Rev 8:1-13, Blessing in the prayers of all God’s people (1-4 The Wrath…

Rev 8:1-13, Blessing in the prayers of all God’s people (1-4 The Wrath of the Trumpets)

 8:1-13/
1. When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. 5. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. 6. Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. 7. 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. 8.The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9. a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water --11. the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. 12. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. 13. As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"

  In Chapter 6, when the Lamb Jesus opened the seals, the wrath of the seven seals began. There were anti-Christ’s deception, war, famine, plague of death, the martyrs’ pleas, and great chaos in the universe. Those who are sealed by God will not be harmed and avoid this calamity. Ephesians 1:13 says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” The saints who received salvation will be dressed in white robes, washed by the blood of Jesus. They will worship the Lord in glory before His throne.

  Chapter 8 depicts the wrath of the seven trumpets. Verse 1 displays that when the seventh seal was opened, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Shūsaku Endō’s novel, Silence asks, “Why is God silent when the believers experience adversity and persecution?” The Israelites were oppressed and enslaved in Egypt for hundreds years, there was silence when Jesus suffered on the cross and when the saints were martyred in Korea in the 20th century. There is silence when we pray anxiously today. The saints cry out to God when He is silent, “How long, Lord?” Ps.6:3 writes, “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?” God’s silence may be a period of suffering for the saints, but God is still actively working during that time. Exodus 12 shows that after the Israelite people lived in Egypt for 430 years, the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt. The Messiah came after 400 years of silence without prophecies. God was silent when the Lord died on the cross, but He broke His silence with the Lord’s resurrection. When God’s silence ends in our lives, we will have testimonies and receive revelations from the Lord. Therefore do not despair when God is silent, when He does not answer our prayers. Pray faithfully and wait on the Lord patiently until He responds.

  In verses 2-5, there were the prayers of all God’s people calling for the judgment of God to come. God answers their prayers shown in Rev 6:10 and brings His judgment. In Rev 6:10, they prayed, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” God brought the wrath of the seven trumpets. God responds when His people are united in prayer. In Exodus 2:23-25, the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. They were united and prayed to God together. In Exodus 14, Moses, Aaron, and Hur prayed together when they fought against the Amalekites and God gave them victory. In Acts 2, God sent the Holy Spirit when the believers prayed together in the upper room of Mark. The believers were united in prayer. In Acts 12:5, when Peter was kept in prison, the church earnestly prayed to God for him and Peter miraculously escaped from prison. In the Bible, there are many records of God miraculously working in the lives of the believers when they prayed. In Matthew 7:7, the Lord speaks, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Jesus teaches on prayer and emphasizes its importance. Today’s Scripture shows that God responds to the saints’ prayers, broke His silence, and began His wrath of the trumpets.

1. The first wrath of the trumpet is the wrath on the land (vv. 6-7). The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on 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. *mountain fire

2. The second wrath of the trumpet is the wrath on the sea (vv. 8-9). The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. Jeremiah 51:25 says, “I am against you, you destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,” declares the Lord. “I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.” There was a massive eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga on January 15.

3. The wrath of the third trumpet is the wrath on the rivers (vv.10-11). The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water, the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

4. The wrath of the fourth trumpet is the wrath on the sky(v.12). The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. A third was destroyed, yet two third remains. It is a warning of the trumpet that urges repentance and return to the Lord. I pray that the world will listen to the voice of God and return to the Lord.

5. God warns the wrath of the 5-7 trumpets (v. 13). Verse 13 writes, “As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

The world is doomed to be destroyed. We must look to heaven and have faith that is God-centered. Let our prayers be lifted up to heaven before His throne and repent before God’s great judgment comes and receive salvation. Amen.