Sunday Evening Bible Study

May 27, 2001

Introduction

In Revelation 4, John had finished writing out the letters of Jesus to the seven churches, and with the sound of a trumpet found himself caught up into heaven. While in heaven before God’s throne, John witnessed the beginning of what seems like a Jewish real-estate transaction, with Jesus coming to open up a scroll which we believe is something akin to the title deed of the earth. The scroll has seven seals, and as Jesus breaks a seal and unrolls the scroll a little, something occurs, either in heaven or on the earth. This is the beginning of the time we call the Tribulation.

Up to this point, Jesus has opened six of the seven seals.

Revelation 8

:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

silence – sige – silence; appr. from sizo (to hiss, i.e. hist or hush);

half an hour – hemiorion (“half” + “hour”) – half an hour

What’s this “silence” for?

It would at least indicate some kind of awe and respect before the Lord at what is about to happen:

(Zep 1:7 KJV) Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

Or, perhaps it was something like this???

Illustration

Pastor Dave Charlton tells us, “After a worship service at First Baptist Church in Newcastle, Kentucky, a mother with a fidgety seven-year-old boy told me how she finally got her son to sit still and be quiet. About halfway through the sermon, she leaned over and whispered, ‘If you don’t be quiet, Pastor Charlton is going to lose his place and will have to start his sermon all over again!’ It worked.”

:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

An interesting parallel to Joshua 6 –

(Josh 6:4 KJV) And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

Both Joshua and Revelation are books about a guy named “Joshua” (or, “Jesus”) taking the Promised Land.

There are going to be three groups of sevens which make up the Tribulation. There are seven seals, seven trumpets, and later we’ll see seven bowls (or “vials”). There is a question as to how these three groups of seven fit together. There are several theories –

One idea is that each group is just a reiteration of the other groups, that they overlap each other. In other words, the first seal is the same as the first trumpet, which is the same as the first bowl. Then the second seal is the same as the second trumpets, etc. The problem with this view is that even though the seals, trumpets, and bowls have some similarities, they are not identical copies.

	Seals (6:1-17; 8:1)	Trumpets (8:7-9:21; 10:15-19)	Bowls (16:1-21)
1	Antichrist conquers	Hail & fire	Sores
2	War	Sea polluted; 1/3 die	All die in sea
3	Famine	Rivers polluted	Rivers turn to blood
4	Death	Darkness in sun/moon	Sun scorches
5	Souls in heaven	Locusts from hell	Darkness for beast
6	Earthquake	Eastern horsemen	Armageddon prepared
7	Silence	Heaven rejoices; Jesus reigns	Earthquake; hail

A second idea is that these things are consecutive. First comes the seals, then when the seals are complete, the trumpets come, and when the trumpets are complete then the bowls come.

A third idea is similar to the second but a little different. The idea is that they are not just consecutive, but the final item in each group actually contains the entire next group. In other words, when you get to the seventh seal, it doesn’t just lead to the first trumpet, it contains all the trumpets. When you get to the seventh trumpet, it includes all the bowls. In this view, the seven-sealed scroll contains all the events of the Tribulation. This is the view I take.

:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

censer – libanotos – the gum exuding from a frankincense tree; a censer

incense – thumiama – an aromatic substance burnt, incense

prayers – proseuche – prayer addressed to God

:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

smoke – kapnos – smoke

:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

voices – phone – a sound, a tone; a voice

thunderings – bronte – thunder

lightnings – astrape – lightning

earthquake – seismos – a shaking, a commotion; an earthquake

:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

to sound – salpizo – to sound a trumpet

: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.

The first four angels are probably the same as the four angels that were ordered to keep the wind quiet until the 144,000 were sealed:

(Rev 7:1-3 KJV) And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. {2} And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, {3} Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

If you notice, the things that occur with these trumpet blasts match the things that these angels were described as going to do.

sounded – salpizo – to sound a trumpet

hail – chalaza – hail

mingled – mignumi – to mix, mingle

was burnt up – katakaio – to burn up, consume by fire

green – chloros – green; this is the same word translated “pale” as in “pale horse” in Rev. 6:8, the horse that brings death and Hell. Could it be that the horse is actually “green” instead of “pale”, as in rotting, putrid, dead-body green?

1/3 of the trees are burnt, all the green grass is burnt. Could this be something similar to what we call “acid rain”?

: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;

Could this be descriptive of something like a meteorite, comet, asteroid, or even a man-made satellite?

the sea – though this might be global in nature, the use of the “definite article” (the word “the”) could indicate a specific sea, namely the Mediterranean.

: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.

One third of sea life perishes. One third of the ships on the sea are destroyed.

had life - psuche - breath (including animal life); the soul

This might be talking about all forms of life, but it also could be referring to human life, as in those men who are on the ships at the time.

ships – The U.S. Sixth Fleet is in the Mediterranean, other nations too.

: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;

This time the effect is upon the fresh water.

: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.

Wormwood – apsinthos – wormwood; the name of a star which fell into the waters and made them bitter

It is my understanding that the Russian word for “wormwood” is Chernobyl, the name of the nuclear reactor that melted down in 1986.

were made bitter – pikraino – to make bitter; to produce a bitter taste in the stomach

The fresh water supply is contaminated and many die.

: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.

was smitten – plesso – to strike, smite

was darkened – skotizo – to cover with darkness, to darken; to be covered with darkness, be darkened; of heavenly bodies as deprived of light

This could refer to day and night becoming shorter, but it more likely speaks of atmospheric pollution that cuts the amount of light that reaches the earth’s surface by 30%.

:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

an – literally, “one”. To contrast with the other angels, this is one angel by itself proclaiming these things.

angel – aggelos – a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God; some of the translations here say “eagle” because of a difference in Greek manuscripts.

midst of heaven – mesouranema – mid-heaven; the highest point in the heavens, which the sun occupies at noon, where what is done can be seen and heard by all

This could refer to the angel flying in space (the middle heaven between the atmosphere and God’s throneroom); it could refer to an angel flying at noon.

woe – ouai – alas, woe

The angel says this word three times, because of the three remaining trumpet blasts. Each of the next trumpets is called a “woe”.

inhabiters – katoikeo – to dwell, settle

This angel is shouting a warning to the earth.

Lesson:

God always gives fair warning.

People like to criticize God for thinking that He has the right to judge the world, and the way He will do it, but He always gives us fair warning.

Illustration

The Grocery Store Clerk

Jim Davis, a grocery store clerk who loves his job, prides himself on his good work. One of his pet peeves is out-of-control toddlers and parents who yell at their kids but do nothing to correct their children’s obnoxious behavior.

One evening, Jim was checking out a customer who had a shopping cart full of groceries. While ringing up the sale, a child behind him began screaming very loudly, and an angry man responded by shouting, “Get down!!”

What a jerk, thought Jim, without even looking up. He kept on calling out prices and moving the groceries past the scanner. The kid behind him was still crying, and again he heard the man yell, “Get down!!!” Sheesh. Talk about poor parenting, thought Jim. This guy is a total jerk. He kept on checking groceries without looking up.

Finally finishing the customer’s cart, Jim looked up and said, “That’ll be $89.95, ma’am.” Seeing no one, he looked around and noticed that everyone, including his customer, was lying face down on the floor.

He turned around just in time to see a gunman leave the store. The checker behind him, still lying on the floor, calmly said, “Jim, you know the second time you heard ‘Get down,’ his gun was pointed right at your head.”

We can get so accustomed to the noise of our culture and the distractions of the world that when we hear someone telling us something important, we blow it off as if it were of no significance. How many times have we been warned about the dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol or of doing other behaviors that can kill you? We hear so much of that, we sometimes ignore the messengers, assuming the warning is meant for someone else. We go on with business as usual.

You put yourself at great risk when you blow off an important message, one that can save your life. The time will come when there’ll be no more opportunities to act on the message. There is One waiting for you to come to Him. “Now is the day of salvation.”

Edited from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice; Copyright 1994 by Youth Specialties, Inc; Forwarded from Brad and Maria Hutchison

Revelation 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.

star – aster – a star. This could be referring to an angelic being, since it’s something that is given a “key” and is referred to as “he”.

pit – phrear – a well; the pit of the abyss (because the nether world is thought to increase in size the further it extends from the surface of the earth and so resemble a cistern, the orifice of which is narrow)

bottomless – abussos – bottomless; unbounded; the abyss; the pit; the immeasurable depth; of Orcus, a very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth used as the common receptacle of the dead and especially as the abode of demons

It has been suggested that this pit is “bottomless” because it might be located geographically at the center of the earth. If you were in the center of the earth, where would the “bottom” be? Every direction would be “up” from there.

From looking at all the Scriptures, this is what we can best piece together about this place known as the "bottomless pit" or, the "abyss".

It's a place of torment.

When Jesus encountered the demons of "Legion", they asked not to be cast into a place called the "abyss"; they did not want Jesus to torment them (Luke 8:26-33; Mt. 8:29)

It's a place of imprisonment.

Fallen angels (demons) are imprisoned there. (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6)

It's the place of origin for the antichrist.

The antichrist, or at least the demonic spirit that possesses the man who will be the antichrist, will come out of the abyss (Rev. 11:7; 17:8)

Re 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Satan will one day be imprisoned there for 1,000 years

When Jesus returns, Satan will be bound (Rev. 20:1-3)

: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.

furnace – kaminos – a furnace; for smelting; for burning earthen ware; for baking bread

darkened – do you remember what happened when Mount St. Helens erupted? There were places downwind where it was dark as midnight at noontime.

: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.

locusts – akris – a locust, particularly that species which especially infests oriental countries, stripping fields and trees. Numberless swarms of them almost every spring are carried by the wind from Arabia into Palestine, and having devastated that country, migrate to regions farther north, until they perish by falling into the sea. We call them grasshoppers.

Sometimes locusts can appear in vast numbers. A column of flying locusts seen over the Red Sea was estimated to be 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) long. Locusts store up food in their fatty tissues, and as a result the swarms aren’t primarily driven by hunger. But when they reach their destination, they feed ravenously, stripping the entire countryside of anything green.

scorpions –

Scorpions have a tail that ends with a sharp, hollow stinger. They paralyze their opponent with a poison that is squeezed through the stinger.

power – exousia – power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)

What are these “locusts”?

They could be actual locusts. But when you see how they are described, this is probably not the case.

These could be John’s way of describing some kind of modern weaponry, such as an attack helicopter.

These could be demonic beings. After all, they are coming out of the “abyss”.

: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.

commanded – rheo – to pour forth, to utter

hurt – adikeo – to hurt, damage, harm

These locust beings will only cause hurt to men. And they will be very specific as to whom they will cause injury to. They will not hurt those that have been sealed back in chapter 7 (the 144,000; Rev. 7:1-8).

Lesson

You don’t want to go through the Tribulation

The people who hold to a “post-trib” view, saying that the church must go through the Tribulation, often will say that God will protect the church through the Tribulation. They will take the verse that we consider to apply to the Rapture:

(Rev 3:10 KJV) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Their view of God “keeping” the church means that God will protect the church.

Yet here in Revelation 9, the only people that are going to be protected from these locust beings are the 144,000.

And the 144,000 are NOT the church. They are Jewish followers of Jesus.

This is one of the reasons why I feel it is very important that we understand that we don’t confuse “Israel” and the “Church”.

For the person who says that they will wait until after the Rapture before they decide to follow Jesus, they will have to face these locust beings, unless they are part of the 144,000. And if you are not Jewish, don’t hold your breath.

: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.

tormented – basanizo – to test (metals) by the touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal; to question by applying torture; to torture; to vex with grievous pains (of body or mind), to torment; to be harassed, distressed

striketh – paio – to strike, smite; to sting (to strike or wound with a sting)

as the torment of a scorpion – a scorpion’s sting is very painful, sometimes deadly.

Scorpion venom is a complex mixture of neurotoxins (toxins which affect the victim's nervous system). Despite their bad reputation, only one species in the U.S. and about 20 others worldwide have venom potent enough to be considered dangerous to humans. The venom of the scorpion may produce severe pain and swelling at the site of the sting, numbness, frothing at the mouth, difficulties in breathing (including respiratory paralysis), muscle twitching, and convulsions. (source: http://www.desertusa.com/oct96/du_scorpion.html)

: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.

People will want to die, but will be unable to do so.

: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.

shapes – homoioma – that which has been made after the likeness of something; a figure, image, likeness, representation; likeness i.e. resemblance, such as amounts almost to equality or identity

In other words, these are not real locusts, but this is simply the best word that John can do to describe them.

horses prepared unto battle – perhaps as a horse might have some type of armor draped over it.

:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

hair – thrix – the hair of the head; the hair of animals

teeth – odous – a tooth

lions – leon – a lion. The word “dandelion” is French for “lion’s tooth”.

If it weren’t for this verse, I could see these creatures as being some kind of helicopter battleship, but this throws me off!

: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.

breastplates – thorax – the breast, the part of the body from the neck to the navel, where the ribs end; a breastplate or corset consisting of two parts and protecting the body on both sides from the neck to the middle

of iron – sidereos – made of iron

chariots – harma – a chariot; of war chariots (i.e. armed with scythes); chariots (drawn with many horses)

:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

to hurt men five months – either the sting lasted five months, or the attack of these beings lasted for five months.

: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.

the angel of the bottomless pit – I think John is referring to the “star” in 9:1 that fell from heaven and was given the key to the abyss.

Abaddon – Abaddon = “destruction”

Apollyon – Apolluon = “Destroyer”

This could be an angel that is known simply as “Abaddon”, but it could also be a reference to Satan, since these names certainly would apply to him.

(John 8:44 KJV) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Lesson

Why is this going to happen?

There are times when we look at all the injustice going on in the world and we wonder when will it all end? God will one day judge sin.

The problem for some people is that they want everyone else’s sin judged, but not their own.

God will judge all sin. The Tribulation is a time of God’s judgment on a rebellious world. it is known in the Old Testament as the “day of the Lord”.

(Isa 2:12 KJV) For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

(Isa 13:9 KJV) Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

(Jer 46:10a KJV) For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries …

God has given man plenty of warning.

God has provided a way of escape, through Jesus.

When Jesus died on the cross, He was dying in our place. He was taking the punishment that our sins required.

It starts with asking Him for help.

(Joel 2:31-32a KJV) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. {32} And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered

Lesson

How do I escape this?

I would love to say to you that if you’ve ever prayed that simple prayer of asking Jesus into your heart, that you don’t have anything to worry about.

There’s a sense in which I believe that to be true, but things aren’t quite that simple.

In the letters to the seven churches, Jesus gives a sincere warning to one of the churches, Thyatira:

(Rev 2:20-22 KJV) Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. {21} And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. {22} Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

Perhaps these are people in the church who really don’t know the Lord. But Jesus doesn’t make the issue one of whether or not they’ve asked Him into their heart. He makes the issue to be whether or not they following this Jezebel woman, committing fornication and eating things sacrificed to idols.

Fornication is a word that means any kind of sex outside the bounds of marriage. I was reading an article in Newsweek yesterday about how the American family is changing, and one of the ways it is changing is that more and more people are living together before getting married. And the statistics show that it doesn’t help them in the end, they get divorced just as easily. Don’t do it beloved.

If this is you, you need to repent. You need to turn away from your sin. Don’t harden your heart anymore. When the Tribulation hits, the people who haven’t repented are going to have a hard time doing it.

(Rev 9:20-21 KJV) And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: {21} Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Note: The Greek word for “sorceries” is pharmakeia, and it has to do with the use of drugs to reach some altered state of consciousness.

Lesson

Do I stay afraid?

Over the years I’ve known people who have been greatly disturbed over a fear of the Tribulation. They are afraid of going through the Tribulation and they stay afraid of going through the Tribulation.

The problem is not that a person becomes afraid, but that they don’t know what to do with this fear.

If I am a person who is blatantly and willfully disobeying the Lord through things like fornication or through openly worshipping anyone other than Jesus, I ought to be afraid.

But if I’ve turned from these things, God wants me to find security and peace in His arms.

There are some of you who will faint dead away any time a preacher talks about sin and judgment. No matter how closely you’ve walked with the Lord, you’ll still scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a reason to feel guilty. You will feel guilty because you only read two chapters instead of three today in your Quiet Time. You will feel guilty because you only witnessed to three people yesterday instead of five. You will feel guilty because you kept a lustful thought in your head for five minutes last week.

You need to find God’s peace. You need to find God’s assurance of protection.

Jesus said to the church in Philadelphia:

(Rev 3:10 KJV) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

This is the church that has stayed close to Jesus. They’ve kept His word and have “endured” (“patience”). Jesus promises to keep them from the Tribulation.

When Jesus taught on the Tribulation, He said,

(Luke 21:36 KJV) Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

The fifth trumpet has sounded, and there are two trumpets left, two more “woes”.

:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

Either the voice is coming from the altar itself, or else there is an angelic being behind the altar and John can’t see it.

This is the altar of incense, the place of prayer. We’ve already seen it several times figuring prominently in Revelation –

The souls are “under the altar” (Rev. 6)

It’s from this altar that a coal is taken and thrown to the earth, starting the seven trumpets blowing (Rev. 8).

Now it seems to be the source of this sixth trumpet.

Lesson:

Much comes from prayer.

I'm not sure I understand just how all this works in Revelation, but it's interesting to see how much of it is connected to the place of prayer.

We tend to get into trouble when we begin to neglect prayer.

Even at the end of His life, when things were getting very tough, Jesus pushed to spend MORE time in prayer, not less.

When He found His disciples sleeping during His prayer time -

(Mat 26:40-41 KJV) And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? {41} Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

There's awesome power in prayer.

We may not understand how it is all working, but we need to stay with it.

:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

which are bound – deo – to bind, tie, fasten

in – epi – upon, on, at, by, before; of position, on, at, by, over, against

Euphrates – The Euphrates is the longest river in western Asia, flowing 1700 miles from the mountains of Turkey into the marshes of Iraq on the Persian Gulf.

Significance: It was the ancient boundary between East and West. It was not an easy river to get an army across. The Roman Empire had the Euphrates River as it's eastern border.

: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.

These four angels have been prepared for the very purpose of killing a third of mankind.

Don’t think that this is some kind of Satanic plot in the works. God has prepared these angels to unleash judgment upon the world.

With the previous ¼ of the world’s population being destroyed back in Rev. 6:8, this brings a total of ½ of the world killed so far.

:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

two hundred thousand thousand – or, two hundred million.

heard the number – in other words, John didn’t count them, he was told how many there were.

The historical value:

There were only about 200,000,000 total people alive in John's day, let alone talking about armies.

The world's population didn't reach 1 billion until 1870, so this couldn’t have very well happened with human armies before that time.

The potential:

The U.S. has an army near 1 million soldiers. Russia is around 1.5 million. How could we get to 200 million?

Back a few years ago, Time magazine reported that China claimed to field an army of two hundred million. (Time May 21, 1965). Today, China's population is over 1 billion people.

: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.

vision – horasis – the act of seeing; appearance, visible form; a vision; an appearance divinely granted in an ecstasy or dream

of fire – purinos – fiery; shining like fire

jacinth – huakinthinos – hyacinth, of the colour of hyacinth; of a red colour bordering on black

brimstone – theiodes – of brimstone, sulphurous

out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone – Though these could be angelic beings, I wonder if it isn’t possibly a description of some kind of armored tank weapon.

: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.

The fire, smoke, and brimstone are the three things that killed the third part of mankind.

: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.

serpents – ophis – snake, serpent

:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

repented – metanoeo – to change one’s mind, i.e. to repent; to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins

worship – proskuneo – to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication

:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

sorceries – pharmakeia – the use or the administering of drugs; poisoning; sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it

fornication – porneia – illicit sexual intercourse; adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.

Even though the world knows that this is all due to the “wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:15-17), they still won’t turn away from the things that grieve God.

Lesson

Keep trying

This is how the world will respond to God’s judgment once it starts coming, but for now we still have a chance to keep warning people and lovingly try to snatch a few more out of the fire.

Illustration

A big executive boarded a New York to Chicago train. He explained to the porter, “I’m a heavy sleeper, but I want you to be sure and wake me up at 3:00 am for the stop in Buffalo. I don’t care what I say, you just make sure I get off in Buffalo.” The next morning the executive woke up in Chicago. He was furious. He found the porter and really gave him an earful before hustling off to purchase a return ticket. After he left, a co-worker said to the porter, “How can you stand there and let that passenger abuse you like that?” “That’s nothing,” said the porter. “You should have heard the guy who I put off in Buffalo!”

May God help us not to be afraid of offending people.  May we learn to “offend” the right people to get them off the train heading for destruction.

Revelation 10

:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

rainbow – iris – a rainbow; could be a “halo”.

pillars – stulos – a pillar; a column

Who is this “mighty angel”?

Some say it could be Jesus, but I’m not sure John would call Jesus an “angel”. Every other place Jesus is clearly identified.

This is probably simply a “mighty angel”. We don’t know his name, as most of the other angels. Some have suggested that this might be Michael the archangel.

:2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

a little book – bibliaridion – a little book

I think it is a book that contains the events in Revelation 11:1-13.

First, there seems to be a break now between the sixth and seventh trumpets. The sixth trumpet ended at the end of chapter 9, the seventh trumpet starts in 11:14, and this section about the two witnesses is sandwiched in between.

Second, John is going to be told to “eat” the book, and after that he will be told to “prophesy” about coming events. This is very similar to what happened to some of the Old Testament prophets, that after “eating” a book, they went on to prophesy, to speak of what they “ate”. (Jer. 15:16; Eze. 2:8 – 3:3)

After John “eats” the “book”, he tells us of the events in Rev. 11:1-13.

sea … earth – why stand like this? Some have suggested it’s a picture of conquest, that this angel is in control of what is going on.

:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

roareth – mukaomai – to low, bellow, properly of horned cattle; to roar, of a lion

:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

seal – even as Jesus is “unsealing” the larger scroll and telling us about the future, the words of these “thunders” are not to be included.

What are these “seven thunders” and what did they say?

We don’t know and it would be foolish to try and speculate since John was told not to write them down.

When God is silent, we should be silent.

:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

Lifting up his hand to swear an oath.

:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

time no longer – (NIV) ”There will be no more delay!

:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

finished – teleo – to bring to a close, to finish, to end; to perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what has been said, the order, command etc.)

he hath declared – euaggelizo (“evangelize”) – to bring good news, to announce glad tidings

When this seventh angel blows his trumpet, everything will be wrapped up, complete.

The angel will blow the trumpet in Revelation 11:15.

I believe this last trumpet has wrapped up in it all the things that follow, including the seven bowl judgments. These all end with Jesus coming back in Revelation 19.

:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

bitter … sweet – the picture is meant to carry the idea that there will be something about the events in Revelation 11 that at first seems sweet, but afterwards will seem bitter.

Revelation 11 is about the two “witnesses” that will prophesy on the earth during the Tribulation. These prophets will have great power from the Lord and will give a great testimony of the Lord. This is the sweet part.

But at a point in the Tribulation, the antichrist will rise up and have these witnesses put to death.

:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

After John eats this book, he begins to write out the events of Revelation 11:1-13.

Lesson:

Consuming God's Word prepares you to speak for Him.

You have to receive from God before you can share anything:

(1 Cor 15:3 KJV) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

After tonight, we’re heading off to the world that we live in, people that we know, people that we love.  If you want something to share with them, make sure you’ve spent time “eating” the book.

i.e. – sharing with the Mormons at the door, we shared our Quiet Times, mine had been in Deut. 18 (warnings about how to tell if a prophecy is of God or not …)