and martyrdom” (Barclay)
Again we should not take the 42 months, 1,260 days literally,
we should understand that these numbers designate a limited period of
intense persecution.
Revelation 11:3-7 the Two-Witnesses
Once again we have a lot of differing opinions as to what or who these two
witness are.
Sackcloth (verse 3) is the usual garb of the prophet.
(2 Kings 1:8; Isaiah 20:2, Zechariah 13:4)
The Two Witness are described as the two olive trees and two in the
throne room of God (verse 4)
This imagery is drawn from Zechariah chapter 4
representing spirit filled power.
Jeremiah 5 offers and explanation for the Fire comes from there
Mouths. (verse 14)
The fire is the message of judgment against a rebellious
people (Ladd, p. 155)
Now this message of judgment I believe is the gospel.
John 3:18-19 (NIV)
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Ezekiel 3:17-19 (NIV)
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
Falling to heed the testimony of the Two witnesses brings
fiery judgment to those who reject the message.
The Two witnesses are Moses-like and Elijah-like.
Their actions are reminiscent of what these two men did.
(Rev 11:6)
(Exodus 7:14-18, 1 Kings 17:1, 2 Kings 1:10)
What do Moses and Elijah represent?
The Law and the Prophets
Luke 24:44-48 (MSG)
Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled." He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses.
Acts 28:23-24 (NIV)
From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.
Romans 3:21-22 (NIV)
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
The Law and the Prophets represent the witnessing, testifying church.
(Ladd, p. 154, Mounce , p. 223, Eller, p. 115)
Identifying the two witness as the church is not a very popular idea because of what happens in verse 7
Rev 11:7-10 (NIV)
Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
The beast from the Abyss is the Anti-Christ.
One of the keys of being able to identify this beast from the Abyss as the
Anti-Christ is found in the original language.
Remember back in chapter 5 Jesus appears as a lampkin,
A translation of the Greek word arnion
The word used for beast here is therion
What you have is a play on words—
Arnion verse therion, I don’t think that this would have been
missed by the original readers who just may have smiled
at the word play if the situation wasn’t so deadly.
When the Church has finished her task of preaching the gospel,
The Anti-Christ makes war against the Church.
Matthew 24:9-14 (NIV)
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
The witness Church has preached the gospel to the whole world,
Now the end comes with the ending of the earthly church.
The Beast is a personification of “every hostile evil power that oppresses
and persecutes God’s people.” (Ladd, p. 156) (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
“Antichrist is the spirit of falsehood which seduces men from the truth and
leads them into mistaken ideas which are the ruin of the Christian
faith.” (Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
“The dead bodies of the witnesses are not symbols of a spiritually dead church, but portray the
destiny of the faithful who hold their convictions firm till the end.” (Rev 2:10) (Mounce, p. 227)
John names the location of this martyrdom,
It occurs in the Great City, spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where Jesus
was crucified.
The cities or civilizations that man builds are in opposition to the rule and
reign of God.
Hebrews 11:10 (NIV)
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 13:12-14 (NIV)
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
“Cain has been considered the progenitor of evil via an alliance with Satan (rebelled against YHVH’s guidance) and by his prideful (greed for superiority) murder of his brother Abel. Cain was engaged in Agriculture, which is an unequivocal essential element required to building and maintaining civilization—cities (city creation, i.e., economy). And Cain was in fact the first in Biblical history known to have built the first city. This same evil concept and habit would then be replicated by his posterity as well as others who adopted this same evil model both before and after the flood.”
(http://www.prophecy-bible-prophecy.org/mystery-babylon.html)
“One may challenge the premise that civilization building (city building) is evil. But this must not be challenged with modern, desensitized, carnal thinking. It must be considered from YHVH’s perspective. In general, cities, civilization, commerce, etc. runs contrary to YHVH plan since all have roots in evil rather than in righteousness. However, there will be a city, whose builder and maker is YHVH. This city is being built by and sustained by divine principles of morality diametrically opposed to current earthly cities under the domain of Satan.”
(http://www.prophecy-bible-prophecy.org/mystery-babylon.html)
“Furthermore, when a person lives in and participates in the economy of any city they indirectly contribute (and thus an accomplice) to the power, pride and wealth of the city’s founder and its inhabitants as well as all the atrocities she commits upon its own citizens (injustice, neglect of widows, orphans, the poor and the stranger, etc.) and upon citizens of other cities, especially in the murderous acts of war.”
(http://www.prophecy-bible-prophecy.org/mystery-babylon.html)
The literalist will leap and this occurs in Jerusalem.
But we’ve taken a more figurative approach and
When you consider that times in which John wrote he is most
likely thinking of Rome.
But even Rome as a location will be taken
figuratively.
Revelation 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18, 19, & 21 identify the
great city as Babylon.
“Sodom refers to the depths of moral degradation.”
(Genesis 19:4-11) (Mounce p. 227)
“Egypt is a symbol of oppression and slavery.
(Mounce, p. 227)
“where Jesus was crucified” is any city that rejects Him.
“The great city is that conglomeration of world's cities that reject
aliens and foreigners in its midst by oppressing them.
Its sin like Sodom and Egypt is the lack of hospitality.
Any city in the world that mistreats the foreigner in its midst is
in danger of colluding with the great city and exposes
itself to the judgment of God.”
(http://cherubim77.blogspot.com/2009/01/great-city-called-sodom-and-egypt-rev.html)
“The great city is ‘every city and no city.
It is civilized man in organized community” (Mounce, p. 226)
That is opposed to the rule and reign of God.
With the church gone, the world rejoices.
How long did Jesus stay in the tomb?
Matthew 12:38-40 (NLT)
Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
With the resurrection of the two witnesses 3 1/;2 days after their
execution,
the world is given again the sign of Jonah.
That the witnesses are raised to heaven signifies that this is the
event that occurs just prior to Jesus second coming.
If we are looking for the “Rapture” of the Church,
This is where it occurs,
when the last of the faithful have surrendered their
life as testimony to the Gospel.
The earthquake symbolizes a great upheaval of the social order. (Mounce, p. 228)
A 10th of the world’s civilization collapses (Rev 6:15-17)
7,000 are killed in the ensuing chaos.
7 is the number that can represent completeness.
Following our logic to understand the 144,000
What we have is 7 and that a thousand times over,
A way of saying a 10th of humanity is killed.
I think this is a picture of the death of those who are adamantly opposed to
God.
The rest of the human race survives and gives glory to God,
Which is a way of speaking about repentance (Mounce, p. 229; Ladd, p. 159)
]
Here’s a quick overview.
The two witness symbolize the Church and her commission to preach the
gospel to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8, 13:47)
The Beast from the Abyss is the Anti-Christ.
I asked you to remember the word arnion,
In chapter 5 Jesus the Lion of the tribe of Judah is announced
and entering into the throne room of God comes a little
lamp, an arnion.
The beast out of the Abyss is therion.
The Beast overpowers and kills the two witness.
Revelation 11:7 (NIV)
Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.
This is what turned John’s stomach bitter.
For the church, all those who abide in Christ,
Experience a physical death at the hands of the Beast.
What we get from this I think in vitally important for us to understand:
“The way the church is called to go,
the way she is to take through the world of the end-time,
is the way Jesus already has gone” (Eller, p. 120)
The Lamb became the Shepherd who leads his people down the same exact
path He traveled. (Rev 7:17)
The bodies lie in the street of the great city.
Cities are symbolic for civilizations.
What John does by describing the great city,
called Sodom and Egypt,
where Jesus was crucified,
is to completely de-map the location and take it out of time.
“The great city is ‘every city”
“The great city is man in organized community” (Mounce, p. 226)
That is opposed to the rule and reign of God.
How long was Jesus in the tomb? 3 days.
It is therefore not surprising that the world’s party over the
death of the saints last 3 ½ days.
Then something incredible happens.
Revelation 11:11-12 (NIV)
But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
If you are looking for the “Rapture” of the church it would be here that it happens.
There is a resurrection.
Jesus ascended into heaven in a cloud,
So does his church.
Jesus is like a Lamb with love that is ferocious like a Lion.
So great is Jesus victory that even death and the grave could not hold Him.
Neither will death and the grave be able to hold those who abide in
Him.
Revelation 11:13 (NIV)
At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Earthquakes are a sign of social upheaval (Mounce, p. 228)
A 10th of the world’s civilization collapses (Rev 6:15-17)
7,000 are killed in the ensuing chaos.
7 is the number that can represent completeness.
Following our logic to understand the 144,000
What we have is 7 and that a thousand times over,
I think this is a picture of the death of those who are adamantly opposed to
God.
The rest of the human race survives and gives glory to God,
Which is a way of speaking about repentance.
(Mounce, p. 229; Ladd, p. 159)
Finally the 7th Trumpet, the end.
Revelation 11:15-18 (NIV)
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
"The kingdom
of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will
reign for ever and ever."
16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell
on their faces and worshiped God, saying:
"We give
thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have
taken your great power and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the
prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name,
both small and great--and for destroying those who destroy the earth."
Did you catch it?
Something has changed, do you see it?
Last time the 24 elders gave praise in the throne room they said:
Revelation 4:8 (NLT)
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
The “still to come” is missing.
It missing because here at the beginning of the 7th
Jesus has come again.
Jesus fulfills his promises.
John 14:1-3 (NIV)
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Now recall what was established earlier with our discussion of Apocalyptic
Surrealism:
John wrote like Picasso painted.
We made the assumption that the vision of the Seals,
Trumpets and Bowls are not in a linear progression.
Rather they instead together paint a picture of the
trauma of the end times, the character of the
end times.
Hold on to that idea of fluidity.
Because it is only when we see the whole picture does it
make sense.
We still have 11 chapters to go.
Questions?
Here’s what I want you to walk away with today.
The purpose of God’s Wrath, is not to punish but to motivate repentance.
I hinted at the possibility that when God lessens his restraint of the evil that humanity is capable of,
our deeds bring upon us the pain and suffering and death
and destruction written about in this book.
Revelation 3:19 (MSG)
"The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they'll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!
If you want to save yourself from a world of unnecessary hurt,
You need to run after God.
Do you have a sense of urgency about your relationship
with God?
Don’t eat the food sacrificed to idols.
This is a warning to be discerning about how you take part in the
greater culture.
It’s a call to examine your life before God the Holy Spirit and ask to
have you areas of inconsistency in living a holy life illuminated.
Is your lifestyle to be commended?
From the lesson on the fate of the church I want you to understand that the
invitation of Jesus is an invitation to die.
“The cross that saves is the cross that slays.”
(Tozer, God’s Pursuit of Man, p. 52)
We are called to die to self daily,
As we take up our cross and follow Jesus.
The ultimate death of egoism is to offer yourself up as a living
sacrifice.
Are you being broken and spilled out for others,
Or is your Christianity all about you?
In our glimpse of the end we see that Jesus makes good on His promises.
Is it your intention to make good on yours?