THE TRIBULATION JUDGMENT Revelation 8:1-6 October 19, 2014 Dr. Danny Forshee

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1 1 THE TRIBULATION JUDGMENT Revelation 8:1-6 October 19, 2014 Dr. Danny Forshee Before I begin my sermon today I think it appropriate to speak to some current events in our nation. The demand by the mayor of Houston to pastors to turn over their sermons is a violation of our rights as protected by our Constitution as a nation. It flies in the face of our freedom of speech, religion, and the separation of church and state. I am in complete opposition to the mayor s tactics, but view it as another example of the cultural war on traditional marriage and family as championed by Scripture. I have a new book at the publisher now for final edits that will be ready soon entitled Modern Family Vintage Values in which I seek to speak to these issues not in a bellicose way, but hopefully in a way that speaks truth with compassion and love. Ebola is making inroads in our nation, we continue to battle an enemy in the Middle East determined to oppose all America stands for, and we continue to be a nation heavily divided along party lines and sliding deeper into humanism and secularism. Are these signs of the times that Jesus is coming in our lifetime? Perhaps, but hear me carefully, if He does not come back in our lifetime may we live as if He is! On Monday of this week I read my wife s Facebook post where she and my daughter went to see the new movie Left Behind. She exhorted all Christ followers to share Jesus while there is time and I did just that. God motivated me and gave me great opportunities to be bold and share the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. While studying Revelation 8 and preparing this message I thought of some of the many apocalyptic movies produced by Hollywood. At the very least there is a fascination and interest in themes related to the end times. Most of these movies end in a heroic fashion where human heroes without help from God save the planet and the rest of the human race. Examples include Bruce Willis and his friends in the movie Armageddon where they land on the asteroid heading to earth and Willis gives his life in the destruction of the massive meteor and saves the day. Will Smith is the hero in the movie, I Am Legend. He also gives his life and saves the human race. And then there is Brad Pitt in the hit movie World War Z about zombies and how he helps rescue the human race in a global fight against time to find a way to defeat the zombies and not be bitten and become one of them. Matthew McConaughey is starring in a movie entitled Interstellar to be released on November 7, and if it is like the other apocalyptic Hollywood movies then there will be the following plot a catastrophic event that threatens the human race on earth, a hero or

2 2 heroine that risks or even gives his or her life to save mankind by finding a cure or perhaps in this case another planet where we all can live happily ever after. But my favorite, because it is more in line with Scripture, is the new Left Behind movie with Nicolas Cage. Why all the interest in this genre of global catastrophes and rescue? I believe it is simply the result of God putting eternity in the hearts of human beings and they are trying to figure out a way to escape the coming night that is destined to come. The difference in what the Bible teaches and what most of these movies portray is the world, as we know it, will be destroyed and most people will die. But Jesus comes and saves the day and establishes His reign on earth for a thousand years followed by a new heaven and earth that He brings about. In Revelation 5 we studied about the scroll in the hand of God. This scroll with seven seals is the title deed to earth and the scroll contains the judgments of God as recorded in the book of Revelation. There are seven seals (we have studied six of these), seven trumpets, and seven bowls of judgment. Today we will see clearly that the seventh seal contains the seven trumpet judgments of God. Revelation details God s wrath upon the earth dwellers, those who refuse to repent and give their lives to God, but defiantly reject God and serve the enemy of God and that is the devil and his antichrist. The whole concept of God s just and righteous judgment is most repulsive and unpalatable to many today, especially those who totally dismiss the teachings of Scripture. God is indeed righteous, holy, and just, and simultaneously He is loving, compassionate, and merciful. Nahum 1:3 states, 3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. What a great verse as it describes how God is both loving and just. And for those who may need a reminder of God s power, look at that last part, the clouds are the dust of His feet. This past Tuesday we had an international luncheon with 10 countries represented as they celebrated Life Bridge s ministry. Nancy Gibbs and her volunteers are doing a great job teaching English and other subjects to those from all over the world right here on our campus. Nancy told me the thing that people from other countries and religions are so attracted to is love. After I ate lunch with them I walked to the room next door where a group of our senior saints here at GH have a ministry called Radiant Friends where they care for those with dementia or Alzheimer s and love on them, play games with them, and feed them lunch. LaVonne Baker, who works in this ministry, said I have a word from the Word for you. She shared with me how she had been reading Isaiah and how God is a God of wrath in chapter 41 but then in chapter 40 the same God is spoken of as a gentle shepherd who leads His children. LaVonne did not know that this concept was something I would stress in my sermon for today, but God knew.

3 3 Dr. John MacArthur, p. 244, gives an excellent summary of events as they are and what will happen in the future. There is a sense in which the present age is man s day; he is free to do what he wants within certain limitations. It is also Satan s day, during which the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) has been granted certain liberties within the parameters of God s purposeful, sovereign tolerance. But God will not permit the present state of affairs to continue forever. He will end man s day, overthrow the usurper, Satan, destroy the present evil world system, and establish the earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. That future time of judgment is known, appropriately, as the Day of the Lord.... That Day involves a complete renovation of the universe and the earth by judgment and restoration. I. SILENCE (VS. 1-2) Read verses 1-2. When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Silence follows the opening of the seventh sealed judgment of Almighty God. This 30-minute span of silence will be a prelude to the awesome judgment that is about to ensue. I believe it will be a time of awe and amazement as to what is about to happen to planet earth and those who dwell on it. In vs. 2 there are the seven angels standing before God and they were given the seven trumpets. The silence in heaven is about to give way to much noise as the angelic beings carry out God s wrath and judgment against those on earth. Trumpets are used in various ways in the Bible. Remember Joshua 6:4-5 as trumpets played a pivotal role in the battle that Joshua and the Israelites fought at Jericho. In Numbers 10:9-10 Israel is instructed by God to blow the trumpets when they go to war against their enemies, and also to sound the trumpets during the appointed feasts, the beginning of the month; they were to blow the trumpets over their sacrifices made to God. Also, trumpets are associated with the Day of the LORD in Old Testament prophecy. Read Joel 2:1. Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand. II. SUPPLICATION (VS. 3-4) 3 Read verses 3-4. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before

4 4 the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel s hand. Another angel appears and he offers incense to God at the golden altar, and this incense accompanies the prayers of the saints. The altar here in heaven is very similar to the incense altar that was in the Tabernacle and the Temple of the Israelites here on earth. One scholar writes (see MacArthur, p. 240), In the Old Testament era, the priests would twice daily (morning and evening) take hot, fiery coals from the brazen altar (where sacrifices were offered) and transport them into the Holy Place to the incense altar (Exodus 30:7-8, 2 Chronicles 29:11; cf. 1 Kings 7:50, 2 Kings 25:15, Jeremiah 52:18-19). They then ignited the incense, which rose toward heaven, emblematic of the prayers of the saints (cf. 5:8) What are the prayers of the saints that go before God along with the incense? They are the prayers of the tribulation saints as they cry out to God to take vengeance upon the ungodly on earth. We have noted this before in Revelation 6:9-11. The answer to the question of how long is now answered. The time has arrived. III. SOUNDS (VS. 5-13) Read verses Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. 6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. What a spectacular display the Apostle John saw in this heavenly vision. The angel fills the censer or fire pan with fire from the altar and throws it to earth. Heaven and earth shake as the seventh sealed judgment begins. Before we look at each of the trumpet judgments in Revelation 8, let me say I do not interpret these symbolically or figuratively. We cannot explain how all these phenomena will take place but it is not our place to understand everything, but it is our duty to believe. CONCLUSION AND INVITATION Good place to stop in our study and we will pick up with verse 7 next Sunday. Extend the invitation to those of you without Christ to believe on Him and repent of your sins. Others need to follow the Lord in believer s baptism as Matthew and Ryder did this morning. We are having a new members class on Nov 16 and God is drawing some of you to become a part of our church and we rejoice with you. Some may need someone to pray with

5 them and so you come to the altar and allow one of our members to minister to you through prayer. 5