A Pause Before the Final Judgement Is Unleashed

 

What we are about to see in today's study is the culmination of God's wrath on earth as He has announced through all the prophets. We are going to slow this chapter down a bit and I hope it will bless you as it has me in taking time to be sure that we are getting out of this chapter all that God has revealed in it. What God has written, He has written for a reason. Never apologize for the Word of God.

As we get into studying Chapters 10 all the way through Chapter 11:14, we have encountered another parenthetical pause in the Book of Revelation. If you remember from when it happened before, a parenthetical pause is simply a break in the flow of events, like pushing pause on your DVR so you can gain some much needed insight before continuing on to help you understand what is going to be happening next as we continue on in our study. God now turns to John to give him some key data before continuing on in the vision He has been showing him of end time events. We have paused in the midst of the trumpet blasts waiting on number seven which will be the culmination of the Great Tribulation Period. This is introducing us to the closing days of the Tribulation Period.

God has taken a break not because He needs it or because He gets tired. God is waiting or taking a break to give others a chance at redemption. Imagine if God came back for His church 5 years ago, would you have been with us or would you have been left behind? What about 10 year ago? 25 years ago? God has a plan in delaying the coming judgment at this point. He is giving others a chance at redemption before Jesus returns. God knows the timing and when He will bring it all to a close.

If people were to interview you about your testimony, what would it be? Would it be grand on a scale like most believe their initial salvation experience should be or was it simply a quiet not so much impactful event, meaning you didn't really feel anything at that moment? Some of you simply grew up in a Christian home your whole life and suddenly one day it just clicked for you. God reaches us all in various ways and through different experiences. The one thing we can all agree on is there are times when we read the Bible that it cuts it right to our heart. Where God begins to extract bad thoughts, sins in our life or places we need to change in our life at that moment. Then there are other times when we read God's Word and it's a cutting that heals us. It brings healing, and joy and excitement.

Chapter 10 is that scene where it brings bitterness and also a sweetness at the same time. You might ask yourself how can that be?

Hebrews 4:12-13 ~ "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to diving soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Psalm 107:19-20 ~ "Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave."

Revelation 10:1-11 ~ "Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the seal and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down." Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay! 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." Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land." So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. IT tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."

Tremendous words but what does it all mean? Do you want to understand the Book of Revelation? You could attend seminary for a year and you might not get to this point, so I am going to save you a lot of time right now. What do you need to do to understand the Book of Revelation? Read the Old Testament. The Book of Revelation assumes that by the time the audience gets to this point in the Bible, that this people have already read the Old Testament. You'll never understand the Book of Revelation without reading the Old Testament. You can go from Genesis to Malachi, skip the New Testament and go directly to the Book of Revelation and it will dovetail beautiful into the Old Testament. To the Jewish mind, the Book of Revelation is very very reminiscent of the Old Testament. God intended it that way.

So when we read things about the angel standing on the land and on the sea, the book being opened, John eating the scroll, what does all that mean anyway? It won't until you read the Book of Ezekiel and come across the part where God told Ezekiel to read the book and eat it. Ezekiel said it tasted good but it turned my stomach sour. We need to understand what sweet and sour means and why! It will apply to the coming days.

We as Christians have this to boast about. That our God is merciful, loving and kind. The Bible says He is not willing that any shall perish but that all should come to eternal life. We are going to be studying in future posts all about the love of God, the advent of the Antichrist and his agenda and it will move you. You will be shocked to find out about the bitterness of God's Word and in this respect that is forthcoming the Bible says to those that are dwelling in this world. The Bible says that the world we be deceived by a conglomeration of many religions, a mating together of religions, a decrease or death in Christianity during that period of time. A decrease in God's people in the earth. They will die for their faith. Their will die for their faith by beheading. We might have not understood that meaning years ago when we lived in a civilized world and to think it would not be possible to imagine a time where people would adopt killing their opponent or enemies by beheading.

If you google beheading in your search engine and hit return, you would be surprised by the exponential number of religious persecution in the world and that culminates in one act. Guess what it is? Beheadings! It is the greatest way of religious persecution in the world today. Throughout areas of Africa, the South Pacific, the Middle East, and now the FBI is taking a look at the number of beheadings that are taking place in America and they are looking at the connection between religious belief and beheadings.

The Bible says that when the Antichrist comes on the scene, his implementation of global persecution against the Christian or Tribulation believer will be beheading. Don't believe me, check it out yourself. We live in a very strange age my friend. Just know this. The Bible is never wrong and it will never be wrong. What it says, it will happen. Know this. Our God is a God of peace. Our God is a God of love. Our God is a God of grace. In this chapter, He pauses to bring us hope. He pauses to speak a message.

1 John 3:16 ~ "This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 

John 3:15-17 ~ "That everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved that world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

This is important. The God of the Bible wants you to have eternal life. When God takes a break, He sends His messengers to mankind. God is so faithful, whenever He takes a break from judgment He sends His messengers to mankind. He will always make an announcement. A message by divine delivery.

Revelation 10:1 ~ ""Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars."

You can pick up all kinds of commentaries and books, and the audience, the classroom and the teacher are divided on who this "another mighty angel" is. We don't know who he is. The speculation is that some say he is a mighty angel and that is all that he is. We know that throughout scripture that there are descriptions of mighty angels, powerful angels, ranking of angels in power, ranking of orders of angels which we have studied before. Other scholars have said, that this "mighty angel" could in fact be Jesus Christ, Himself. Most of those scholars who have stated this are quite liberal ones and in fact some cults have said this is Jesus as well.

It is not Jesus not it is a type or rank of angel that we have seen in our more recent studies. Even though the description sounds like it could apply to Jesus, it is not Him. It's a different angel but one of a different ranking. We do know from Scripture that God's angels do have various rankings. There are various levels from arch angels, angels, seraphim, cherubim, and others. Michael, Gabriel and even Lucifer are of the highest orders of angels. This is just another mighty angel, an angel that is different from what we have seen so far, higher in ranking, and as we look further into our study, he has a very serious mission to carry out.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Why do bad things happen to good people? According to God, there are no good people. That might offend someone reading this, but remember the Bible says that there are NONE righteous. Not one. So it begs to ask the question, why does any good stuff happen to any one of us? The wrath that is coming to the world, is for a world that has rejected God. That would be like standing outside in the rain and asking God, why are You allowing it to rain on me? It's your choice, put your umbrella up, go someplace it's not raining. Don't blame God. When things happen in our lives, it might beg to ask the question, have we walked out from under God's umbrella in our own lives? Is that why certain things are happening to us? What is coming to the world will be the result of unbelief. There is no one in hell right now blaming others to why they are there. They are there because they chose to be. Maybe they made the wrong decisions in life, they wind up in hell however, by their own choice. To accept God or reject Him.The things that are coming are what happens to man who has left the protection of God. He has no one else to blame but himself. If you cast aside your umbrella in the midst of a storm, you are the one responsible for getting wet.

You don't go out and live your life without God. He is the one who made you. He loves you. He has a plan for your life. He has a plan and path for you in mind to walk on. Why live your life on your own? It will never wind up good for you. You will come to a point, of living a life of unbelief and it hurts, and eventually it kills.

Revelation 13:14 ~ "and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived," promises that the Antichrist will deceive those who dwell upon the earth. The earth dwellers will make an image of the beast to worship. We will study that more in depth when we get to Revelation 13. 

Revelation 14:6 ~ "Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people."

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. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come."

You can escape this stamp or title of earth dwellers, by the way, by coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. How can you escape God's judgment? Run to Him with all your sins in hand. What have I done to deserve God's judgment? Only one thing, you have refused to receive God's free gift.

When the judgment of God comes, the prayers of God's saints will be heard, and the Lord will represent His people.

Revelation 8:3 ~ "And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was give much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne."

1 Timothy 2:3-6 ~ "This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."

When the judgment of God comes, the prayers of the saints will be heard, and the Lord shall be both Priest and Judge.

Revelation 8:4-6 ~  "and the smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them."

Exodus 30:6-10 ~ "And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. And Aaaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations. You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD." 

When the judgment of God comes, punishment must fall upon this world. This is the section of gross devastation. From here on out, it gets pretty intense. The first four trumpet judgments are all concerning nature. The created elements of nature, be it humans, things in the sea or the stars above. They are of a physical nature. The last three judgments of the trumpets are of a spiritual nature. In the first four judgments to come upon the earth, the environment will suffer.

Revelation 8:7-13 ~ " The first angel sounded his trumpets, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the living creatures of the sea died, and a third of all the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water - the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, 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 turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe! to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"

 Jesus laid all of this out in chronological order 2000 years ago about the last days, when he taught in Matthew 24:7 ~ "Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places."

Can you imagine what is coming with the first trumpet blast on an ecological scale that " hail and fire mixed with blood, will be hurled down upon the earth" This means that hail and fire will strike down and kill those on the earth at that time. Hail will hit people so hard that it will break their bodies open. Blood will be mingled with it. Hail and fire? How can that be? Did you know that it is a meteorological fact that hail and fire have been found together throughout human history? Did you know that when Mount St. Helen's erupted that what followed was hail falling to the ground and lightning striking the earth at the same time? Did you know that when the gases were belched out of Mount St. Helen's, by the way it formed its own weather system, it formed such a violent reaction in the plumes above, that it rained hail and the gases caught fire by the virtue of the lightning. This is documented not only in Mount St. Helens but all major volcanic eruptions.

Jesus said that there will be famines as a result of this. Just look at the devastation that Mount St. Helen's caused. The dust cloud circled the earth 6 times before the dust began to settle. It changed the flight patterns of air craft. It changed weather patterns all around the globe.

Exodus 9:23-26 ~ "When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.  Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields - both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were." 

So when it says that hail and fire mixed with blood, what it means is hail coming down to the earth, and gaseous explosions in the atmosphere and and when it struck the earth it killed people.

Joel 1:19-2:1 ~ "To you, O LORD I call, for fire has devoured the open pastures and flames have burned up all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures. Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm"

Joel 2:30-32 ~ "I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." 

This is volcanic eruptions that happen just before the Second Coming of the LORD, and it will devastate the earth. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted it cause devastation like the world had never known. If you read the eye witness accounts it was horror on a scale human history had never seen before. The Bay of Naples was unnavigatable due to a huge tsunami. (Zondervan Illustrated Background Commentary, Vol 4, Encyclopedia Britannica.) Do you know what triggers warning systems for tsunamis? There is an earthquake and the sea begins to drop and it sets off the alarm. It means you'd better head for the high ground. Why? Because when the sea drops, it comes back in a giant wave We have seen such things like this happen in history. We need to keep those things in mind.

When the judgment of God comes, punishment must fall upon this world, because of man's unbelief, the seas will suffer.

Revelation 8:8-9 ~ "The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed."

Remember when we see terms like " something like a huge mountain," means it wasn't a huge mountain. This means that something is going to impact the seas that 1/3 of those sailing on the waters and 1/3 of those living in the sea will be destroyed.

Hosea 4:3 ~ "Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beast of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying."

Zephaniah 1:3 ~ "I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea."

A polluted sea will kill 1/3 of the seas life, and 1/3 of the ocean going ships will be sunk (10,000 +). Punishment must fall upon this world because of man's unbelief, the heavens will shake.

Revelation 8:10-13 ~ "The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water - the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, 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 turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice" "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blast about to be sounded by the other three angels."

The Bible gives three words for the word heaven. Heavens where God lives in the spiritual realm.(2) where the stars and galaxies dwell, and (3) the atmosphere from sea level to about 126,000 feet. This means this will be impact the space heavens, like meteors or asteroids. It says a great star, blazing like a torch ( once again this is symbolism, it doesn't mean it was a torch). Think of the ecological impacts if the sun does not shine properly? Can you imagine what it will look like when a 1/3 of the stars cascade from the sky and fall to the earth? How will that happen? I don't know. The days will be radically shortened. Jesus says when people see this, their hearts will fail them, they will have heart attacks and die out of fear.

When you look the word "Wormwood" up it takes you to a study on pharmacology and leads you to a very fatal and toxic herb, a hallucinogenic, that used to be used primarily by the Europeans and most recently by now of the French, that was added to liqueur  to give you a tremendous buzz, rush or high, but it could also lead to a heart attack. But before it does that, it leads to great hallucinations. Do you remember when Jesus was on the cross, they offered Him vinegar mixed with gall?  It was a pain killer. When we look at the word "Wormwood" we have the pharmacology word, "thujone,"and it's fatal. It causes whatever it comes into contact with to turn extremely bitter, and it kills you. They actually did a study of what would happen if a meteor or comet struck the earth like what we see here, and evidence shows it would turn the waters of the earth to come forth and be bitter.  (NASA Indirectly Confirms Wormwood Prophecy).

On March 21, 1823, there was a volcanic eruption in the Aleutian21, 1823 Island and when the volcanic dust settled it poisoned the waters the dust came into contact with and it killed both animals and people.

When we look at the final verse in Revelation 8:13 ~ "As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice" "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blast about to be sounded by the other three angels."

In some Bibles we have the world eagle and in other translations it is the word angel, It means the same thing. You don't ever want to hear Jesus or an angel say, "Woe!" It means condemnation, grief, or danger! The word "Woe" in Greek, means damnation upon you. Jesus, meek and mild, says this word as well in Matthew 23:13 ~ "Woe to you, teachers of law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!"

He's saying, "Condemnation be upon you, religious people who know so much and don't practice it."

Matthew 11:21 ~ "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!" 

The city of Korazin has been annihilated from the earth. No one lives there. Jesus was warning these towns because they refused to believe when He came there. The towns of Korazin and Bethsaida are ghost towns, no one visits or stay there in Israel tours. 2000 years on the beautiful shores of the Galilee Sea.

Matthew 11:23 ~ "Woe to you Capernaum," 

What is left in the city of Capernaum is Peter's home and an old synagogue. Jesus warns this cities that of the miracle done there they should have believed but they didn't.

Luke 11:52 ~ " Woe unto you, lawyers," 

Matthew 23:16 ~ "Woe unto you, ye blind guides,"

These were people who wanted to lead others to spiritual enlightenment. Jesus proclaims damnation upon them.

Matthew 26:24 ~ "Woe unto that man who betrays the son of God" 

This is pretty serious stuff and you don't have to have anything to do with Revelation 8. It's your choice. No one knows how far away this time is, but the Bible says when the gospel is preached, you need to respond today.

Today is that day.

You know that Jesus died for your sins and He rose from the grave. Isn't it great to open your Bible and stand in the place of an empty tomb? To go to a place today that is carved like a skull, Golgotha or Calvary? What keeps you from trusting Jesus? You want more evidence? There is too much evidence! Evidence has nothing to do with it. It has nothing to do with your intellect either. If you'll use your brain, you'll become a Christian.

It has to do with a spiritual issue. Are you willing today to yield to King Jesus and to receive Him? That is my prayer to those of you reading this, that you never hear the words, "Woe unto you." For you heard the Word of God in the 21st century, and you saw the evidence, for some, you even stood in the place, but you would not believe. You rejected, neglected and denied, Woe unto you! That will only be your choice. May it not be your choice today.

Jesus isn't going around saying, "Eeny, meany, miney, Woe!" to people. Notice who He says, Woe" to. The Pharisees, the scribes, the lawyers," they had formed doctrinal beliefs that we not of God. They were not Biblical. In John 3, we read that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it. The Bible says that we are all under condemnation because of our sins but that Christ has come to deliver us. All of us without Jesus are living under the sentence of condemnation, the woe! But you can have it lifted. the charges dropped, because someone has met the demands of God. All you have to do is believe and to put your trust in Him!