Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I now can sing Since I've been redeemed I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock I faith in Christ, my redeemer King I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock Then row, row, pillows, row I've told all my troubles Goodbye, goodbye say goodbye to each tear and each sigh Every sigh For this world where I roam Cannot be my home I'm bound for a land in the sky, up in the sky Because I walk and I talk with my Lord Walking with my Lord And I feast every day on his word I'm feasting on his word and saying heaven is near and I can't stay here so it's goodbye world, goodbye.
Now don't you weep for me when
[00:00:52] Speaker B: I'm Weep when I'm gone.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Cause I won't have to leave here alone Leave here alone Morning When I hear that last trumpet that last trumpet sound on my feet Won't stay on the ground I'm gonna rise with a shout gonna fly I'm gonna ride with my Lord through the sky I'm saying heaven is near and I can't stay here so it's goodbye world, goodbye well I won't have the blues anymore, Anymore When I stand across to that shore to that shore and I'll not find mine I'll leave behind all my heart aches and tears Forever or another day maybe to the tomorrow I'll rise up and fly Heaven is near and I can stay here so it's goodbye world, goodbye now don't you weep for me when I'm gone.
Cause I won't have to leave here alone.
And when I hear that last trumpet sound on my feet Won't stay on the ground I'm gonna rise with a shout Gonna fly Gonna fly Ride with my Lord through the sky through the skies and heaven is near and I can't stay here so it's goodbye world, goodbye.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: Welcome to the Voice of Hope, a Bible teaching program produced by Heralds of Hope. I'm your host, Anthony High.
We're stepping away from our study in ACTS for a season. And today we return to a series that many of you have been waiting for.
Our journey through the book of Revelation.
In this episode, we pick up in Revelation chapter 8 with the first four of the seven trumpet judgments.
One by one, they fall.
Each blast brings devastation on a scale the world has never seen.
But behind the destruction is a message of God's sovereignty and justice.
Today, our Bible teacher, J. Mark Horst, will unpack what these judgments mean, why they matter. And what comfort God's Word offers in the middle of it all.
If you have your Bible handy, open it to Revelation chapter 8 It's a
[00:03:24] Speaker C: privilege to be back with you here on the Voice of Hope after a several week hiatus. I hope you were blessed by the teaching of the various speakers and the study from the early chapters of the Book of Acts.
Engaging these men is part of the preparation for my eventual retirement as the primary Bible teacher here at Heralds of Hope.
I am very thankful to God for the administrative team and the Board of directors that God has brought together to guide this ministry into the future.
They are solidly on board with the importance of biblical exposition, the teaching of the all things that Jesus commanded, and I'm also very thankful for the way that you, our listeners, continue to support the ministry.
The last episode from Revelation that I presented was way back on the 24th of March, and my teaching was from the opening verses of chapter eight.
The title was Heaven's Ominous Silence.
Let me review just a bit to help us regain the context of what we're studying.
First of all, remember Revelation is a letter written to those in John's lifetime who are experiencing severe persecution.
It was written to the seven churches of Asia.
These varying waves of persecution spanned the late 90s through 311 A.D.
god reminds John's readers that he's paying attention and that the wicked will eventually drink the cup of his wrath.
In Revelation chapter 3 and verse 10 in his message to the church at Philadelphia, Jesus promised, because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.
In chapter five, Jesus the slain Lamb, is revealed as the only one in the whole universe who is worthy to open the seven seals of that mysterious scroll.
And then chapter six reveals the seven seal judgments, including the four Horsemen, the cry of the martyrs, and the cosmic disturbances of the universe.
Chapter seven provides an interlude. It details the sealing of the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel, as well as the multitudes of people who will be saved during the great tribulation.
Chapter 8 then begins with the opening of the seventh seal.
And when that seal is opened, an unexpected and unusual silence follows.
That silence may be the portent of the awful things that are about to take place in the seven trumpet judgments.
As John watches, the angel takes his censer, fills it with fire from the brazen altar, and hurls the contents violently onto the earth in response to the prayers of the righteous Those who have rejected the atoning work of Jesus Christ will now suffer the wrath of Almighty God in its fullness.
Voices, thunder, lightning and an earthquake accompany this terrifying action.
It's a startling end to the 30 minutes of silence.
And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
The seven trumpet judgments grow out of the seventh broken seal.
Therefore, rather than being seen as linear, I believe these judgments are most likely cyclical and overlapping.
Each one of them is still unique, but the intensity builds from one to the other.
So let's turn now to our text. Revelation, chapter 8, verses 6 through 13.
Listen as I read.
So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
The first angel sounded, and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
Then the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea.
And a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Then the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning 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 men died from the water because it was made bitter.
Then the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
And I looked and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound.
You know, people today are very concerned about saving the environment.
They have all these fears about the depletion of the ozone layer or the destruction of the rainforests or pollution or global warming. Those things are often in the news.
There's a passionate concern for saving endangered species, from whales and spotted owls to California condors and a host of lesser known species.
For many people, protecting the environment has become a lot more than a concern for health and safety. It has become an issue of idolatry. They worship Mother Nature by trying to protect and perpetuate the Earth.
The sounding of the first four trumpets unleashes an ecological disaster on the earth and its inhabitants.
It's a reminder to us that the sovereign God, who created the earth with all its resources for our enjoyment and sustenance, will use those same resources to bring judgment on the wicked.
The first four trumpet blasts indicate that one third of the vegetation, the seas, the fresh waters and the heavens are affected.
So let's look at the impact of these judgments.
The first trumpet primarily affects vegetation.
Hail and fire mingled with blood were thrown to the earth, and a third of the trees were burned up. And all the green grass was burned up.
Did you catch the repetition of the words burned up?
It's repeated for dramatic effect.
One third of the trees and all the green grass perish.
Can you imagine the impact on the economic system, the weather, and many other things?
The specific cause of the hail and fire thrown to the earth is not revealed.
But from a scientific standpoint, an earthquake of the magnitude and the extent of the one mentioned in verse 5 could likely trigger worldwide volcanic eruptions.
In addition to spewing vast quantities of flaming blood red lava into the atmosphere, those eruptions could also trigger violent thunderstorms that produce large hail.
Such thunderstorms would be in keeping with the imagery of verse 5. After the angel hurled his censer to the earth.
Joel wrote about these things in his visions of the day of the Lord.
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth. Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
And then Exodus 9:24, describing the seventh plague on Egypt, records, so there was hail and fire mingled with the hail so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
In this judgment, the first trumpet judgment, the hailstones and fireballs fall in a shower of blood.
Now, I don't know about you, but my faith is simple enough to believe that what John is writing should be taken as literally as possible.
These horrors don't symbolize political, social or economic judgment. Those judgments come later in the book of Revelation.
Nor do they describe any judgment that has ever occurred in history, whether regional or global.
These judgments, I believe, are actual, literal, physical events that will affect the whole earth.
The second trumpet primarily affects the seas, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Later on, during the bowl judgments, the sea will become totally blood and every living thing in it will die.
This could be a completely miraculous phenomenon, or it could be something like a giant meteorite or asteroid surrounded by flaming gases that are set ablaze by the friction of the Earth's atmosphere. You know, there are current doomsday scenarios about an asteroid hitting the Earth. Maybe they will come true.
If it does, it will hit, striking somewhere in the world's oceans with an explosive power that is so much greater than an atomic bomb.
Can you imagine the effects of such an event?
Huge tidal waves will result, capsizing one third of the huge ocean going vessels and completely swamping coastal ports.
The resulting disruption of commerce and transportation will cause economic chaos.
And then the death of one third of the aquatic life will pollute the waters and putrefy the fresh salt air.
So the first two trumpets will bring devastating judgment on both the land and the sea, which are the beginning of the final catastrophes that God will unleash on this sinful and rebellious world.
The third trumpet primarily affects the fresh waters.
A great star fell from heaven, burning 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 men died from the water because it was made bitter.
This star is given the name of wormwood.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes, and I quote, whenever the word star is used symbolically, it is always a symbol of an angel. And this is the case here. The angel's name is wormwood. That indicates that it's a fallen angel. And this fallen angel causes one third of the sweet water to turn bitter.
That causes the death of many people.
In the book of Revelation, fallen angels are used on several occasions to render judgment on the earth. And this is one such occasion. That's the end of the quote.
At the sound of the previous trumpet, the massive object that smashed into the ocean remained intact.
Still, this object, possibly a comet or a meteor because of its fiery tail, disintegrates as it reaches Earth's atmosphere.
The fact that it is described as burning like a torch supports that interpretation. Since this word was used in ancient times to describe meteors and comets.
The object's fiery debris fall on one third of the rivers and on the springs of waters that pollutes fresh water all over the globe.
Wormwood is a perennial herb with silver green foliage and a distinct and intensely bitter taste. It's mentioned several times in the Old Testament.
It's associated with bitterness, with poison and death.
In one of those uses, wormwood is connected with poison water.
Here's Jeremiah 9, 15.
God is speaking about rebellious Israel Behold, I will feed them, this people with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
This is like a reverse of the miracle at Marah, where the Lord made the bitter waters sweet. You may remember that from Exodus chapter 15.
So the impact of this third trumpet is the first to specifically state that many people died and that presumably from drinking the polluted water the rivers will run with deadly poison and the wells will become springs of death. The lakes and the reservoirs will be filled with toxic waters.
People will be able to survive for a time the destruction of their food supplies that were caused by the first two trumpet judgments, because they can live off of stored provisions.
But people can't long survive without fresh water.
And this loss of one third of the world's fresh water supply will cause widespread death.
The devastation caused by these first three trumpet judgments will leave the inhabitants of the Earth in shock and fear.
And yet God is not finished pouring out his wrath on sinful humanity. The death of many is an indirect result of these first three trumpet blasts.
Which brings us to the fourth trumpet. It affects the heavens. A third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon and a third of the stars, so that a third of them was darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
This partial eclipse is reminiscent of the ninth plague in Egypt. It's temporary because God will later increase the amount of heat that comes from the sun.
At this point, the loss of heat from the sun will cause temperatures to plunge dramatically across the world.
As you might imagine, that will severely disrupt the Earth's weather patterns, the tides of the sea. It will lead to violent, unpredictable storms and tides, the destruction of crops and the further loss of human and animal life.
Jesus spoke of a time like this in Matthew 24:29. He said, Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
In his judgments on Egypt, God used darkness to punish the hard hearted Pharaoh.
Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt. Darkness which may even be felt.
You know, the Old Testament prophets associated signs like these in the heavens with the day of the Lord.
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming cruel with fury and burning anger to make the land a desolation. And he will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light.
That's Isaiah 13:9 and 10.
Joel 3:15 and Ezekiel 32:7, 8 give similar descriptions of judgment.
And Jesus added his own prediction to that of the prophets. He warned, there will be signs in sun and moon and stars. That's Luke 21:25 and Mark 13:24.
Now, how this darkening will be accomplished isn't spelled out for us.
These verses don't necessarily imply that one third of the sun or moon and stars are destroyed, only that their light sources are somehow hindered from reaching the earth.
So as a result of this judgment, one third of the light source for the daytime and one third of the light source for the nighttime are completely blocked out.
And then there's an ominous event that immediately follows the phenomena of the fourth trumpet.
John says, I saw and heard an eagle flying in mid heaven, saying with a great voice, woe, woe, woe for them that dwell on the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels who are yet to sound.
Now remember that One of the four seraphim, or living creatures in Revelation 4:7, had a face like a flying eagle.
Here he is pictured as flying in the midst of heaven at the height of the midday sun, so he would be visible to everyone.
His loud voice ensures that all can hear his pronouncements.
The eagle's dire warning, given in solemn repetition, is that the last three trumpet judgments will be even more devastating than the first four.
In Hebrew Greek rhetoric, repeating a word three times is the highest form of emphasis. It's equivalent to a superlative in other languages. And we see this feature in Isaiah chapter 6, where the seraphim cry, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
While a single woe is a warning. And you might recall Jesus pronounced a woe on the Pharisees in the Gospels.
A triple woe indicates a calamity of maxim, severity, and horror.
The word is actually an onomatopoeia. It phonetically imitates the natural sound of a wail or cry of woe.
Why, in Revelation 18:10 it is translated as alas.
As the kings of the earth weep over the destruction of Babylon, they cry, alas, alas that great city, Babylon, that mighty city. For in one hour your judgment has come.
The woes are pronounced on those who dwell on the earth.
That's a technical term for those who reject the Gospel, although they will acknowledge that these disasters that they are experiencing have come from God. We see that in chapter 6, verses 15 to 17, they still refuse to repent but the worst is yet to come.
Eventually they will be destroyed because they fail to heed the warning God addresses to all sinners.
Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. That's Hebrews 3, 7, 8.
These are the judgments that await those who refuse to repent and find salvation in Jesus.
I take great comfort in the words of the APostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5 in his teaching about the coming Day of the Lord. He says, for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you are also doing.
Have you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God?
Are you waiting for His Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead? Even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come?
I hope and pray that you are
[00:23:35] Speaker A: Day of judgment may be nearing what a morning that will be There'll be safety then in Jesus Rock of Ages Clap for me O my loving brother when the world's on fire don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow?
Hide me over in the Rock of Ages Rock of Ages cleft for me Sinners trembling Saints rejoicing each departing to his place all the ransom Christ will gather he has saved them by his grace oh my loving brother when the world's on fire don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow?
Hide me over in the Rock of Ages Rock of ages clap for me O my loving bride Father, when the world's on fire don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow?
Hide me over in the Rock of Ages Rock of ages.
Before me.
[00:25:55] Speaker B: That concludes today's teaching in Revelation, chapter 8. Here on the Voice of Hope, the trumpet judgments are not easy to sit with. Yet they're a reminder that God takes sin seriously and that his patience, while great, will not last forever.
If today's message stirred something in you, I encourage you to open Revelation 8 for yourself and ask honestly, have I turned to God, or am I still hardening my heart?
Before we close, consider this sobering reality.
One in three people worldwide lacks access to Bible resources.
Pastors, ministry leaders and seekers are often without the tools they need to grow or to disciple others.
At Heralds of Hope, we believe everyone deserves access to Bible teaching and discipleship resources and in their own language.
One way we're responding to this need is through Hope for Today, a Bible teaching program that's now available in over 40 languages.
Here's a testimony from a listener in Central America.
I'm a youth leader and when it is my turn to expose or preach to the children, you give many tips and that's good.
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You can also listen to and share the Voice of Hope wherever you get your podcasts. Join us the next time as we continue our journey through Scripture. Until then, may God's Word strengthen your faith and remind you that his work in the world is far from finished. Thank you for listening to the Voice of Hope.
[00:28:15] Speaker A: O my loving brother, when the world's on fire, don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow?
I know me over in the Rock of Ages Rock of Ages.
