Bible Study - Revelation EIGHT

What does it mean when heaven becomes silent?

In this episode, we examine the significance of the silence in heaven, the prayers of the saints rising before God, and the sounding of the first four trumpets. We explore how God's justice, mercy, and sovereignty are revealed throughout these events and what they teach believers about living faithfully in the last days.

The silence of heaven is not the absence of God, it is the anticipation of His next move.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Welcome to the Summit Church Podcast. Thank you for joining us as we share weekly sermons and teachings from Summit Church in Vision Forge, Tennessee. Our prayer is that today's message encourages your faith and helps you grow in your relationship with Jesus. Check out our website at summitchurchtn.com. Thanks for listening, and we pray this message encourages you today.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

We're in Revelation chapter 8. Talking about the seventh seal and the first four trumpet judgments. Things really get to cranking up here. It's a fun ride from here on out to a degree. Chapter 8 is going to introduce us to the opening of the seventh seal, the beginning of these trumpet judgments. We're going to see this divine intervention and the connection between prayer and God's unfolding plans. This chapter is going to reveal how God is not absent from history and how he is actively directing events towards an appointed conclusion. Now, when I say that, I want us to understand and remember something. When we talk about prophecy, of course, there's the gift of prophecy, there's prophets, all that, and there is end time prophecy. We have to understand that when we talk about someone receiving a prophetic word, most of those prophetic words are they're not 100% guaranteed. And what I mean by that is there have to be some kind of participation. And so if you don't participate in that, a lot of those words don't come to pass. But then there are those prophetic words that are appointed. And what we get into this, when we get into end-time prophecy, what we're going to realize is this prophecy is not conditional. This prophecy is set into motion and it will come to pass. It's kind of like if we think back, Isaiah prophesied that there would be one who took on the sins of mankind. He'd be a lamb of God, right? He prophesies that. If you've ever had anyone say that it doesn't matter whether or not I pray, this is the chapter you want to take them to. Because this chapter is going to show you not only the value and the worth of prayer, but how God receives that prayer. So, verse 1. And when he broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Now, this is a crazy verse right out of the gate. At last, if you remember, we had in chapter 6, you had the seals broken. Chapter 7, we have this pause. Here we are in chapter 8. This seal is open, and all of a sudden, silence. Now imagine that just for a second, and think about how peculiar or odd that is. Think about everything that we know about heaven. Think about what we've already read in Revelation, how it was loud, thundering, lightning, this worship, this praise, this adoration, and all of a sudden, when this seventh seal is opened up, silence. For how long? Thirty minutes. That's a crazy thing right there, in and of itself. Like, why didn't John just say it was silent for a moment? It's almost, and I know this didn't happen, but it's almost like John went, whoa, this is strange. Hold on, how long is this gonna last? And he started counting. You know what I'm saying? It's such a specific thing to know. 30 minutes. Now, here's what the text doesn't tell us. Why? Why complete silence? Some believe that heaven pauses to hear the prayers of the saints. Others believe that heaven pauses in anticipation of what is about to occur. Now, I from my own personal opinion, I think it's that. Because if we're hearing the prayers of those praying, then heaven's not silent. Does that make sense? Now I'm not saying that's right or wrong, I'm just saying that's just kind of where my thought goes. The silence is going to reflect the awe, A-W-E, of God, the reverence, the expectation. And here is there is another application to this that the silence would create is this sobering moment of oh my judgment's coming. And you got to think of it in that way to a degree because we've seen what is happening so far, and we know where this is going to a degree. And even though John doesn't know everything at this point, there is this moment that heaven knows. And this could be one of those where it's like, things are about to pick up. So the silence demonstrates what is about to happen is not ordinary. It also kind of reminds you of how serious of a moment this is. Before God's judgments intensify, heaven pauses before a holy and a just God. That right there, if that don't make the hair on your arm stand up, it just, I mean, it just it's like you can see that. If you just sit and think about that for a moment, that they know this is coming. But here's the Father, here's the Lamb. And that moment, verse 2. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. So John sees these seven angels now, and each of them receive a trumpet in their hand. Why a trumpet? Well, in Scripture, if we look throughout all of Scripture, let's first learn what some of the trumpets were used. They were announced in war. Trumpets were used in war. They would be certain sounds and certain how long the bleak of the ram's horn would go and how short they would signify that war has ignited, advance, retreat, stop. They would also be used to call in the gathering. It's time to come for the feast. Then they were also used as a warning. And also scripture talks about a divine intervention. Now, where we find some of these in scripture is Numbers chapter 10, Joshua chapter 6, and Joel chapter 2. Overall, we can say this about trumpets. When the trumpet sounds, something significant is about to happen. So imagine John sees these seven angels, and they're giving seven trumpets. You gotta know all of a sudden his anticipation goes to another level. So what are these trumpets going to announce? Well, they are gonna announce an escalating judgment, that increasing of divine intervention, and the approach that God is gonna use through all this. If we just read this one moment and realized that judgment's coming, and we would go, well, we had no warning. But here's the thing throughout all scripture, God has always warned. And if we were just to take that at face value, we'd feel that way. But we can't take this at face value because we have what the scripture says. Throughout scripture, Noah was warned before the flood ever came. Jonah was warned about Nineveh, the prophets warned Israel. Jesus warned Jerusalem. God has always warned, and God has always had a plan of redemption, of hope, for those that would say yes. And if anybody presents to you a God that has no hope or no plan of redemption, it is not God, it is their idea of who God is. And it's not scripturally correct because God, no matter what, he's still a God of hope, a God of redemption. Even, and we'll see all this, because it messes with our minds a lot of times, because if you've been taught very quickly, if you've been taught that the rapture is the beginning of the, we call it preturb rapture. All right, most people think, okay, that's the only rapture. But when we go on, you're gonna see there's a catching away a lot of other times in the scripture. And then you're gonna realize that there's this purpose that God has, and there's martyrs, and there's this reality that even in the midst of the judgment, even in the midst of the wrath, God is still saying, if you'll cry out to the one, I'll redeem you. That's crazy to think about because so many people simply focus on the bad stuff. If you focus on the bad stuff, of course, God is going to look angry. But if you focus on what he is accomplishing, you'll see the reality of who he is. Not only as Father, but as a judge who is just. Verse 3 through 6. And another angel came and stood at the altar holding a golden censer, and much incense was given to him that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and he filled it with fire, with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth, and there followed peals of thunder, sounds and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. What a scene. John sees another angel. This angel is standing before an altar holding a golden sensor. Now, out of curiosity, do you know what a golden censer is? Who doesn't? Don't know? Anybody else? Now, I want to ask you, what is a golden sensor? It's what? Where you would actually see it, we don't see it today. In in the tabernacle of the temple, and all that, they would have used it. Where we see it used a lot of times is in Catholicism. Catholicism will have the incense, and you'll see a priest walk down the altar, and they're swinging this thing with a golden chain. Okay? Now, this does not mean, I mean no disrespect to Catholicism whatsoever, but this does not mean that heaven is Catholic. You laugh, but it's important to know who's holding that. So, I did get a picture. Just show the first picture with no words on it. And to kind of give an understanding, this is what this actually describes in Scripture. By the way, this is a painting by James Nesbitt. Okay? So it's describing what this is. And the altar with the fire, and then there's your sensor filled with the incense of what? What is that? The prayers. The prayers is what is permeating the uh aroma, the aroma that's filling it. And this angel is taking these prayers. You gotta you gotta get this visual in your head. And he takes the fire from that altar. Now let me ask this question: When does fire fall on the altar? Because here's the question: Does fire fall on the altar because the altar is built? And that's what it's built for.

unknown 14:58

No.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Scripture tells us that fire only falls on the altar when sacrifice is put on it. It's the only time. Alright? So here's the question. How in heaven is fire on the altar? It's an interesting question. Now, here's the thing. I can't be 100%. I don't know. We don't know. We don't know what the fire is. Is it a holy fire? Is it this? It's that? We don't know. Here's what we do know. And I'm not saying 100% this is it. I'm just giving you something to consider and think about. We do know that when Jesus went back, he didn't go back empty-handed. He went back with his shed blood. And remember, his blood still speaks, and his blood is still the living sacrifice. I'm saying that to say quite possibly that's what that could be. I can't a hundred percent prove that. But what I the reason I lean to that is because there's no sacrifices in heaven. So what could that fire be? Is it something that just represents? Sure, it could be something that represents. But we always have to remember whatever God sets in order, He never derives from that. He always has it in order. How it functions in its body may be different, but it's always been that way. It's like the the pastor that I heard the other day that is a fool, in my opinion. He said that it's crazy to believe that you have to live as a living sacrifice. And he said this. He said, I don't even know the kind of God that we would serve that believed in sacrifice. And I'm like, I I was like, oh my gosh. First of all, don't even go to Cain and Abel. Go to the garden where an animal had to be sacrificed for their sins. That one moment sets in an order of sacrifice. And this is what God honors in that. So all these prayers, prayers of who? The saints. Who's the saints? Again, Zayn to poke a finger at Catholicism, but they don't earn the terminology saints. It feels odd to us as Americans, and it feels even odder as Southern Americans. But scripturally, you are a saint when you are a son or daughter of God. And it is not wrong for you to know that and recognize that's who you are in that. When it becomes wrong is when you demand the prestige and the honor and the pomp and circumstance and all that. That's where it becomes in error. But all the prayers. Now, Psalm 141 and 2 said, May my prayer be counted as incense before you. Psalm 141 and 2. Incense was represented. It was through the prayer, it was through the worship, it was through the intercession. But these saints. Now, let's notice something really, really quickly. When on the timeline is this happening. The seventh seal has been opened, but it's before the first trumpet. This is very important to recognize that this timing is coming before judgment begins. So it's important to remember that the prayers of God's people come before his throne even when judgment is coming. Here's what it tells you and I. Number one, God hears his people. Number two, he remembers his people. And number three, he responds to his people. I believe still today that many people will underestimate the significance of prayer if you just talk to a lot of people. They don't, you know, they now I lay me down to sleep, kind of prayers. But revelation reveals that prayer is connected to prophetic purpose. Some people would say, what is my role or my assignment in the end times? Prayer is one of them, and it's a big thing. And it's not the one that's based off fear, it's the one based off you uh out of knowing who you are. So the angel, the angel then takes that fire, and here's the crazy thing about it. What does he do? Throws it to the earth, and then it says thunder and lightning and noise, and then what happens? Earthquake. So that angel has one awesome fastball. I mean, just like, whoa. I mean, that's just crazy to think about. Now, here's where a lot of people try to overthink this, and they'll say, oh, this is just John using analogies, and this is not really, really happening, this and that. I don't care how you study this, this is exactly what this means. It's exactly what it means. There's going to be an earthquake. And it's going to come because there will be a from heaven. Now, what's kind of funny about that, and not funny like that we would take it funny, is I've actually heard people try to reason this as being, well, that's just gonna be an asteroid. Man, we'll come up with anything, won't we? Right. Verse seven. Oh, sorry. Uh Six and then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. Verse 7. And the first sounded, and there came hell and fire mixed with blood. And they were thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. Okay. Let's just stop. If I can get the other slide, and let's just keep the other slide up the whole time. I also gave you this. Because we're going to go through this and break this down. Because this is very, I believe it's very important that we really grasp what is happening here. If we just say a third of the earth, we may not be able to fully comprehend that. There's a lot of people, believe it or not, there's a lot of American Christians believe that if they go through the tribulation, nothing's ever going to happen to them because it's all going to happen in the Middle East. But let's think about that. So here in verse 7, right? First trumpet, and you have your sheet too. A third of all the trees are burned, and all green grass is burned. Today, I looked this up statistically, found this. Today, there is an average of three trillion trees on the face of the earth. Okay? We're not going anywhere, global warming and all that. We're good. If a third are destroyed, that's one trillion trees, okay? That we may not fully grab that, but all green grass is burned, affecting food, livestock, wildlife, and ecosystems. Now think about this for just a moment. It's not that just the trees are gone. Okay, what does trees give us?

unknown 24:05

Oxygen.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

Oxygen. So it's going to be pretty difficult with a tree and trees gone like that. But then take in consideration how it alters what we also depend on. The cattle, the land, the livestock, all that. 33.3% of every tree. Right? So John sees the hell, he sees the fire, he sees the blood, he sees all this that is happening, and it's still difficult to really wrap our mind around it. Even though I research this out and I study this, I don't know how to articulate a trillion trees. Is that in the rainforest in South America or somewhere? I mean, is that is a trillion trees there? I don't know. It seems like it would be a greater landmass than that, but I can't wrap my mind around it. But it seems like that potentially that would mean that every forest on the earth is somehow going to be affected. That it's not just one spot that it's scattered. 10% of all the land is one third of that. Man, imagine what that does overnight. Humanity often assumes that creation operates independently. But Revelation is reminding us that creation still remains under God's authority. The creator of creation can affect creation whenever he chooses. So the first trumpet is demonstrating that nature is not autoimmune and it remains under God's sovereignty. The earth still belongs to God. Even though we also know that the little G of earth is Satan. We know that. But God created it, he still owns it. It's his. If he wants it to shake, it's going to shake. And if this is going to happen, this is going to happen, and he's going to show I'm still in charge. Verse 8 through 9. And the second angel sounded, and sound something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. Now, I'm gonna be honest with you. It's right here where I always stop, and I go, I don't know how anyone survives. I'm just being real. I get to this point every single time, and I go, how does anyone survive this? Because you think, and we'll find out later, let's just flee to the mountains. Did you read that? The mountains are going to break off and fall in the sea. Well, that's not the place to go. While we were in Peru, by the way, I wasn't even thinking about it until we were there, they ran a national test for a tsunami warning. And so they told us you can participate or not. So we're in the hotel and we look outside, sirens are going off, all this stuff, and we just see a wave of people all walking calmly because it was a test. It wasn't a tsunami, right? So they're all walking calmly, and I look where they're going. And I'm like, am I reading that right? They were all going to an underground tunnel. Why would you go into an underground tunnel if a tsunami was coming? You know, but I thought about that. It seems like a strange place to be. Now they feel like they have barriers and all that and so on and so forth, but I was reminded that when we come here. A third of the sea becomes blood, a third of the marine life dies, and a third of ships are destroyed. Oceans cover 139 million square miles. A third would be 46 million square miles turned into blood. First of all, it's not wise to drink ocean water. What's it going to do to your body? Lock it up because of all the salt. Imagine now drinking it when it turns into blood. Now let me go ahead and say this. There's a lot of people that say this is not real blood. You'll have theologians and historians argue this. Because even to this day, there are waterways, there are rivers in different nations, that at certain times of the year and certain things that happen, the waters would turn blood red, and they'll say it's blood water, but it's not actually blood. Now, and a lot of people have argued that even in the plagues of Israel. And there's a great debate in all that. So here's what I want to say. If that's what it is, and it just turns blood red and it somehow dilutes the ocean, you still can't do anything with it. But I don't ever want us to discredit the fact that it could actually be blood. Well, some might say, well, how will it be blood? All these people are going to die. This is going to be catastrophic. So it could be that the blood of the people and the blood of some of these mammals, right? Millions of marine species, countless trillions of creatures destroyed. 100,000 plus large ships today. A third of that is 33 ships are destroyed. Can you imagine thinking you're on a boat and you're okay? Well, that's the cruise you don't want to go on. Again, because of what we're seeing in these two right here, you have people that are saying, oh, it's a meteor. Oh, it's a comet. Oh, it's an asteroid. Oh, this net. Now let me ask this question so we understand where we're going with this. The first one, we get the burning of the trees. The second one, we get the blood of the waters, the mountain breaking off, all this stuff. What initially started this? Throwing down to the earth, the earth shakes, and when the earth shakes, that first trumpet is sounded. So what we have to understand is, I from what if we look at this, I this is my opinion, okay? I genuinely believe what you see happen is the earth shakes violently, and then shortly thereafter you have this event starting to roll. I don't think it's a massive time break. There's some people who think that it's a massive time break. I actually think because of what the earthquake happens, and then this happens and this happens, those who are anti-God explain all these events happening because of the earthquake. And they don't recognize that these are the trumpets. We have to remember that when this is happening, even though we know that it's coming out of heaven, those that are not of the kingdom have a reason to explain what is going on. So when the earth shakes and this stuff sets into motion, their explanation is this is the result of the earthquake. Hence, go back. How does a tsunami happen? An earthquake. So these things can easily be reasoned by some of these people, and that's what they'll do. That's what they'll say. This is not God judging us. This is the result of this. And because that happened, it set into motion this, and this set into emotion of that, and so on and so forth. It's just like the wildfires. A wildfire never truly affects just the land. It sets into emotion a lot of things. Okay. Does that make sense? I love what John says, though. He says, like a great mountain, showing that we ain't talking about heels. We're talking about something that would definitely get our attention, right? Out of curiosity, why do you think the ships are such an interesting topic in this? Basic economy trade, international trade. You may not realize it, we all may not realize how much of your food comes on containers of ships. How much of your clothing, how much of tools, and so on and so forth. We don't always consider it because we just know Amazon are Target, right? Um, so I believe missionaries go to Walmart. Saints go to Target. It's a lot more peaceful. I say that. Christy's not here, so I can say that. I tell Christy all the time, I said I'd rather go to Target than Walmart any day of the week. And she doesn't understand it. I said, I don't, first of all, I don't fear for my life at Target. I just feel so much more peace. And it's great to see put people fully clothed. And of course, Christy just says you're boozy. And I said, I'll take it. I don't want to go to Walmart, okay? So, boozy or whatever, let's take it. Okay, let's get a perspective of something. 46 million square miles. I'll give you a concept of what that is. Think about the United States, Canada, and China. Look at the United States, look at Canada, and look at the mass of China, combine all three, and it still doesn't fill up the 49. 46, I mean. That's how significantly large of an area this is impacting. Cargo ships, oil tankers, even their ships carrying cars, military weapons, all this stuff. It's interesting because God is showing the God that created all this is still in rule, and now we see that God that created the seas is still in rule. Verse 10 through 11. And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers on the springs of the waters. And the name of the star is called wormwood. And a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters because they were made bitter. If you've been in church any amount of time, you've possibly heard the terminology wormwood. It is, you'll hear it sometimes, people will talk about it. Now I will let me back up. People used to talk about it as something that was that you had to have common knowledge about. I will, I need to back up and say, I will say probably in the last 15 years, you rarely hear it talked about, but occasionally it is. But used to, I used to hear men and women of God talk about wormwood all the time. Um, but we don't, we just don't hear it as much. So third trumpet sounds, a third of the rivers and springs of water become bitter. Now this is interesting. Because this just affects the ocean. Now we're getting rivers and springs. We might be okay with the ocean because we don't drink the water anyway. But rivers and springs. How's that going to impact us? Take out the rivers and just think of the springs. And even in this area, think about all the wells. Fresh water is less than 3% of the Earth's water supply. So a third of that would mean massive contamination of rivers, lakes, springs, and reservoirs. One thing we do not ever take in consideration a lot of times is there are a lot of lakes that are spring fed. And there's a lot of rivers that their start is out of a spring. So to us, not the largest river in the United States, but to us, we would say the most significant is the mighty Mississippi, right? The mighty Mississippi River. Anybody know what the longest river is in the United States, by the way? It's not Mississippi. It's the Missouri River. It's crazy to think about because all we talk about is the mighty Mississippi, right? But has anybody ever got to go to where the Mississippi River begins? This is something that I actually got to see with my own eyes. It's up in Minnesota. The Mississippi River begins in Minnesota. Okay? So you ever been to Memphis and cross the Mississippi River, going in Arkansas? How wide is the river? Significantly wide. If we go all the way to the Gulf, it goes even wider than that by the time it gets there. But at the beginning of the river in Mississippi, it is the, I mean, Miss Minnesota, I'll get it right in a second. The craziest thing, I promise you, the Mississippi River comes out of a little spring and is no wider than this desk. You can jump over it. That's where it starts. And it's the craziest thing to see for me. For them, they don't think anything about it. They live up there, they see it. The river doesn't get ginormous. But I mean, I've been all the way down the bottom. I've crossed Memphis all the time and Arkansas. The Mississippi is huge to us. But that's how crazy to think about that it would affect hundreds of millions to billions of people through disease, dehydration, and food shortages. Hey, we're only on the third trumpet, and there's seven of them. How's our survival rate looking? When I always run into these cocky people, well, if I miss the rapture, it's okay. I'll coast through the tribulation. Yeah, buddy. Good luck with that one. And here's the crazy thing about it. It's going to happen. I just don't know how it's going to happen. Because this is mind-boggling to me. When you really sit down and look at this. So let's talk about wormwood real quick. What do we know about wormwood? Right now. In this world, what do we know about wormwood? Tom, I'll repeat it. Plant that can use be used for medicine purposes, but too much. Hallucinations, this and that. It kind of goes in if you know a little bit about poke salad. Polk salad, if cooked right, is very good for you. Mess it up one time, you don't get a second time. It's that. So wormwood is that. Have you ever heard of anyone that would, you'd be out in the woods or something, there'd be a tree that is dead, and you ever heard an old timer say wormwood got a hold of it? As a kid, I thought they were talking about an actual worm. And what you figure out is that it can actually get into it, and just like ivy can take over things, wormwood can take over things. So it's interesting to think about on that natural side of it. Wormwood is known for its extreme bitterness, which that's what it tells us, right? It's going to make things bitter. It brings on that sorrow, that judgment. Now, here is the thing. What is the wormwood? Because again, if you look at this thing right here, in this little graph I have, or chart, I don't know what you want to call this, it looks like a giant meteor, right? A big ball, big flaming ball. But what does the Bible say exactly is? A star. That's interesting. Because again, there's going to be an explanation of it, but this is a star. Now here's something to note. Is this an actual star? Is it wormwood that's called a star that's called wormwood? Or is it an angel? Because sometimes angels can be classified scripturally as a star. So one would say, is this that? Okay? Here's the thing if you research this out, there is a greater possibility that this is exactly what it says it is, a star. We have to remember what a star is. Greatest example of a star is not the little lights that we see twinkling in the eye. What's the greatest example of a star that we have? The sun. The sun is a ball of burning gas. This has a greater Now again, I can't 100% say this, but I'm saying it has a greater realistic opportunity of actually being something like that of what the sun is made of, which would explain how this goes and how it goes out in the way that it goes. So in this, wormwood reflects bitterness, but it also gives us an understanding of the consequences or the bitterness of sin. Why? Because mankind has rejected God. Now the effects of judgment is coming upon the earth. So the third trumpet's going to remind us that even life's most basic necessities is still going to depend on God's sustaining hand. By the way, the United Nations estimate that billions of people rely on fresh water sources daily. How's that going to impact? Verse 12 and 13. And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were smitten, so that a third of them might be darkened, and the day and night might not shine, for a third of it, and the night in the same way. And I looked and I heard an eagle flying in the midheaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth because of the remaining blast of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound. And then, if you can imagine this, I saw an eagle. It's interesting because he didn't say I saw an angel. So what did John see exactly? Well, he very well could have seen an eagle. The crazy thing about it is the eagle talks. Right? So I'm always going to say, I'm not going to discredit the opportunity or the reality that it could be exactly what it is. I'm never going to discredit that. The other side of it is we do have to think how John described the four living creatures around the throne. So what could be something like an eagle could have been something else, and John's using eagle in that. But it also could be point blank an eagle. But it's kind of a hard pill to swallow. Because the eagle says, whoa, whoa, whoa, the three coming next are worse than what you've seen now. A third of the sun, moon, and stars are darkened. That means a third of the day does not shine in a third of the night. A normal 24-hour day, one third is eight hours. So now this is affecting agriculture, climate, human life. The normal rhythm of day and night is disrupted on a global scale. Now, I want you to think about something just one second right here. Does the moon produce light? No. It reflects the light of the sun onto the earth, right? So it's not a source of light. Right? So to think that the moon is going to lose its light is not too hard to think about. Because if the sun loses its light, obviously the moon's going to lose its light. But if the sun is supposed to be showing light, what does it affect? The tide. And it affects how the earth moves in motion. So if the moon is supposed to be shining and it is not, imagine the chaos that ensues. This is not something that goes, oh, it's just going to be dark, like it is if we live in Alaska. There's certain times of the year that it's sunny all day long, and other times it's it's nighttime 24 hours a day. No, it's not going to be like that. It's going to be a lot more catastrophic in this. Because, again, if you take that away, what are we looking at here? So, why is this? Well, we depend on sunlight, we depend on cycles. But get this, we depend on seasons. And I also don't mean necessarily winter, spring, summer, and fall. What are the majority of the feast aligned with? The moon. How we know when Resurrection Sunday is going to be, Easter is, is on the cycle of the moon. Okay? It is how we know this. So the interesting thing is those things are put in the sky for us to be able to know the times and the seasons. If these things get altered, now you're completely altered on. You don't know what's happening because everything is thrown way out of order. So severe judgment happens. There's global and civilization is altering events that no one can ignore. God's mercy doesn't sound like there's any mercy, but the mercy is, it only affects one third. So there's some breathing room right there. But God's sovereignty. Who is able to stand? I think a lot of times humanity tries to treat this world like we got it all. We don't need you. We can manage this. And this shows you real and truly who's in charge. But let's look quickly. Why would John C. This eagle, this, say woe, woe, woe? What does woe mean to you? What'd you say? Oh my goodness. Terror? Yeah. Yeah, it's coming, right? How's woe used in scripture before? Can we think? Oh. What was Isaiah saying when he said, Woe is me? He wasn't saying, poor pitiful me. I'm unclean. And he wasn't saying, woe, lot, stop. What was he saying when he said, Woe is me? We don't think about this a lot of times because we translate, woe is me, woe is me, right? For I am unclean lips. What it actually means in its understanding is judgment is upon me. For I have unclean lips. So when the ego goes through and says, woe, woe, woe, he's saying, judgment, judgment, judgment for the four are nothing compared to the three that is coming. Now, I am a, and I will not apologize for this. We'll get to Q ⁇ A. If you got a question, raise your hand so that Pastor Steve can come by. But I'm not going to apologize for being an American. I'm proud to be an American. I love this nation. It does not make me a Christian nationalist because I am not a left-leaning liberal. So I don't even, I'm not a Christian nationalist. You can call me whatever you want to call me. I'm a son of God. I was born again in the kingdom of heaven, but I was also born in this nation. So I'm blessed to call this nation home. So I love the bald eagle. I'm all about it and then some. You know what I'm saying? But you ever hear on TV and all that stuff when they do that eagle? That's not the sound of the bald eagle. The bald eagle has a terrible sound. That is the sound of another eagle. That's not what the eagle sounds like. The bald eagle. The bald eagle is does not have a good sound at all. It sounds like a chirping chicken, just to be honest. It is not a good screech. The see uh yes, the golden eagle that is the sound that you that they put over the bald eagle in all the videos and stuff and everything. I'm saying that because, again, I find this very interesting that this is the thing that is described is an eagle. When we read that, we automatically think bald eagle. Because that's what's ingrained in us. But can I tell you that the eagle in Israel looks nothing like the bald eagle. So when we read this, sometimes our mind goes all the way to the bald eagle. But it could be that John is seeing something totally different than what we're seeing. And I say that because I don't want us to get just simply pigeonholed into one thing and thinking this is what I'm seeing, right? I love, you know, the bald eagle, I love all that and everything. I like lions more than I do eagles. That's Christy saying she loves eagles. But it's one of those things where if we're not careful, sometimes, and I I know this is a little thing, but this is why I say this. The moment that we try to interpret the book of Revelation through American eyes, we will always be in trouble. And I know that seems trivial, but it's important to bring out because of how easy it is to put our American goggles on and think that we're untouchable. I'm telling you, we're we're we're gonna this nation's gonna feel some things. And the number one reason this nation is gonna feel things is because the nation turns its back on Israel. So it's not a scapegoat and all that. Any questions? Anybody at all? Want to make sure. Darryl. And people think revelation is boring.

SPEAKER_02 55:52

So have you seen any guesses about the meaning of the third, third, third repetition in these judgments? Because they're all in that that that repetition of that word.

SPEAKER_01 56:08

Right. Um, you will have uh historians who will make the connection for one significant reason. The Bible mentions a third of something else way in the beginning. Anybody remember what it mentions? A third of the angels are cast out of heaven, right? Historians will connect it to that. There are some theologians that says, this is what they believe, and I'm gonna say that there is a probability to this. But each of those third is the equivalent of the third of the of the angels, right? Of the angels cast out of the earth. So it's almost like um, what's the word I'm looking for? Um, the exchange of the wages of sin is death. So a third of the angels' fault, I'm gonna take a third of the earth. I'm gonna take a third of this. I'm gonna take a third of this. It's the I can't get the right word in my head, and I know it. Um, I'm sorry. There's an exact word, a term, when it talks about uh the exchange. Let me explain it this way. Before Christ, there had to be a sacrificial offering, right? But it couldn't be a sacrificial offering of anything, it had to be a lamb without spot or blemish. Now, in the Bible, there are hundreds of other animals that are being sacrificed for multiple different reasons. But the only one for the forgiveness of sin was the lamb. So the lamb, the animal represented, but then when Jesus comes in as the lamb of God, it's the exchange. There is a word, and I cannot get it off the top of my head. No, it's it it's a different word. Um I need to look it up. I'm sorry. It it is a term that they'll use in some seminaries where it just it just talks about kind of basically an equivalent and exchange rate of that. So some say that it is that. I'm going to be, here's my two cents. Um it makes sense. I mean, it makes sense. You have a third of the angels that God didn't just say you messed up. God got pretty mad about. And when it says that he cast them down to earth, and by the way, Jesus said it this way: I saw Satan thrown down. There was not a, hey, see after the millennial. That's a bad thing. So there are some that will say that on that side of it, but it makes sense, but I don't know at the same time. Anybody else? Pastor.

SPEAKER_04 59:32

After going through these four trumpets, as bad as it is, I still cannot wrap my mind around why some people believe this happened in 70 AD. And it wasn't written about, it wasn't talked about. I mean, think about it. The earth is being destroyed, and it already has happened. I mean, when you really look at this, you gotta be thinking, who who gave you the Kool-Aid to drink? I mean, really.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:15

It is a very, very good point because those that will say that everything happened in 70 AD, they're also only isolating this to Jerusalem.

unknown 1:00:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:30

Okay. So we're not talking about worldwide thing in 70 AD. We're talking about Jerusalem. So I've had some interesting conversations. And eventually later in the year, we'll get into why people believe it's 70 AD. And at what point did John talk about this being 70 AD and everything else became an allegory, and then somehow it came back to 70 AD. And the interesting thing is they can't define that point. The allegory is always moving. Because the longer that the Lord tarries, the more they have to move the field goat. It's kind of like, it's kind of like Mormons. Mormons believed that they were the 144,000, right? No, I'm sorry. Jehovah's Witness, when I said that, I knew it. Jehovah's Witness believed that they were 144,000 until the Jehovah's Witness got larger than 144,000 people. And now they've somehow found a loophole that is 144,000 plus those you want to carry with you.

unknown 1:01:55

Oh, what's that feel?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:58

When you move the goalpost, you're never wrong.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:02

Kind of a follow-up to pastors. My qu my question is, why is this full preterism so popular? And it's taking. I've got a full preterist friend, and um she her podcast is growing by the thousands, and it's pastors that are, it's not just sheep, it's pastors. Yeah, and I I don't I don't understand why it's so popular.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:31

A quick answer to that is it removes any and all responsibility to have to do anything to advance the kingdom, and everything is about you. You don't really have to do anything, but you're awesome, you're great, and so life's gonna go in coast mode. Doesn't matter because it's all happening, and all I gotta do is live this world, and then one day. And the beauty of it is no matter what I do, God still loves me. Because I'm in the system. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:12

Something else to um bring out about the full praetorist view is many of the early church fathers stated that when John was writing this, it was under the reign of Domitian. Domitian didn't reign until the latter part of the 90s. There is no way that it could have been written before 70 AD.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:38

And that's this that same camp, well, not same camp, the opposite of that camp will also say this is why all the gifts ended when the apostle John died. Because what Jesus told the disciples is, surely you will live to see my kingdom. So when John dies, they say all this, and that's the reason all that. But yeah, it's a very good point on that side of it. So there's a lot of it. We're getting things in motion, we're getting this ball rolling, and it is going to get pretty drastic along the way. But again, I don't want us to look at just the bad things. All this stuff is really, really bad. But again, it's just a third. Now that may not feel comforting, but that is God's hope. That is God's redemptive plan in motion. If this was total destruction, it would be everything. And it would probably be into one yeah, one thing. And it's not. So I don't want us to lose sight of that. Yes, ma'am.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:45

Just one more quick question. What's the time? Is this like one trumpet a year, or does this all happen at one time?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:51

Or well, it's not one trumpet a year because believe it or not, the tribulation period is we know for a fact, is how long? Seven years. It's known as Daniel's 70th week. Remember that, Daniel. But we also know that you got three and a half years and three and a half years. What separates the three and a half years? The revelation of the Antichrist. When that happens, it sets into motion in the latter three and a half. So technically, where we are is in that first three and a half. So each trumpet is not a year. Okay? We this is a great question on this because how long is it? You know, some people say, you know, it's days, weeks in this. Again, my personal opinion is this is not as a big of a break as we think. I think a lot of these things are setting it in emotion pretty quickly. But again, that's my opinion. Because I can't say 100% where we are in that three and a half period. But let's think about it just for a second. If the tribulation begins at the pre-trib rapture, then that means from Revelation 4, 2, tribulation period ignited, right? It started. Because, you know, not 100% sure on this or that, we can say 100%, we're definitely in tribulation at the opening of the first seal, right? Which is Revelation 6. So now let's keep in mind. Now we've had four trumpets blast, but we've also gone through seven seals. So there's a lot of things that's happening in a very short period of time in three and a half years. Three and a half years right now seems like a pretty good distance. We blink, and we're almost into 2030. It's how quick it comes on this. So we've gone through seven seals, and before the sixth and seventh seal, there's a little bit of a pause. So where are we at on this? My two cents, we're towards the tail end of the three and a half years. We're not more at the beginning, we're kind of on the latter part. Does that make sense, everybody?