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Revelation 8:6-13: Radical surgery.

^” 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 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.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] 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 mid-air 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!’NIV

Here is a further helpful quote on this passage from Tom Wright:

This is ‘about God’s drastic action to purify the world, to cut it back as one would with a tree that had become dangerously diseased, removing the deadly cancer so that the rest may be saved…A little modification will not be enough. Only major surgery will do…we are seeing a major rerun of the plagues with which God afflicted the Egyptians in the end of the Israelites’ four hundred years of slavery…The plagues which John now envisages would resonate, in the minds of his hearers, with the ancient Egyptian plagues, and assure them of the same result…He is not repeating them one by one, but we cannot miss the echoes. When, eventually, we find the rescued people ‘singing the song of Moses, and the song of the lamb’ in 15.3, we ought not to be surprised. This is perhaps the major key to some of the most difficult passages in the book.’ ‘Revelation for Everyone’, from pp.81-83.

An encouragement to keep going.

I’m not focussing on one particular part of ‘Revelation’ today, but I share this with you as an encouragement to keep going:

‘Just a few weeks ago, at our church gathering, we read the entire book of Revelation out loud. I started by reading Revelation 1:3: ‘’Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.’’  Isn’t it ridiculous that God promises a blessing to anyone who reads Revelation out loud yet no one actually does this? So we took turns reading a chapter each until all twenty-two chapters were read. It was powerful. The Word of God read simply and without embellishment brought us to a deeper and purer form of worship than anything I could have said.’ Francis Chan: ‘Letters to the Church’, p.59.

Revelation 8:7: Scorched earth.

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.” NIV

A recent article in ‘Time’ magazine, about the Australian drought, included these words:

‘The country has experienced 9 of the 10 warmest years on record since 2005, and a heat wave in January broke records across Australia…Australia isn’t alone. Average temperatures are surging across the globe. By the end of the century according to the IPCC, drought will become more common and severe across the planet’s midlatitudes and subtropics – a cross section of the globe that includes the Mediterranean, the southwest U.S., the Western part of South America, and Southern Africa.’

Someone commented: ‘It’s a harbinger of things to come.’  (The IPPC, by the way, is the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change).

I’m not saying that this verse in Revelation is about global warming. But increasingly we are hearing apocalyptic warnings from scientific experts, and some of these seem to tally with certain apocalyptic pictures in Revelation. It is true that the Bible is as up to date as today’s newspaper.

One way God judges is by letting people have their own way when they give Him up; when they turn their backs to Him (see Romans 1:24, 26 and 28). Who knows, then, what we may yet reap from all the bad we have sown?

Revelation 8:6-13: Pruning.

“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 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.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 mid-air 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!’” NIV

A general comment should help us as we look at the remainder of chapter 8, and then chapter 9:  ‘According to John’s revelation, God sent these seven plagues upon the earth in order to lead people to repentance. These plagues were meant to destroy only a part of the earth, not the entire earth. However, men did not repent; instead, their hearts became even harder. Just as in Egypt the heart of the Pharaoh was hardened when God sent plagues upon the Egyptians, so it will be at the end of the world. At that time, when the final tribulations come, men’s hearts will become even more hardened, and they will begin to revile God. And just as God led His people, the Jews, out of Egypt, and into the land He had promised them, so at the end of the world God will lead all believers out of the final tribulation and into His presence in heaven.’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.976.

As you read today’s passage you will no doubt ‘hear’ echoes from the book of Exodus, and the story of the plagues sent on Egypt.

Note too that the repeated thirds are not to be taken literally. They refer to a pruning, a cutting back. As already intimated, the aim is to produce the fruit of repentance, but this is not forthcoming; and as you will see from the last verse, there is worse still to come.

It has been said that some people want to serve God only in an advisory capacity! Many in their number would no doubt suggest to Him that He shouldn’t behave in such a strong-handed manner. But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and we often fail to take into consideration ‘the exceeding sinfulness of sin.’

This Is God’s world, and He has every right to do whatever it takes to cleanse it from all evil.

Revelation 8:1-5: The mightiest force in the world.

“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 seven trumpets were given to them.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 God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, 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.” NIV

Between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals, there has been an interval of one whole chapter. Now, with the opening of the seventh seal, a hush falls. It feels like a silence full of awe and expectancy; as though everyone is holding their breath. Will this now usher in the end? Well, not yet, but the process of movement towards the final days seems to intensify as the seven seals give way to the seven trumpets.

We have already noted in chapter 5:8, that the prayers of God’s people on earth are presented before His throne like incense. Don’t miss the point that:

• Prayer counts;
• Prayers reach heaven;
• Prayer shapes history.

‘The main point…is that the seven trumpets and what they bring will be part at least of God’s answer to the prayers of his people. The sequence of divine judgments, necessary for evil to be conquered and God’s glorious new world to emerge, is not a mechanical plan which will grind forward irrespective of human agency. God, as we have seen, is committed to working in the world through human beings. Prayer, even the anguished prayer of those who do not know what is going on, is a vital element in this mysterious co-operation (see Romans 8:26-27).’ Tom Wright: ‘Revelation for Everyone’, p.17.

Consider also the words of F.B.Meyer: ‘What a glimpse is here afforded of the intercession of our great High Priest! The smoke of the incense of his great merit arises with the prayers of the saints. Pray on, believer, though your voice be feeble and so much imperfection mingles with your efforts to serve God. The incense of Christ’s intercession is fragrant enough to make even you acceptable.’ ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.639.

With good reason could the missionary, Frank Laubach, describe prayer as ‘The mightiest force in the world.’

Revelation 7:9-17: ‘They will see his face…’’

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

¹¹ All the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹² saying:

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’

¹⁴ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’

And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

Here are two further heavenly blessings – the second being the greatest one of all:

1. The blessing of total satisfaction: ‘’Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst…he will lead them to springs of living water’’ (16a, 17b). Every longing will be satisfied. They will be fulfilled.
2. The blessing of seeing God: ‘’…they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple…’’ (15a). We can compare this with verse 9: ‘’After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before throne and in front of the Lamb.’’ The supreme blessing of heaven may be summed up in these words: ‘’They will see his face…’’ (22:4). We read in 7:15 that they serve God ‘’in his temple’’. Here, the temple doesn’t refer to a building but to God’s presence. ‘Thus, in this vision, the promise written in the Old Testament that God will dwell in the midst of His people has now come to pass (Ezekiel 37:27; Zechariah 2:10)…To live in heaven with God and Christ in this way is our reward.’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.975.

Revelation 7:13-17: ‘That morn shall tearless be’.

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’

¹⁴ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’

And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

Today, we consider two further blessings of heaven:

1. The blessing of complete protection: ‘’…and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them…’’ (15c). I understand that if you are travelling in the desert, and some of the nomadic peoples meet you and invite you into their tent, they regard it as their sacred duty to not only give you hospitality, but also, as part of that, to protect you. To be under the roof of their tent is to be in a protected zone. Think also about these words: ‘’For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them…’’ (17a). The Eastern Shepherd was a leader and a protector. He had both ‘’rod and staff’’ (Psalm 23). The white-robed saints we see in chapter 7 have come through big trouble, but now they are beyond its reach. They are safely home; sheltered in heaven’s harbour. The big waves and ferocious gales are in the past.
2. The blessing of an end to all suffering: ‘’The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat…And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’’ (16b, 17b). There is something rather tender about that last phrase, like a mother stooping down to comfort her distressed child. God, the high and Holy One who inhabits eternity, can nonetheless stoop, and come close to the poor and needy. What a gracious God! (Isaiah 57:15).

‘O Joy, that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.’ George Matheson.

Revelation 7:9-17: O.H.M.S.

^“9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

¹¹ All the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹² saying:

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’

¹⁴ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’

And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

Over the next few days we will look at some of the blessings of heaven as we find them in this passage. The first one I’m going to mention is:

The blessing of continuous service:

‘’…they…serve him day and night…’’ (15b). This must be a reference to continuous service (see 21:25). If, even now, we recognise what a privilege it is to serve God, just try to imagine the delight we will have when we fully awake to its joy. We will not sit on our hands for eternity. We will not be idle. We will be occupied…and we will be endlessly happy and fulfilled.

Someone said, quite correctly, that there is no retirement as long as we are alive. We can never retire from God’s service in this world. But, he added, there will be time enough to rest in heaven. I understand the sentiment, but it looks like we’re going to be busy even after we exit this life! We’ll be ‘On His Majesty’s Service’ for ever.

AMEN to that!

Revelation 7:9-17: Heaven is a wonderful place.

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb.’¹¹ All the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹² saying:‘Amen!Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.Amen!’¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’¹⁴ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne  will shelter them with his presence.¹⁶ “Never again will they hunger never again will they thirst.The sun will not beat down on them,”nor any scorching heat.¹⁷ For the Lamb at the centre of the throne  will be their shepherd;“he will lead them to springs of living water.”  “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”NIV 

In this book we are transported, with John, to that other realm where God’s people have come out of all trouble. They are ‘’with Christ, which is better by far’’ (Philippians 1:23); they are in the place of ‘’gain’’ (Philippians 1:21). Whether it is technically correct to refer to this other reality as ‘heaven’ may be up for debate, but there is no doubt that it is a most wonderful place. Over the next few days we are going to look for clues in the passage that give an idea what it is like.

But before we look at some of the specific blessings of heaven, let me make two further observations:

1. There are obvious similarities between this section and chapter 5 (see, e.g. 5:12 and v.12 here);
2. There is no other way to be in heaven than by the blood of Jesus (14; see Hebrews 10:19; 1 John 1:7/9). The blood of Jesus is the most powerful ‘cleansing agent’ in the world. The white robes speak of purity. You can’t be in heaven without them; and you can’t wear these white robes without the application of Jesus’ blood to your life, by faith. This is how a person washes their robes and makes them white. It doesn’t mean that we save ourselves, but we have a part to play, by God’s grace. It is to have ‘’faith in his blood’’ (Romans 3:25).

PRAYER: I thank you Lord, so much, that salvation is by grace, through faith, and that you gave me the gift of faith to trust in Jesus’ blood.