Transcript Document

“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven
trumpets.”
REVELATION – CHAPTERS 8-9
THE 7 TRUMPETS
The 7 Trumpets – unfolding of “last days” – a focused look at the generation of the
“End Times”
They are a “WARNING SOUND” to the earth, but ESPECIALLY to God’s PEOPLE
in the last days…
The 7 Bowls are the outpouring of God’s Wrath after the rapture.
They FOLLOW the 7 Trumpets.
AT THE 7th TRUMPET, GOD’S PEOPLE ARE RAPTURED OUT!
THE scripture is CLEAR on this matter…Let the BIBLE interpret the BIBLE…
Rev 10:5-7
7
But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the
MYSTERY of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the
prophets."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Corinthians 15:51-52
51
Listen, I tell you a MYSTERY: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-52
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will
sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVELATION – CHAPTERS 8-9
THE 7 TRUMPET WARNINGS OF REVELATION
THE FIRST 6 TRUMPETS are not meant to be a recounting of every bad or startling
or monumental event in world history. Rather, they are given as “mile markers” or
“signs” to the world and alarms of warning along the “way” of world history. BUT
ESPECIALLY for those “end time generations”.
READ TODAY’S TEXT – REVELATION 9:13 - 21
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER –
1. Revelation is written in apocalyptic, symbolic imagery…
2. John was shown things He had never seen nor could imagine!
3. Revelation MUST be interpreted from the Middle East and Europe, NOT the U.S.!
4. 1/3 – a symbolic number (perhaps literal in some cases) indicating a significant
amount but NOT ALL, not even MOST…
1/3 of the “earth” may refer to the “earth” and “people” who are directly experiencing
that trumpet fulfillment rather than the entire GLOBE.
Also, the word “sea” does not always refer to the literal “waters” in the New
Testament, but sometimes refers to a “vast expanse”.
(as in Revelation 4:6)
5. To give a dogmatic, literal interpretation of these scriptures may in fact cause us to
make the same mistake the Pharisees made interpreting the prophecies of the
coming Christ. When He came, they missed Him!
Rather, these “strange” words may speak “symbolically” to something MUCH
more literal IN OUR DAY!
In the last two weeks, we considered the possibility of these
interpretations of the first 5 trumpets.
Trumpets One and Two – Speak of the devastation of WWII.
Trumpet One speaks directly to: WWII – The Largest, Most Killed, First use of Nuclear Weapon.
The devastation left by WWII on all fronts.- A huge amount of the earth, grass and trees were
“burned up”.
This happened from “hail and fire, mixed with blood being hurled down upon the earth.” (bombs,
rockets, flame throwers, missiles, bullets, cannons, ship wars, etc.)
Trumpet number TWO “Something
1/3 of the
“creatures” in
the “sea”
died.
1/3 of the
ships in the
“sea” were
destroyed.
LIKE a huge mountain, ALL ABLAZE was thrown into the “sea.”
* 140 million of 400,000 people of Hiroshima died! Right at 1/3 of the entire population!
* Some 150 -200 million soldiers fought in WWII from all the countries involved. There were 61
million casualties – again…right at 1/3 of all who fought!
* 105,000 ships were used in WWII and over 36,000 of those ships were
destroyed in battle - almost EXACTLY 1/3 of the ships!!
1/3 of the creatures in the “sea” died and 1/3 of the ships were destroyed.
COINCIDENCE?
TRUMPET NUMBER THREE…
“A great star – blazing like a torch fell from the sky…its name was
wormwood.” –
Something called “wormwood” causes large amounts of water to turn
“bitter” and many people die from “drinking the water”!
Wormwood – in the literal world is a bitter and
sometimes poisonous herb.
Wormwood – translated to RUSSIAN = Chernobyl
*The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 6th edition –
*The Dictionary of the Russian Language by S. Ozhegov
* Hans Blix testimony – Oct 23, 1990
* “The Chernobyl Disaster”, a secular book by Soviet-born Viktor Haynes
Chernobyl Nuclear Plant meltdown in Russia - The plant exploded on April
26, 1986, sending a radioactive cloud over much of Europe – RENDERING
THE LARGE SEAPORT CITY and the SURROUNDING area a GHOSTTOWN and killing hundreds of thousands and poisoning millions more.
It was the FIRST and the WORST nuclear disaster/accident in human
history. It released 10X the radiation into the waters, soil and atmosphere as
the bomb dropped at Hiroshima!
It is STILL (as we sit here this
morning ) polluting the waters
of Europe and MILLIONS are
being contaminated by its
nuclear radiation poising.
TRUMPETS FOUR AND FIVE –
Another WORLD WIDE EVENT – a “history marker”
Consider these main elements:
1.
A large part of the day and night - black and dark – thick smoke. It looked like the
“Abyss” or “hell” itself!
2.
Out of this “smoke” came “locusts”
3.
They “stung” like scorpions – ( in other words…quick, hot and deadly)
4.
They had “hair” like a woman, “face” of a man and “teeth” like a lion and “crowns.”
5.
“Breastplates” like iron, their “wings” roared like chariots or thundering horses.
6.
The leader’s name was “Destroyer” (remember this very important name!)
7.
Don’t harm the grass or trees – (Don’t hurt the land…)
8.
Only the people (we want to TAKE the land!) (the people were “not God’s People”)
9.
They could not “KILL” (destroy, conquer) the people (They were NOT
victorious)…They only “tormented” them for FIVE MONTHS (remember this very
important time period!)
10. Men would seek “death” but could not “find it”.
A large part of the day and night were darkened.(Not ALL, not even MOST, but a lot!)
In 1991 when Saddam Hussein withdrew from Kuwait – He set 700 oil wells on fire around
Kuwait City. The result was “unprecedented in the history of the world.”
By the end of the war, 6 million barrels of oil were going up in smoke each day.
“The skies of Kuwait were so blackened by the smoke that in some areas it
was as dark as midnight at 12 noon.” It was eight months before the last fire was
finally extinguished.
One American oil-field engineer, viewing the inferno, said, "You half expect to see little guys
with pitchforks and tails coming out of the ground." (People Weekly, December 30, 1991)
OUT OF THE SMOKE CAME
“LOCUSTS”
THEY HAD A “FACE” LIKE A MAN
They had “tails”, “hair”, “teeth” and
breastplates of iron.
They sounded like chariots or thundering
horses racing into battle.
THEIR LEADER’S NAME WAS
“DESTROYER”…
Their LEADER’S name was “DESTROYER”
SADDAM is NOT a first-name…It is a TITLE or NICKNAME that precedes his FAMILY NAME
SADDAM –
in Arabic translates to “DESTROYER”
“and I saw the locusts coming up out of the Abyss, and they had as a king over them one who’s name was –
DESTROYER”
Jerusalem Post, December 13, 1997
The German Tribune, (March 10, 1991)
The Observer (UK), Sunday July 4, 2004
“There is no enemy of Iraq but Saddam the destroyer and his cronies, whom we denounce until judgment day
and they are in immortal hell.”—Iraqi Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Associated Press, Nov. 10
http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan2004/0104verb.asp
AN ARABIC BIBLE WOULD READ…”…and they had as a king over them one who’s name was Saddam”.
1. THEY HAD POWER TO “TORMENT” FOR 5 MONTHS – Saddam’s occupation of Kuwait lasted
EXACTLY 5 MONTHS! (September of 1990 to February of 1991
2. NOT ALLOWED TO “KILL” THEM…only TORMENT – He was not allowed to crush and defeat Kuwait.
He only “tormented” them for 5 months.
3. DO NOT HARM THE GRASS OR THE TREES – He wanted to take the land and the oil wells. NOT
devastate it. He claimed it was HIS! He wanted the country and its resources intact!
4. But ONLY the people WITHOUT the “seal” – (in other words…NOT GOD’S PEOPLE) KUWAIT is
99% MUSLIM! (Certainly…NOT sealed with the “seal” –Holy Spirit – of God!)
5. “In those days…Men will seek death…but it will elude them.” YOUNG’S LITERAL GREEK TRANSLATION –Rev. 9:6 “and in those days shall men seek the death, and
they shall not find it, and they shall desire (the death) to die, and the death shall flee from them.
(For 10 years we have hunted and tried to kill or arrange for Saddam’s DEATH (HE is the destroyer or THE
DEATH!)
The GULF WAR was STARTED with the U.S. lobbing a bunker-buster missile into one of Saddam’s bunkers
thinking he was there. HE was not…He eluded them…time and time again FOR 10 YEARS…until just a
couple of month’s ago!
WE STILL DO NOT KNOW IF SADDAM WILL DIE FOR HIS DEEDS
AND THIS STORY IS CONTINUING AND WE ARE STILL IN IRAQ AS OF
THIS VERY MORNING!
Consider:
TRUMPETS 1-5 THE FIRST WOE? - (3 elements)
I BELIEVE…
1.
Began with WWII - 1945
2.
Then came CHERNOBYL – 1986
3.
Then Kuwait and the GULF WAR - 1991 - and it
continues today with OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.
TRUMPET NUMBER SIX…
I believe is still in the future…it has not been fulfilled yet. Therefore we do not have the
advantage of tying all the pieces together like we did with the first 5 trumpets. Therefore…any
attempt at a literal interpretation would be pure speculation at this point.
WHAT WE DO KNOW about the elements of REVELATION 6
1. Centered around the Euphrates River. (Eden, Angels posted, first sin – murder – war –
dictatorship – and world rebellion against God (tower of Babel) – Babylon is located there.
2. Angels are “released” (By God Himself) – They have been posted there from (when?) until this
very day and hour. In other words…many things that happen in the affairs of the world…have
a “spiritual” counterpart to them. A “binding” and “loosing”. AND…GOD IS IN CONTROL –
throughout!
3. 1/3 of ‘mankind” will be killed – again, the Greek word simply means “man” – It could refer to
those directly involved in this battle rather than the entire planet. As in the first 5 trumpets.
4. 200 million troops - The Greek word here is literally - dismurias –” an indefinite number. An
incalculable immensity.” The ONLY time used in the BIBLE! 200 million may not be literal,
however, JOHN did hear their number!
5. The horses and riders looked like - breastplates, heads like lions, mouths and tails shot out
smoke, fire and sulfur. The tails had “heads” on them.
I WONDER…
The horses and riders looked like - breastplates, heads like lions, mouths and tails
shot out - smoke, fire and sulfur. The tails had “heads” on them.
I WONDER IF JOHN SAW THIS?
CONSIDER THIS Chairman Mao of CHINA - boasted in the 1960s that he could field an army of 200 million
soldiers. No other nation on earth could do that. The Associated Press has reported on
several occasions that one out of five Chinese are training for the Chinese military. Since
their population is about 1.2 BILLION, that would mean that well over 200 million Chinese
are now preparing for war.
ALSO - don't forget:
China intends to reunite Taiwan with the mainland in the near future by force, if necessary.
The United States says we will go to war in order to protect Taiwan.
An excerpt from…
THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE - website – ( note the emphasis on CHINA)
"The history of the Gulf War (TRUMPET FIVE!) has a multitude of components including internal decision making as well as diplomatic, economic, and conventional
military activities. This briefing book primarily focuses on the intelligence, space
operations, and Scud-hunting aspects of the war. It also includes a report describing how
Desert Storm affected China's view of future warfare, a document that raises questions as
to what lessons other nations have drawn from U.S. military engagements in the Middle
East and the Balkans." http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB39/
WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
ONLY SPECULATION –
Perhaps – a coming future Middle East War – over oil, territory,
border disputes or terrorism concerns? - Involving many countries
of the World – maybe China, maybe Israel? With massive loses of
troops as in WWII?
Perhaps a “true” WWIII?
WE DON’T KNOW – It is in God’s timing, God’s ultimate plan,
God’s ultimate purpose. The question is…not…”WHAT DOES THE
FUTURE HOLD FOR THE WORLD…That has already been
decided! That battle was won on the OLD RUGGED CROSS!
I DO BELIEVE THE FIRST 5 TRUMPETS HAVE BLOWN!
The prophecies of them were written 2000 years ago! There IS a
God, This IS His Word, and HE IS ON HIS THRONE!
BUT NOTE THESE SAD WORDS AT THE END OF THE
FIRST 6 TRUMPETS…
Rev 9:20-21
20
The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still
did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping
demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood-- idols that
cannot see or hear or walk.
21
Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their
sexual immorality or their thefts.
(NIV)
THE TRUMPET PROPHECIES are GIVEN so that MAN WILL
KNOW THAT GOD IS ON HIS THRONE! THEY ARE MEANT TO
BE CLEAR AND OBVIOUS ONCE THEY OCCUR! Some will see,
understand and be saved. Many will continue in sin and blindness.
The REAL question is this…
What does the future hold for
YOU…Do you belong to Jesus?
If you do…YOU ARE ON THE
WINNING SIDE!
And for the Child of God…
What does YOUR LIFE hold
for the FUTURE?
YOU ARE ON THE WINNING SIDE!
You are living in these times for a
purpose. Is your life making a
difference for Jesus and His Kingdom?
WE ARE IN THE TRUMPET DAYS!