Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Acts 20:28
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The TrumpetsThe Four HorsemenRev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.The First TrumpetRev 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.This verse seems to lean towards a destruction of plant life, but only a third of it. It also reminds you of the judgment
in Exodus 9:18-26. The Second TrumpetRev 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;Rev 8:9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. First of all, notice that it doesn't say a great burning mountain, it says 'as it were a great burning mountain', so don't take this as a mountain falling in the sea. What this mountain is we don't know, it could be a meteor or comet, but we don't really know since John doesn't go into it any further. But it does tell us that a third of the creatures in the sea died along with a third of the ships on the sea were destroyed. The Third TrumpetRev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;Rev 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. Once again we have several opinions on what these verses mean. Some think that it could be a meteor(s) striking the earth and causing the pollution of the fresh water supply. Then others suggest that it could mean that if you remember, Satan is symbolized as a falling star and the waters speak of people. Satan could therefore poison the waters. But since I think these judgments come from God, I'll go along with the first explanation. The Fourth TrumpetRev 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.If enough volcanoes erupted at once or perhaps enough nuclear explosions went off, the resulting dust cloud could block out the sun, the moon, and the stars. It could also mean that after the things that have happened since the first seal was broken, that the structure of society is falling apart. I tend to lean towards the first explanation due to the fact you don't see John symbolizing this verse as in Rev 8:8. The Fifth TrumpetRev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.First of all the 'bottomless pit' could read as 'abyss' or 'longshaft'. The star that fell is also not a literal star due to the 'to him was given a key' phrase. This star could very well be Satan (re. Isa. 14:12, Luke 10:18, 2 Cor. 11:14). And he was given the key by Christ who holds the key (Rev 1:18). Plus we know that the abyss is where demons are imprisoned (2Pe 2:4, Luk 8:30-31) and they don't want to go there. Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. These are not the locusts as we understand them. How can I say that? Because they don't touch anything green. They only hurt those without the seal of God on their forehead. And they don't have a king (Pro 30:27), whereas these do (Rev 9:11). Continuing on with the Fifth TrumpetRev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. They were instructed not to kill, but only to torment. Who instructed them not to kill? Good question. It could be Satan that instructed them because he wants then here because it is a battle between light and dark. Or it could be God that orders them not to kill because he wants man to face the consequences of his rebellion. Men will try to escape the pain by death, but will be unable to do so. What are they going to look like? Notice that John is using symbolic terms here. I don't think we can know what they really are going to look like. Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.Ok, now notice they had a king over them. This is the reason that I don't believe the locusts are those that we know. As I understand it, the name in Hebrew means 'destruction' and in Greek means 'destroyer'. The Sixth TrumpetRev 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. We are now at the sixth trumpet, where the angel sounded the trumpet, then was ordered to loose the four angels that are bound at the river Euphrates. The angels that are let loose are evidently evil because why else would they have been restrained. Why the Euphrates? Because that area is the cradle and the grave of human civilization. It divides east from west. Rev 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.Rev 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. Here the angels are released. They had been prepared for a certain time to be released. Also note that they kill a third of the population. We've already seen a fourth of the population killed in Rev. 6:8 and now another third which gives over half the population that has been killed. Now lets look at the number of horsemen. 200 million is a lot of horsemen (troops). It could be done if you count the numbers of all the armies of the far east gathered together. But I think that it is an invasion by the demon world. Lets look at the next few verses and that should show why they are most likely demons. Rev 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.Rev 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. Rev 9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. Now these verses may be describing guns or some kind of weapons. Or they might be describing a demonic force. We've already seen demons spoken of in this chapter. So if the verses are describing guns, then the earlier verses was describing a 200 million man army that is of this earth. But you could take the army and these horses as a demonic force. I tend to lean towards the latter. The Seventh TrumpetRev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.This leads to an interlude of scripture which then leads us to the seven vials. Since the scripture between the blowing of the seventh trumpet and the first vial leads to other things about what is written in Revelation, we will not go over it here. |
Everlasting Life He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36. Are You Ready Links • Are You Ready • How to Get to Heaven • Forgiveness • Understand the Scriptures Part 1 • Understand the Scriptures Part 2 • Salvation by Baptism? Part 1 • Salvation by Baptism? Part 2 • Salvation by Baptism? Part 3 • What Happens When You Die • Things about Revelation Part 1 • Things about Revelation Part 2 The Rapture The Tribulation • The Tribulation • Tribulation Purpose --The Seals --The Trumpets |
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