CHAPTER 20
After the sign of the end of the age, End Time events begin accelerating. That is, until Messiah breaks the seventh seal. Then for the next half hour, the heavenly host becomes silent as they solemnly consider what is about to take place.
Perhaps you have wondered why Messiah instructed us to pray for the Kingdom. Now John gives the answer. As soon as the seven angels receive trumpets, another angel is given incense. In Israel's worship, burning incense represented the prayers of the priest rising up to God. John observed that before this incense is burned, the angel adds another ingredient; he mixes in the prayers of all the saints. That means our prayers have a bearing on the kingdom and the End Times. In fact, prayers are probably the only contribution men make in "hastening the coming of the day of God."
What is revealed in this section of the scroll is not the final judgment. Instead, John witnesses a series of strong, albeit preliminary warnings. Appropriately, each is signaled by a trumpet, which is the traditional instrument of warning. To fully appreciate what these judgments accomplish, some background is needed.
1. The trumpets warn men to repent.
If at this point it was God's purpose to destroy the earth, He wouldn't have to do it in stages. Witness the flood and the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. During the trumpet judgments, God touches a third of the earth at a time. Although each trumpet produces unequalled devastation, they are still just warnings. When the warnings pass, and the day of the Lord does come, the destruction will be swift and complete.
Peter prophesied that in the last days men would scoff at the idea that God judged the world by a flood. That prediction has certainly proved true. When scientists attempt to explain what they see in the earth's crust, they refuse to accept the evidence for the Flood. Instead, they speak in terms of "unidentified catastrophes." Regarding the origin of life, scientists are so desperate they have proposed a theory called Directed Panspermia. That may sound scientific, but it means the first living cell may have been delivered to earth in a rocket ship! Obviously, that "explanation" merely moves the question of the origin of life to another planet. The bottom line is that man will do anything to keep from acknowledging the hand of God. At the trumpet judgments, however, God sends warnings that no one can ignore. Then, even the scoffers will learn that "it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).
As the warnings get more severe, will men repent of their rebellion, their idolatries, and their immorality? Perhaps some will; most won't. In either case, no one can say he wasn't warned.
2. Trumpet judgments are not for believers.
Since early rapture positions became so popular, little has been said about the trumpet judgments. After all, if the church is safely tucked away in the clouds, what's the point? For that reason, believers have overlooked a vital message about this period. Not only does God reveal that warning judgments are coming, He also reveals how His people will be delivered from them!
When a believer first realizes he will be on earth for the trumpet judgments, he reacts with all the excitement of a man facing a root canal. That is understandable. Until now, all that has been heard is the bad news. While the trumpets do appear fearful, that is not the whole story. Think back to the experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (see Daniel 3). What was memorable about their experience? That they were thrown into a fiery furnace, or that they were delivered from it? Here, John is showing that a similar deliverance awaits believers during the trumpet judgments.
Even a casual reading of the trumpets reveals parallels with the plagues of Egypt. In fact, five of the plagues are duplicated in the trumpets. Rest assured, that happened for a reason. By making them similar, God was trying to tell us something—namely, that He will deliver us from the trumpets just as He delivered the Israelites from the plagues. Moreover, that deliverance will be accomplished in much the same way as it was in Egypt. For the general judgments, the ones effecting the land or the sea, God protected His people by setting them apart:
But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there... And I will put a division between My people and your people [Pharaoh's] (Exodus 9:22-23).
Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail (Exodus 9:26).
So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in the land of Egypt for three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings (Exodus 10:22-23).
Obviously, there are differences between the Israelites living together in Goshen, and the situation that exists now. As we have suggested, believers have been sown by God into every nation. Does that mean God will somehow distribute those judgments so believers aren't harmed? That is exactly what it means. Time and again, believers will marvel at how they were miraculously spared from one judgment after another.
But the trumpets will also contain personal judgments. For those, God makes other arrangements. In Egypt, the blood of a lamb was sprinkled on the door post as a sign. When the destroying angel saw the sign, he passed over and did not harm anyone in that house. Similarly, the demonic locusts of the fifth trumpet are ordered not to harm anyone with the seal (mark) of God on their foreheads.
Hopefully, you are beginning to look upon the trumpet judgments in a new light. Those will be awesome and frightening events, but realizing God makes provisions for believers' safety should offer great comfort. No doubt, Daniel was not thrilled at being tossed into the lions' den. But, living through it was another matter. That is how believers will feel when God stretches forth His hand to deliver them.
At the sounding of the first trumpet, hail and fire mixed with blood are thrown down upon the earth. What kind of phenomenon is described here? No one knows. It could be a fierce hail storm coupled with devastating bolts of lightening. Perhaps it is a world-wide shower of burning meteorites, glowing red hot as they plummet to earth.
Whatever it is, the result is catastrophic—a third of the earth is burned up. The emphasis on the destruction of vegetation suggests that people may be largely untouched. That is consistent with the idea of progressive warnings. Since this is the first, you would not expect great human casualties from it.
At the second trumpet something like a great burning mountain is thrown into the sea. The result is that a third of the sea turns to blood, killing a third of the creatures in the sea. At the same time, a third of the ships are also destroyed. Whether this is an enormous burning meteor, we cannot say. Whatever it is, considering how much of the earth is covered by oceans—it is an awesome judgment.
When the third trumpet is sounded, God turns His attention from the oceans to the inland waters. A "star" falls from heaven, burning like a torch. When it lands, this star pollutes a third of the springs and rivers on the earth. The waters become bitter, perhaps even poisonous. Many who are dependent on those water sources will die.
At the fourth trumpet, God reduces the light from the heavens by a third. Although this doesn't result in mass destruction, it has a strong psychological affect. Some of the previous trumpet judgments might be explained away; perhaps the earth came into a meteor belt and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the reduction of daylight is a different matter. After this, men will know for certain that God's judgments have begun.
And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things coming upon the world (Luke 21:25-26).
As the warnings intensify, men become more perplexed. But God has saved the worst for last. In fact, the next three trumpets are so bad, they are called the three woes. Until now, the judgments have been directed at the earth itself. Every part of man's environment has been partially disrupted—the land, sea, rivers, and the sky. Now the focus shifts from the earth to mankind. The next three trumpets are intensely personal, for that is when God turns Satan's spiritual forces loose on rebellious men.
Confined in a great bottomless pit are countless demon spirits who will be released on the earth at the fifth trumpet. As it is sounded, an angel is dispatched to unlock that pit. When it is opened, a smoke so thick that it blocks the sun pours into the air. The real terror though, is not the smoke, but what proceeds out of it. Led by one known as the Destroyer, multitudes of demons in the form of locusts scatter in search of a specific prey.
Although John calls them locusts, these creatures are very different from the insects found in nature. Rather than devouring vegetation, they only sting and torment certain men. Which ones? Those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. For five months the locusts are permitted to torment those men, but they are not allowed to kill them.
Because these locusts are spirit beings, they will probably be invisible. It was for the believers' benefit that John was allowed to see them. He recorded that they have crowns on their heads and faces like men. Their hair looks like a woman's, and they have teeth like those of lions. Worst of all, their tails are like those of scorpions, and it is with them that they hurt men.
The only visible sign of the fifth trumpet will be the thick smoke pouring out of the pit. That will signal that the locusts have been turned loose. Then "unsealed" men will begin to suffer pain so great that they long to die—but they can't. This torment will go on for five months. Remarkably, those who are suffering won't even know the source of their pain. That will present a unique opportunity for believers, at least those with insight. Thanks to John's vision, they can explain what is happening to those who are in torment, and perhaps turn many of them to righteousness.
It appears that all those who are going to repent will have done so by the sixth trumpet. As the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, a voice was heard from the altar. Remember, that is where the souls of the martyrs were located—the ones who had called out for vengeance. It appears that their cries are answered at this time.
Now four angels who had been bound at the river Euphrates are released. The fact that they were bound indicates they are fallen angels. These four have been prepared for a gruesome task. At the appointed time, they lead a campaign which will kill a third of mankind. Based on today's population figures, that means between 1.5 and 2 billion people will die. Obviously, this trumpet is an intensification of the last one. Instead of demonic locusts, there are 200 million demonic horses. Where the locusts could only torment; these horses can kill. Again, these evil creatures are probably invisible.
The Bible indicates that men do not die because they are overtaken by the demonic horses. They die because of the plagues which proceed out of the horses' mouths—the fire, smoke and brimstone. What this tells us is that the demonic horses are world-class arsonists. They will spark literally millions of fires, causing hundreds of millions to die from burns and smoke inhalation. Peter described this when he wrote about the day of the Lord. What he referred to as "the earth and its works being burned up" was none other than the fire, smoke and brimstone brought on by these 200 million demonic horses.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up (II Peter 3:10).
Amazingly, those who are not killed do not repent. The Bible says they do not give up their idols, their murders, their sorceries, their immorality or their thefts.
At the blowing of the seventh and last trumpet, the 144 thousand(s) are raptured, and a few days later (perhaps ten days) the final harvest is gathered. Then the final judgment begins. We will deal with those events in the next chapters.