This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

(upbeat music) - We're looking together this week at Revelation chapter eight.
This is day three of our look at this chapter. We're going to focus today on verses
six and seven.

As we look at those verses, we're going to begin the seven trumpet judgments of
God. He's revealing to us of what's going to happen. But as we begin to walk into
this revelation of God's judgment, this revelation of what's going to happen in a
tribulation that's going to come upon this world at the end of time.

Let me remind you of three kinds of tribulation. It's an important perspective
to have as we walk through these verses. Three kinds of tribulation.

First, the trials of everyday life. Second, something called the great
tribulation. And third, something called the day of the Lord.

First kind of tribulation is the trials of everyday life. Some of you have
tribulation in your life right now. Not with a capital T, not some event that
we're looking forward to at the end of time.

But it is trouble, it is tribulation. It's not going to be like we're not going to
face troubles in this world. And you're going to have some pretty tough days as you
face life in this world.

There are Christians in this world today who have things happening to them that
are just as difficult, just as tough, just as tribulation as these tribulations
we're going to read. Now, not every believer has this happening. Not every person
has this happening.

But there are people who are facing these kind of trials even today. So there
are, for all of us, trials of everyday life that come to us in a personal way
that hit our lives. There is no promise in the Bible that believers in the world
today are going to escape that.

In fact, just the opposite. The Bible says all those who desire to live godly in
Christ Jesus are going to suffer persecution. The fact is, the Bible says that we
as believers have to face the same situations and circumstances that the rest of
the world has to face.

And even more, because we face persecution sometimes. Now, as I read through
these judgments of God, there's no doubt, as a human being, I read it and I
think, I don't want to suffer. I don't want to go through any of those things.

And I believe, I have shared this with you earlier, that we won't go through the
tribulation as believers in Jesus Christ. But that does not mean we're not going to
suffer while we're on this earth. Those who went through the flood of Katrina,
they faced a flood just as those at the end of time are going to face a flood.

Was it any different for them? No, it was localized, but they faced a flood and
they faced tribulation in that moment. Those who faced an earthquake in Haiti,
they faced a tribulation in that moment that was just in one place at one time
where it'll be all places at all time at the end of time.

But it's just as much a tribulation for them. We have the trials of everyday
life. That's one kind of tribulation that we face.

A second kind of tribulation is something called the great tribulation. And
these judgments that we're going to be reading these next few chapters, I believe,
fall into that category. The period of time at the end of time when the wheels
start to fall off, the world goes downhill, everything falls apart.

The seven trumpets have a part of this great tribulation that the world's going to
face. This seven years of tribulation before God begins to redeem this world.
And then a third type of tribulation is what I would term the day of the Lord or
the Old Testament would term and into the New Testament, the day of the Lord.

Again and again in the Bible, this phrase, the day of the Lord comes. What is
that day? That is the day, that is the day when the judge judges.

That's the end. The day of the Lord is when God comes, when Jesus comes as king
and ruler and the books are closed and things are finished. There are these
three tribulation times.

And this great tribulation, we're going to look at the next few weeks. It is not
the day of the Lord. The books are not yet finished.

There are still those who are coming to know Christ even during this time. Now
with that in mind, let's begin to look at these seven trumpets. These seven
trumpets are divided really into two parts.

First four and then the last three. The first four bring devastation upon
nature. The last three are aimed more directly at people.

Now as we look at these, I just want to encourage you, don't get too caught up in
trying to figure out how exactly one fits and flows into another. This is a
description of chaos. The apocalypse is not logical.

It is terrible. And God wants us to see, God wants us to see that this world is
not a place that we can trust. That it's headed toward falling apart.

And so he tells us the truth of what's going to happen. Revelation chapter eight
verses six and seven talk to us about the first trumpet. Then the seven angels
who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

The first angel sounded his trumpet. And there came hail and fire mixed with
blood. And it was hurled down upon the earth.

A third of the earth was burned up. A third of the trees were burned up. And all
the green grass was burned up.

I hear a third a lot here. What is the significance of one third? One third is
symbolic, but it's also actual.

Not everything is destroyed, but a large part is destroyed. One third does not
have to mean exactly one third. This third suffers and the rest of the two
thirds has no suffering.

It seems to be a picture of universal suffering. All the world suffers, but not
everything is gone yet. And in this suffering that's happening, there's hail
that falls, there's fire that falls, there is blood that falls.

What is this a picture of? It's interesting that these judgments remind us very
powerfully of the plagues that came upon Egypt. You remember when Moses went
before Pharaoh to set the people free and he said, no.

God said, well, you've hardened your heart against me and so I'm going to bring
these circumstances upon your country that will cause you to fall down and
worship me. And he brought plagues, plagues of hail and water that was turned to
blood. As you look at this, it's pretty obvious that God is picturing something
for us.

Now, it's more than just a symbol. It's also equally obviously to me that these
are real events that God is describing are going to happen. It's a revelation of
something that's happening.

Don't again get too caught up in trying to figure out how it all fits together.
This is not logical. It is terrible.

God's trying to picture for us to help us to understand something that is beyond
our understanding. You can see order sometimes in these events. Other times you
can't see which follows which.

But remember that God is at work to show us that this world is not all there is,
that there is something much better beyond. And this is one of those times when
knowing the Old Testament helps. These judgments describe, they are very
powerfully pictured in the plagues upon Egypt.

As you read through these judgments, we're going to be reminded that there's
nothing new in this world. It is just the same story. It's the same story in the
book of Exodus to me.

It was just localized there. Localized plagues came upon a nation and as those
plagues came upon that nation, they came in order that God's people would be set
free, in order that God's people would be able to enjoy the promised land that
God had for them. As we look at these verses, the exact same thing is happening
at the end of time.

But now it's not just Egypt, it's all of the world. It's all around the world.
You and I, as we look at what's happening in these verses, we need to be
reminded of the fact that God has a plan and that God's plan is bigger and
better than anything we could imagine.

And that plan has been going on for a long time. He's been picturing for us
what's going to happen from the very beginning. And as you look at this plan in
these verses, wow.

I believe that the most powerful book in the Old Testament for understanding the
book of Revelation is not Daniel, although you can understand much about
Revelation from Daniel. I actually believe it's the book of Exodus. When you see
what God did in the book of Exodus, you understand what God is doing in the book
of Revelation.

When you see that God brought plagues upon a people whose hearts were hardened,
so that God's people would be set free to enjoy all that God had promised, you
see that God in the end is going to fulfill that exact thing for the people of God
for all of eternity. Only this time, we're not going to wander away from him like
the people of the Old Testament did. This time, we're going to worship him for all
of eternity.

When you see these plagues that come upon the world, you realize that they are
for a purpose. God brought plagues upon Egypt, so that those who had hard hearts
would soften their hearts and turn to God, would follow him. God's going to allow
these plagues upon the world so that those who have hard hearts would soften
their hearts and turn to God, and also so that those who are the people of God
will be released from this world in order to enjoy the promised land, a greater
promised land than you can imagine, with him for all of eternity.

Now, as we pray today, just take a moment to say, "Jesus, I don't like to think
about tribulation. Just be honest with him. I don't like to think about trials.

I'd rather they didn't happen. I'm looking forward to heaven one day when
there'll be no more problems. But this earth, it has trials, it has problems.

And I pray that God, you help me to trust you through the problems, and to
realize that you have a plan to work even in the midst of those problems. Thank
you, as we see how your scripture unfolds, that that plan has been there from
the very beginning. It's unfolding in the way that you built a tabernacle.

It's unfolding in the way that you set a people free from Egypt, and it's going to
unfold in the end, in the way that you take us to be with you for all of
eternity. Thank you, God, for your plan. Help me to live in trust for who you
are and what you are doing.

In Jesus' name I pray, amen.