Sermon

"Trumpet Judgments begin" Revelation Chapter 8.

Calvary Chapel Secret Harbour

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  1. Please open your Bibles to the Book of Revelation chapter 8

    Revelation 8 chapter mention

  2. chapter 8. 13 verses that tell quite a story.

  3. Revelation 4 John Revelation 1 John is on the Isle of Patmos.

  4. He's exiled there by the Roman government.

  5. He's alone, he's in his late 90s and he has a vision, and the

  6. vision is the Book of Revelation.

  7. And he sees Jesus. He sees Jesus in all his glory.

  8. Chapter 1 Chapters 2 and 3 John writes down the Church age and

  9. he discovers and there's 7 letters that Jesus gives to

  10. seven churches which cover the history of the church even up

  11. till today. Chapter 4 John has taken up,

  12. caught up into heaven, sees the throne of God like the rapture

  13. of the church. Chapter 5 John sees the Father

  14. on the throne holding a scroll which is the title deed of earth

  15. sealed with 7 seals. John begins to weep because no

  16. one is worthy who is worthy to take the scroll until an elder

  17. touches him on the shoulder and says look John, there's a lamb,

  18. Lamb as it had been slain, Lamb as it has been.

  19. Remember butchered, slaughtered is the term Jesus takes the

  20. scroll and he begins to break the seals.

  21. And from the chapter 6 on to 19, we see these events come to

  22. pass. The church has been wrapped in

  23. it's in heaven and now we see a heavenly vantage point of all

  24. the events that are happening upon the earth.

  25. So we pick it up Now in chapter 8, it says in verse one when he

  26. opened the 7th seal, there was silence in heaven for about half

  27. an hour. Now heaven is out of time when

  28. eternity has no time. There's no like a day here and a

  29. day there. The Bible speaks of time, it

  30. speaks of hours and in this passage here it speaks of 1/2 an

  31. hour. John, however, still has time.

  32. So he's he's measuring this period himself in some way.

  33. The fact of the matter is we're not concerned about the time

  34. half hour. What does it mean?

  35. What we really need to look at is that there was silence in

  36. heaven for a period. In our journey through the

  37. previous chapters of Revelation, we have learnt that heaven is

  38. not a silent place. In chapter 4, as John saw the

  39. throne of God, what came from the throne of God?

  40. We read there. Lightning and Thunder resonated

  41. from the throne of God. Also around the throne of God

  42. were four living creatures, cherubim angels, who did not

  43. rest day or night to cry out Holy, holy, holy Lord God

  44. Almighty, who was and is and is to come.

  45. That was perpetual. And each time they did that,

  46. there was something else, a chain reaction We saw then #24

  47. elders representing the Old Testament, 12 tribes of Israel

  48. government, 12 is the number of government, and then 12.

  49. The apostles representing the church, the Old Testament, the

  50. New Testament, gathered around the throne.

  51. And as the four cherubim cried out, holy, holy, holy, it says

  52. the elders fell to the ground and cast their crowns before the

  53. Lord. And they cried out, You're

  54. worthy of Lord to receive glory and honour and power and and on

  55. and on. And they went.

  56. And then in chapter 5, with all these events happening, we see

  57. the greatest choir, the greatest worship service ever recorded.

  58. We're part of it. The angels are to a side, So

  59. many angels you can't number them.

  60. And there the choir begins singing, and we've sing a song,

  61. a new song. You are worthy to take the

  62. scroll. And then we're joined by the

  63. voices of the angels saying, and the living creatures, and then

  64. and the elders and a number of others.

  65. Impossible to calculate in chapter 4, sorry in verse 14 of

  66. chapter 5, but then it says, and every creature joined in every

  67. creature saying blessing and honour.

  68. So heaven's not a quiet place. If you don't like noise, there's

  69. going to be an adjustment. Singing, praising is going to be

  70. perpetual. But now, Revelation 8, this

  71. catches our attention. John tells us there is absolute

  72. silence, a complete hush for half an hour.

  73. What a seismic shift in events. Why?

  74. Because as John writes this, the events that are happening,

  75. there's this silence because it catches our complete attention.

  76. It's going, oh, there's a there's a shift.

  77. Something's about to change. We're not told specifically why

  78. silence, but what is about to unfold with the seven trumpets

  79. on a fallen world, things that are going to fall from heaven,

  80. is so startling, so impactful in nature, so powerful in their

  81. effects, so dramatic. It is, though, one that this

  82. dramatic moment has finally arrived in the part of God's

  83. plan. It's kind of like we said, and

  84. when I was working with the police, we had what's called a

  85. running sheep. The events that occurred, this

  86. was to happen, this to happen, and then this was to happen a

  87. certain time. And so at this time in God's

  88. plan, on God's running sheet, it says half an hour silence.

  89. Eric, why? We're ready for the next phase.

  90. Are you ready? And everyone knows what's going

  91. on. The angels are ready.

  92. They know it's the it's the silence.

  93. This is what's happening next. They're aware.

  94. And all of heaven held its breath for this moment, for what

  95. is about to unfold. 7 trumpets are about to sound.

  96. And yet at this moment you could hear a pin drop.

  97. Verse 2 And I saw the seven angels.

  98. Now the word the, and I'm emphasising it is emphatic in

  99. the Greek. It means that these, the seven

  100. angels, they're a select 7 angels.

  101. It's not like we saw the saw 7 angels.

  102. It doesn't say we saw 7 angels. It says the seven angels.

  103. These are specific angels of a specific rank who have a

  104. specific responsibility. We're about to see and I saw the

  105. seven angels who stand before God.

  106. So we get the picture. There's God on the throne.

  107. The angels, these 7 angels now stand.

  108. They take this position during this silent period.

  109. They come, they take the position and to them, so they

  110. don't have the trumpets already. Notice it says and to them were

  111. given 7 trumpets. OK guys, you're here, here you

  112. are. It's time they're given each a

  113. trumpet, then another Angel, so another specific Angel rank,

  114. this one has a golden sensor, came and stood at the altar.

  115. Now when we read about the altar, we have the menorah here.

  116. We don't have the table of showbread or anything else.

  117. But when you study the Old Testament and you look at the

  118. temple, the Temple that was built, designed by Moses first

  119. of all, the tent of meeting and then Solomon and then Herod

  120. later on. And in the temple there are

  121. specific items of furniture and they are the temple is a copy of

  122. the actual temple that exists in heaven.

  123. So in heaven there is this altar that is before the throne of God

  124. as it was before the vile and the holy of Holies in the temple

  125. Tabernacle. So another Angel having a

  126. golden, since it came and stood at the altar, he was given much

  127. incense, a lot that he should offer it.

  128. Now here's the key part. It says with the prayers of all

  129. the Saints, that's you, that's me or every believer, save

  130. during time upon the golden altar which was before the

  131. throne, and the smoke of the incense mixed with your prayers,

  132. our prayers, the prayers of the Saints.

  133. It then ascended. The smoke ascended from God,

  134. from the angels hand. Then the Angel grabs this

  135. sensor, filled it with fire. So he goes to the older, grabs

  136. his holy fire, puts it in the sensor which contains the

  137. prayers of the Saints and hurls it to the earth.

  138. And there were noises. So now the silence is broken.

  139. There were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

  140. Earthquake can only be on earth. So at this time an earthquake

  141. hits the earth. So the seven angels who had the

  142. seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound and they

  143. were going to sound in order, specific events, what each one

  144. was to do as they blow the trumpet, what significant events

  145. were to occur from heaven to go to earth?

  146. So that's the pause. And now we come to the prayers

  147. because I, as we're going through revelation, I'm

  148. staggered that our prayers are mentioned during the time of

  149. tribulation. Prayers are mentioned.

  150. Yet we, the church taken up into heaven Chapter 4, we're singing

  151. in Chapter 5. And yet our prayers that you and

  152. I are, are praying now we'll be praying again on Wednesday.

  153. We'll be loading up that, that sensor again with more prayers.

  154. When you go home tonight and you pray and you're praying and,

  155. and, and praying tomorrow morning, praying during the day.

  156. All that's loading up the sensor.

  157. We're connected to this somehow. I find that fascinating.

  158. This group of angels are a distinct group with a special

  159. mission. Who are they?

  160. They are of a high rank, possibly most Bible commentators

  161. say archangels, which would include Gabriel and and Michael.

  162. So verse 3, we read about him taking the sensor and casting it

  163. to the earth. And so this Angel steps into a

  164. position, there's the seven angels, and this other Angel

  165. comes in, hurls this golden sensor, and the scene now takes

  166. on epic proportions. It's building and building to a

  167. crescendo, especially as he cast this sensor, which contains

  168. incense and our prayers to the earth.

  169. Your prayers are involved in what is about to happen for the

  170. rest of Chapter 8 on In the Old Testament, the priests and the

  171. burning of the incense in the temple was carried out by the

  172. priests every morning and evening, morning and evening.

  173. It's interesting as I read this because as we read about the

  174. sensor, it's connected to prayer.

  175. It's a shadow, it's a type, it shows, it's a picture of our

  176. prayers. When you pray, your prayers

  177. don't go up and just disappear into the ether.

  178. They rise. And if you're praying according

  179. to God's will and you're praying with the right heart and right

  180. attitude in Jesus name, your prayers are ascending up and God

  181. is receiving them and they're being filled.

  182. He's hearing them and they're filling up the sensor morning

  183. and evening. What does that tell us?

  184. If the sensor was lit morning and evening, it's a good sign

  185. for you and I to here's an example of how to get a good

  186. habit of prayer. You should pray before you start

  187. the day and when you finish your day, that's a good thing to do.

  188. You start the day and say, God guide me, lead me, give me

  189. wisdom, protect me, cover me. And at the end of the day, you

  190. say the Lord thank you for watching over me and helping me.

  191. Forgive me for the things that I did do and I should have done, I

  192. didn't do. And so in Daniel chapter 6,

    Daniel 6 chapter mention

  193. Daniel is this awesome guy. He's one of my mentors.

  194. I love reading his his book Daniel has a prayer clock.

  195. Many of you have a clock of some sort you operate by, oh, I need

  196. coffee at such such a time. Oh, I've got to have my coffee

  197. or I've got to go for a run or I've got to have a shower or

  198. I've got to do this. I've got I've got to have the

  199. dishes done. I've got to have the meal prep.

  200. I've got to have the kids lunches prepared.

  201. And you have all these clocks. You don't know about them, but

  202. you do. We're going for a surf.

  203. So we've got to have that ready, that ready, this done, that

  204. ready. Got to get there by this time

  205. playing golf, got to have that all that.

  206. So and we, we operate very much by clockwork.

  207. Well, Daniel is someone that men, especially you and I, men

  208. we need to follow. We need to learn from Daniel

    Daniel 6 chapter mention

  209. chapter 6, prayer to God was outlawed, specifically made

  210. outlawed because they knew Daniel, who all the other guys

  211. and in the government at the time in Babylon hated Daniel.

  212. So they said the only way we can get Daniel is to have a law

  213. that's against the law of his God.

  214. And Daniel chapter 6, verse 10, Daniel hears about the law.

    Daniel 6:10

  215. He didn't go protest, doesn't protest.

  216. This is unfair. This is unfair.

  217. What does he do? Something for us to learn about

  218. too. We're not into politics.

  219. We are into pray. So Daniel, he hears the law, he

  220. knows what's going to happen to it.

  221. It's by death. So when Daniel knew that the

  222. writing was signed, he went home in his upper room at his bedroom

  223. with his windows open. He faced always and prayed

  224. towards Jerusalem. He knelt down on his knees three

  225. times a day. So Daniel adds another thing for

  226. you and I to do three times a day at least, and prayed.

  227. How did he pray? He prayed and gave thanks before

  228. his God. And there it says this, as was

  229. his custom since early days, he prayed.

  230. And you know, the guys who made the law in the Medo Persian

  231. government, it's written out. They knew he was going to do

  232. this. So where are they?

  233. They're outside Daniel's bedroom, windows open.

  234. There he goes. We knew this is what he does.

  235. And they book him. You want to build a good godly

  236. habit in your life, just follow Daniel.

  237. You don't have to be Einstein to learn how to have good habits.

  238. You develop bad habits very easily.

  239. How do you develop good habits? Look at someone that has good

  240. habits and follow them and your life then will start to be like

  241. Daniel. We read about Daniel and go, oh,

  242. how wonderful it would he's just an ordinary person like you and

  243. I. But Daniel lived in Babylon away

  244. from Jerusalem, away from all the help in an ungodly

  245. environment. Daniel lived a godly life.

  246. The purpose of the burning of the incense in the temple I was

  247. it was an offering to the Lord, be it symbolise the prayers of

  248. God's people. That's what it represented in

  249. Psalm 141. King David wrote, I Lord, cry

  250. out to you, make haste to me, give ear to my voice.

  251. When I cry out to you, let my prayer be set before you as

  252. incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

  253. I want to touch on this with some of you guys and I'm going

  254. to put you on the spot because I know the Australian culture is

  255. not this. It's it's not, it's not this,

  256. it's, it's this. Well, I'm not putting my hands

  257. up so well, I'm doing that. Come on.

  258. And I want to ask you, I want your, your children, if your

  259. children are with you, ask your dad, why don't you lift your

  260. hands up when we worship award. And then I want you to come up

  261. with a good and godly answer why you don't?

  262. Because there is not one. I'll just park that.

  263. And so David gives us instructions on what a godly man

  264. looks like. We see here the incense is mixed

  265. and infused with the prayers of the Saints in the temple.

  266. The altar of incense was always positioned before the throne of

  267. God. As the smoke rose, it had as its

  268. backdrop the picture of the prayers of the people.

  269. And what has Jesus told us to pray?

  270. Pray. In this manner He gave us the

  271. moral what to follow Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be

  272. thy name. What do we say?

  273. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in

  274. heaven. We used to pray that, didn't we?

  275. In Australia every Friday at the school assembly and we used to

  276. sing God Save the Queen. Raise the flag.

  277. What a nation we were. Yes, we'll leave it for another

  278. time. We learn from this passage of

  279. scripture that we are to one. Never, never underestimate the

  280. power of your prayers when prayed in the will of God and

  281. with the heart of worship and faith, believing in Him,

  282. answering them. It says in James, when you pray,

  283. we're not to be people of doubt, you know, tossed to or fro, that

  284. when you pray, you believe that what I'm asking God's going to

  285. deliver When you pray, do you do that?

  286. I can tell you if you're not praying, it's because you don't

  287. believe God can answer prayer. Because if you believe that God

  288. will answer prayer, you're a praying person.

  289. It's as simple as that. Notice our prayers are brought

  290. before the very throne of God. Not yet.

  291. When you're praying, we think, oh is anybody listening?

  292. Hey God is he hears every prayer prayed in Jesus name.

  293. The purpose of your prayers is something again is to get our

  294. will in line with God's will. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be

  295. done on earth as it is in heaven when Jesus prayed in the garden.

  296. Father, you will be done, not mine.

  297. Father, you will be done, not mine.

  298. Is that how you are praying today?

  299. Are you praying again? Well, I've been praying man.

  300. He hasn't changed my husband. He's still there.

  301. I've been praying for my wife. She's not interested in the

  302. things of God. Been praying for our kids man

  303. and man. What's going on with our kids?

  304. Purpose of your prayer is to get you to pray according to God's

  305. will and for you to come to him and say, Lord, I bring my wife,

  306. I bring my husband, my son. I'm desperate.

  307. Lord, have your way with him. Have your way with her.

  308. Don't go telling God what to do. You don't even know what you're

  309. doing anyway. I don't have your way, Lord,

  310. Your will be done to my son, God.

  311. I bring my marriage to you. Lord, have your way in our

  312. marriage. And as you do that, God's going,

  313. OK, You're not telling me and directing me because you don't

  314. know what you're doing anyway. I, I can answer that prayer.

  315. You're asking God, Lord, you do what you want to do.

  316. So each time you pray with your heart to God, your life and it's

  317. direction is pulled toward God. Well, I've been praying to God

  318. and he hasn't answered the man. No, no, no.

  319. James says you pray usually and not asking, getting your prayers

  320. answered because you ask a miss that is you're, you're throwing

  321. it all over the way. You're telling God what to do.

  322. And usually James also says your prayers aren't being answered

  323. because you're selfish. You're just praying about

  324. yourself. You see, as you become a person

  325. of prayer, you'll find that your prayers are less about what you

  326. want because you shift. You shift and your world changes

  327. and you move to your God. Lord, I really, I just want you

  328. to direct me all over these plans and things.

  329. But God, I need your word to speak to me.

  330. You guide me, You, you direct me.

  331. It's like an anchor. When you pray in God's will,

  332. throw the anchor out of the boat.

  333. The boat, the anchor hits on the ground and the boat swings and

  334. it always faces God's direction. If you pull on that rope, God's

  335. the anchor. Your will moves towards where

  336. the anchor is. Many of us are just drifting

  337. because we're not praying in God's will.

  338. Hannah is an example. One Samuel chapter one, verse 9.

  339. You know the story about Hannah. She's barren.

  340. She has a marriage or two, Elkanar I think it is, and her

  341. Allah, he has another wife. She's mocking Hannah because

  342. she's barren. Being barren in those days was

  343. seen to be cursed by God. So what does Hannah do?

  344. She that says got up and went to pray.

  345. Ladies, problem. When you have a problem, you

  346. should be in church praying. That's where you go.

  347. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the

  348. entrance of the Tabernacle. Chapter verse 9, Chapter one,

  349. verse 9. And it says, and here's here,

  350. here. How old this woman prays.

  351. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to

  352. the Lord, and she made this vow. O Lord of Heaven's armies, if

  353. you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a

  354. son, I will give him back to you.

  355. He will be yours for his entire lifetime.

  356. Parents, that's, that's our prayer for all of our all of our

  357. kids. They're gods for their entire

  358. lifetime. And as a sign that he has been

  359. dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.

  360. God couldn't get hold of a man in Israel at that time.

  361. So he got hold of a woman and he got hold of the woman who would

  362. then pray according to his will so he can get hold of his man.

  363. And he got a Samuel, Samuel the prophet.

  364. When Peter was locked up in prison awaiting execution by

  365. Herod in Acts chapter 12, you remember the church gathered to

    Acts 12 chapter mention

  366. pray for Peter. Well, Lord, we got to get Peter

  367. out of gaol. Herod's going to kill him.

  368. Acts chapter 12, verse 5. But while Peter was in prison,

    Acts 12:5

  369. the church prayed very earnest for him.

  370. They were king, praying for him. Well, you know the story.

  371. An Angel came to the prison. Peter's asleep.

  372. The angel's got to kick him to wake him up because he just

  373. thinks he's dreaming. Kicks him again, wakes him up.

  374. All the doors open. Peter just walks, outcomes out

  375. to the house where the church is praying, knocks on the door.

  376. Hello. Young cool girl called Rhoda

  377. comes to open the door. Oh, shoot.

  378. Peter rushes off. Hey, Peter's here, everybody.

  379. Peter's here. We're praying.

  380. Go away. You haven't seen a vision.

  381. Lord, we pray for Peter to be released.

  382. Oh, God, I believe he's. You've seen.

  383. Lord, we're deep. Oh, royal release.

  384. Peter continues to pray. They said to her, you're out of

  385. your mind. When she insisted, they decided,

  386. well, it must be his Angel. Meanwhile, Peter continued

  387. knocking. When they finally opened the

  388. door and saw him, They're amazed.

  389. That tells us something. I love this.

  390. How often have you been praying? They got to got to answer that

  391. prayer. That's us.

  392. It's so it shows you how how bad we are.

  393. We think we have to be, you know, just absolutely solid and

  394. everything. No, God knows.

  395. I'll, I'll answer this. You don't got to believe it.

  396. How often, how often has that happened?

  397. I know I said that to Helen. Helen would say something about,

  398. you know, you need to pray. Well, let's just pray about it.

  399. And I go, look, you don't understand.

  400. Because men, men we understand mechanics of things that this

  401. doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way, Helen.

  402. Well, we pray. So we pray.

  403. Next minute, let's happen. Yeah, you're right.

  404. It says they're amazed. Never underestimate the power of

  405. your praying before Almighty God.

  406. In Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20, it says now to him Speaking

    Ephesians 3:20

  407. of the Lord, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above

  408. here all those adverbs or adjectives, whichever they are,

  409. all that we ask or think beyond according to the power that

  410. works in US. What is that power?

  411. The power in Ephesians tells us it's the very power that rose

  412. Jesus from the dead. It's the power of God.

  413. So we can never underestimate the power of prayer.

  414. Secondly, God's timing is not always our timing.

  415. I'm so thankful that God did not answer so many of my prayers and

  416. my time as I look back, oh man, I was an idiot.

  417. Oh God, I need this job, I need this job.

  418. I need that. I need this God.

  419. You're going to answer this prayer doesn't happen because

  420. God knows better. Back in Revelation 6, the martyr

  421. believers who died for their faith in the tribulation period

  422. and who did not take the mark of the beast cried out to God for

  423. vengeance in those for those who had killed them, murdered them.

  424. Verse 10 And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O

  425. Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on

  426. those who dwell on the earth. There's that phrase.

  427. God's response was in verse 11. Then a white robe was given to

  428. each of them and it was said to them that they should rest a

  429. little while longer until both the number of their fellow

  430. servants and their brethren who would be killed not hadn't died

  431. yet as they were was completed. God's response was not a no, but

  432. a wait. Gee, Campbell Morgan says our

  433. prayer requests are often times in line with God's will, but we

  434. must wait on his timing. So never underestimate the power

  435. of prayer. God's timing is not always our

  436. timing. And thirdly, God's will shall be

  437. done no matter what in chapter 20, God's Kingdom has come.

  438. His will has been done during the thousand year reign, the

  439. millennial reign here on earth. So for your prayers to be

  440. powerful, it requires patience, wait, and secondly,

  441. perseverance. Don't stop.

  442. A wonderful gift is given to every believer who prays in

  443. faith this way, trusting in God's will, waiting on God's

  444. timing to answer their prayers. That is, after you have prayed,

  445. what happens to you? You receive the peace of God and

  446. it will settle in your heart. How's that?

  447. How's that happen? Easy, because you prayed.

  448. You believe God, you pray in faith, you prayed in Jesus name.

  449. You know that God can answer your prayer.

  450. You've persevered. You now believe as you get up

  451. from prayer that God will answer.

  452. He has heard and you've cast all your cares on him, so you walk

  453. away from him. Now from that time of prayer

  454. going, it's with the Lord, and God gives you peace.

  455. If you pray and get up. Still worried about the same

  456. thing. You haven't given it to me.

  457. Yeah. Lord, I pray for my husband.

  458. Oh, man, if I get him, man, I get him.

  459. No, no. Have you given?

  460. Is there a peace after you've prayed?

  461. Have you actually really given it to the Lord?

  462. Peter says cast all your cares on him.

  463. Why? For he cares for you.

  464. You know by reading of God's Word that God's will will be

  465. done. Psalm 24714 says wait on the

  466. Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart.

  467. Wait, I say on the Lord, Wait here means patience and eager

  468. expectation and also expect God to answer your prayer.

  469. Expect God to answer your prayer.

  470. Verse 6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared

  471. themselves to sound the first trumpet.

  472. Sounds sounded. Hail and fire followed, mingle

  473. with blood, and they were thrown to the earth.

  474. And the third of the trees were burned up.

  475. A third of the trees and all green grass was burned up the

  476. second trumpet. Then the second Angel sounded in

  477. something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown

  478. into the ocean, and a third of the sea became blood, and a

  479. third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the

  480. ships were destroyed. Then the Angel, third Angel

  481. sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a

  482. torch, and it fell on 1/3 of the rivers and on the springs of

  483. water. The name of that star is

  484. Wormwood, and a third of the waters became Wormwood, and many

  485. men died from the water because it was made bitter or poisonous.

  486. The 4th Angel sounded and a third of the sun was struck, 1/3

  487. of the moon and a third of the stars so that a third of them

  488. were darkened. 1/3 of the day did not shine and likewise the

  489. night. So now judgement begins, the

  490. first trumpet has sounded and an unnatural storm is unleashed

  491. upon the planet. The 1st 4 trumpet judgments are

  492. directed by God at the environment and I feel feel

  493. really sorry for the climate change people at this time

  494. destroying the earth's ecology, just like the plagues that

  495. struck Egypt. The next three trumpets fall

  496. more directly on humanity. And the 7th trumpet introduces

  497. the final seven bowl judgments and the outpouring of God's

  498. wrath. God's wrath.

  499. Let's quickly go at these trumpets and the judgments.

  500. The first one, desolation on earth, hail, fire, mingle with

  501. blood. It reminds us exactly of the 7th

  502. plague that God sent against the Egyptians.

  503. Exodus Chapter 9, also predicted by Joel the prophet Joel chapter

    Exodus 9 chapter mention Joel 2:30

  504. 2 verse 30, that there would be blood and fire in the last days.

  505. 1/3 of the trees are burned up, all green grass scorched.

  506. So what's happening here? We take a step back, impact.

  507. Some of you are farmers. The world's food supply is

  508. upset. No pasture from meat, no milk,

  509. nothing can be produced. The second trumpet, the

  510. desolation of the Seas reminds us of the first plague God sent

  511. to Egypt. Exodus 7.

  512. Something like a great mountain plunges into the sea. 1/3 of the

  513. sea became blood. A third of all living sea

  514. creatures destroyed, a third of all shipping sunken.

  515. Now as of today, between 50 to 70,000 commercial licences are

  516. available for ships around the world.

  517. So from 50 to 70,000. That means roughly 20,000 ships

  518. sink at this moment. Don't book a cruise. 3rd Trumpet

  519. Desolation of the world's freshwater supply.

  520. A great star like a meteorite or an asteroid falls and as it hits

  521. the Earth's atmosphere it explodes and goes into millions

  522. of pieces and hurdles to the earth, and as a result a third

  523. of all the rivers and springs are poisoned.

  524. Many people perish from the poisoned water because it is

  525. made bitter. Wormwood is mentioned, meaning

  526. undrinkable. Wormwood is where we get it's

  527. it's absent. I think it's how you pronounce

  528. it absent A liqueur. It's made from the oil of

  529. Wormwood and it is banned in many countries.

  530. Proverbs 5 Three the writer says, for the lips of a strange

  531. woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil,

  532. but her end is as bitter as Wormwood, sharp as A2 edged

  533. sword. So we get this many people

  534. dying, the waters are poisoned, the 4th trumpet desolation in

  535. the heavens. This judgement affects the

  536. entire world, this one, because it gets to the very source of

  537. Earth's life. What is that light, life and

  538. energy? It parallels the 9th plague that

  539. fell upon Egypt when darkness fell upon the land for three

  540. days. A third of the sun is darkened,

  541. 1/3 of the moon is darkened, 1/3 of the stars are darkened, and

  542. the world became like night. Imagine you're living, pray you

  543. aren't on the planet at this time, Earth dwellers, and these

  544. events are happening. There's nowhere to run, nowhere

  545. to hide, and you must say you must be singing.

  546. Why, why, why aren't people turning to the Lord?

  547. Verse 13 and I looked and heard an Angel, now another Angel

  548. separate, not the trumpets, not the other Angel with the

  549. incense. This is a different one, an

  550. Angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud

  551. voice going around the world, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants

  552. of the earth. Why?

  553. Because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three

  554. angels who are yet to sound. That's God's warning.

  555. What's coming is far worse already.

  556. Think of the damage and the fright and the deaths and horror

  557. that's on the earth at this moment.

  558. Now, at this point, as I said, a remarkable messenger appears in

  559. the sky proclaiming to the inhabitants of the earth with a

  560. dire warning. It is, though, the messenger

  561. cried. If you think this has been

  562. terrible, just wait. Way worse is yet to come.

  563. But everyone hears that. Why would God do that?

  564. Why would God send that out? The phrase inhabitants of the

  565. earth is found 12 times in the Book of Revelation, and it means

  566. more than simply people living on the earth at this time.

  567. It refers to a kind of people, those who live for the earth and

  568. the things of the earth. Just the opposite to the citizen

  569. of heavens. These are those who, no matter

  570. what God sends, no matter what happens around them.

  571. No matter what the warning that is coming, I don't want anything

  572. to do with God because this is going to occur all the way

  573. through and you can give your heart to Christ throughout

  574. Revelation as we see we've read many millions have already done.

  575. They are earth dwellers. They are non believers who don't

  576. want God. God always gives a warning

  577. before He brings judgement. In Genesis chapter 2 verse 16,

    Genesis 2:16

  578. God said to Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve, beautiful garden here,

  579. it's all for you. Of every tree in the garden, you

  580. can eat. Oh, no problems.

  581. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not

  582. eat. Here's the warning.

  583. If you eat of it, you'll die. That's the warning.

  584. I went ahead against it in Genesis chapter 6.

    Genesis 6 chapter mention

  585. The world is so violent. God says I've got to, I've got

  586. to judge the world. And God says to Noah, the end of

  587. all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with

  588. violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them

  589. with the earth. Here's what you're going to do

  590. now. Build yourself an ark of goat

  591. wood, making it rooms. Cover it inside and outside with

  592. pitch. What did Noah do when he heard

  593. God's warning? Gotcha boys.

  594. Building an ark lot in Sodom and Gomorrah.

  595. The angels turn up and the judgement doesn't happen

  596. immediately, does it? They turn up and they say block.

  597. Well, you know, we're going to we're going to sleep in the

  598. village square and lots is all. You can't sleep in the village

  599. square because it's such a simple no, no, you got to come.

  600. So people had the opportunity when the angels of the Lord and

  601. the Lord came to Sodom and Gomorrah to say, yeah, we've

  602. we've been living terribly immorally.

  603. No, no. What did they try to do?

  604. They but tried to bust down the door of Lot's house that night

  605. to get to the angels of the Lord.

  606. God warned Nebuchadnezzar through the prophet Daniel.

  607. Nebuchadnezzar was mouthing off about man, his Kingdom.

  608. Oh man, look at this Kingdom. But I built.

  609. Daniel says, don't say that. There's a warning.

  610. And he gave him a vision. And then Nebuchadnezzar didn't

  611. worry about the warning. So he's walking around the

  612. temple. Look at this great empire that

  613. I've built. Next minute he's down on all

  614. fours. His fingernails are growing the

  615. hairs, the body hair has grown, and he lives for seven seasons

  616. as an animal eating grass. Didn't heed the warning.

  617. Jonah goes to the Ninevites. God could have just wiped out

  618. the Ninevites. No, he sends Jonah.

  619. What does Jonah say yet? 40 days and Nineveh shall be

  620. overthrown. What do the Ninevites do?

  621. Get lost? No, they repented.

  622. They even put sackcloth upon all their animals and they repented

  623. as a entire people. They heeded the warning, God

  624. gave the warning and God gives you an eye a warning today.

  625. In Galatians chapter 6 verse 7, Paul writes, do not be deceived.

    Galatians 6:7

  626. God is not mocked for whatever a man sows that he will also reap.

  627. How you live will direct your eternal eternity, both in

  628. judgement and life. For he who sews to his flesh,

  629. earth dwellers will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sews

  630. to the Spirit, you live. For God will of the Spirit reap

  631. everlasting life. That's the warning.

  632. You're here today. You think you just come to

  633. church for a sunny church. I just come to church.

  634. No, we're living in the last days.

  635. The events of the water are happening.

  636. And God says to you, because he doesn't want any of you, any of

  637. you to experience the seven trumpets, the seven bowls, the

  638. judgement, the four horsemen, He doesn't want you to see the

  639. Antichrist, to know the Antichrist.

  640. He wants to call you up and take you and rapture you the moment

  641. he comes for his own. And so this morning, God gives

  642. you time to repent and turn to him and be saved.

  643. This morning as we study the Book of Revelation, the

  644. magnitude of destruction and mayhem that will come upon this

  645. world is a warning. Jesus said this world has never

  646. experienced it. It's a warning to some of you

  647. today, this morning, either here or online for today, you need to

  648. repent. You're living immorally.

  649. You're living outside the will of God, you're playing church,

  650. you're playing a religious game, you're pretending and your your

  651. life is just like your next door neighbour, a person across the

  652. street are the kids in the school.

  653. You're no different. And God says I don't want that.

  654. You can't live that way because if you do, you will go into the

  655. tribulation period. God as will as that none should

  656. perish. It doesn't matter how you might

  657. feel about hearing of these terrifying judgments of

  658. Revelation 8. You might say, well, I don't

  659. accept all this. That you're telling me I don't

  660. agree with what happens here doesn't seem right to me that

  661. God of love could do this. Hang on, hang on.

  662. Check the cross. He is a God of love, for God so

  663. loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that

  664. whosoever believes in Him shall not perish.

  665. You have a choice. You can reject His love, or you

  666. can dismiss Him. It doesn't matter how you might

  667. feel about hearing of these terrifying judgments.

  668. These things will happen. When Jesus died on the cross, he

  669. told them. Three days later, I'll be back.

  670. None of them believed. 3 days later that same Jesus, the only

  671. man. That's the sign, the only man

  672. who died and rose from the dead. That is the sign for you and I

  673. today to know that what is written in this last passage

  674. that we've been reading is definitely going to happen.

  675. They're going to happen whether you like it or not, whether you

  676. agree or not. The other thing is too, besides

  677. this and I dealt with a in my work time with police, I dealt

  678. with a lot of death. I was at the morgue all the

  679. time. Anytime I the police, you get

  680. called a chaplain. If someone's dead.

  681. My job was to go to the house, knock on the door.

  682. As soon as they saw me, they knew whoever wasn't home isn't

  683. coming home. They would begin screaming as I

  684. walked towards the door. They knew the chaplain's coming.

  685. He's not going to wish me happy birthday.

  686. And The thing is, each and every one of us, we know this.

  687. We are all going to perish. We're all going to die.

  688. So what happens? Where do you go when you die?

  689. And I've spoken to so many in their Hospice bed in their last

  690. moments. And some people, the real

  691. they're terrified because they're dying.

  692. Where do you go when you die? What happens when you die?

  693. You see, I can be sure of what's going to happen because someone

  694. died and came back. He conquered death for those

  695. that would believe in him. So it's not only about the

  696. rapture, it's not only about the tribulation, it's about your

  697. very life. There are 40 people living in WA

  698. today who tomorrow will be in the morgue. 40 Some they know

  699. they're dying in hospital, others they haven't got a clue.

  700. But 40 are going to be there. And God's message for you and I

  701. today is that death wasn't in the original plan.

  702. Adam and Eve were to live forever and they dissipate.

  703. So God had to send his son to re gear the whole thing.

  704. A second Adam, it's called, he's going to change and bring a new

  705. heaven and a new earth. And you can be involved in that

  706. or you can dismiss it. And if you dismiss it, the

  707. people who dismiss it. So I don't want anything to do

  708. with him. God says OK, and you'll be

  709. alone. The Bible says alone with

  710. yourself in darkness, because God is light.

  711. No love, wailing and gnashing of teeth for eternity, Because when

  712. you die, you're not annihilated. You live on.

  713. Because each and every one of us, when we go to a funeral,

  714. where do we go? We don't go.

  715. Well, old Jack, he's just, he just disappeared, gone.

  716. This. What do we all, what do we all

  717. do? Even though we're not

  718. Christians? They're up there and we say

  719. they're with so and so and so and so.

  720. Who's all died before? Funny that you don't go to

  721. heaven by default. You go to heaven by the cross of

  722. Christ, the death of resurrection.

  723. Otherwise, why did he die this morning?

  724. I pray for you to heed God's warning, to turn to him now and

  725. to be saved to repent for the time is at hand.

  726. The Bible says today is the day of salvation and never says

  727. tomorrow is the day of salvation.

  728. You know why? Because we don't live in a

  729. tomorrow. We live always in the moment.

  730. Today, turn from your ways where you're walking away from God and

  731. turn to God. Repent.