Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 46:1-11; 19–28

“The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: ‘Prepare buckler and shield, and advance for battle! Harness the horses; mount, O horsemen! Take your stations with your helmets, polish your spears, put on your armor! Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. Their warriors are beaten down and have fled in haste; they look not back— terror on every side!’ declares the Lord. ‘The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape; in the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen. Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’ Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow. That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you… [verse 19] Prepare yourselves baggage for exile, O inhabitants of Egypt! For Memphis shall become a waste, a ruin, without inhabitant. A beautiful heifer is Egypt, but a biting fly from the north has come upon her. Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like fattened calves; yes, they have turned and fled together; they did not stand, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their punishment. She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away; for her enemies march in force and come against her with axes like those who fell trees. They shall cut down her forest, declares the Lord, though it is impenetrable, because they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number. The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame; she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.’ The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: ‘Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old’, declares the Lord. ‘But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished’” (Jeremiah 46:1-11; 19–28, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 9:13-21

“Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts’” (Revelation 9:13–21, ESV).

Exposition

When the sixth angel blew his trumpet John “heard a voice from the four horns of the golden alter before God…”

This golden alter has been mentioned many times now in the book of Revelation. In 6:9 John saw “the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” under the alter. From there they cried out to God for justice to be served. What follows is a description of judgment, an answer to their prayers. In 8:3 it was upon this alter that John saw an angel offer up much incense along with the prayers of all the saints before the throne of God. And in 8:5 John says that “the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.” This alter, then, has taken a central place in the book of Revelation. It has come to represent, on the one hand, the prayers of the saints in heaven and on earth coming to the ears of God, and on the other hand, the place from which the judgments of God are poured out upon the earth. The same seems to be true here in Revelation 9:13. John heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden alter. Are we not to assume that, one, judgment is about to be released, and two, that it is prayers of God’s people that precipitate the outpouring of the judgment.

The number four is used in the book of Revelation, as well as other places in scripture, to symbolize completeness especially in connection with the earth. We use the number four symbolically even today, referring to the ends of the earth as the four corners of the earth – north, south, east and west. The number four symbolizes global completeness. It is to here – to this four cornered alter – that the prayers of all the saints throughout all the world come. And it is from here that the judgments of God are poured out upon all the earth. Horns symbolize power in the Bible. It from this alter, with four horns on it’s corners, that the God’s powerful sovereign judgments are poured out.

What did the voice coming from the horns of the alter say? The voice from the alter addressed “the sixth angel who had the trumpet [saying], ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates’” (Revelation 9:14, ESV).

The mention of “four angels… bound” here in this text should remind us immediately of the other bound quadruplets that we have encountered in the book of Revelation. The four horsemen of Revelation 6 and also the four angels called the four winds of heaven in Revelation 7:1-2 should come to mind. These spiritual beings were given authority by God to harm the earth, but they are described as being restrained until some appointed time, then they are released. The same is true here in Revelation 9. Mention is made of “four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

The Euphrates River originates in eastern Turkey, flows through Syria and Iraq, joins the Tigris river, and then empties into the Persian Gulf. In biblical times, from the perspective of the Jews, the Euphrates River was associated with the enemy nations from the east who threatened them and who would eventually carry them into captivity. Put yourself in Israel and under the Old Covenant. Look east, away from the Mediterranean Sea, across the Jordan, far out into the wilderness. What do you think of when you consider that land where the Euphrates River runs? That is where the enemy lives. That is where conquering armies come from.

Quoting Dr. Dennis Johnson, “The Euphrates River had biblical and contemporary significance. In biblical history the Euphrates connoted a source of oppression and place of exile. Beyond the Euphrates River had stood ancient Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire that conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, and Babylon, which had carried Judah into captivity. The Lord had humbled and dismantled Babylon through the rising power of the Medo-Persian Empire and had resettled his people in the land of promise. But prophets of the exile still spoke of foreign powers such as  ‘Gog,’ who would sweep down from the northeast, from the Euphrates, to afflict God’s people” (Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, 150).

Johnson explains the contemporary significance of the Euphrates, saying, “For residents of the Roman Empire at the end of the first century [contemporary with the writing of the book of Revelation], the Euphrates was the eastern edge of the of Rome’s domain, beyond which were the threatening powers of the East, especially Parthia with its calvary of mounted archers, always harassing the Roman Empire’s eastern outposts. During the 60’s, after the conflagration that destroyed large portions of Rome and Nero’s disappearance, rumors flew in the capitol and the provinces that the megalomaniacal emperor had escaped to the east and was making preparations to reconquer the world at the head of the Parthian calvary” (Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, 150).

Why do I read these excerpts from Johnson’s commentary? Well, they helps us get into the mind of the original reader of the book of Revelation living in 90 A.D. These were Christians who knew the Old Testament – they knew the significance of the Euphrates River, biblically speaking. And these were Christians living in a particular situation. To them, mention of powers pent up at the Euphrates meant something. It conjured up images of the marauding hoards that constantly assaulted their homeland. It probably also brought to mind the myth that Nero had fled there, and might return, bringing all manner of destruction with him. The vision shown to John is be understood with these things in mind. When the Christians living within those seven churches in Asia Minor to whom this book was addressed read the words, “release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates”, they would not have thought, I wonder what that will mean for Christian living 2,000 years from now, but rather, this image represents what has happened and what will happen time and again in human history – nation will rise up against nation, people against people, bring all manner death and destruction.

Mention of “angels bound at the Euphrates” has symbolic force. It symbolizes the fact we live in a world that is constantly on the verge of being given over to chaos and calamity. God, by his grace, restrains it; but he also permits calamities as a form of judgment upon the wicked. The voice from the alter addressed “the sixth angel who had the trumpet [saying], ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates’” (Revelation 9:14, ESV).

“So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:15, ESV). Notice that these angels were prepared, that is to say, made ready, for a particular task to be accomplished at a particular time – “the hour, the day, the month, and the year”.

The futurist believes that the “hour, the day, the month, and the year” is yet to come in our future. Tim Lahaye, a popular dispensationalist and futurist says, “There is no need to spiritualize, ‘the great river Euphrates’, considered by Bible scholars to be the greatest river of boundaries in the Bible… That these four evil angels are today (copyright 1999) bound in that area of the world is no accident, for it seems that some of the world’s greatest events took place near the Euphrates River” (Lahaye, Revelation Unveiled, 174). His view is that Revelation 9:13-21 describes something that will happen yet future to us.

Our view is that Revelation 9:13-21, though it describes events future to us, also describes events that were near in time to those who first to read Revelation, having received it from John in 90 A.D.

In response to Lahaye’s comment, “there is no need to spiritualize, ‘the great river Euphrates’”, I would say two things. One, I agree that we should not “spiritualize” the text if by that he means interpreting this passage as if it will never have any real fulfillment that manifests itself in the physical world, but only “spiritual” meaning or application. I do think that this text has been and will be fulfilled in the world through actual historical happenings. Two, though we ought not to spiritualize this passage in the way described above, we must take it as symbolic. The whole of the book of Revelation is filled with symbols. The book communicates truth via symbol. That is why our first impulse should be to ask, what does the river Euphrates symbolize, and what does the releasing of the four angels bound there, prepared for “the hour, the day, the month, and the year” represent in this vision?

In the mind of the futurist there are literally four fallen angels – angels of destruction – bound right now at the Euphrates (I suppose they have been there for 1,900 years or more) who are waiting for “the hour, the day, the month, and the year” so that they might do what they have been prepared to do.

The idealist, which is what I am, interprets the passage differently and begins by asking what do these things represent? And after discerning the symbolism associated with the number four, the Euphrates, and the principle of restraint and releasing, we then to move to ask the question, how has this been fulfilled in the past, and how might this come to be in the future?

Look at what happens when the angels are released. “So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:15, ESV). Is this the final judgment? No, it is something less than that.

Then we are told that “the number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number” (Revelation 9:16, ESV). These mounted troops seem to appear out of nowhere. These four ungodly angels have power over these ungodly spiritual forces. Literally, their number is 200,000,000. This should remind us of what happened when the fifth trumpet was blown. The fallen star was given the key to the bottomless pit and when the pit was opened so many locust rushed out that the sun was darkened. So too, when the four angels are released, an innumerable hoard of evil spirits appear armed for battle and ridding upon horses.

Verse 17: “And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur , and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths” (Revelation 9:17, ESV). These are ferocious creatures who bring about death and destruction.

“By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths” (Revelation 9:18, ESV). Beale notes that “elsewhere in the Apocalypse the same phrase [fire and sulphur] is always used in references to the final judgment of ungodly idolaters (14:10; 21:8) and of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet (19:20; 20:10). Therefore, 9:17 speaks of a similar judgment, but one that precedes the final punishment. Likewise in the OT “fire and sulphur”, sometimes with “smoke,” indicate a fatal judgment (Gen. 19:24, 28; Deut. 29:23; 2 Sam. 22:9; Isa. 34:9-10; Ezek. 38:22)” (Beale, NIGTC, 510-511).

In verse 19 we read: “For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound” (Revelation 9:19, ESV). This should remind us of the description of the locust. It should also remind us that these are not literal horses, but symbolic. They represent demons in such a way that reminds us of their power, their ferocity, and their ability to deceive.

It seems to me that Christians living in America, or in any place that has not been touched by war or significant civil unrest for some time, have a particularly difficult time understanding what is symbolized here with the sounding of the sixth trumpet.

You and I live with a sense of security not enjoyed by all in the world today, not to mention the history of the world. Imagine what it would have been like to live in Europe in the 1940’s. Or put yourself in Korea living near the 38th parallel in 1950. Or imagine living in Vietnam in the 60’s and 70’s. Somehow I think you might read Revelation 9:13-21 a little differently if you were living in those places at those times.

Certainly you would have thought, “this is being fulfilled now! I see it before my eyes. Death and destruction is all around me! Look at power of the evil one unleashed! Look at how sick and sinful humanity is!” Indeed, being surrounded on every side with death and destruction you would have been right to say, “it appears as if the four angels once bound at the Euphrates, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, have been released to kill a third of mankind.” If you had any knowledge of history you would also say, “this is not the first time”. If you had any understanding of human nature you would say, “this will not be the last”, unless the Lord returns.

My complaint against the futurist and the dispensationalist is not that they see the prophesies of the book of Revelation being fulfilled in the world today. I also believe that the visions shown to John are being and will be fulfilled. My complaint against them is that they busy themselves trying to find THE ONE EVENT that fulfills this passage or that exhaustively so that they might start their countdown clocks. The approach is misguided.

You would think that men and women, having had a taste of judgment and having seen with their eyes the depth of man’s depravity would turn from their own sin and to Christ. But look at verses 20 and 21: “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20–21, ESV).

This parallels the exodus. God judgments were poured out upon the Egyptians in the form of plagues, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. He did not turn from worshipping his false God’s.

Let me draw your attention to four things before we close.

Intensification

First of all, notice the intensification that we see as the book of Revelation progresses.

Remember the how the seal cycle intensified as it progressed from seal to seal.

The first four describe calamity in general.

In the fifth the souls of the mortars cry out for justice.

The sixth describes the final judgment from an earthly perspective.

The seventh describes the final judgment from the heavenly perspective.

And notice the intensification from the seals to the trumpets.

1/4 to 1/3

The judgments poured out are less general and more pointed.

The imagery is more graphic

Notice the intensification from trumpet to trumpet.

In the first four the realms of creation are touched, disturbing the natural order of things, taking comfort and security from the earth dweller.

In the fifth, those who do not belong to Christ are tormented spiritually and physiologically, but in a limited way. For five months. The locusts cannot kill them.

In the sixth trumpet 1/3 of all the idol worshippers are killed.

We will see intensification as we move from the trumpet cycle to the bowl cycle.

The meaning is this, I think. The world – people and nations – tend towards evil, and not towards good. And therefore the judgments of God intensify accordingly in the lives of individuals and nations. And this pattern repeats itself, not only in the book of Revelation, but also in human history.

Applied To The World

It seems to me that the world is moving, not from bad to good, but from bad to bad, if not bad to worse. I disagree with the postmillennialist who is optimistic concerning the betterment of culture. I am optimistic concerning the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, but I question weather the world is going to become a better place.

“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to [Jesus] privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. ‘Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:3–14, ESV).

Applied To Nations

It seems to me that nations follow this pattern. They tend to degenerate over time, and not improve, morally speaking.

Applied To Individuals

And the same is true concerning individuals who do not know Christ. It seems to me that this is the kind of thing that Paul was talking about in Romans 1:18: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:18–25, ESV).

Restraint

Secondly, notice the principle of restraint. The destructive angels who were eventually release were first of all bound.

And when they were released they were permitted to kill only 1/3 of the idolators – 2/3 of the enemies of God were spared.

To those who blaspheme God saying, “if there is a God then why is there so much suffering in the world?”, I say, “it is only because God is merciful that there is not more.” God would be right to judge all fully and finally now.

But he is merciful to all. And he unimaginably gracious to those whom he has determined to reconciled to himself through faith in Christ Jesus.

Permission

Thirdly, notice the principle of permission.

Certainly God will judge in a most direct way in the future. But he also judges by way of permission.

He gives men over to their sins, permitting them to walk according to their sinful desires so that they reap the consequences of their ways.

And he permits the evil spirits to at in this world. They are restrained – that we have already seen – but he does permit them to act so that he might bring about his judgments through them.

Preservation

Lastly, let me remind you of God’s ability to preserve those who are his.

What is described here in the sixth trumpet is God’s judgment poured out upon those who do  “not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor [do] they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” These are the ones judged.

This corresponds to the fifth seal. It is those who do not have God’s mark on them who come under his judgment. Christians suffer in the world, no doubt. But for the child of God the suffering is for good. It is to refine. The end of it is life. But for those not in Christ, the suffering is just judgment, and it’s end is death.

Turn to Christ, friend. Confess your sin to him, trust in him, cling to him always, and see that God is good and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6, ESV)

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 10:1-20

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.’ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’’ Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, ‘How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?’ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, ‘Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?’ Moses said, ‘We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.’ And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.’ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.’ So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go” (Exodus 10:1–20, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 9:1-12

“And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come” (Revelation 9:1–12, ESV).

Introduction 

I will begin today by stating directly the meaning of this passage, and then afterwards move carefully through the text, verse by verse, in order to demonstrate the validity of the interpretation.

The vision that was shown to John when the fifth of the seven trumpets was blown symbolizes this truth: Satan, that ancient serpent and fallen angel, was barred from heaven and cast down to earth when Christ won the decisive victory over him through his life, death, burial and resurrection. Satan was defeated then. One of the effects of Christ’s victory was that Satan was barred from heaven as the accuser of the brethren, was restricted to the earth, and was bound.

To say that he was bound does not mean that he is now powerless in every respect, or that he is inactive altogether, but that such a decisive victory was won over him through the cross of Christ, that whatever he does, he does only by way of permission. God and Christ are sovereign over the evil one. This has always been the case. But from the time of the ascension of Christ to the Father, the powers of the evil one are greatly limited. Satan is on a shorter leash today than in the days prior to the resurrection of Christ from the dead. And it is Christ who holds that leash.

The evil one knows that his days are numbered. When he is permitted to act, he acts, therefore, with great ferocity. That seems to be the point of this vision. Satan is a wicked and cruel master. He torments with spiritual and psychological torment all who belong to him – that is, all who do not have the seal of God upon them, but who have taken instead his mark. The reward they receive for their fidelity to him is not life, but death; not peace, but turmoil. These torments are poured out upon the ungodly by his demons, whom he is king over.

Some of you have lived for a time under the torments of this wicked master.  Some of you are living under his torments even now as you walk, not according to Christ, but according to the evil one. You know what it is to be stung by his minions, and to even long for death, but to have death flee from you. This passage ought to to move the Christian to follow Christ all the more closely – to be true to him as Lord – to be his slave, knowing that his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:30).  To have Christ as Lord is to have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding… [guarding] your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7, ESV).

This is the meaning of the vision shown to John when the fifth of seven trumpets were blown.

Brothers and sisters, remember that when the first four trumpets were blown judgments were poured out upon the created world. When the first trumpet was blown John saw hail, fire and blood cast upon the land. When the second trumpet was blown he saw something like a burning mountain cast into the sea. When the third trumpet was blown he saw a great star burning like a torch fall upon rivers and springs. And when the fourth trumpet was blown the sun, moon and stars were darkened. In each instance our minds are directed back to the Old Testament, particularly the plagues poured out upon the Egyptians at the exodus – there too the created world was effected. In each of the four trumpets the plagues of the exodus are both universalized (not restricted to the land of Egypt, but effecting the world), and also restrained (only a third of the mentioned realms are said to be effected). The meaning of the first four trumpets is this: God will, in the time between Christ’s first and second comings, pour out partial and perpetual judgments upon the earth disrupting the stability of life on this planet as a demonstration to the unbelieving and idolatrous, that they are not right with God, and as a warning to all that a full and final judgment will one day come. The first six trumpets in the book of Revelation function like the first six trumpets in the days leading up to the destruction of Jericho. We should remember, though, that God, while pouring out partial and perpetual judgments upon the idolatrous can and will preserve his people. Nations will rise and fall. There will be wars and rumors of wars. Earthquakes and famines will trouble us. But by the grace of God these phenomena will be restrained. The end is not yet. These are but the beginning of birth pains. The people of God are to persevere.

Intensification

Notice that the last three trumpets are set off from the first four.

There is an intensification. Look at 8:13.  Between the sounding of the fourth trumpet and the fifth we have these words: “Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow’” (Revelation 8:13, ESV)!

Eagles and vultures symbolize judgment in the Bible. They are called to gorge themselves upon the flesh of the fallen.

Ezekiel 39:1-5: “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 39:1–5, ESV).

Here an eagle is seen by John flying overhead and crying out “woe, woe, woe”. The last of the seven trumpets are also called “woes”, for they are more intense than the first four.

A Star Fallen From Heaven

When the “fifth angel blew his trumpet… [John] saw a star fallen from heaven to earth…” (Revelation 9:1a, ESV).

This star represents Satan. He is, in verse eleven, said to be the king over the demonic hoards that will proceed from the bottomless pit. His name, in verse eleven, is said to be Abandon in Hebrew, and Apollyon in Greek. “Abandon” means destruction. “Apollyon” means destroyer.

Notice that in this vision John does not say that he saw Satan fall, but that he saw him fallen: “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth…” (Revelation 9:1a, ESV).  The verb “fallen” is in the perfect tense which is used in the Greek to refer to a completed action that occurred in the past but produces a state of being that exists in the present, from the writers perspective. The vision picks up, then, not with Satan being cast from heaven, but with him already having been barred from heaven and bound.

The casting down of Satan from heaven to earth will be portrayed in Revelation 12:7-12.

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short” (Revelation 12:7–12, ESV)!

Jesus referred to the casting down of Satan from heaven to earth in his earth ministry.  Luke 10:17-20 says,  “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’  And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven’” (Luke 10:17–20, ESV). The disciples of Jesus rejoiced that they had authority over the demonic in Christ’s name. And Jesus confirmed their success by saying, “I saw…” (other translations say, “I was watching”, or “I beheld”, which brings out the emphasis of the imperfect tense a little more, I think) “I saw [or was watching] Satan fall like lightning from heaven”. The disciples of Christ were beginning to enjoy the victory of Christ over the evil on even in the days of his earthly ministry as the kingdom of heaven was intruding.

In John 12:31-32 we find these words on Jesus’ lips as he speaks of the effect of his death: “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:31–32, ESV). The death of Christ would accomplish, among other things, the casting out Satan, who is the ruler of this world.

Matthew 12:28-29 communicates a similar concept. Christ here speaks of the binding of Satan. He replied to the accusation of his opponents that he was casting out dreams by the power of Satan with the words, “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12:26, ESV) And in verse 28 he says, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Matthew 12:28–29, ESV).

Indeed, this is what Christ has accomplished through his life, death, and resurrection. He has defeated the evil one so that he be barred from heaven. He has bound him from deceiving the nations so that he might plunder his house through the advancement of his kingdom by the making of disciples to the ends of the earth.

You might be thinking to yourself, but wasn’t Satan cast from heaven the moment he fell? Not completely. Do you remember the story of Job? The book begins with a description of Job as a righteous man, but the focus quickly turns to the accusations that Satan brings to God against him.

Job 1:6-12: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord” (Job 1:6–12, ESV).

Satan, after his fall, was permitted to come before God in heaven. And what was he doing there? Bringing accusation against God’s elect.

The same thing can be observed in Zechariah 3:1. Zechariah saw a heavenly vision where he was shown, and I quote,  “…Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire’” (Zechariah 3:1–2, ESV)? Once more, Satan is said to come before God to do what? Accuse God’s elect!

And do you remember what Christ said to Peter as he warned him that he would deny him three time? “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32, ESV). Again, Satan is portrayed as the accuser of God’s elect and evidently, even at this point in time immediately preceding the crucifixion of Christ, has access to God to ask for Peter that he might destroy him.

When the scriptures refer to Satan being cast or barred from heaven at Christ’s first coming, this is what stands behind it. He, in this New Covenant era no longer has access to God to accuse the elect for the work of Christ has been finished.

It is the Revelation 12 passage that I read earlier which makes this so clear. The heavenly announcement was this: “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” This was accomplished at Christ’s first coming. I will prove it when we come to that text in our study.

Do you see that when A-millennialists such as I say things like, “Satan was bound at Christ’s first coming”, or “Satan was bared from heaven at Christ’s first coming”, or “Satan was defeated at Christ’s first coming”, we do not mean to say that he is powerless in every respect, or that he is inactive altogether. No! He is indeed active. He has power. He is ferocious. But he is on a short leash. He cannot accuse the brethren any long, nor is he able to keep the nation is darkness, nor can he do harm to God’s elect.

That he is still active is clear from the text that is before us this morning.

He Was Given The Key To The Shaft Of The Bottomless Pit 

Notice at the end of verse one that John saw this fallen star being given “… the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1, ESV).

The bottomless pit, or the abyss, is the realm of demons over which Satan rules. Revelation 20:1-3 says that Satan is bound there. It is from the bottomless pit that the beast will arise. Revelation 11:7 says “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them…” (Revelation 11:7, ESV). Listen also to Revelation 17:8: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction…. (Revelation 17:8, ESV).  The image is that of Satan doing his destructive work on the earth from this bottomless pit as he sends forth his emissaries from there.

Remember that John saw him being given “… the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.” Who gave the keys to him? Christ did. Remember that Christ is the one who, by his death and resurrection, has “the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17–18, ESV). It is God and Christ who have the keys, but they here given to Abaddon, who is also called Apollyon, for a purpose. To quote G.K. Beale, the meaning is this: “Neither Satan nor his evil servants can any longer unleash the forces of hell on earth unless they are given power to do so by the resurrected Christ.”

Brothers and sisters, Satan has surely been bound – he is certainly restrained (praise be to God) – but this does not mean that he is inactive. He is king of the abyss. And he is permitted by God to release destruction upon the earth from the abyss, but in a limited and restrained way.

Locust From The Bottomless Pit  

Look at verse two and use your imagination as we read. The fallen star, who’s name is Abaddon and Apollyon “opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft” (Revelation 9:2, ESV).

Can you picture what John saw in this vision? Can you picture the abyss and smoke rising from it “like the smoke of a great furnace”? So thick was this smoke that “the sun and the air were darkened” by it.

But this is not merely smoke.  Verse three: “Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth” (Revelation 9:3, ESV).

The eighth of the ten plagues should come to mind. Remember that God sent swarms of locust upon the Egyptians. “The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt” (Exodus 10:14–15, ESV). In this way God poured out judgment upon the idolators of Egypt, but he preserved his own.

Notice in Revelation that these are not literal locusts who literally consume literal plants. Instead these locusts, “were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4, ESV).

Their work is limited. They do not have the freedom to harm people indiscriminately, but only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Who are these except all who belong to Christ by faith who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise? It is the 144,00 who are sealed – 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of multiethnic, New Covenant Israel – that is to say, the church.

These locusts cannot touch God’s people, but only the idolaters who have, not the seal of God, but the mark of beast. Friends, you are not free. You are in bondage to someone. You either belong to Christ, having been sealed by him, or you belong to the evil one, bearing his mark.

These locusts, who represent demons,  “were allowed to torment them [those not sealed by God] for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone” (Revelation 9:5, ESV).

Notice again that these are limited. They are permitted to torment for five months. This should not be taken literally. Numbers are symbolic in this book. The point seems to be that, not only are the locust restrained from harming God’s people, bit they are restrained also in regard to the harm they can do even to the idolator.

They are also restrained in that they are not allowed to kill those whom they torment.

Their torment is described as the sting of a scorpion.

It seems to me that what is portrayed here in Revelation is a depiction of what Christ said in Luke 10:18-20: “And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:18–20, ESV).

Such is the torment of these locusts that those effected by them “in those days… will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them” (Revelation 9:6, ESV).

The futurist and the hyper-literalist thinks that this is a literal description of literal creatures who will literally sting with a sting like that of a scorpion, and that the literal and physical pain will drive men mad to the point of desiring death. This method of interpretation is not in step with the method of interpretation demanded elsewhere in the book of Revelation. The book everywhere communicates truth by way of symbol. The torment of the locusts sting is not literal and physical, but spiritaulartul and psychological. This interpretation is in keeping with the symbolism of the rest of he book.

The point is this: this is how the evil one rewards those who belong to him. Notice that he is pleased to sting, not the people of God, but his own people. He is pleased to torment them. He is glad to remove all joy and peace as he overwhelms them with all manner of spiritual torment to the point that they despair of life and long for death.

A child of God – one sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise – cannot be stung by the full power of the locusts sting. But I cannot help but think that the Christian may taste what it is like to live under these torments for a time when he or she turns from Christ to walk in sin, and in so doing, grieves the Spirit of God with which they have been sealed.

Some of you know what it is to belong to the evil one and to be tormented by him to the point of despairing of life and longing for death. The thing that kept you from suicide, was the fearful expectation of judgment.

But some of you who belong to Christ have walked in sin and, in so doing, grieved the Holy Spirit so that you know something of the tortuous existence experienced by those who have not the Holy Spirit. This, I think, is a relatively common Christian experience.

Walk with Christ, friends. Turn from your sins and believe in him. Confess him as Lord, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:30). In him is found joy and peace and much comfort. To belong to the evil one will bring only everlasting torment to your soul.

Notice the description of these locusts in Revelation 9:7-10. “In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails” (Revelation 9:7–10, ESV).

Some hyper-literalistic dispensational futurists think that John must have been shown a vision of modern attack helicopters and that he did his best to describe what he saw. I will admit that I can see how this passage would get their imaginations going. I can understand how they would come to this conclusion given their presuppositions about the book of Revelation – they assume that the visions shown to John we like video footage, as it were, of historical events that are yet to happen in our future. But as I have said before, their presuppositions are faulty.

Instead it is better to understand that what John saw had symbolic significance and that it draws upon key Old Testament texts.

The way that John describes locust should take our minds to Joel chapters 1 and 2 and Jeremiah 51, which I do not have the time to read today.

It is clear that he struggled to describe what he saw.  He said, “In appearance the locusts were like…” These creatures were so strange that he struggled to describe them. They were like nothing he had seen before.

The way that the creatures are described underscores that they are powerful, rational, terrifying, beings who possess authority to destroy.

When I say this is not a literal description of real creatures that should not bring you too much comfort. These creatures represent real beings who, although they do not look like this, have real power cause real destruction. The terrifying description of them ought to make us all the more sober concerning the evil one and power to destroy.

Conclusion

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 7:1–20; 9:22–26; 10:21–23

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.’ But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.’’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’’ Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood” (Exodus 7:1–20, ESV).

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.’ Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail” (Exodus 9:22–26, ESV).

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived” (Exodus 10:21–23, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 8:6–13

“Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter. The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow’” (Revelation 8:6–13, ESV)!

Introduction 

Not only should we remember that the book of Revelation is a book that communicates truth through symbols, that it is organized, not chronologically, but thematically and theologically, and that it is not only about events yet in our future, but things past, present, and future to us (these three principles were emphasized last Sunday), we must also remember that the book of Revelation was written for a church under attack.

The book was delivered to churches, and to the Christians who were members of those churches, who were being assaulted by the evil one in a variety of ways. This is how the evil one operates. His tactics are not uniform, but diverse, creative, and cunning. It is true that he, like a prowling lion, but the Christian should remember that he will devour in a variety of ways.

Sometimes he will seek to lull the Christian into a state of sleepy, disengaged, and comfortable complacency.

Sometimes he will attempt to seduce the Christian with the world. Like a fish attracted to the flash of the lure, so he seeks to draw Christians away from their singleminded devotion to Christ to chase after the shinny things of this world.

At other times the evil one assaults the church by way of false teaching. Here he seeks to capitalize upon the religious devotion and fervor of men. “Let them remain religious”, he reasons, “but let us be sure that the content of the religion is Christ-less”. This is one of his tactics – to keep men and women from God and from Christ by way of a worldly religion. False teaching is as potent a weapon as any other in the evil one’s arsenal. The world is filled with people who are deeply religious and yet do not know God, for they have not come to him trusting in Christ alone, who is the only mediator between God and man. Indeed, the world is even filled with those who bear the name “Christian” who are in fact enemies of God, for they do not trust in Christ alone, but in their own righteousness. False teaching, in its many forms, is a weapon used by the evil one in his battle against the church.

So too is persecution. It may be that the Christian stands firm in the face of these other attacks and yet begins to falter at the thought of public shame, economic hardship, imprisonment, beatings, and death. Certainly the evil one uses persecution in seeking to keep men and women from Christ, or to draw them away from their profession of faith.

It would not take very long to review the letters to the seven churches found at the beginning of the book of Revelation to be reminded of these things. The book was written to churches under attack. The objective of this book from begging to end is to encourage the Christian to endure, to turn from sin, and to persevere in the faith on to the end of life.

At the end of the letter to the church in Ephesus Christ said, “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7, ESV).

To the church in Smyrna he said, “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11, ESV).

To Pergamum he said, “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17, ESV).

To Thyatira he said, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:26–28, ESV).

To Sardis he said, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5, ESV).

To the church at Philadelphia he said, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name” (Revelation 3:12, ESV).

And to Laodicea he said, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21, ESV).

We are at war, then. The evil one would have us to turn back from following Christ. But God’s will for his people is that they conquer. The intent of the book of Revelation is to inspire the Christian to conquer – that is, to persevere in the faith to the very end.

The seal cycle, which we have already considered, inspires the Christian to persevere by showing that, though the Christian may suffer in this world as the four horsemen described in the breaking of the first four seals roam the earth, working their death and destruction, God will make those who belong to him through faith in Christ to stand. The seal cycle encourages the Christian to see the sufferings experienced in this world in the light of eternity. We are to bear up under suffering knowing that God cares for us in the midst of it. The one who has faith in Christ is sealed by Christ. God and Christ will judge the wicked in the end. In other words, the Christian will conquer, for Christ has conquered.

It is not difficult to see that the trumpet cycle, which we are now considering, communicates a similar message. It too portrays the conquest of God and Christ, over the ungodly, particularly those who persecute Christians.

The cry of the souls of those who had been martyred should still ring in our ears. Do you remember the question asked by the souls of the martyrs that cried out when the fifth seal was opened? “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” (Revelation 6:10, ESV)

Seals six and seven answered that question, but so do the trumpets. When the first six trumpets are blown we see, to quote G.K. Beale, is “God [responding] to the saints’ prayer by using angels to execute judgments on the persecuting world, leading up to the last judgment (8:6–9:21)”, which is portrayed in the sounding of the seventh trumpet in 11:15.

The first four trumpets clearly belong together  – the structure of the text makes that evident – and when they are blown we see, to quote Beale again, “God [depriving] the ungodly of earthly security because of their persecution and idolatry in order to indicate their separation from him (8:6–12).”

Do you remember the sermon from last week where I emphasized the connection between the seven trumpets of Revelation and the seven trumpets that were blown before the destruction of Jericho as recorded in Joshua 6? That is a significant connection to make and to keep in mind. Israel marched around Jericho once a day for 6 days and seven priests blew seven trumpets as they did. What was the function of those trumpet blasts? The warned of impending doom. They announced that the judgment of the God of Israel was near. And on the seventh day the people marched around the city seven times while the seven priests blew the seven trumpets. And what was the result? The walls of that city fell, the people of Israel rushed in, a full and final judgment came upon the Jericho, and Israel began her conquest of the land promised to her.  The seven trumpets blown on the seventh day ushered in judgment and conquest.

The seven trumpets of Revelation are designed to bring that story to mind. And when the Jericho story comes to mind the church is to think, “as it was under the Old Covenant, so will it be under the New Covenant”. God will fight for his people. He will bring them safely into the land promised to them. This time it will be, not a small sliver of land in Palestine, but into the new heavens and new earth. And God will judge his enemies. At the end of time it will be, not one city that fall, but all of the inhabitants of the earth that will stand before God to be judged fully and finally.  And just as was with Jericho, so too will it be with the world – God will constantly sound the trumpets which warn of the coming of the day of the Lord.

But the story of Jericho is not the only one alluded to in this passage. The reader should also think of the Exodus event and the ten plagues that God poured out upon the Egyptians leading to the deliverance of Israel.

Do you remember the story? God called Abraham and promised, among other things, to make a great nation out of him. It was his grandson and his great-grandson’s who went down into Egypt being driven there by a famine. Joseph, their brother, had attained power in that land and was able to provide safely for his family. 430 years past and the descendants of Abraham had grown exceedingly in number. But the people of Israel no longer enjoyed favor in the land – the king who had shown favor to Joseph was long dead. Now the descendent of Abraham were slaves to the Pharaoh. Moses was called by God to set the free. And they would be freed, not by military conquest, but by the mighty hand of God as he sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians culminating with the death of the first born in all of Egypt, while sparing the Israelites. The plagues were these:

1. Water turned to blood (Exodus 7:14-25).
2. Frogs cover the land (Exodus 8:1-15).
3. The dust turns into gnats or lice (Exodus 8:16-19).
4. Swarms of flies cover the land (Exodus 8:20-32).
5. Death of all Egyptian livestock (Exodus 9:1-7).
6. Boils break out on the people of Egypt (Exodus 9:8-12).
7. Hailstorms kill unsheltered humans, animals, and vegetation (Exodus 9:13-35).
8. Locusts cover the land and consume all remaining vegetation (Exodus 10:1-20).
9. Darkness covers Egypt for three days (Exodus 10:21-29).
10. The firstborn children of all Egyptian people and cattle die (Exodus 11:1-10, 12:29-32).

Notice that the plagues functioned in two ways simultaneously. One, they were judgment to the enemies of God – to those who persecuted God’s chosen people. Two, they were the means by which Israel was delivered. The plagues were simultaneously judgment to the enemies of God, but salvation for his people.

And please recognize this – when the first four trumpets are blown the plagues that were poured out upon the Egyptians are alluded to?

I want you to see how wonderfully complex the book of Revelation is. We have in this passage – in the trumpet cycle – a kind of tangled mess of allusions to theologically significant events in the Old Testament. Jericho is clearly alluded to, but so is the exodus event. It was through the plagues sent upon the Egyptians that God delivered Israel from bondage, and it was through the trumpet blasts at Jericho that Israel was brought into the promised land.

What is the message, then? Is it not this – that God will fight for his people – that he will do for the New Covenant church what he did for the Old Covenant church?

Let us consider the first four trumpets one at a time.

The First Trumpet – Hail, Fire, And Blood Cast Upon The Land

Look at verse 6: “Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up” (Revelation 8:6–7, ESV).

This should be compared with Exodus 9:22-25 and the seventh plague that is described there – the hailstorm that killed unsheltered humans, animals, and vegetation.

Notice that the seventh plague is in the first trumpet both limited but also universalized. It is limited in that only a third of the earth is said to be effected. But it is universalized in that it is one third, not of Egypt, but of the whole earth is effected.

The Second Trumpet – A Mountain Cast Into The Sea

Look now at verse 8: “The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed” (Revelation 8:8–9, ESV).

This should be compared with Exodus 7:1-20 and the first plague that is described there – the turning of the Nile into blood.

Notice that the first plague is in the second trumpet both limited but also universalized. It is limited in that only a third of the sea is said to be effected. But it is universalized in that it is one third, not of the Nile of Egypt, but of the seas of the earth that are effected.

The sea turned to blood and the sea creatures perishing certainly is to remind of of the first plague poured out upon the Egyptians, but what of the burning mountain thrown into the sea?

The futurist takes this literally and imagines that this is a prophesy concerning a meteor that will one day fall to into the sea or a description of a volcanic eruption. The trouble with this interpretation is that it is inconsistent with the principle of interpretation that is to be used throughout the book of Revelation. The book communicates truth via symbol. I might also add that the futurist isn’t even consistent within their own system which strives to interpret the book literally whenever possible, for the text does not say that meteor will fall into the sea or that a volcano will erupt, but that “something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea”. Even they must say that this “something like a great mountain, burning with fire” symbolizes or stands for a meteor or volcanic eruption.

It is far better to remain consistent in our interpretation of the book of Revelation and to recognize that mountains often symbolize nations in the scriptures, and that fire symbolizes judgment, as does the thought of something being consumed by the sea. What we have here then is a symbolic depiction of the God’s judgment falling upon a nation. God judged Egypt. God judged Babylon. God judged Rome. And God will continue to judge the nations of the earth bringing about both their rise and fall.

Turn with me to Jeremiah 51 and look at verse 25. Here God, through the prophet Jeremiah, is pronouncing judgment upon the Babylonians for their harsh treatment of Israel. Listen to the language used. “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 51:25–26, ESV).

Look now to verse 42 of the same chapter. “How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves” (Jeremiah 51:41–42, ESV).

Do you hear the language that was used to describe the judgment of Babylon? She was called a “destroying mountain”. God promised through the prophet to make here “burnt mountain” and to cover her with the “tumultuous waves” of this sea. This happened. Babylon fell, as have many other nations in the history of the world to this present day.

Look now at Revelation 18:21. This passage describes the judgment of Babylon. And of course this is not to be taken as literal reference to Babylon. As we will see in our study of the book of Revelation “Babylon” will symbolize the nations of the earth. Look at how the judgment of “Babylon is described in Revelation 18:21: “Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more’” (Revelation 18:21, ESV). Here it is a millstone that symbolizes Babylon, but notice that the nation is said to be thrown into the sea. This corresponds with what is described with at the sounding of the second trumpet when “something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.” This symbolizes the rise and fall of nations.

Again, notice that the limitation. It is one mountain that John saw, and a third of the sea is said to be effected. This represents, not the final judgment, but the partial judgments that are ever present with the rise and fall of nations in the history of the world.

I’d like to take you quickly to two other places in Revelation where the full and final judgment is portrayed so that you might compare them to the partial judgments symbolized here.

Turn quickly back to the Revelation 6:12 and to the breaking of the sixth seal which symbolizes the final judgment. There we read, “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place” (Revelation 6:12–14, ESV).

Turn now to Revelation 16:3 which described the pouring out of the second bowl – the bowl cycle describes the final judgment. “The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea” (Revelation 16:3, ESV). If you were compare the trumpet cycle with the bowl cycle you would see that what is judged in part in the trumpet cycle is judges in full in bowl cycle. This is because the first six trumpets symbolize judgments that are partial, and not final.

The Third Trumpet – Burning Star Falls On Rivers And Springs

Look at Revelation 8:10: “The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter” (Revelation 8:10–11, ESV).

The star that John saw falling from heaven who name is Wormwood symbolizes the casting down of the angel who has authority over the nation who’s fall was just portrayed.

I understand that this might sound strange to you. You’re probably accustom to the futurist/dispensational interpretation which says that this is a prophesy concerning yet another meteor that will fall to earth someday poisoning one third of the rivers.

Turn over to Revelation 9:1. There we find another reference to a star falling. “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth…” Is it meteor? No, look at the text!  It says, “…and he [the star fallen from heaven] was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1, ESV). Clearly this is not an impersonal space object, but a living being. The “star” of 9:1 represents an angelic being! This should not surprise us for the Bible uses this symbolism elsewhere. Should we not take 8:10 in the same way, then? The stars name is Wormwood. Wormwood is an herb that makes things bitter. It is used to symbolize judgment.

Listen, for example, to Jeremiah 9:14-15: “…but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,” therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink” (Jeremiah 9:14–15, NKJV).

And listen to Jeremiah 23:15:  “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: ‘Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Profaneness has gone out into all the land’” (Jeremiah 23:15, NKJV).

The star falling from heaven is symbolic of the casting down of the angel who had authority over the nation who’s fall was portrayed by the burning mountain that was thrown into the sea.

The Fourth Trumpet – Sun, Moon, And Stars Darkened

Look now at 8:12: “The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night” (Revelation 8:12, ESV).

Some futurists/dispensationalists imagine that this is prophesy concerning a time when we will have 18 hours of darkness and 6 hours of daylight. It is better that our minds go to Exodus 10:21-23 and the description of the ninth of the ten plagues when the land of Egypt was covered in complete darkness for three days.

Notice that the ninth plague is in the fourth trumpet both limited but also universalized. The judgment is limited  in that the sun, moon and stars are darkened, not completely as it was in Egypt, but by a third. The judgment is universalized in that the darkness covers, not only Egypt, but the whole earth.

The darkening of the sun, moon, and stars symbolizes the judgment of God. What happened when Egypt was struck? Darkness for three days. What happened when Christ hung on the cross? There was darkness at noontime.The fourth trumpet symbolizes the partial and perpetuals judgment of God that will be poured upon the nations of the earth during the church age, particularly those nations which persecuted the church, who is the Israel of God.

Conclusion

Do these visions shown to John have a historical fulfillment? Yes they do! When the Christians living in 90 A.D. read this letter they undoubtably thought of Rome and the conflicts that surrounded them. You and I also see the historical fulfillment to these visions in the world today. Iraq comes to minds, as does Syria. This world will be marked by wars, rumors of wars, famines and plagues between Christ’s first and second comings.

But our God is able to judge his enemies while preserving his people, delivering them from the evil one and bringing them safely into the eternal land of promise. He proved it in the Exodus. He proved if at Jericho. Those were but a prototype of the victory won by Christ. He has conquered. And we will rule with him if we persevere in faith.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6, ESV).

Old Testament Reading: Zephaniah 1 (Prophesied during the reforms of King Josiah (640–609 b.c.))

“The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. ‘I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the rubble with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom, those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.’ Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice— ‘I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud. On that day,’ declares the Lord, ‘a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.’ Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.’ The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth” (Zephaniah 1, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 8:1-5

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake” (Revelation 8:1–5, ESV).

Introduction 

There are three truths that I would like for you to take from the breaking of the seventh seal as it is described to us here in Revelation 8:1-5.

First, notice that God does indeed hear the prayers of his people who are living on earth. This fact was dramatized before John’s eyes when he saw, in verse 3, the angel who “was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.” Your prayers do reach the heavenly throne of God.

Two, notice the guarantee that we have in this text that God hears the prayers of his people and will indeed answer their prayers for retribution. The opening of the seventh seal describes judgment, as we will see. We should remember that the first six seals were all about God’s judgments – both partial and perpetual judgments (seals 1-4), and also the full and final judgment (seal 6). And do not forget the prayer of the martyrs – the souls of whom John saw under the alter when the fifth seal was broken. What did they say? “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10, ESV). Here in 8:3 we have a description, not of the requests of those who have died and gone to heaven, but of the prayers of those living upon the earth being brought before God in his heavenly temple. Everything in the contexts suggests that these are prayers regarding retribution, for when God hears them the response in this vision is judgment. God hears your prayers, and he will indeed answer them in due time.

Three, notice that when God does fully and finally judge there will be silence in heaven. The significance of the silence mentioned in 8:1 will be discussed later. For now please understand that the silence is significant. It is not that God ran out of things to reveal to John, and therefore, silence. But rather the silence has meaning.

We will come back to all of that in just a moment. But before we do I would like to say a word about the structure of Revelation 8:1-5 and it’s relationship to what has come before and what will come after.

Many have been confused by this text. I think is those who mistakenly assume that the book of Revelation is organized chronologically who have the most trouble with this passage. But I will admit that it is a difficult one. I should give credit where credit is due. G.K. Beale and his commentary on the book of Revelation was very helpful to me especially when it came to sorting out the structure of this passage. His insights were very helpful.

To state the question very simply: what is verse 2 doing in-between verses 1 and verses 3-5? It seems out of place upon first reading.

Verse 1, as we will see, provides us with yet another perspective on the final judgment. It picks up naturally where the sixth seal left off at the end of chapter 6. There we were given a picture of the last day when God’s wrath will be poured out upon the earth. It is an earthly perspective. John was shown something of God’s wrath poured out upon the earth and upon the wicked alive on the earth on that last day. Remember, the wicked cried out “calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand” (Revelation 6:16–17, ESV)?

The two visions of chapter 7 function as a interlude. They break from the seal cycle and answer the question that everyone should be asking: how will it be for the people of God as they live on earth in the midst of the tribulations described in the first four seal? And what will happen to them when the wrath of God is poured out upon the earth on that last day? Will God’s people be able to stand? The visions of chapter 7 answer those questions. God’s people will indeed stand, for they are sealed by God to persevere in the midst of tribulation. And they will indeed stand on that last day, for they will not come under the wrath of God and the unrighteous will, for they are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. They will stand before God and give him praise for the salvation that he has earned for them.

And then in 8:1 the seal cycle picks up again. When the seventh and final seal is broken we are given yet another perspective on that last day – the day of God’s wrath. This time it is from a heavenly, and not an earthly, vantage point. Seal 6 provided an earthly perspective. Seal 7 provides a heavenly one. We are told that in heaven there will be silence on that last day given the gravity of God’s judgments. Clearly 8:1 is connected to all that came before it in the seal cycle.

The same can be said of verses 3-5. The prayers of the saints are being brought before the throne of God. Where are these saints? They are on the earth. They are the ones living on earth where the four horsemen of the apocalypse roam. They are the ones living in the midst of trials and tribulations. And they are crying out to God for, among other things, justice and retribution. And where do their prayers go? They make it to God’s ears! And what is the result of their prayers? Notice that the angel who was seen offering up the prayers of the saints along with the incense “took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake” (Revelation 8:5, ESV). What is this except yet another perspective on that last day when the wrath of God and the Lamb is poured out from heaven upon the earth? God hears the cries of his people and he will judge the wicked on earth from his heavenly throne. Do you see, then, that verses 3-5 pick up very naturally where the seal cycle left off, proving us with yet another perspective on how things will go for the people of God living on earth in the time between Christ’s first and second coming. Will the church suffer tribulation? Indeed! Are Christians alone? By no means! They are sealed by God, and he hears their prayers. Will things go on like this forever? Certainly not. Verses 3-5 remind us that God will one day respond to the prayers of his people and judge from his holy habitation.

Jeremiah the prophet spoke of this day, saying, “The Lord will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold, and shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against the nations; he is entering into judgment with all flesh, and the wicked he will put to the sword, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 25:30–31, ESV).

So verse 1 of Revelation 8 is clearly connected to what has already been revealed in the seal cycle (particularly the sixth seal, which focus in upon the day of God’s wrath). On earth the wicked cry out, but in heaven there will be silence. And verses 3-5 are also obviously connected to the seal cycle. What are the people of God doing as they live in the midst of the trials and tribulations described in the first four seals? Well, they are praying. And those prayers do indeed reach the ears of God. He hears, and he will one day act, raining down “fire from the altar… and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”

But what of verse 2? It seems so out of place. Instead of looking back to the seal cycle, as verses 1 and also 3-5 do – instead of concluding the thought of the seal cycle as the beginning and end of this passage do – verse 2 points forward to the trumpet cycle that is yet to come. In verse 2 John says, “Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them” (Revelation 8:2, ESV). Verse 2 looks forward, whereas verses 1 and 3-5 look back bringing the seal cycle to a conclusion.

Those locked into a chronological and futuristic interpretation of the book of Revelation are particularly troubled by this. For shouldn’t of the events be silence in heaven, fire from the alter, and then the introduction of the seven trumpets? Friends, get used to it. The book of Revelation is not ordered chronologically, but thematically. There is a literary structure to this text that is most helpful.

Verse 2 functions literarily like a pin does on a hinge. There are three parts to a hinge – the two arms and the pin. This is passage is constructed like a hinge. Verse one points backwards to seal cycle, bringing it to a conclusion. Verses 3-5 also points backwards. They  too belongs to what has been said before and conclude it. But verse 2 introduces what will come later, and in due time the hinge will pivot on it opening up to us an entirely new set of visions introduced by the sounding of seven trumpets.

Look at 8:2. “Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” Look ahead now to 8:6: “Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.” 8:7: “The first angel blew his trumpet…” 8:8: “The second angel blew his trumpet…” 8:10: “The third angel blew his trumpet…” 8:12: “The fourth angel blew his trumpet…” 9:1: “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet…” 9:13: “Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet…” 10:1-11:14: Interlude. 11:15: “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever’” (Revelation 11:15, ESV). The end.

The trumpet cycle does not describe to us something that will happen after the events described in the seal cycle, for how could it! The seal cycle has taken us to the last day when God’s wrath is poured out! It is has taken us to the end. Do you remember that when the sixth seal was opened back in Revelation 6:12, “behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place” (Revelation 6:12–14, ESV). Everything about the text says, THE END. But in the trumpet cycle these same realms are said to be effected again but he the judgments of God. How can it be? The answer is that the book is not ordered chronologically. The order of the book of Revelation does not match the order of events in human history. The book recapitulates. It provides the reader with a different perspective on the same period of time over and over again.

Chapter 6 verses 12-17: THE END, from and earthly vantage point. Chapter 8 verse 1 and also verses 3-5: THE END from a heavenly vantage point. Chapter 8 verse 2: the pin in the hinge. It is the verse upon which everything with turn from seals to trumpets.

Now here is where things transition from a technical consideration of the structure of the book of Revelation to the practical. If you are interested the structure and proper interpretation of the book of Revelation you’ve been locked in on the sermon. But if you’re not, you’ve probably been spacing out for the last 15 minutes or so. Now is the time to come back.

God Hears The Prayers Of His People

At the heart of this text is the truth that God hears the prayers of his people who are on earth.

This truth is found throughout the scriptures.

God’s people are always people of prayer. They commune with God through prayer.

This was symbolized under the Old Covenant in the design of the tabernacle, and later the temple. A curtain separated the holy place from the most holy place where the ark of the covenant was. The ark symbolized the footstool of God’s throne. Heaven is his throne and the earth his footstool. And in the holy place, immediately before the curtain which separated the holy place from the holy of holies, was an alter of incense. The priests would burn incense on that alter and the smoke would rise and even come into the holy of holies which symbolized the very throne room of God. What was this except a visible reminder that when God’s people pray their prayers do indeed reach his ears.

Remember that Jesus the Christ prayed. “He would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16, ESV).

He taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9, ESV).

Paul urges all believers to pray. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, ESV).

James says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise [our singing is prayer in song form]. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:13–16, ESV).

The writer to the Hebrews says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV).

Here in Revelation 8 those truths are dramatized for us. “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel” (Revelation 8:3–4, ESV).

I do not think that this is teaching that angels must always collect the prayers of the saints and deliver them to God in this way with the burning of incense. That would be a hyper-literalistic interpretation of this text. Indeed, there is only one mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I are invited to come boldly before the throne of grace in his name.

But in this drama we are reminded that there are indeed ministering Spirits in heaven (remember that each of the seven churches were addressed “to the angel of the church of…”). God uses angels to bring about his purposes. True enough.

The point is this: God hears your prayers.

Are you praying?

Remember that these are persecuted people praying. Trials and tribulations should not hinder prayer but motive it.

And these are people who believe in the sovereignty of God over all things. They are not paralyzed by the theological conundrum, if God is sovereign over all, if he has ordained all that will come to pass, then why pray?

They pray because the are God’s people and they know that God has determined to work through the prayers of his people.

God Will Answer The Prayers Of His People For Retribution

The prayers here seem to be a particular kind of prayer – they are prayers for vindication and retribution being offered up by Christians suffering tribulation and persecution.

Should a Christian pray that the wicked be judged?

Remember Christ’s words to his followers: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’” (Matthew 5:43–44, ESV). Christians should pray for the salvation of their enemies.

But we the scriptures also provide us with examples of the people of God praying for vindication. Remember the prayer of  the martyrs under the alter in Revelation 6: “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth’” (Revelation 6:10, ESV)?

And listen to the words of the Psalmist:

“O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage. They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; and they say, ‘The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.’ Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— the Lord—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath… Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out” (Psalm 94, ESV).

These two principles are not contrary to one another. Is it not possible to pray all at once, “Lord have mercy upon my enemy. Bring my persecuted to repentance and to salvation in Christ Jesus”, and at the same time say, “Lord, if they will not repent, make it right in the end. Bring justice. Vindicate your people. Bring retribution to the wicked.” Indeed the scriptures compel to praying this multifaceted way.

Paul in Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19–21, ESV).

It is the prayer, “Lord, make it right in the end” that frees us from feeling as if it is our job to take vengeance upon our enemies. That is God job! Give it to him in prayer! And having done so, be free to show love to your enemies – to give them water when thirsty, an food when hungry, praying always for the salvation of their souls.

God will answer the prayers of his people for justice in two ways. He will one day judge fully and finally. Until then he will judge partially and perpetually. This, by the way, is why the trumpets are mentioned in the middle of this text. The first six  trumpets will again portray partial and perpetual judgments. Particularly they will show how God is able to, even in this present evil age, judge the wicked, partially and perpetually, with precision.

When God Does Fully And Finally Judge There Will Be Silence In Heaven

Lastly, understand that when God does judge fully and finally there will be silence in heaven. “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1, ESV).

In the Old Testament descriptions of God’s judgments often include the mention of silence.

You saw it the Zephaniah passage that I read at the start of the sermon. The chapter is all about judgment. In verse 7 we read, “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near…” (Zephaniah 1:7, ESV).

Habakkuk 2:20: “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20, ESV).

Psalm 31:17: “O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol” (Psalm 31:17, ESV).

When in Revelation 8:1 we read, “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour”, by no means are we to assume that the seventh seal is an empty seal, as some interpreters do, but rather we are to unhand that this silence is significant silence. It is the silence that accompanies the judgment of God.  The vision of silence in heaven for about a half hour is yet another perspective on what will happen on that last day.

Why silence in heaven? It is the only proper response to weightiness of the judgments of God. Men and angels observe, but they do not speak. They stand with their mouth covered given the seriousness of the matter.

Have you ever been in a situation so weighty that there are no words? A situation so somber that to utter words – any words at all – would seem inappropriate?

Silence, in a moment like that, is a very powerful and moving.

Notice that every other heavenly sense described to us in the book of Revelation is filled with much noise. Angels, along with the redeemed, are constantly singing praises to God in heaven for the salvation that Christ has earned. But when pondering the outpouring of the wrath of God and of the Lamb, only silence.

This is important to notice. The saints in heaven and on earth have been crying out to God, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” But when that day comes they do celebrate. They can only cover their mouths and remain silent.

Certainly they know in their hearts that the judgments of God are right and true altogether. But no child of God would ever take pleasure in the death of the wicked. The judgments of God are at once terrible and yet perfectly right and true and just.

Do you long for that day? Do you long for the day when God will pour out his wrath upon the unjust? I hope that you have mixed feelings about it. For it will be the day that the Lord sets all things right. But it will also be the day where the opportunity for men and women, boys and girls, to come to salvation is no longer.

For the child of God the second coming of Christ is pure gospel. But for those not in Christ it is pure law – it is the day on which they will be judged by the law, which no man has kept, except one.

 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 49:8-13

“Thus says the Lord: ‘In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene.’ Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted” (Isaiah 49:8–13, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 7:9-17

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Revelation 7:9–17, ESV).

Introduction 

It is important for us to remember the question asked at the end of Revelation chapter 6. It was asked by those upon whom the wrath of God came on that last day as shown to John in the vision   when the sixth of seven seals was broken. The question that they asked is vitally important for it is the question that the opening of the first six seals should cause us to ask. It is also, not surprisingly, the question that the two visions of Revelation chapter seven answer.

“Who can stand?”, that is the question.

Remember that when the sixth seal was broken John saw “the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, [hiding] themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6:15–17, ESV).

Who can stand?  Who can continue to live, or bear up under all that will happen on that last day when God’s wrath is poured out in full? And who can stand – who can bear up under the tribulation that will come upon the earth when the four horsemen described with the breaking of the first four seals comes? Who can possibly bear up under it?

Certainly, from the perspective of the wicked the answer is no one! Is that not the sense of Revelation 6:17? Do you see that this question is delivered by the wicked, great and small, as  a rhetorical one? When they call out to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”, what they mean is, certainly no one can stand! No one could possibly bear up under the weight of this judgment. Indeed, that is their earthly and unbelieving perspective on the matter.

It Is Those Who Belong To God Through Faith in Christ Who Will Stand

But the book of Revelation provides us with a different perspective. It gives us God’s perspective on the question. The two visions of chapter 7 answer the question, “who can stand?”, and make it exceedingly clear that it is those who belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ who will indeed stand.

This truth has already been communicated in verses 1-8 of chapter 7. We considered that text last week and I will not take the time to repeat what was said then. For now simply remember that the 144,000 – the 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of New Covenant Israel, with the Christ producing tribe of Judah at the head – represents all who believe upon Christ, Jew and Gentile alike, in every age. And remember that these are said to be sealed by God! These belong to God. He, by his Spirit, marks them as his own, protects and preserves them. In other words, he will make them to stand as they sojourn in this world!

And notice that the question is answered again, but from another vantage point, in the text that is before us this morning.

Who can stand? See the answer in verse 9: “After this [John] looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands…” (Revelation 7:9, ESV).

Who are these standing before the throne of God? They are the same group described in the previous vision, but from a different perspective. These are the people of God. These are those who have faith in Christ. They are the ones who were able to bear up under tribulation, and to stand unharmed through the judgment.

The vision of verses 1-8 portrays the people of God as a relatively small and earthly people numbered precisely by God for war, sealed by God so that they might bear up under suffering.

The vision of verses 9-17 portrays the same group of people – the people of God – but as an innumerable, multiethnic, heavenly people who stand victorious before the throne of God.

These are not two different groups  – one group symbolized by the 144,000 and another represented by the multiethnic multitude – but one and the same group considered from two different perspectives. It is the same group of people symbolized in each vision. These are the people of God.  All those who have faith in Christ are symbolized here.

The thing that distinguishes the first vision from the second is not the people symbolized, but the location.  The 144,000 were sealed so that they might be preserved – stand up – under tribulation on earth. The multiethnic multitude are seen by John, where? In heaven!

Isn’t amazing how things can be viewed from multiple vantage points? When we consider the church (here I am thinking of the universal church) as it is on earth today, what do we see? A relatively small, humble, often suffering people, who are engaged in war. This is not our home. We are sojourning in a hostile land. But we can take comfort in the fact that God knows exactly who belong to him. God’s people are numbered by him. And we can take comfort in the fact that we are sealed by him. He will indeed preserve his people and bring them safely home. But when we consider the church from a heavenly perspective as she will be for all eternity, what do we see? An innumerable, multiethnic, heavenly people standing victorious before the throne of God in glory, clothed in white, serving God day and night, singing praises to his most holy name. Same people, different perspective. Same people, different location.

This considering of one thing from two vantage points is nothing new in the book of Revelation.

Look at Revelation 5:5. Remember the scene. John saw a vision of the throne of God and in God’s right hand was a scroll sealed with seven seals. The question was asked by an angel, “who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals” (Revelation 5:2, ESV)? John began to weep when no one was found. But the then “one of the elders said to [John], ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals’” (Revelation 5:5, ESV). Notice that John had not yet seen Jesus, but he heard a description of him. Jesus was called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” and he was said to have conquered.

After this John saw a vision of Jesus. But what he saw did not match the description he heard. “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Revelation 5:6, ESV).

The same Jesus was considered from two vantage points. Both are true. Jesus is at once “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” and the “Lamb slain”. He is both the mighty, conquering, victorious King, and our humble, despised and rejected, suffering servant.

Notice the same pattern here in chapter 7. John did not see the 144,000, but rather “heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel” (Revelation 7:4, ESV). Here the church is described in humble terms. The people of God are sealed so that they might, like their Lamb like Savior, stand in the midst of suffering on earth. But then in verse 9 John saw these people. And when he saw them they looked nothing like what he would expect given the description he just heard. Instead of 144,000 suffering but sealed on earth he sees “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands…” (Revelation 7:9, ESV).

The language, “a great multitude that no one could number” should immediately remind us of the promises made to Abraham.

Genesis 15: “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.’ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.’ And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:1–6, ESV).

Genesis 17: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.’ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ‘Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:1–5, ESV).

John saw a vision of the offspring of Abraham in heaven. This innumerable, multiethnic, heavenly people standing victorious before the throne of God are all of those – Jew and Gentile – who have the faith of Abraham, who trust, not in themselves, but in the Christ whom God has sent.

Who will stand? It is those who belong to God through faith in Jesus who is the Christ who will stand.

These Stand Because God Has Made Them To Stand In Christ Jesus

Notice that these are able to stand before the throne because God has made them to stand in Christ Jesus.

In the previous vision the 144,000 were said to be sealed by God – God preserves his people on earth. Here in this vision the people of God are said to be clothed in white robes.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes…” (Revelation 7:9, ESV).

Remember what was promised to the Christians in Sardis. Christ said, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5, ESV).

To the saints in Laodicea Christ said, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” (Revelation 3:18, ESV).

The white robes symbolize victory and purity. You will not stand before God unless you are clothed in white. The trouble is that your garments and mine are terribly stained. We do not have the proper garb. We are woefully ill-suited to stand before the God of glory. If we are to stand before God in righteousness we must be clothed by him. We must be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Our filthy rags must be removed and we must be clothed in white.

Indeed, this is what God promised to do even long before the coming of Christ. He said in the days of Isaiah, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18, ESV).

Ironically, it is the crimson blood of Christ that purifies. Look at verse 13: “Then one of the elders addressed [John], saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ [John] said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to [John], ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13–14, ESV).

It is Christ’s blood that purifies. If we are to stand before him in holiness we must be cleansed by the blood of Christ. And how does one “[wash] their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”? It through faith in Jesus Christ. One must abandon all hope in self and confess that in Jesus Christ alone is the forgiveness of sins. We must believe upon Christ – trust in him – if we are to stand before the Lord in purity.

Each one in this innumerable, multiethnic multitude is clothed in white – can you picture it? And they have palm branches in their hands. The palm branches symbolized victory. When a vicious king would ride through the city the citizens would waive palm branches in celebration. Remember, this was how Jesus was greeted when he rode into Jerusalem on, what we now call, Palm Sunday. The multitude “took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written…” (John 12:13–14, ESV). As you know, this earthly multitude was fickle. Though their words were appropriate, their devotion to Christ was less than pure. But here in Revelation 7 John sees a pure and redeemed multitude. And what do they say? They cried “out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10, ESV)!

Who saved these? To whom did these owe their salvation? Their salvation belonged to God and to the Lamb of God, Jesus the Christ. God saved them through Christ. God made them to stand.

These Stand TO Give Glory To God And To Christ For The Victory That They Have Won

And notice that these stand to give glory to God and to Christ for the victory that they have won.

Verse 10: They cried “out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen’” (Revelation 7:10–12, ESV).

It’s all about the glory of God, folks. He is worthy of all worship, and he will receive worship for all eternity from his angelic hosts and from his redeemed.

These Will Be Sheltered, Comforted, And Supplied By God For All Eternity

But notice lastly that the redeemed also stand to be sheltered, comforted, and supplied by God for all eternity.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15–17, ESV).

It is true that all things are for the glory of God. We will indeed serve him for all eternity. But do you see how good God is to his redeemed? He himself will shelter us with his presence. God himself will be our dwelling place.

The prophesy of Ezekiel 37 is behind this passage. Listen to verse 25: “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore” (Ezekiel 37:24–28, ESV).

God himself will be our sanctuary. He has tabernacled amongst us in the person of Jesus – the word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us; he is with us now – the church is the temple of the holy Spirit; but at the consummation God will fill all. Everything will be temple. God will shelter us with his presence.

No more hunger. No more thirst. No more scorching heat. No more tribulation for the people of God. This is what God promised to Israel in the Isaiah 49 passage that we read earlier. Israel was told, “they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them” (Isaiah 49:10, ESV). Notice how the promise made to Israel in Isaiah 49 is applied, not to ethnic Israel, but to the multiethnic multitude washed pure in Christ’s blood.

It is this group – all who have the Lamb for their shepherd, who will be  he will be led “to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17, ESV). In this world life begins and ends with tears, but God will bring eternal comfort to all who are in Christ Jesus.

Conclusion 

Brothers and sisters, what questions should this text cause us to ask ourselves?

Are you properly clothed?

“And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.” (Matthew 22:1–19, ESV)

Are you grateful to God and to Christ now as you look forward to your heavenly reward?

Will you persevere? If you belong to Christ I know that God will preserve you. But I am here asking a different question. Will you persevere?

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:12–21, ESV).

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 9

“Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, ‘Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.’ And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the Lord said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’ And to the others he said in my hearing, ‘Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the house. Then he said to them, ‘Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.’ So they went out and struck in the city. And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, ‘Ah, Lord God! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?’ Then he said to me, ‘The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads.’ And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, ‘I have done as you commanded me’” (Ezekiel 9, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 7:1-8

“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed” (Revelation 7:1–8, ESV).

Introduction 

It is really important to recognize that we have come to yet another distinct portion of the book of Revelation. All of chapter 7 goes together but notice that it is divided into two parts. In this chapter John describes to us two new and distinct visions. Both visions are introduced with the words “after this”. Look at verse 1: “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth…” (Revelation 7:1, ESV). Now look at verse 9: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…” (Revelation 7:9, ESV).  The phrase, “after this”, clearly refers to the order in which John saw the visions – first the one, and then the other.

Does it surprise you that I’ve said, “we have now come to yet another distinct portion of the book of Revelation”. It should. And here is why.

Remember, we have been slowly progressing through, what is called, the seal cycle. John, in chapter 5, saw in the right hand of God a scroll sealed with how many seals? Seven seals. Christ, the Lamb of God slain for sinners, took the scroll and began to break the seals one at a time. When he broke the first four seals horses and their rides came forward and they were permitted by God to take peace from the earth. When the fifth seal was broken John was shown the souls of martyrs under the heavenly alter. “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been” (Revelation 6:10–11, ESV). And when the sixth seal was broken John was shown a vision of the last day when God’s wrath will be poured out upon the earth in full. John saw all men, great and small, hiding “themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6:15–17, ESV). After this comes chapter seven and this new and distinct portion of the book of Revelation.

Why should this surprise you? Well, we have not come to the end of the seal cycle, have we? If you turn over to chapter 8 you will see it there in verse 1where we read, “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1, ESV).  The seventh seal has yet to be opened and yet we are already being introduced to a new set of visions.

So how are we to understand this interruption? How are we to understand the two visions of chapter 7 and their relationship to what has come before and will come afterwards?

Many commentators refer to this chapter, and the two visions contained within, as an interlude. I think that is a good term, for the drama of the seal cycle has been rolling along steadily. We’ve been caught up in it. The first six seals have pictured for us how things will be from the time of Christ’s first coming on to the end of history. But here in chapter seven we have a break. It’s as if we are invited to stand up and stretch our legs for a moment before continuing on with the seventh seal.

The interlude gives the reader, or hearer, a sense of delay. The truth communicated by this literally feature is that the end is not yet, but that things will go on for some time before what is portrayed in the sixth and seventh seals comes to pass.

It is important to recognize that this same feature is found within the trumpet cycle which is described in Revelation 8:6-11:19.  The trumpet cycle is more intense than the seal cycle. But notice that there is an interluded inserted in between the sixth and seventh trumpets, just as there is between the sixth and seventh seals. It too provides the reader with a sense of delay. But not so with bowl cycle, for the bowls are called the “seven bowls of the wrath of God” (Revelation 16:1). The bowl cycle describes, not the church age, but only the time of the end. It provides yet another picture of the last day when the wrath of God is poured out fully upon the earth. When that day comes there will be no more delay. In chapter 16 the bowls are poured speedily poured out – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Only the words of Christ separate the sixth and seventh bowls, and here is what he says: “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” (Revelation 16:15, ESV). The Day of the Lord will indeed come suddenly. But here in the seal cycle, and later on in the trumpet cycle, an interlude is inserted which provides a sense of delay.

But what do the visions of chapter seven communicate? What do the visions themselves mean? Well, they cause us to step back from the first six seals to look at things from yet another vantage point. They provide answers to the questions raised by the breaking of the first six seals. The visions of chapter seven provide us with more information and bring greater clarity to the the question, how will things be for the people of God living in the age between Christ’s first and second comings?

Think with me for a moment about what has been communicated so far with the breaking of the first six seals. The first four revealed that God would permit calamity to come upon the earth. In the time between Christ’s first and second comings there will indeed be wars, and rumors of wars, famines and plagues. Seal five encouraged us with the vision of the souls of the martyrs in heaven. They are clothed by God and comforted by him as they wait for the consummation. To die for Christ is really to live! And seal six provides us with a glimpse of how things will be on that last day, when the Lord returns to pour out his wrath upon the ungodly.

What question has yet to be addressed?

Are you not left wondering how things will go for God’s people on earth as they live in the mist of the calamity brought about by the four horsemen of the apocalypse? How will God’s people persevere in the midst of the trouble? It is true that seal five comforts us with the thought that to die for Christ is to be alive with him in heaven! But what about life on earth? How will God’s people hold up in the midst of the trials and tribulations described by the breaking of the first four seals?

And the question raised by the wicked who were seen coming under God’s wrath on the last day also needs to be answered. Remember that when the sixth seal was broken the wicked, both small and great, fled “from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and [they asked] who can stand” (Revelation 6:16–17, ESV)? That is an important question. Who can stand in the face of God’s judgment?

The two visions of chapter seven proved the answers to these questions.

Who can stand? Look at the second vision beginning at  7:9. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9, ESV). Who can stand? It is those who have faith in Christ, who’ve been clothed in his righteousness and cleansed by his blood. They are able to stand before God.

And how will the people of God possibly persevere in the midsts of the trials and tribulations experienced on earth which are common to this present evil age? Well, that is the question answered by the first vision of chapter 7, which is the text we are considering to today.

God Will Preserve His People Spiritually In The Midst Of The Trials And Tribulations Of This Present Evil Age

The simple truth that you must take away from Revelation 7:1-8 is that God will preserve his people spiritually in the midst of the trials and tribulations of this present evil age. This is the promise of God that should bring comfort to our souls. God knows his people. You and I might look out upon a mass of humanity and find it impossible to distinguish between those who belong to Christ and those who do not – it is not as if those who have faith bear any king of physical mark – but God knows. He has given them his name. He has sealed them with his Spirit. His promise is to preserve them. Though we will indeed pass through trials and tribulations of many kinds, we know that the heavenly Father will keep us faithful and true.

Let is consider the text together.

The Four Angels Hold Back The Four Winds

In 7:1 John says,  “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree” (Revelation 7:1, ESV).

Who are these four angels and what do the four winds of the earth that they are holding back represent?

Nothing more can be known about the angels except that they are ministering spirits – servants of the living God. And the significance of the four winds of the earth is made clear from the immediate context.

Remember that when the first four seals were broken by Christ four horses with riders on them appeared before the throne of God. Each one of them was given authority and was permitted by God to go out into all the earth to take peace from it by way of war, and famine, and plague.

And remember that the significance of the four horsemen of Revelation 6 is best understood against the backdrop of what was revealed to Zechariah the prophet hundreds of years earlier. He too was curious about how things would go for the people of God on earth. And he too was shown a vision involving four sets of horses. These were sent out to patrol the earth and would eventually be permitted to take peace from it. God would use them to bring judgment upon the nations and to vindicate his people.

Listen to the words of Zechariah the prophet: “Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ And the angel answered and said to me, ‘These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth’” (Zechariah 6:4–5, ESV). In Zechariah 6 the four sets of horses are associated with the “four winds of heaven” . These are the agents though which God would bring about his judgments in all the earth.

So, when we read in 7:1,  “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree”, we are to understand that these angels – these ministering spirits of God – have the responsibility to restrain these destructive forces – these ministers of judgment – mentioned both in Zechariah 6 and Revelation.

It is true, friends, that God executes his judgements upon the ungodly by way of permitting calamity. But it is also true that God is actively restraining evil continuously. God in his mercy restrains evil. God in his mercy maintains stability in the natural world. In his mercy he prohibits anarchy through civil governments. Our God is continuously active in the restraint of evil. We he to remove his restraint would we not be overrun by wickedness? If he were to give the ungodly over to the desires of their hearts, would they not devour one another? God in his mercy restrains evil.

I’m sure you are able to see that here we have yet another example of the fact that the book of Revelation is not ordered chronologically. It’s not that the events of 7:1-8 will happen after the event described in chapter 6. Instead 7:1 takes us back to the breaking of the first four seals and the four horsemen to give us another perspective on them. Indeed, they were permitted to take peace from as third of the earth, but the sovereign king of the universe restrains them.

The Servants Of God Are Sealed

And why does he restrain them?

Verses 2 and 3 tell us: “Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads’” (Revelation 7:2–3, ESV).

The ministers of judgment are restrained until the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads.

What does this mean?

The Ezekiel 9 passage that I read the beginning of the sermon is helpful. In that passage the prophet Ezekiel describes a vision that he saw concerning the judgment that would come, not upon the world, but upon Israel. The nation had grown exceeding sinful and God would bring judgment. And what Ezekiel see? He saw executioners who were given the task of passing through the city, beginning at the temple, to slay the unrighteous. But notice that in this vision these executioners were not permitted to begin until, “the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist… [Passed] through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it” (Ezekiel 9:3–4, ESV).

In other words, judgment would come upon Israel, but the judgment would not be indiscriminate. God knew those who belonged to him. He would preserve them in the midst of judgment. The wicked would fall, but the righteous would stand.

A similar thing is symbolized here in Revelation 7. This time is not the judgment of Israel that is portrayed, but God’s judgments upon the earth. And this time it is not the the remnant of Israel that is marked on the forehead, but all of the servants of God in all the earth. They are not said to be marked, sealed.

What does it mean to be sealed?

The word has already been used in the immediate context. Remember that the scroll was sealed with seven seals. The seals communicate ownership. And the seals guard and protect. The scroll was God’s scroll and the seals protected the scroll – it could be opened by anyone unworthy. So too the seal placed upon the servants of God communicate ownership and protection. These servants belong to God. They bear his name. He will indeed protect them.

The 144,000 mentioned in this text will appear again in chapter 14 of the book of Revelation. There in 14:1 we are told that the “144,000… had [Chrits’s] name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1, ESV). Clearly the seal given to the servants of God has something to do with ownership. They belong to God.

What exactly is the seal? Is it a physical mark?

Well, tell me, were the faithful in the days of Ezekiel marked with a literal physical mark on the forehead to protect them from judgment? I think not. The mark is not physical, but spiritual. It is those who belong to God from the heart who have it. The same is true of the mark of the beast that will be mentioned later. It is not a physical mark, but a spiritual. To take the mark of the beast is to belong to the evil one, to take his name, and to live as his servant. To be sealed by God is to belong to him, to have his name, and to live as his servant.

It is best to understand this sealing as the sealing of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:21–22, ESV).

Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14, ESV).

Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30, ESV).

In Revelation 7 we have a depiction of this very truth. The servants of God are sealed by the Holy Spirit so as to guard them until they acquire the full possession of their inheritance on the day of redemption. The meaning is clear. God is able to preserve those who are true to him even while he pours out his calamitous judgments upon the unrighteous.

144,000 Sealed

In 7:4 these servants of God are described.  John “heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel…” (Revelation 7:4, ESV).

The Jehovahs Witnesses and some dispensationalists make the same error. They assume that the number is to be taken literally. The Jehovahs Witnesses believe that in the end only 144,000 will reign in heaven. Some dispensationalists believe that in the time before the end there will be 144,000 Jews who come to faith and will be sealed to protect them during tribulation. The views are very different but they make the some error – they take the number to be literal. This is a strange thing to do in a book so filled with symbolism.

Instead it is far better to understand the number 144,000 to be a refrain to all of the elect, Jew and Gentile, living in the time between Christ’s first and second comings.

Notice two things. First, the number. And second, the listing of the tribes of Israel.

The number twelve is significant thought the book of Revelation. So too is the number twenty-four. The number twelve can stand for the tribes of Israel or the Apostles of Christ. The number twenty-four stands for the two groups together. We have here a way of referring to the people of God under the Old and New Covenants. Here we have the number 144,000 which is twelve times twelve times 1,000. The number one thousand is used in the Bible to symbolize a long but complete period of time. That is how the number 1,000 will be used in Revelation 20. What we have here, then, is a number which symbolized the servants of God, Jew and Gentile, who live throughout the church age.

Consider also the listing of the twelve tribes of Israel. There is something curious going on here. “12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed” (Revelation 7:5–8, ESV).

When we compare this listing of Israel with the way that the tribes of Israel are listed in the Old Testament we find that the list in Revelation 7 is unusual.

Look at the way that the tribes of Israel are listed in Genesis 35:23-26. Jacobs sons are listed in this way: First, the sons of Jacob’s wife, Leah – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Net the sons of Jacob’s wife, Rachael – Joseph and Benjamin. After that the outsider sons of the concubines are listed. The sons of Bilhah – Dan and Naphtali. And the sons of Zilpah – Gad, and Asher.

But compare that to the listing of Revelation 7. Notice three things. One, Judah is given first position. Why would that be? Well, Jesus has recently been introduced to us as the lion of the tribe of Judah. Christ is the head of this people! Two, notice that idolators have no place amongst this people. The tribe of Dan was notorious for idolatry under the Old Covenant. Dan is replaced by Manassah in the New Covenant listing of Revelation 7. This people is a pure people. All who who are a part of this people truly belong to Christ. They are all under his headship and they worship God in Spirit and truth – this could not be said of the Old Covenant people of God. Some belonged to Christ, but not all. Some were worshipers of God, but not all. The Ezekiel 9 passage read earlier illustrates this principle. Three, notice that outsiders are elevated in Revelation 7 list. The sons of the concubines are elevated from last to first. This symbolizes the inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God.

To the one who would complain that the text calls this group “the tribes of Israel”, therefore this must be a reference to those who are ethnic Jews, I would say, pay closer attention to the way that the New Testament uses the word Israel. It is used consistently in the New Testament to refer to the true people of God, Jew and gentile. The is no longer Jew and Gentile, friends, when it comes to the people of God. The middle wall of hostility has been broken down. We have been made one in Christ. The gentiles have been grafted in to Israel, and are therefore Israel along with all who have faith in Jesus as the Christ. Pay attention to the way that the New Testament interprets Jeremiah 31:31, for example. In the days of the Old Covenant the Lord promised that a New Covenant would be made. And who would be made with? “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:31–32, ESV). Tell me friends, has this New Covenant been made? Indeed it has. Christ is the mediator of it! And who is the covenant made with? The Jew only? Ethnic Israel only? No, but with all who have faith in Christ, Jew and Gentile together as one in him. If the New Testament is clear about anything, it is clear about that (see Hebrews 10, for example).

The 144,000 represent all of the elect, Jew and Gentile, who will live throughout the time between Christ’s first and second comings. They are sealed by the Holy Spirit – preserved by God because they bear his name. Christians will indeed face trials and tribulations in this world but they will be kept by God through it – preserved by the power of the Holy Spirit, by which they have been sealed.

Application

Brother and sisters, how might this apply to us?

First of all, do not be surprised by trials and tribulations. Never has God promised to keep us from trials and tribulations, but he has promised to preserve us through them. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12, ESV).

Secondly, rejoice in the trial by developing and maintaining a godly, heavenly, and eternal perspective on the world. Here is one things that distinguishes the people of God from the unrighteous. The people of God are able to see beyond this world to the world to come. They know God and understand that he is the one who works all things “together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV). “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13, ESV).

Thirdly, walk by the Spirit. It is by the Holy Spirit that you have been sealed. He has been given as a guarantee – a down payment, if you will. And he is the one who empowers you to live in this world as you ought. Walk by him. Submit to him. Rely upon him for strength day by day. If you are struggling with sin – if you are struggling with doubt – if you struggling to maintain your life in Christ, I ask you, are you walking by the Spirit relying upon him in every aspect of your life? Or are you walking according to the flesh, relying only upon yourself? Are you praying, friend? Are you thinking upon the scriptures and laboring in Christ to obey them? Are you partaking of the Supper in faith? Are you in fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ? These are the things that the Spirit used to preserve us in the faith. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:16–17, ESV).

Fourthly, take comfort in the fact that is it God who preserves us and not we who preserve ourselves. There is a promise to claim here in Revelation 7. Lord, you have promised to keep us in the midst of trial and tribulation. Keep us, Lord I pray!