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The First Four Trumpets

• The first trumpet summons hail, which reflects one of the ten plagues. It was sent along with the other nine plagues so that Pharaoh would free the Israelites from their slavery.
• If the Church has been raptured by now, that freeing has already been accomplished. But the earth would still need to be freed from sin.
• We know the fire is used for refining. It takes the impurities out. God wants our sinful nature cut out of us. The way that happens is that we go through trials and persecutions. These trials are refining us.
• It doesn’t say whose blood it is. If it is Jesus’ cleansing blood, that makes this an interesting trio. Both the fire and hail are destructive. Jesus’ blood is redemptive.
• Even though only one-third of the earth is destroyed, I would say this is a global event. One-third of the trees are also destroyed. That would severely impact oxygen production. All green grass will be gone.
• But then we don’t know timing of the trumpets and how long it will take to complete all seven. Will they have time to recover from the first trumpet?
• A second trumpet is sounded with some of the same results – fire, blood, and destruction. But this time the destination was the saltwater sea, not dry land.
• The third trumpet signals the destruction of freshwater supplies. Again, it is only a third of them, but it is significant.
• The result of apostasy – not being a Christian – is the absence of grace. The product of that is the lack of perseverance.
• The fourth trumpet damages the sun, moon, and stars.
  Unlike the with the other trumpets, John does not tell the cause. He does say that the effect causes damage, not elimination.
• The Egyptian plague was a spiritual darkness with this being a physical darkness.
• The sixth seal talked about the sun, moon, and stars being destroyed. If the sky vanishes, the sun and the moon won’t be hanging around. The seventh seal was the silence in Heaven. The seven angels with the trumpets came right after the seal was opened. The first trumpet heralded destruction for a third of the earth.
• How can a third of the sun, moon, and stars can be damaged if the sky has already vanished? First Thessalonians says Jesus is going to descend with a shout and a trumpet blast. That doesn’t say anything about the sky being rolled back as a scroll. What do I get out of this? A trumpet will sound when Jesus calls the Church home. It may or may not be part of the seven trumpets.

Glossary

Sin

Blood

Grace

Fifth and Sixth Trumpets

• The star that fell from Heaven is Satan.
• This trumpet is evidence that Revelation should not be taken chronologically. But then it also gives a strong argument that what John wrote is symbolically.  
• People much smarter than I am believe this is talking about Satan.
• But doesn’t this contradict what Jesus said? It was in an aside to the disciples that He said something about the fall (Lk. 10: 17-18 ESV).
• If Jesus, somewhere around AD 30, said He saw Satan take his fall, how can it be part of the fifth trumpet that is supposed to happen at the end of the age?
• Let’s describe it this way. If God is supposed to be our True north, Satan was heading south. Anytime we sin, we are not in the place we were supposed to be.
• Choosing to not do God’s Will gets us in a position to be turned. Choosing against God means Satan’s character was broken.
• Nowhere in God’s Word does it say that hell was created. Because of that, it does not say who – or Who – constructed it.
• The smoke of evil blinds us. How does Satan blind us? He wants to keep us in the dark, away from the light.
• Satan manipulates our perception of ourselves so that we do not accurately see ourselves, let alone see ourselves the way God does.
  This spiritual blindness convinces us that sin is not really sin. Satan questions us as to how sin can be if there is no real God.
• Satan also blinds us as to our sins. We not only want to ignore what is sin, but we also want to ignore it in us. 
• On the Day of the Lord, all spiritual blindness will be removed. We will see the Lamb as He truly is.
• By blinding us, Satan promotes our ignorance and apathy. Working out our salvation means we are striving to clear the smoke that is blinding us from the eyes of our hearts.
• The desire to commit sin is what destroys us when we give in to that desire.
• It may seem strange that there were limitations given to the locusts. God wasn’t interested in a physical hurt. He was looking for this to be a spiritual hurt.
• Still, it could only last five months. The trumpets, as are the seals and bowls, are limited judgments. We can’t assume that brevity means a light judgment. It isn’t.
• Another big limitation is that it can only be for those who are not sealed. Is this another indication that the Church has yet to be raptured? 
• But then this raises an important question. If this is a spiritual hurt, not a physical hurt, we aren’t talking about killing one-third of the population. We are talking spiritual death of one-third of the population.
• The locusts are fearsome. They have been gearing up for this battle, just as the angels were. The human faces on the locusts will be a sight to see. Worldview people will probably try to pass these off as some alien creatures come to invade us.
• Since the king is an angel, it must have originally come from Heaven.
• Satan destroys our relationship with God. He destroys our peace and purity. He destroys our very souls.
• The first woe is physical death.
  Judgment is released by the sixth trumpet.
• The cry from the horns of the altar comes from the presence of God.
  God is going to take an active hand in the events of the Day of the Lord. Everything comes out of the plan for judgment He has devised. This is especially true if the first woe that just occurred is physical death for all mankind.
• The time for salvation has passed. Forgiveness is no longer available. Judgment has arrived. 
• The sixth angel is directed to command four avenging angels to act. The angel immediately obeyed. 
• If these four angels are following God’s directive to kill a third of mankind and they do, that doesn’t make them evil. That makes them obedient.
• These angels are bound to a mission. It is a mission for which they “… had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year …” (Rev. 9: 15 ESV). They were let loose to accomplish their mission.
• Verses 15 and 18 indicate that a third of mankind will be killed by the unleashing of the angels.
  God will use death as punishment for our sins. We can’t think that God will turn a blind eye or pull His punch when He is correcting and punishing us.
• What we are to understand in this section is that the angels are going to wreak havoc on human life. God will only take so much before He says, “I’m done.” Even then, He still shows mercy by not just wiping everyone out.
• Regardless of God’s show of might and mercy, some will refuse to turn to Him.
• So much for “show me and I will believe it.” The issue here is some people will just refuse to believe regardless of what they are shown or experience. They have hardened their hearts to His promptings. They are stubborn.
  Why God allow sin to happen? Well, if God did anything to stop sin from occurring, that would make Him a dictator. He would be taking away our free will.

Glossary

Peace

A Mighty Angel

• God provided earth with a scroll that provided comfort to mankind.
• Another angel comes onto the scene. John describes it as a mighty angel. It would be logical that this would be Jesus. He came to earth as God’s messenger.
• The cloud provides mystery to God’s Word.
• Jesus’ mode of transportation is with a cloud. This time, He will be wrapped in it.
• It seems to me that —if this angel is indeed Jesus — this describes more His first coming to earth, not His second. His Second Coming is going to eliminate the mystery.
• The rainbow is symbolic of the glory of God.
• We see it as a symbol of unity between Heaven and earth. We also see it as a symbol of peace. We also remember it was the setting for God’s throne.
• The rainbow is a crown over the angel’s head, just as it is over the throne.
• The angel’s face and legs were described.
• Jesus has been called the light of the world. Also, He is called the morning star. This is in contrast to the antichrist, who comes in smoke and darkness.
• We talked about the destructiveness of fire. However, the fire is used by Someone Who is pure to consume their enemies. This, too, should be comforting to the Church.
• God provides His Word to instruct and comfort us.
• Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do not give us Jesus’ messages. Those books give us the recording of Jesus’ words. In other words, God’s Word tells us what we need to know. Without the record, we would have nothing.
  God’s Word is only an introduction to Him. After we become his children, He reveals more to us through the Holy Spirit.
• God is constant in His Word and His character. The message has been steadfast. It has lasted over 2,000 years and will continue to last until the end of the age.
• The worldview opposes God’s Word. Satan and his followers oppose God’s Word. They want to rewrite it or ignore it all together.
• Some things are not meant for us to currently know. God doesn’t want us to have foreknowledge of what will happen to those who feel His wrath.

The Mystery of God

• The mystery of God will be accomplished at the seventh trumpet.
• Jesus’ oath can provide us with assurance. God’s Word tells us what will happen in the end times.
• Jesus gave an oath that this accounting is true. Jesus basically swore by Himself that what was contained on the scroll was true.
• Because Jesus is swearing on the character of God, we have assurance that what He has said will come to pass. God is unchangeable and pure. He won’t change His mind, and whatever He swears has no sin in it whatsoever.
• Jesus is swearing an oath that those trials and tribulations had an end date. He is also swearing that the Day of the Lord will not be delayed.
• What happens when there is no more daily and yearly spinning of the earth? The new Heaven and new earth may not revolve because there is not going to be a sun.
• God has been and always will be on a different measurement of time.
• The mystery of God concerns this life. We don’t know how long we have to live. We don’t know how many jobs we will have — or if we will have any. When we are young, we don’t know if we will get married or how many kids we will have. We don’t know if we will contract a horrible infectious disease, have a devastating auto accident, or live a long, healthy life. 
• What we do know is that Jesus is returning. When He does, this Heaven and earth will pass away. We know we will spend eternity based on whether we have ABCDed or not.
• In my viewpoint, the voice from Heaven has to be God, giving direction to be ministers to others.
• God’s Word is God’s message of the salvation offered by Jesus. It details the Plan of Salvation, which we must take and allow it to enter every aspect of our lives. We must allow it to change us through an inward transformation.
• Salvation brings both joy and sorrow. We have the joy of restoration, but that highlights the need for restoration, causing us sorrow for all the sin we have committed.

Glossary

Salvation

Who Are the Two Witnesses?

• God wants us to evaluate our lives to determine the status of our spiritual condition.
• The temple John would have known was referred to as the Herodian Temple. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC. It was rebuilt, referred to as the Second Temple, during King Cyrus’ reign in 538 BC. Herod the Great also rebuilt it beginning in 20 BC.
• Many think Christ’s Church has replaced the temple. Since we are the living stones, we are the building blocks of His Church.
  In a way that is logical. Heaven is not going to be based on earthly, physical things. The temple is part of the earthly things.
• The outward manifestation of our salvation is important. The temple could be seen as a symbol of that. The outward manifestation is nothing without the inward transformation.
• God uses us as witness to expand His kingdom.
• Two witnesses will appear in Jerusalem. Their ministry will last for almost three and a half years. It always amazes me how little information we are given on them. They are not named, but they have been likened to Moses and Elijah. But neither had the power of these two!
• Moses was the “savior” of the Israelites when they were in bondage in Egypt. It was to him that God gave the laws and commandments. Those showed our need for a Savior. Elijah was to prepare the way for the Lord.
  Yes, this is applied to John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus’ first coming. This Elijah is to prepare the way for the second coming.
• I think it is significant that there are two witnesses. They are battling the Satan and the Antichrist. God would want to pull out the big guns for that.

• One thing we can learn from the witnesses is that they know how to endure. Regardless of the persecution that will be an acted on them, they will stay firm to God’s plan.
• Wearing sackcloth indicated that the person is in mourning. It didn’t just mean that someone they loved died.
• The two witnesses understand the scope of their mission for God. They understand that, though there will be a multitude in Heaven, there will be fewer residing in Heaven than in hell.
• The two witnesses will feed the Church. The whole purpose of the Book of Revelation is to strengthen the Messianic congregations for the tribulations that they would soon be facing.

• Satan and his followers are evil. Yes, they can be murderers. More than that, they can just be cruel in their persecution of disciples.
  When sin and corruption is at its worst, disciples will be persecuted.
• The two witnesses will be able to defend themselves. Fire will pour from their mouths and consume those who are persecuting them. I am having a hard time reconciling the power Revelation 11 says the witnesses possess and Matthew 24.  It probably shouldn’t be an issue for me. God will always have a remnant, and He will always bless the faithful. But I see too many churches filled with Matthew 7: 21 people. How can goats masquerading as sheep win souls to Christ any more than the wolves in the henhouse did in Paul’s day?
• The two witnesses will be killed by the antichrist. We may think that is a harsh reward for their exemplary service. We shouldn’t think that. Their ministry was over. They had fulfilled the work they were given.
• The two witnesses are called witnesses because they bear testify that Jesus can be our Savior and Redeemer. Disciples — also called saints — are called to do the same thing. As we’ve said, we have been given our marching orders.

What Happens to the Two Witnesses?

• The two witnesses will be resurrected and called back to Heaven.
• I wonder if it is significant that the number of days the two witnesses remained dead is three and a half. We know Jesus was in the grave for three days – if we count it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But then it could reference the time in which the two witnesses had to witness. It ratio would be a day for a year.
• Who God is using to speak the message isn’t important. The message is what is important. Then, one day, everyone will hear the call.
• Believers will be called to an eternal life in Heaven. Nonbelievers will be called to an eternal life in hell.
• It isn’t that the two witnesses were just resurrected. They ascended to Heaven.
• God’s still small voice is going to call us home. That means we have to listen carefully for it.
• The second woe was an earthquake killing 7,000 people.
• The second woe is judgement. I thought that sounded like it is Revelation 20: 12. But that doesn’t fit what this says. Revelation 20: 11 is where Heaven and earth pass away. If people are still here, it would be everyone, not just 7,000, that experience a physical death. The only way that would work is if the 7,000 mean perfect or complete. It would be a number to represent everyone.
• In Elaine-speak, God isn’t just going to talk about judging us. He is going to follow through and make the judgment become a reality. And that reality is going to be successful. It is going to accomplish God’s goal.
• What is God’s goal in the Day of the Lord? God wants glory given to His Son – and to Him.

The Seventh Trumpet

• This world will become God’s and Jesus’.
• I was under the impression that the kingdom of the world wouldn’t become Jesus’ kingdom until the Heaven and earth passed away (Rev. 20: 11).
• The result of the the world becoming the kingdom of God and Jesus is that Jesus would become Lord of our minds.
• But isn’t that logical that Jesus is to become Lord of our minds? Our acceptance of the Plan of Salvation starts in our minds.
  We are to have the mind of Christ. The mind rules our thoughts and actions. That plays out in our attitude. Having the mind of Christ means that we have His attitude.
• Think of it this way. The new world will still run on knowledge. It will just be knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Life will be based on His laws. It will be characterized by joy.
• Our worship now prepares us for worship for eternity.
• If we are going with the elders are the sons of Israel and the Apostles, we have both the “old church” and the new. That means believers of all time will worship God.
• The elders were unanimous in their gratitude. They may each have had their own Sanctification Road to navigate, but each road brought them to Heaven. 
• God deserves our gratitude. He created this world and everything in it. He designed the plan of salvation before we had even been created.
• The time for judgment and reward has come. There are three groups that will be rewarded: the faithful servants, the pious saints, and those that fear God.
• Heaven is God’s temple.
• How did we reconcile this with Revelation 21, which says there is no temple? All of Heaven will be God’s temple.

Glossary

Sanctification

The Woman

• The woman has a relationship with God.

• It is easy to think of the pregnant woman as Mary and the Child as Jesus. She is given a place of honor for childbirth.
• Wouldn’t you think it would be more of a husband/wife relationship? We are children of God. That makes us brothers and sisters to Jesus.
• Maybe we should think of the child as Israel. They sure had a lot of birthing pains — and growing pains. Jesus came from Israel for Israel.
• If we look at the woman symbolically, she has been viewed as a symbol of the church. We could look at being clothed with the sun as being clothed with salvation.
• Being clothed with the sun shows us that the Church is filled with God’s love. We the Church are to reflect God’s love to worldview people.
• The moon is the lesser light than the sun, but that does not diminish its value. 
• There is something to be said about the moon being under the woman’s feet. It means she is victorious in her position. She rules the nighttime in the same way the moon rules the night.
• The victory comes when we are triumphant over the ruler of darkness. We are successful in being obedient to God when Satan tempts us with sin.
• The woman is identified as royalty as she possesses a crown made of stars.
• The twelve stars symbolize divine things. The number 12 represents goodness and truth.
• Our relationships with God are not without labor.
• What it is talking about is the struggle it is to navigate the Sanctification Road. We struggle to stop doing things of the flesh and becoming totally obedient to God.
• The purpose of the Church is to find and raise more disciples. Saints are to bear fruit. We are supposed to bear more saints.

The Dragon

• The great red dragon is definitely Satan.
• We may think that the dragon represented the Romans. It didn’t. It represents Satan. Yes, Satan wanted to devour Jesus. He also wants to devour us, trying to sow disobedience into our hearts.
• The horns signify power. There is a crown (called a diadem) that, Bailey said, reflect heavenly truths. Again, these truths are perverted and shallow. It is more of an outward display than an inward transformation.
• Satan wanted a great conflict to be waged.
• Yes, Satan did want to devour the early Church — and still wants to do so today. He is still the dragon wanting to devour what the Church produces.
• But Satan wasn’t able to defeat Jesus when He was here on earth — even when He was weak from beatings and the crucifixion.
• Neither can he defeat God’s Will now.
• We know Jesus is going to rule.
• Satan lost out. The child was caught up to God. He got away.

• Regardless, God always wins. Satan may think he wins battles now, but it is only because God allows it.
• Still, Satan tries to win over the Church – and he loses time and again. That is why God laughs.
• The woman is seen as frail, but she isn’t.
• The issue is everyone – men and women – are frail when fighting against sin.
• It is good for us that God has provided the Plan of Salvation to restore us. He nourishes us.

Satan Thrown Down to Earth

• Satan disobeyed God and began a war in Heaven.
• Satan made a conscious decision that he was as good as — if not better than — God. He wanted his way, and he was willing to take the highway to get it.
• Did they really think they could win a war with the omnipotent God, Creator of all things? Yeah, Satan had a screw loose from the beginning.
• They were fighting about principles. Whose moral principles were they going to follow? God’s or Satan’s?
• This fight would set the stage for every other battle between Satan and us.
• Satan and his demons lost everything. They lost that war. They lost their home; they lost God; and they lost their good moral character.
• This was just the first of Satan’s defeat. He was later defeated when he was overcome through the blood of the Lamb.
• When we overcome by the blood of the Lamb, we gain God’s nature – changing our moral character back to one of righteousness.
• When Satan was banished from Heaven, he was banished to earth.
  If Satan was that bad, why do you think God threw Satan down to earth? Why didn’t He just lock him up in hell then? To me, it would be logical to think that angels are stronger than mankind. I mean, they see what we do not. There are right up there, a part of Heaven.

• Satan gave it his best shot to defeat God, and God’s army defeated him. When Satan is down here wreaking havoc, we know that God can still defeat him. God will protect us against his onslaught.

The Kingdom of Our God

• God will be victorious in the end – and so will we when we believe.
• We can look at this celebration in two ways. It occurred when Satan was exiled from Heaven. It will also occur on the Day of the Lord. God will be victorious then, leading to celebration.
• Salvation is offered to us to restore our relationship to God, giving us victory.
• Salvation can be offered to mankind because Satan has been banished from Heaven. More importantly, Jesus conquered Satan when He arose from the dead.
• The most important aspect of salvation is the reversal of our sinful spiritual condition. We are to change from our sinful nature to God’s nature.
• God is all-powerful. No, we don’t know the extent of His power because it has been hidden from us. That doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
• God wasn’t interested in an earthly kingdom. This earth is temporary. God is more interested in our eternal condition – our souls.
• Jesus has authority because – to God – He is His Christ. Jesus was sent to earth as God’s messenger, His Messiah. He carried the message of salvation.
• Satan’s influence was limited to earth, but he still has access to God.
• I don’t think Satan can go up before God’s throne and trash talk us. God doesn’t need Satan to bring charges against us to His attention.
• The battle is over our hearts.
• Victory is established by three components.
• We have one weapon in our arsenal – the blood of the Lamb. We cannot defeat Satan by ourselves. It is only through Jesus’ blood that we can. On our own, we don’t even come close. It isn’t even that it was Jesus’ blood – which is important as He is the only One worthy. It is that He is the Lamb – the willing substitute for us.
• While belief that the Lamb is the substitute for us is a major part of salvation, testimony is also.
  Salvation has to change us. It has to make a difference in our lives. It has to be evident.

• Our testimony isn’t about ourselves and our abilities. It is about what Jesus has done for us – shedding His blood.
• Victory cannot be secured if we love this life more than eternal life.

The Dragon Wages War on the Woman

• All inhabitants of Heaven rejoice.
• This celebration is occurring because the inhabitants of Heaven have overcome. This isn’t a select few. It isn’t the cream of the crop. It is everyone in Heaven.
• The angels could have been celebrating for their overcoming, too. We think that they have always followed God — and the ones who remain in Heaven have. But that means they resisted Satan and didn’t fall when he did. So, they did have a mountaintop experience of obedience. 
• This shows us Satan can be defeated.
• Also, this shows us how we are to thank God. We are to thank Him that Jesus prevailed, Satan was defeated, and we have remained as part of the remnant.
• The forgiveness we receive makes us want to pass it on to others. This is our marching orders.
• Not everyone will submit to God’s Plan of Salvation, and those who don’t will experience punishment.
• Satan feels the urgency of his work.
• Personally, I don’t think Satan is all-knowing much less all-powerful. I think he does know he is battling Someone way stronger than himself. 
• But that doesn’t make Satan any less of a foe. That probably makes him more like a cornered animal — spitting mad.
• Satan may have been banished from Heaven. That doesn’t mean he has been totally defeated – yet.
• God limited Satan when He cast him down to earth – but Satan is still a formidable foe.
• There are a lot of people in this world that Satan can influence. We know that he is going to convince more to follow Him than will follow God.
• No, Satan isn’t taking his defeat sitting down — he is still pursuing the the woman/the Church.
• Satan will pattern the temptation so that it will be more attractive to us. He will do what he needs to do to ensnare us.
• The woman/the Church is protected and nourished.

• Yes, God allows the trials and tribulations to occur, but they won’t go on forever. They either end when their course is done, or they will end on the Day of the Lord.
• God’s creation sticks together.
• Still, Satan didn’t give up. He continued to pursue the woman. Likewise, Satan continues to pursue the Church.
• God uses others and their knowledge to protect us. He works things out in His universe to support us.
• God is in control of everything.
  Satan’s main characteristic is his wrath, which he takes out on us.
• One reason Satan is so furious is that he knows his time is short. But that would just increase his passion, wouldn’t it?

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