It’s interesting that since the cold war began back in the late 40’s between the former Soviet Union and the United States people have been talking about the total annihilation of the world through nuclear weapons.

I remember as a kid in school how we used to have nuclear explosion drills where each of us would take a white towel out of our desks and drop to the floor under our desks and cover ourselves with these white towels.

The idea of the white towel is that white reflects heat. But even as a kid most of us knew that terry cloth towels were not going to fend off thousand degree temperatures if there was a nuclear attack. And I guess that’s why we also were given dog tags. We had to wear these tags all the time with information like: what our names are, what our blood type is, what religion we are, and so on.

In fact, it was during this time in the late 50’s and early 60’s that people were actually building bomb shelters for a nuclear attack. There was a family in our neighborhood who had built such a bomb shelter. It was built just below the ground because in Florida if you go down anymore than 10 feet you hit water.

I remember going down into this shelter. It was just big enough to cramp about 4 people into it. It had a ventilation system, shelves for canned goods which were always stocked, a water supply and lots of reading material. Of course, the only thing it was used for was a place to bring friends over to play in.

But the threat of nuclear war in those days was perceived as being very real especially during the Cuban missile crisis since we lived only about 100 miles from Cuba. And ever since that time there has always been an awareness of the possibility of nuclear war. And it’s for this reason that many people believe that the end of the world could actually happen in a very short time.

In fact, there is a clock known as the Doomsday clock which is periodically adjusted by a certain nuclear watchdog group who determines how close they feel we are to actually seeing nuclear war become a reality.

So, even the world at large understands the possibility of the end of the world and often uses the same terms we find in the bible when referring to the end. Terms like Armageddon.

But what most people don’t fully understand is that since sin has entered into this world through Adam and Eve this planet was given a death sentence. The curse of sin will destroy everything.

Peter talks of this very thing in the letter we’ve been studying which has launched us into this study on the second coming of Christ.

2PE 3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up."

I can assure you that God will not need to depend on the feeble technology of nuclear bombs to accomplish this. But that’s for another study in the near future.

Today, we want to continue our study concerning the 7 year tribulation, specifically the last three and a half years. We know, according to the Scriptures, that the anti-christ, the false prophet and the false religious system known as the prostitute of Mystery Babylon will all be deceiving the nations during this time in history. The real church will have already been taken out of this world to meet the Lord in the air.

Everyone who remains will find themselves in a period of time which will be unlike any other in history. In fact, Jesus even makes this comment when explaining the last days to His disciples.

MAT 24:21 "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again.
22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

The period of time Jesus speaks of is the time we’ve been studying. It is during this seven year period which will be the worst this world has ever known and that includes the great flood during Noah’s days.

What we saw last week is that God Himself will be judging the world in those days, using 21 different judgments. The first seven are the seven seals which we saw two weeks ago. The next seven are the seven trumpets which we’ll look at this morning.

These judgments will be taking place during the last half of the seven year tribulation known as the Great Tribulation. Up until this point many people have come to Christ and many of those are being persecuted for their faith, even being killed for their faith. Simultaneously, the Lord is bringing on the earth certain judgments which are designed to force people to look up to their God for deliverance.

And yet, at the same time God is being faithful to bring the world the gospel of Jesus Christ for those who have not taken the mark of the beast. If we turn to Revelation chapter 8 we will see the next set of seven judgments.

These particular judgments carry with them a unique characteristic in that they all deal with thirds.

REV 8:7 "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."

The first seven judgments, called the seal judgments, have more to do with the condition of mankind. War is now prevalent under the anti-christ during the last three and half years, the economy is in shambles, there is death from pestilence, war and famine. The sixth seal then begins to show the heavens being shaken as the sun becomes black and the moon becomes like blood, indicating that the atmosphere is affected by all that’s taking place.

But these next seven judgments from God have to do with the physical earth being effected. Hail and fire mixed with blood will be hurled upon the earth. The result will be that a third of the earth will literally be burned up. A third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

What third will be burned up may be up for debate. But many have suggested that North America could certainly be a possibility since we supply most of the world’s food. Keep in mind what this particular judgment is all about. There is famine, there is war, there is rampant disease and now what God is doing is destroying man’s ability to carry on in feeding the world.

You need water to be able to be able to feed the world. You need rain. God has essentially shut up the heavens as He destroys the trees and grass and vegetation. And apparently He is using His two witnesses to do this.

REV 11:3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."
6 These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."

You talk about a scorched earth policy, the heat in those days will be beyond anything we could imagine during the hottest day of summer. Trees and grass which normally absorb heat and produce oxygen for the earth will not be able to give much relief in those days because they will be burned up.

If a third of the grass and trees of the world are destroyed then how do you feed the livestock? You don’t. They too will be dying in an unprecedented manner. And so, if land animals will not meet the demand for the world’s need for food you would naturally turn to the sea. Well, guess what God does.

REV 8:8 "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."

This blazing mountain could very well be a huge meteor. A meteor large enough to destroy a third of everything in the sea. The blood of fish will turn the waters red. But, we’re also told that a third of the ships will be destroyed. The fishing industry will all but be devastated. One might be able to deal with a third of the fish being destroyed, but to be able to get products, oil and food across the oceans you need ocean-going vessels.

All of this will increase the famine taking place in the world. All of this will increase wars as each nation vies for power to obtain food and oil, and all of this will increase the pestilence as a lack of water and food will lead to diseases of all sorts. But this is only the beginning.

REV 8:10 "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. (That is, Bitterness) A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter."

This great star, blazing like a torch, is going to fall from the sky. The idea here again is that it is coming from heaven which shows us that all of these judgments are coming from the hand of God. This particular star could very well be an angel. Often times angels are referred to as stars as we’ll see in a couple of verses. The word star simply means light. And this angel of light will be sent to effect a third of all the rivers and the springs.

They will then be turned bitter. In other words, they will turn poisonous. In fact, people will drink these waters and many people will die. What’s important about this trumpet judgment is not only has the rain ceased to fall upon the earth, but much of the fresh water which could be used for crops and personal consumption will be useless for sustaining life. And so, now the seas are effected together with fresh waters.

REV 8:12 "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."

This judgment has to do with the earth’s ability to receive light for life. A third of the sun will be blotted out, and at night the moon will only give a third of its light. Again, this will effect the ability of those crops which can be irrigated by the remaining two thirds of fresh water. Without proper sunlight things will not grow as effectively. And yet, in a strange way this may actually bring some relief from the intense heat in those days.

Again, keep in mind that all of these judgments are designed by God to force people to look to their God for deliverance. And yet, the world will remain to be stiff-necked as they curse God.

Also, the 144,000 Jewish Christian witnesses together with the two witnesses, who are able to perform miracles by the power of God, will all be faithfully bringing the gospel to the world in those days.

But God will continue to warn the earth that He is the One who is bringing these judgments and that they should repent. This is why there is a warning from heaven concerning the last three trumpet judgments.

REV 8:13 "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!"
REV 9:1 "The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
3 And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
5 They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
6 During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.
8 Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.
9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
10 They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.
11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon." (Abaddon and Apollyon mean Destroyer.)

In Rev. 9:1 we see that a star is given a key to the shaft of the abyss. This is what I mentioned a moment ago that this star is actually an angel. It’s the same Greek word aster which can be used for angels as well as literal stars in the heavens.

The point is that God has sent this angel to continue the judgments which have now turned to woes. As if things weren’t bad enough now these woes are going to accomplish great torment and suffering for the inhabitants of the earth who have willfully chosen to reject the living God and His offer of mercy and forgiveness found only in Christ.

What’s interesting about this first woe is the amount of time John spends in describing the details of these beings and what is about to happen. The other thing we notice about this is that this is the first time that the enemy of God is being used directly to bring judgment on the earth.

Keep in mind that the abyss is where these creatures come from, which suggests that they are coming up from hell. The same place similar creatures asked not to be sent to when Jesus cast them out of a man.

LUK 8:31 "And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. And so, Jesus cast them into a herd of swine."

The abyss is a place of torment, though this is not the final place of judgment for either demons, Satan or sinful men who reject Christ, as we’ll see later in this study.

But, this brings up an interesting point about these creatures. And it seems that what John is describing is the kind of creature we would see in our nightmares. Locusts which sting and torment like scorpions.

Now, we could conceivably think of such an animal until you get to the description of them looking like horses prepared for battle. Their faces resembling human faces. Their hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.

Is all of this meant to describe an actual animal from the netherworld? I don’t think so. Keep in mind that this is a vision which John is seeing and the Lord is showing John certain spiritual things which will effect this physical world. And yet, these creatures will certainly effect mankind in a physical way.

One of the reasons I believe this is describing actual demons, who may take on a certain physical appearances, is because of the one who is leading them, their king.

REV 9:11 "They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon." (Abaddon and Apollyon mean Destroyer).

There is only one person who can be described as the angel and king of the abyss and that is Satan Himself. His name Satan means Adversary. He is the one opposed to God and the one who tries to destroy everything from God. He is a murderer and only desires to destroy. Jesus made this clear to the Jews who would not accept the Son of God.

JOH 8:44 "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

And so, what John is being shown is actual demonic activity like this world has never seen. These demons will be used by God to only torment the inhabitants of the world for five long months, but not all people. Notice what we read in verse 4.

REV 9:4 "They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads."

Those who have the seal of God on their foreheads is another way of saying that those who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit during this time as they have placed their faith in Christ. In other words, true believers in Jesus Christ will not be physically tormented by these demons. They escape this judgment which is only meant for those who rebel against God.

Those unbelievers in those days will wish they could die, but that will not happen at the hands of these creatures from hell. God will not allow it. As in the days of Job when Satan asked permission from God to come against Job and his family as a test, God made it clear that Satan could impose diseases and such, but he was not allowed to kill Job.

So too, here, these demons still answer ultimately to God and must humble themselves before Him as they are used to bring this fifth trumpet judgment which is the first woe.

REV 9:12 "The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.
13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God.
14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.
16 The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.
17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.
18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.
19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.
20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshipping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood -idols that cannot see or hear or walk.
21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts."

These four angels reserved by God for this judgment are given power to kill a third of mankind. If the world is similar in number to today’s world, which is around 6 billion people, then around 1 and a half billion people will be killed indirectly by these 4 angels.

It’s often been said that the 200 million troops are those of the Chinese army which could easily be assembled. But, you’ll notice here that these troops are called upon to kill a third of mankind, not any one particular enemy. It would make more sense for these 200 million troops to be angelic troops who may very well be under the same leadership as the locusts which we saw in the first woe.

Does this mean that there will be no physical troops involved in punishing mankind? Not necessarily, but it would seem that this continued demonic activity unleashes such war and terror that a third of mankind is killed. And yet, all of this does not turn the hearts of people to seek a deliverer.

REV 9:20 "The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshipping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood -idols that cannot see or hear or walk.
21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts."

The rest of the world continues to look to their idols and demons to deliver them and save them when in fact it is the demons who are coming against them. You talk about deception, this is the height of it.

It is during this 6th trumpet judgment that John addresses the very ones who are still proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and who will be captured and killed. These would be the two witnesses.

And since the chronology of these events would seem to place their death toward the end of the 7 year tribulation we’ll deal with them next week. I’m trying to give us somewhat of a sense of what is happening in the proper order. And so we come to the seventh trumpet judgment.

REV 11:15 "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."
16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,
17 saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth."
19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm."

We are now beginning to approach the end as God makes it clear that He is taking charge and His glory and awesome power will once again be manifest in the world where no rival power will be able to come against Him.

At this point the earth is heading for the home stretch as our Lord Jesus will soon be coming physically to the earth to judge and make war with the serpent, the devil. Those who accused Christians of being fools for waiting for this coming of our Lord will see with their own eyes that God is faithful to His word and His promises.

With all of these judgments and all of the supernatural happenings in the world the heart of man will still not seek after God making Paul’s words stand out even clearer as he quotes from the O.T. Scriptures.

ROM 3:10 "As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Psalms 14:1 -3; 53:1 -3; Eccles. 7:20)
13 "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." (Psalm 5:9) "The poison of vipers is on their lips." (Psalm 140:3)
14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." (Psalm 10:7)
15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know." (Isaiah 59:7,8)
18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

This was the condition of all of us. And yet in the mercy of God He sent His Son into this world to redeem us that we might be with Him forever. The world in those dark days will still have the light of the gospel and yet those who have taken the mark of the beast will have sealed their fate and will continue to hate the Lamb who came to take away the sin of the world.

Praise God for Jesus Christ, and praise God that we have been given the privilege to not only warn the world of the impending doom, but also give them the good news that they may know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

Today is the day of salvation. Because if Jesus Christ raptures His church out of the world today, everything we’ve seen up to this point in the seven year tribulation will become a reality.

Our message to the world is repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Embrace Jesus Christ who has loved us with an everlasting love. And know for certain that as we come to Him by faith, nothing can separate us from His love. No condemnation for we who are in Christ Jesus. Praise His holy name.