Tag: Revelation Session 4 by Jen Wilkin

Seven Trumpets

We’re heading into some intense chapters of Revelation in the next few posts, but don’t lose heart. Remember that this book is meant to encourage believers and reveal God’s perfect love and perfect justice.

John’s vision continues in Revelation 8:2-11:19 where he describes an angel approaching the golden altar and offering the prayers of the saints who have been slaughtered for their faith. The angel takes an incense burner filled with fire and hurls it to earth. This prompts seven angels to blow trumpets one at a time, beginning the next phase of God’s wrath by unleashing a recapitulation of several Egyptian plagues described in Exodus 7-12. Pastor Mason King explains the seven trumpets as a window into the mercy of God toward those who have yet to repent and believe in Jesus.

Judgement rains down with an increased impact and intensity on all three domains of creation: the heavens, the waters, and the earth. While the first four seal judgements from Revelation 6 affect one-quarter of the created domains, the first four trumpet judgements of Revelation 8 affect one-third. The Lord’s justice requires atonement for sins and avenging of martyred saints, but He demonstrates mercy by giving the unrepentant additional time to humble themselves and turn to Him before the final judgement.

With the first trumpet, hail and fire mixed with blood burn up one third of the earth. As the second angel blows his trumpet, “something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea,” turning a third of the sea to blood, killing a third of the creatures, and destroying a third of the ships. (8:8b CSB) The third angel blows his trumpet and a great star called Wormwood falls from heaven onto one-third of fresh waters causing them to become bitter and deadly. You may recognize Wormwood as the name of the junior demon in C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters who is tasked with corrupting and distracting his Christian “patient.” Perhaps bitter waters symbolize the pervasive spread of bitterness toward God among hard-hearted people on earth. Maybe this explains why “The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent.” (Revelation 9:20a, CSB)

The blowing of the fourth trumpet affects the heavenly realm, causing one-third of the sun, moon, and stars to darken and a third of day and night to be without light. This brings to mind the short and frigid days of a place like Alaska in the dead of winter. For anyone who craves natural light, this would be brutal.

Next, an eagle cries aloud “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound.” (Revelation 8:13b, CSB) What follows is an unsettling description: “The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. The key for the shaft to the abyss was given to him. He opened the shaft to the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth.” (Revelation 9:1-3a, CSB) Led by the destroying angel of the abyss, called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek, the locusts represent demonic power and suffering being loosed on humanity.* They are held back from harming all vegetation but given permission to inflict pain on people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads. The Lord limits Apollyon’s power to five months and forbids him from killing anyone. Again, this is God’s mercy—preventing physical death so more people have time to repent and be saved from eternal separation from Him.

The sixth trumpet unleashes more destruction: “A third of the human race was killed by these three plagues—by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths.” (Revelation 9:18, CSB) Sadly, “The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.” (Revelation 9:20, CSB) Although believers are sealed and saved, we still need to heed God’s conviction of sin. We may not worship statues, but what about material things or wealth? Could greed be a form of worshiping gold and silver? Could our fixation on beautiful homes, cars, or possessions be a form of worshiping idols of wood, metal, and stone? We must be willing to let the Lord reveal sin and quick to confess and repent.

The list of practices the unrepentant refuse to relinquish continues: “And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:21, CSB) While it’s easy to point the finger in blame or judgement, where might we be actively disobeying God or passively accepting worldly practices and attitudes that lead to sin? Do we consider vulnerable people and children whose dignity is stolen while making inexpensive products we consume? Let’s stop and ask ourselves where we, as a followers of Jesus, might be complicit with collective sin. As God convicts us, let’s consider how we can stand up for those being exploited. (See below for some practical ideas.)

Revelation 10 and 11 pause from the trumpet judgements as John describes a mighty angel with a rainbow over his head giving him a little scroll to eat. The angel says, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” (Revelation 10:9b, CSB) Jen Wilkin asserts that God’s justice is both bitter and sweet. He does not delight in putting the wicked to death but must bring justice to the souls of faithful martyrs.

Next, John receives a rod to measure God’s temple interior and to count those who worship there. He’s instructed to exclude the outside courtyard because it will be “given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.” (Revelation 11:2b, CSB) During this same three-and-a-half-year period, two witnesses reminiscent of Moses and Elijah will continue to prophesy, to display supernatural abilities, and to bear testimony to God’s power. Like Christ, they’re killed by people who they offend but resurrect three days later. They ascend to heaven while a violent earthquake causes a tenth of the city to fall and seven thousand people to die. Those fortunate enough to survive give glory to the God of heaven.

Revelation 11 closes with the seventh trumpet blast and the twenty-four elders falling facedown before the throne of God in worship proclaiming, “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants the prophets, to the saints, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:17-18, CSB) God’s temple in heaven opens and the ark of the covenant appears with lightning, thunder, earthquakes, and hail.

These chapters remind us that God is still sovereign, even as our culture rejects Him and moves further and further away from all that is right, good, and true. As His followers, let’s continue to pray that He will build His kingdom and dominion on earth through us. Let’s stand apart by actively repenting of sin and sharing our hope in Christ with others. Let’s pray that those who are bitter or unrepentant will experience God’s love through us and choose to follow Him now and into eternity.

Want to learn more about people being exploited and how you can fight for them?

Check out the incredible work being done to protect vulnerable people all over the world by International Justice Mission by clicking here.

Learn how New Day for Children is helping child survivors of human trafficking in the U.S. by clicking here.

Read Beneath the Seams, a social impact novel by Peyton Roberts, and learn about people being exploited to produce inexpensive “fast fashion.” Click here for more information.

*Pastor Mason King sermon “Seven Trumpets,” The Village Church, March 8, 2021

Jen Wilkin, Revelation: Eternal King, Everlasting Kingdom, Lifeway Press, 2024.

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Seven Seals

Stamped, hand-addressed envelopes sat bundled on the kitchen counter frequently in my childhood. My dad was passionate about getting the Bible into the hands of those who had no access to it, so he volunteered with a ministry that sent small portions of Scripture to people in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. I remember being perplexed by the amount of time and money he spent sending mail to complete strangers. Secretly I wondered if anyone really cared that much about getting a few pages of the Bible in their native language. In my youthful naivety, I couldn’t comprehend governments forbidding citizens from owning the Word of God and persecuting those who followed Jesus.

Recently I recalled my dad’s letter writing ministry when I met someone who grew up behind the Iron Curtain. Hearing the stories of her childhood and the brutalities inflicted upon her family due to their faith gave me a new understanding for my dad’s passion. She told me people receiving those letters would have treasured them and savored reading God’s Word like a starving person being given a meal.

In the West, we have little understanding of true persecution, so when we read about martyrs calling for justice and divine judgement being poured out on the earth, we feel uncomfortable and confused. Maybe that’s how you’ve felt reading about the first cycle of divine judgement poured out on the earth in Revelation 6-8:1.

This portion of John’s vision describes the Lamb, Christ, opening the seven seals on the scroll handed to Him in the throne room. As He opens each seal, God’s judgement of the earth begins. The first four seals follow a predictable pattern: The Lamb opens them one at a time, one of the four living creatures in front of the throne says “Come,” and four riders appear one after another. First, a rider with a bow on a white horse comes forward, receives a crown, and rides out as a conqueror who will exert influence over a large portion of the earth. Next, a red horse comes forth and its rider receives a large sword and permission to “take peace from the earth” by bringing war (Revelation 6:4, CSB). A black horse comes forward next and its rider receives a set of scales and authority to bring partial famine upon the earth. Next, a pale green horse’s rider receives authority “to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.” (Revelation 6:8b, CSB)

With the opening of the fifth seal, the scene shifts and John sees “under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.” (Revelation 6:9b, CSB) These martyrs call out to the Lord, appealing to Him as a just and holy judge and asking, “How long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10b, CSB)

As westerners, we struggle to picture the faces of those who have endured persecution or lost their lives because of their faith in Jesus. While we may have heard about Christians during the Roman empire who were forced to fight wild animals in the Coliseum or burned alive at Nero’s garden parties, we can’t comprehend the extent of suffering and persecution that have happened to God’s people over the centuries. Many of us have no idea that our brothers and sisters in Christ continue to endure intense persecution around the world today.

On top of our lack of awareness about current persecution, we live in a culture that has become increasingly suspicious and distrusting of those with power. People no longer default to honoring and revering authority. So, we equate God with sinful leaders who have disappointed us, broken our trust, and abused their power. We’ve lost sight of the sovereignty of our just and holy God who is “fair in all His actions and judgements…[and] cannot over-punish or under-punish.” (Wilkin, p. 213)

Ironically, even as we question how a loving God could also judge sin and pour out His wrath, we’re a culture bent on personal justice and getting revenge. Just think of how many songs, movies, and shows include themes or plots revolving around justice and retribution. This is a curious contradiction in a society that no longer acknowledges sin and encourages us to decide what’s right and wrong based on our feelings, opinions, and preferences. God’s wise and healthy boundaries have been deemed obsolete and unrealistic. But could it be that the innate desire we all have for justice reflects that we are made in the image of a just and holy God? And if the notion of God’s final judgement upsets us so much, shouldn’t it compel us to share the gospel with more urgency instead of questioning the methods of our infinitely wise Creator?

With the opening of the sixth seal, the de-creation of the earth begins with a violent earthquake, the sun turning black, the moon turning blood red, the stars falling from heaven, the sky rolling up like a scroll, and mountains and islands jostling out of position. Every earth-dweller experiences these events; kings, nobles, generals, rich, powerful, slaves and free all beg for God’s creation to kill them, telling mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their  wrath has come! And who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:16b-17, CSB) Those who have chosen to reject God will not survive the day of His wrath.

Next, John describes the opening of the seventh seal: “Then I saw another angel rising up from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea, ‘Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.’” (Revelation 7:2-3, CSB) The rest of the passage narrates a scene much like the throne room in Revelation 5:8-14 where a multitude from every tribe, language, people, and nation joins with all of the heavenly beings to worship God seated on the throne and the Lamb. The passage ends describing how those washed in the blood of the Lamb will be sheltered by the one seated on the throne: “They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any scorching heat. For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:16-17, CSB)

Those washed by the blood of the Lamb are also sealed with His Holy Spirit, so they have no need to fear God’s wrath or judgement. Be encouraged knowing that in the end the Lord will protect His own and make all things right. While descriptions of prophecies in Revelation may be confusing, unsettling, or downright terrifying, believers can take heart knowing nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39:b, CSB)

Interested in learning more and/or supporting fellow believers enduring persecution around the world? Check out The Voice of the Martyrs by clicking here  or Global Catalytic Ministries by clicking here.

Jen Wilkin, Revelation: Eternal King, Everlasting Kingdom, Lifeway Press, 2024.

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