The Sounding of the Alarm

Revelation 8:2-9:12 - Riley Boggs

This morning marks sermon number 9 of what will likely be 22 sermons through the book of Revelation. It was originally going to be 20, but I already added 2 extra sermons, so maybe it’ll be closer to 25 by the time we get to the end. Nonetheless, we are nearing the halfway point. That’s significant because the structure of this book still might not be altogether clear to you, and it needs to be. The further we get into this book, the more important it is that you have a general understand of what is happening. As the layers start to add up, it’s important that you have solid understanding of the overall structure to fall back on.

Now I know I have mentioned the structure each week in passing, but I haven’t spent an extensive amount of time explaining it since the first Sunday. So what I’d like to do is reexplain it, as clearly as I can, before we dive into our text this morning. Once you grasp it and make sense of it, it’ll help you read the whole rest of the book. And I want that moment of understanding to happen much sooner rather than later, so that this book will begin to really take shape for each of you, and the truths of it begin to truly be applied in your hearts and lives. With all of that being said, let me remind you of the structure of this book.

The book of Revelation is structured in seven cycles. That is, this book is seven perspectives of the same picture. It’s not like other books that work through things as they happen, like a typical story. It’s a retelling of the same story, seven times, from seven different angles. Now I said seven angles of the same story, but it’s really not a story, it’s a picture. It’s this picture of how things will be between Jesus first coming and His second coming. It’s seven different perspectives of this time period that we are currently living in, and will be, until Jesus comes again. And not only that, but as each of the seven perspectives are given, we are shown just a little bit more of what is actually taking place.

Think of it like this. Imagine going to a concert and switching between seven different seats. The first seat you sit in is at the very top of the arena. You can’t see the musicians very well, but you are able look around and see the great number of people there. You can see the lights and the pictures being taken. Then, pretend, you are transported to a seat in the first row. It’s the same concert, nothing about it has changed, except now the experience seems very different. Now you see the musicians incredibly well. You can literally see the fingers of the guitarist playing. Not only that, but now the music is much louder and it seems like there is no one else there with you. There’s thousands of people behind you, but you can’t see them. Now imagine you do this five more times. Each time, you are getting a new perspective of the same concert. In many ways your experience is the same, but also in each new perspective you are getting shown something a little different.

This is how the book of Revelation is written. It’s the picture of life between the first and second coming, told from seven different perspectives. The difference, of course, is that we aren’t talking about literal viewing perspectives. Each perspective is Jesus simply telling us something similar, but also a little different, about what to believe and expect and so on. We are being reminding that God is control, that He knows, so that we would trust Him in all things until that second coming takes place.

The tricky part about this book, however, is that the kind of literature is one we, as modern day Christians, aren’t very familiar with. It’s apocalyptic literature, which John tells us all the way back at the very beginning. And what that means is that there are tons of symbolism and Old Testament references that get very complicated at times, especially for us. Maybe you felt that as I read through the passage we are looking at this morning. You try to track and make sense of it the best you can, and then at some point you’re like, “Good grief, I don’t understand what is going on.” If that’s you, let me just say two things. First, that’s okay. The whole reason we gather and hear preaching is so that we can make sense of God’s Word and apply it. If it doesn’t make much sense, you’ve come to the right place. The second thing that I’ll say is that this kind of literature is actually intended to cause a little bit of that within us. It’s painting a picture, not charting a graph. We aren’t supposed to sweat and toil over every single little detail and symbol and sign, and lose sight of what is happening. We’re supposed to have our sites set on the overall meaning.

Think about it like this. Imagine you’re eating dinner with some people, and it’s one of those big southern meals that’s actively taking years off of your life. And then towards the end of the meal, a guy leans back from the table and says, “Shew-wee, I’m fuller than tick.” In that moment, what are you supposed to think? Are you supposed to think that this man has been on the back of a dog and full of blood? No, that would be the literal meaning and that doesn’t make any sense. Are you supposed to question him and say, “Sir, I know you feel full right now but that’s because of the food, not blood. Ticks get full of blood. And even then not all ticks are always full of blood.”? Again, no. That would be pressing the saying too far and making it lose it’s meaning. What are you supposed to do? You are supposed to simply hear that and take it to mean that this man feels incredibly full because of the meal. That’s it.

This is kind of how the book of Revelation is meant to be taken. The point is not to overanalyze every detail to such a degree that we lose sight of the meaning. We exegete and study well in search of the true meaning of the text. And we know that all the symbolism and Old Testament references are aimed at encouraging believers to press on in a world of sin and suffering. A world that is often painful and confusing, but is still completely under the control of Our Sovereign God who will surely come back to finish the work He began.

And like I said, this book is seven cycles. I actually have those seven cycles for us in a slide so that you can see them…

Chapters 1-3: seven churches

Chapters 4-7: seven seals

Chapters 8-11: seven trumpets

Chapters 12-14: battle against satan (seven symbolic histories)

Chapters 15-16: seven bowls

Chapters 17-19: downfall of Babylon (seven messages of judgment)

Chapters 20-22: new heaven and earth (seven last things)

Each of these cycles are a new perspective of the same picture, each adding a bit of their own unique information and encouragement. Think of them like seven circles that are significantly overlapping, except for a small sliver. That is how these cycles work together.

And, I’m sure you see, that this morning we find ourselves beginning that third cycle. We first looked at the letters to the churches, then we looked at the seven seals, and now we begin that third cycle concerning the seven trumpets. We’re going back to the beginning of the same story in a way. What was said to the churches and what was shown in the seven seals, is being re-shown right here in chapters 8-11. In fact I think that is a helpful way to begin to approach our text this morning. What was the message that Jesus had for the church? Remember seven is symbolic for complete, and so the letters were to the complete church; to us. The message was, “I know that you are suffering, I know things can be difficult, but take heart because you are my church and I will finish the work I began in you.” Now, think about what the message of the seven seals? The message was, “This world is full of evil and suffering, especially if you are a Christian. But know that final judgement is coming against the evil doers. Know that all your suffering has a purpose and remember that God has claimed a people as His own, and will see to it that they endure to the end and grant them complete redemption.” Any guesses on what the message of the seven trumpets is?

Throughout Scripture trumpets are seen as warning signs. They warned of God’s coming, think of Mount Sinai. They warned of battle, think of the siege of Jericho. Trumpets were like an alarm, intended to startle you awake so that you might prepare for what is to come. Let me read you a small section from the book of Ezekiel so that you can see this. Ezekiel 33, starting in verse 1, “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.’”

The trumpets were serving as a warning, and the message is very clear. Heed the warning and be spared, ignore the warning and perish. Therein lies the message of the seven trumpets. These seven trumpets are a symbolic picture of all the calamity and pain and sin that exists in this world. And like the sounding of a trumpet, God is telling us that these things, from the natural disasters to the grievous sins, all of them, are intended to be a warning sign to those who don’t know Christ that judgement is coming. And not only that, but also serving as a reminder that victory is coming for those who reside in the kingdom of God. At the symbolic sounding of the trumpet, Christians should be reminded of their hope, and unbelievers should tremble and turn to Jesus.

So, this morning I’d like to dive into this passage and draw out three points that ultimately paint that picture. The first point I have for us is this...

1.) The turmoils of this world are God’s warning that this world is temporary and that final judgment is coming (8:6-12)

If you see the verse reference there, you’ll notice that I am skipping over verses 1-5. Just so you know, I plan to look at those verses at the end of the sermon, for our final point. For now, I’d to start by looking at verses 6-13, where we find the blowing of first 4 trumpets. The first thing you might notice as I read through each of those is how the slightly reminded you of the previous passages we have looked at. They read a bit similar to the first 4 horsemen that come with the opening of the seals. Each of them bring a similar, but also different, calamity on the world. Again, that is your reminder that we gone back to the start of a new cycle and are addressing very similar things. That’s the first thing you might have noticed.

The second thing you might not have noticed is the striking call back to an Old Testament story that many of us are indeed familiar with. It’s a story where pain and calamity comes upon a people, serving both as a reminder that both of judgment and deliverance are on the horizon. Do you know it? It’s the story of Israel’s Exodus out of Israel. No doubt this is very intentional and is supposed to greatly help us understand what is being said. If you’ll remember, in the story of the Exodus God’s people, Israel, were being held in captivity by the Egyptians. They were enslaved were being treated very poorly, so God decided that He would bring them out from among them. He promised to deliver them.

So, God tells Moses to go and tell the Pharaoh that he must let God’s people go. Unsurprisingly, the Pharaoh denies this request. What the Pharaoh didn’t understand at the time was that this was not a request. It was the classic, “we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.” The pharaoh chose the hard way. So God, through Moses, tells the Pharaoh that He will send 10 plagues upon the Egyptians if he does not let them go. Still, the Pharaoh, refuses to let them go. What follows are the 10 plagues that God said would come. In the order that they happen, they are, water turning to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, the death of livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally the death of the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Each time, rather than heeding the warning sign, the Pharaoh heart grew increasingly hard. He heard the sounding of the trumpet and chose to ignore it. Eventually, as the story goes, the Pharaoh does release them after the deaths of the firstborn born sons. However, he quickly regrets this, pursues Israel, and they are crushed under the falling waves of the Red Sea, as God delivers His people just as He promised.

Now that story is important for us to remember because something very similar is happening in each of the trumpet soundings. Look at them with me. The first trumpet brings hail and fire, mixed with blood, and a third of the earth is burned, along with trees and grass. The second trumpet has a great mountain thrown into the sea, and then a third of the sea becomes blood. Not only that, but a third of the sea creatures die and ships are destroyed. With the third trumpet we see a great star fall from heaven, falling upon a third of the rivers and springs. The stars is called Wormwood, which is plant that yields a very bitter taste. And as such, the third of waters become bitter and a many people die. Then with fourth trumpet we see a third of the sun, moon, and stars, being struck, so that a third of the light is gone.

Hopefully you see the many connections to the story of the Exodus. The water turning to blood, the hail being thrown down, the death of animals, darkness coming, and so on. There are many similarities, and of course many differences as well. But that’s the point. What we are seeing here is that in a similar way to how God used the 10 plagues, God is using the many turmoils of our own time for the same purpose. The hurricanes and earthquakes. The floods and tornadoes. The wildfires and blizzards. Even the diseases and pandemics. All of these things are intended by God to be like the sounding of a trumpet. When you see these things happening in and around the world, it is supposed to cause a response within you. You’re supposed to be awakened to the reality that this world is not going to last forever. It’s temporary, it’s unstable. And not only that, but all of these tragic things do not budge the scales on the judgment that is coming against those who do not heed the warnings.

Let me show you an example of this from Scripture. Turn with me, briefly, to Acts 16. Remember, the book of Revelation is written to the church who lives between the two comings of Christ, so that would include those here in Acts 16, as well as us. Acts 16 starting in verse 25. This is what we read, “25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ 31 And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” Now there’s a lot going on here, but think about how this Earthquake is being used here. God is using it to draw people to Himself. He’s using it so that the jailer might respond to the Earthquake like he would respond to the sounding of a trumpet. That is, heed the warning and trust in the One who can deliver him.

There are all kinds of turmoils in our own world today. All signs of a very broken world. A world that is cursed by sin and under judgment of God. It’s a world that feels at times like it is always teetering on the edge of self-destruction. As the world continues on, this will continually be the case. When these things happen, we need to be reminded, by this passage, that God is using it all very intentionally. He’s forcing people to see that their hope cannot be in this world. He’s sounding the alarm for a people who do not know Him and will face judgement lest they not trust in Him. In many ways, they are actually a grace. I know that sounds strange to think of things like a flood as a grace, but they are. If God withheld all the curses of sin on this world, then many people would be more prone to trusting in this world. So instead, God allows turmoil, in a restrained way, to take place so that people would indeed turn to Him. That is what I think we see in the first 4 soundings of the Trumpets.

What follows, in verse 13, is kind of like a transition verse to the next 3 trumpets. In verse 13 John looks and hears an Eagle declaring 3 woes upon the people of the earth in preparation of the next 3 trumpets being blown. A woe is simply another way of saying that judgment is coming. They are also a kind of warning, like the trumpets. And then, after this, is the blowing of the fifth trumpet, starting in verse 1 of chapter 9.

Now, let’s just be honest for a moment. What follows is a bit overwhelming and confusing at first. In fact, this is the passage I read all the way back during my first sermon in this book so that I could show you why people often neglect this book. It’s passages like this that leave people at best scratching their head and at worst paralyzed in anxiety for what it to come. But, as I hope we’re about to see, this passage has a rather straightforward meaning and should help you understand why the world is like it is.

In verse 1 the trumpet is blown and John says he sees a star fallen from heaven. Now this isn’t a literal star, and we know that because this star is called “he” and is given then key to bottomless pit. And then from this pit comes smoke that darkens everything, and then from the smoke comes locusts. Now it says that these locusts are given power over the earth, but it’s not the literal earth. We know this because they are told to not harm the grass or plants trees. They are told to only harm one thing. What is it? Those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Now we saw this 2 weeks ago, but the sealing of God on someones foreheads is a symbolic way of saying someone who belongs to God. In other words, these locusts are only given permission to harm those who are not God’s, those who are unbelievers.

And then we get a description of the kind and extent of the harm. They locusts torment them for 5 months, which is the cycle of locusts, but are not allowed to kill them. The torment is so great that it says people will long to die, but cannot. Now, just to be clear, none of this is literal. It’s all symbolic. And the verses that follow make that abundantly clear again, as the locusts are described in a bizarre way. They were like horses, with crowns of gold and human faces. They had women’s hair and teeth like a lion. They had iron breastplates and their wings sound like chariots rushing into battle. They have tails that sting and from that sting they can harm people for 5 months. And then finally, and this is important, in verse 11, we see that they have a king. It’s the angel of the bottomless bit whose name means the destroyer.

I think the meaning of all this can be summed up in one sentence, which is our second point.

2.) God sometimes gives unbelievers over to their sin as a judgement to them and a warning to others (8:13-9:12)

The picture being painted for us here is not one with literal stars and locusts. The picture being painted here is one of evil demonic forces taking root in people’s lives, particularly those who reject God. The king of the bottomless pit is called the destroyer, so we are to take that to mean satan. And it’s from this bottomless pit comes the locusts, or demons, come out and target those whom they are allowed to target. You can see that in verse 4. Who is it that is allowing them? Well it’s God. As a means of judgement, God is handing over those who are not His, those who are not sealed, to the enemy. Hang with me just for a moment as I try to explain this a bit further.

Often times we try to create a category where sin is not demonic. When someone does something truly vile, we say things like, “Man, that person must be possessed. I don’t know how someone could do that.” That’s a fair statement. But in saying that, we have to be careful to remember that egregious sin is not the only mark of demonic influence. All unrepentant sin the mark of demonic influence. There is no neutrality when it comes to sin. Either you are repentant of sin and are of God, or you are unrepentant of sin and are of the enemy. There are no other camps to be in. The really nice old lady who serves her community, but outright hates God, is not somewhere in the middle of these things. That lady is bound by evil demonic forces. She is bound by sin. Sin that often causes her to struggle in many ways.

What we are seeing here in this passage in our world today, and until Jesus returns is that, God will actually be handing people over to their sin as a judgement against them. He will essentially give them what they want. Or to speak using the language of Revelation, those who are not marked by God, will find themselves exposed to the torment of the evil one. Think about what Paul says in Romans 1. He says that the knowledge of God is evident in creation, so that no one is without excuse. And then he goes on to say that God’s wrath has been revealed against ungodliness, is by handing over those who reject God to their sin. He says that men suppress the knowledge of God because they love their sin. And then 3 times Paul uses this phrase. He says, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.” Then again, “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.” Then for a third time, “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” This is the same message being declared here. Like the Pharaoh who refuses to heed God’s warning, there are people who continually reject God. They reject Him, will not acknowledge Him. And like the Pharaoh, there comes a time where God says, “So be it”, and hands them over to their sin. He gives them what they desire, and hardens their heart entirely.

Now that can be uncomfortable for some of to hear, right? Because we know unbelievers who hate God and the questions might raise in our mind, “Has God hardened their heart already? Is there even a possibility for them to be saved now?” To that, let me say 2 things. First, that knowledge will never be made known to us. We do not know who God has truly handed over to their sin, and we should not make assumptions about that. Secondly, it’s actually passages like this and others that are supposed to be the catalyst whereby those who are rejecting God would actually turn to Him. We are supposed to tell those who do not know Christ that their days are not unlimited and neither is God’s restraint of judgement. If they continue in their sin and continue to reject God, then they may in fact be hardening their heart to the point where God hands them over to the enemy entirely. Do you see why this is coming as a result of the trumpet being blown? It’s a warning. It’s an alarm. And the response must be to trust in Christ, who can and will save you from the bonds of the sin and shame that the enemy has bound you by.

And one other thing we can do here is remind people that sin brings so much pain. These locusts that are depicting the evil forces of the world are torturers. There are people all around, everyday, who are experiencing incredibly amounts of pain at the hands of these evil forces. They live lives full of sin, but no satisfaction. Their minds are constantly filled with feelings of shame and regret and condemnation. They feel lost and purposeless, and even long for death so that it will all just be over. That is where sin leads. And it’s our job, as those who have hope, to declare the hope of Jesus Christ to these people. We have been tasked with this very thing. To go out and sound the alarm that final judgment is coming, but salvation is today for all who trust in Christ. And not only will you be spared from judgement, but you will be given things like joy and hope. Things like peace that surpasses all understanding. Only in Christ will that be found, and so it is Christ alone who we declare.

This leads me to the final point I want us to see this morning...

3.) All people should heed the warning and trust in the One who hears and delivers His people (8:2-5)

Go back to the beginning of this passage with me. The part that I intentionally skipped over so that we could return to this point at the end of the sermon. Look starting in verse 2, and remember that this is before the trumpets have been sounded. It says this, “2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”

Think about what is happening here with me. In verse 5 there is this image of judgement being thrown down onto the Earth, and then we see that take place in all the trumpets. But why is it happening? Well go back to the previous verses. It’s the prayers of the saints going before God that causes this response. What prayers are these? It’s the prayers that were being cried out back in chapter 6, in the previous cycle. Chapter 6, verse 10, they saints cry out, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the Earth?” Now whether or not it’s that specific prayer in view, I am not sure. But I do think the idea is the same. I think what we have here is this picture of God’s people crying out for justice. In this broken world full of turmoil, surrounded by a people who hate God and hate them, they desire the final salvation and judgement that has ben promised. And God’s answers to this prayer, here in chapters 8 and 9, are these very judgements.

In other words, what God is saying is that I’m using all of these things to bring about your final salvation. He is telling them, through the blowing of these trumpets, that He is restraining the turmoil in this world. That is why we see this continual 1/3 language. He’s restraining the calamity. He’s using it to draw people to Himself and bring about temporary judgement. And then again He tells them that He’s guarding them from the evil ones who come to harm mankind. He’s marked them out, He’s sealed them, and so they are protected from the enemy. Yes, He’s handing people over to their sin as a judgment and warning, but He will never loosen His grip on His children. He has them safe and secure, and will bring them through it all.

In fact, I think verse 5 is actually a picture of final judgement. That seems to track with what we have seen previously. So God is actually reminding them that final judgement is indeed coming, and then goes back to these trumpets to show them the realties of the world they are living in till that day. He doesn’t give John these vision to scare those who are His, He gives them these visions so that they might be reminded of God’s infinite kindness and protection.

The message here, in these first 5 trumpets, is that the alarm is blaring. Everywhere we look, there are clear and obvious signs that this world has an expiration date. Whether it be natural disasters or outrageous sins, the writing is on the walls. This world is and the people in it are cursed and under judgement. But, because God’s grace and mercy knows no end, He sent His Son so that His enemies might be made the very children of God. And through these things that seem unredeemable at times, God is calling a people to Himself. A people who He listens to and answers their prayers. A people who have brought into a safe place, a stronghold that cannot be penetrated by the enemy. A people who will, without a doubt, be finally delivered into an eternity where sin cannot be found.

Until then, we must be a people who declare the good news of Jesus Christ to a world. We tell them to look around and ask where there hope is. Is it in this world, or is it in the Risen Reigning Son of God? In the words of Paul from Romans 13 we must say, “1 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Amen.