Chapters 8 - 10
CHAPTER EIGHT
The SEVENTH SEAL is now to be opened. There was silence in
heaven for about half an hour. Why this silence? We are not told.
We can only speculate. Is it a "hush" in the now reality that the
ages have waited for - the last stage leading up to the coming of
the Messiah in glory and power to destroy those who are
destroying the earth, and to finally usher in the Kingdom of God
on earth for the promised 1,000 years of the RESTITUTION of all
things. Or maybe its the serious awe of the universe, the angels
and all other created creatures, holding their breath so to
speak, for now is coming the very personal and direct time of
God's wrath on this earth.
Whatever the reason, the truth of the matter is that in
God's heaven there will be SILENCE for about half an hour. That
part of eternal history no doubt the host of heaven will always
remember, SILENCE in heaven, no praising or singing or playing of
music or sounds of thunder and whatever else those beings in
heaven do - for a very short time, there will be SILENCE! (verse
1).
The seven angels standing before God are given SEVEN
TRUMPETS. As we proceed, it becomes clear that the SEVENTH seal
IS comprised of SEVEN TRUMPET SOUNDS (verse 2).
Another angel comes and stands at the heavenly altar, having
a golden censer or bowl. He has much incense, and he offers it up
with the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar which is
before the very throne of God. The smoke of the incense with the
prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angels'
hand. The angel then takes the censer, fills it with fire, and
throws it onto the earth. There were voices, thunder, lightning,
and a great earthquake (verses 3-5).
All very real but symbolic. All done in heaven and no person
on earth shall see it happen. But the reality of it happening
will surely be felt afterwards by what then takes place on the
earth. God starts to flex His muscles.
The seven angels are ready to blow their trumpets.
FIRST TRUMPET
The first angel sounds his trumpet, there followed a great
hail and fire mingled with blood, being cast down on the earth,
it burnt up a THIRD of all trees, and all the green grass was
burnt up (verses 6-7).
This alone is mind-dumbing. This has never happened to the
earth since it was created, in the scale and depth of it all. We
can only imagine in part, what this will look and sound like.
SECOND TRUMPET
The second angel sounds his trumpet. A great mountain like
whatever, with fire was cast into the sea: a THIRD part of the
sea became blood. A THIRD part of the creatures in the sea that
had life were killed; and a THIRD part of the ships on the sea
were destroyed (verses 8-9).
This is really getting "freaky" - it's like a strange horror
movie taking place. But, however all this unfold and whatever the
sight of what makes all this happen is like, we are told the END
RESULT! And it is far from being anything but catastrophic. These
end results are how they read, no symbolism here, they will
happen, as the plain words we are reading say.
THIRD TRUMPET
A great "star" from heaven falls to earth. As stars can
represent angels, could this be an angel coming to earth, burning
as it were a lamp. It falls, in whatever way, a miracle perhaps,
on the THIRD part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of water.
Whatever this is it is called "wormwood" (wormwood is a bitter
plant and grows in desert type areas). The third part of waters
became wormwood, so bitter, and obviously even more than bitter
because MANY died from the wormwood waters. This has never
happened on the earth as yet, so it is yet to come.
FOURTH TRUMPET
Now the sun and moon and stars are greatly effected, exactly
HOW we are not told, but we are told the result: the THIRD part
of them is DARKENED. The day shone not for a third part, and the
night also shone not for a third part. Again, this sounds
science-fiction stuff, but it will happen during the early part
of the DAY OF THE LORD. The DAY of God's WRATH.
John then beholds and hears an angel; flying through the
heaven and saying, "WOE, WOE, WOE, to the inhabitants of the
earth by reason of the other voices of the TRUMPET of the THREE
angels which are yet to sound!"
CHAPTER NINE
The FIFTH angel sounds - the FIFTH TRUMPET. A star falls
from heaven to earth, and to him (indicating this is an angel)
was given the key to unlock the bottomless pit. He opened the pit
and smoke arose, as like from a great furnace. The sun and air
were darkened by the smoke. Out comes LOCUSTS on the earth, they
had power on the earth like scorpions have - a mighty sting!
This is obviously "symbols" we are now seeing through John.
He is transported in vision to the Day of God's Wrath, and the
things he sees would have been so strange and also terrifying, he
had to use language that his mind could relate to.
Scorpions as used in Nahum 3, which is a prophecy about the
Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians eventually migrated through Europe
and are the GERMAN people today.
Mr. Craig White has done years of detailed research on the German people
and where they came from. He now has a large detailed book (called "In search of THE GREAT
GERMAN NATION." Type the name in into your web-browser, up it comes.
This 5th trumpet is the resurrection of the Holy Roman
Empire out of Europe, that is today gaining more POWER and more
IMPORTANCE on the world scene. It will eventually be ONE of the
TWO LAST GREAT powers on the earth. At the outset of the GREAT
TRIBULATION, Judah (the Jews) and MOST of the rest of the WESTERN
world (who are the very House of Israel - see Britam.org Website
for the most detailed truth on that subject) will have been
destroyed and taken captive by this European LAST resurrected
Holy Roman Empire. All that remains by the sounding of this FIRST
WOE, or 5th TRUMPET, is for the mighty Satan controlled Beast
Power of Europe to conquer the EASTERN world (of Russia, Chins,
India, Japan, etc.) who will by this time be the ONLY other WORLD
POWER!
Whatever space age technology they have by that time, they
will be commanded by God, allowed by God, to ONLY hurt the
persons who have NOT the seal of God. They will not be allowed to
hurt the trees, the grass, or any green thing. They will NOT
KILL, they will only "torment" people like the torment of a
scorpion, when they strike a person. They will TORMENT people for
FIVE MONTHS!
In those days people will WANT TO DIE, but they will not be
allowed to die. Some kind of miracle God will have to perform
here, people desiring to die, seeking to die, but shall not be
able to die.
The vision type locust scorpions were shaped like horses
prepared for battle (that's the only way John could put it in
human terms of his day); on their heads were crowns of gold (they
were kings of warfare we might say); and they had the faces of
men (showing man was behind these war machines). They had the
hair of a woman (probably the air flowing behind them looked to
John like the hair of women blown in the wind). They had teeth,
what you bite with, and cause pain, like that of a lions. Their
breastplates were like iron - they were indeed mechanical
machines of war. The sound of their wings (the sound of them
flying through the heaven) was like the sound of many horse
pulled chariots running to battle. Their tails were like that of
a scorpion, for the result was like that of scorpions stinging
people - out from them came the sting. For their POWER was to
HURT people for FIVE months, not to kill them but only to hurt
them, but the sting will be so horrible, people will want to die,
but God will not allow them to die.
The king over them was the angel from the bottomless pit,
whose name in the Hebrew tongue is "Abaddon, but in the Greek
tongue his name is Apollyon. The word means "destroyer" (verses
1-12).
In other in-depth studies on this Website the BEASTS of
REVELATION are fully expounded. The great one who will have
control of the "beast" man and the "false prophet" man of later
chapters of Revelation, will be Satan the Devil. This 5th TRUMPET
or first WOE, is the workings of the BEAST POWER as the
resurrected RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL power of the Holy Roman
Empire of Europe. It will have ALREADY destroyed the people of
Israel - Judah and Israel - conquered the Western world. It will
have ALREADY killed MANY of the saints of God, true Christians
who cannot be deceived by this Babylon Mystery Religion of a
Roman Catholic governed European power. Now this mighty Empire
will strike at the remaining power, the people in the EAST, on
the other side of the Euphrates river.
THE SIXTH TRUMPET
The SECOND WOE and its trumpet angel will sound. A voice
from the four corner of the altar in heaven, tell this 6th angel
to sound, and loose the four angels stationed in at the river
Euphrates. These four angels let loose what they have been
holding back. It was for a certain DAY, HOUR, MONTH, and YEAR,
and now it is. A whole THIRD of mankind (from those still
remaining after all that has transpired so far on earth) are
KILLED by the events of the 6th trumpet sound or second woe.
The army is a staggering two hundred thousand thousand.
The people of the EAST can indeed number such an army.
Again, John put it in terms he understood in his day. This
army is like men on horses, with breastplates of fire, of
jacinth, and brimstone. They had heads of lions, out of their
mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
What a sight, it was terrifying for John to see all this,
and to see in vision a THIRD part of mankind killed by this army
from over the east of the river Euphrates. This army had tails
like a serpent, ready to sting and kill. Even their heads could
kill and hurt people. It was for John no doubt an unbelievable
future scene he saw in vision in heaven.
By the end of this 6th trumpet (second woe) the earth and
its people on it ... well there really are not the words to say
it. Truly, even with all the wars down through the centuries of
mankind, even with the great FIRST and SECOND world wars of the
20th century, there is NOTHING TO COME CLOSE to what the earth
and its people will face in the future.
People of God WANT, they DESIRE, Jesus to come again, to
bring in the Kingdom of God on earth, and certainly we look to
that day, BUT .... before that can happen, we have to face the
prophecy (all of it) in the book of Revelation!!
The only way the world could evade this prophecy is for the
nations to REPENT! And that is VERY UNLIKELY INDEED!
You would think by this time in our prophecy, the people of
the world, the MAJORITY of them at least, would REPENT IN DUST
AND ASHES, CRY OUT WITH HUMBLE HEARTS, TO BE FORGIVEN OF SINS,
AND TO HAVE THE GRACE OF GOD SHOWERED DOWN ON THEM. You would
think by this time they would have LEARNT the lesson - got the
MESSAGE - and would be ready to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior!
BUT NO! Look what is written in 9:20-21.
"And the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues:
yet REPENTED NOT of the works of their hands, that they should
not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and
of wood,: which can neither see, hear, nor walk. They DID NOT
REPENT of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their
immorality, nor of their thefts" (verses 13-21).
They STILL, after all the power of the universe comes on
them, in all that has gone before, WILL NOT REPENT!!
They will not admit SIN, see where they are living contrary
to God's way of life and righteousness. They will set their
hearts and minds to be as concrete. They will "grit their teeth"
and still REFUSE to REPENT!
It BLOWS ME AWAY! To think people will have this attitude.
How they must love the "things" - the physical riches, the gold,
the silver, the brass, the "gadgets" of our space age. How they
must love just wanting to "do their own thing" - have sex when
and with whom they choose, as many times as they can, love their
jobs, and certainly ain't willing to rest on the day God claims
is His. How they must love the razzle and dazzle of the physical
world and the sin that goes with it all.
I hope and pray friends, that is NOT you! As they say, "you
can't take it with you" and sin may seem pleasurable for the
moment, and it may seem nice to not have anyone like God telling
you what to do and how to do it and when to do it. But your Bible
says, "There is a way that seems right to man, but the end result
is DEATH!"
Many at this time of the age will see God at work all around
them, with signs that are really mind-blowing and catastrophic.
Yet most of them will still NOT repent. So is the DEPTHS of Satan
the Devil, so is the DECEPTION he will manifest in the last days,
upon the whole earth (see Rev.12:9).
CHAPTER TEN
John sees another angel come down from heaven, clothed with
a cloud; a rainbow is upon his head; his face as the sun; his
feet as pillars of fire. He has a little book open. His right
foot is upon the sea, and his left foot on the land. He cries
with a voice like a lion when roaring. When he cries out, seven
thunders shout back. After the thunders shouted, John was about
to write what it all meant. He was told "No, do not write, shut
it all up. Seal up what the seven thunders have uttered" (verses
1-4).
The angel John saw standing upon the sea and land, lifted up
his hand to heaven, and swore by Him that lives forever and ever,
who created all the heavens and the earth and the sea, and all
that there is in them. The angel announces "There should be time
no longer!"
It is getting closer and closer to the end of this age and
the new age that is promised to come. It is fast approaching when
Jesus will return in power and glory.
It is in the days of the voice of the SEVENTH trumpet angel,
when he BEGINS to sound, that the Mystery of God, what He has
been doing with mankind from the creation of Adam, will be
FINISHED, just as He has declared for centuries through His
prophets (verses 5-7).
John hears the voice from heaven that has been speaking to
him, that he should go and take the little book which is open in
the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and land. John
obeys, and goes to the angel and asks for the little book. The
angel replies, "Take it, eat it up; it shall be in thy belly
bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey" (verses
8-9).
It would first taste good, like it is all okay now, it is
all pleasant now, but on going into the belly, it was bitter.
John takes the book and eats it, and yes, in his mouth it is
sweet, and comforting, like a good chocolate bar (I love
chocolate bars), but as soon as it was in his belly it was BITTER
(verse 10).
What this little book is all about CANNOT be known, for it
was sealed up! If someone today tries to tell you what this
little book is all about, then I tell you, they are false
ministers, who do not know what they are talking about. You need
to get away from them as quickly as you can. The "little book" is
SEALED UP! It is NOT for us to know what is written in it. When
what it contains comes to pass then perhaps SOME of us will know,
but till then, it is sealed - period!
The angel tells John he must prophesy yet more, to kings, to
nations, to many different peoples and languages.
What he writes in the next chapters is for them to hear and
to know and to understand. Jesus is REVEALING the end time events
that MUST come on this earth before He returns to become King of
kings and Lord of lords.
....................
To be continued
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