Revelation – A Study of the End Times
The Trumpets - Revelation 8:1-7

Miracle Place Church
October 23, 2016

I. The opening of the seventh seal introduces us to seven trumpet judgments in God’s order. (Revelation 8:1)

A. Chapter 8 gives us the first 4 trumpet judgments that fall on creation and the next 3 that fall on mankind. (Revelation 9:1-21)

B. Trumpets have always played a role in God’s dealings with His people.
1. They were used as a call to Israel to assemble for war, special feasts, and journeys. (Numbers 10:9-10)
2. When the law was given at Mount Sanai, a trumpet was sounded. (Exodus 19:19)
3. When the walls came down at Jericho a trumpet sounded. (Joshua 6:1, 13-16)
4. Now divine judgment is announced when trumpets are blown by the angels. (Revelation 8:2,6)

C. So what is my role as a saint, do I make anything happen? Yes – our prayers do.
1. Revelation 8:3 – we see another angel at the altar of God. He has a golden censer (a fire pan to hold live coals) and much incense (valuable perfume) is given to the angel.
2. Revelation 8:3-4 - The angel mixes incense with the prayers of the saints at the golden altar of God that ascends up before God out of the angel’s hands.
3. God mixes incense to all of the saint’s prayers because every prayer is valuable and precious to God.
4. Even though we are imperfect and frequently our attitude and motives are not right, God still receives our prayers and adds a little smell good because He’s so great and loves us so much. Maybe it’s like training wheels for prayers!
5. God says He adds to ALL saints. Guess what that means, you are not as super spiritual as you thought.
6. Who is a saint? A born again believer in Jesus. But you say, “You don’t understand, I sin. I have struggles and issues, problems.” Yes, I know, but speaking of your position in Christ and His work causes God to see you as perfect, a saint and He even has some smell good for your prayers. Go God!
7. I shake my head in awe of God as I write and think in the prayer room. The goodness, kindness, mercy, grace, love, acceptance, compassion, wisdom, power, and authority of God. And yet, He loves and accepts us. He reaches out to us with all of our flaws and character defects, all of our shortcomings. He just asked us to do one thing – believe in Him! God, I do believe in You and You are all I want.
8. God is teaching us our role – prayer is valuable to Him. Our prayer is pleasing and God enjoys our prayers. They are unique and only you can pray your prayer to God. There is no substitute for your prayer to God. The only prayer He can’t answer is the one you don’t pray.
9. God loves us to depend on and call out to Him. He wants and desires to connect, converse and communicate with us. God wants us to express our heart, our inner most being to Him.
10. Couple more thoughts: God enjoys our prayers so much that He keeps them in front of Himself. Our prayers are on the GOLDEN ALTAR released from a GOLDEN CENSER all in God’s presence – WOW!
11. Ever wonder if God hears or why didn’t God answer? Ever feel alone like where is God in all of this? Well your prayers are supremely important to God and they are setting in motion the final judgments of God.

D. “The angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar and then threw it to the earth, there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lighting and an earthquake.” When prayers go up, judgment and justice come down. (Revelation 8:5)
1. This storm implies more calamities to come through the trumpet judgments.
2. The trumpet judgments are more severe than the seal judgments. Again, God is trying to turn unbelievers into believers in Him. Remember, you possess your life in what you believe. But many will refuse to repent. (Revelation 9:20-21)

II. Trumpets – Revelation 8:7
A. The first trumpet sounds, there rains hail and fire mixed with blood and a third of the earth burned up with a third of the trees and all the green grass.
B. First, fire and hail (ice) don’t go together and secondly, fire and blood are symbolic of divine vengeance. God is speaking – turn or burn.
C. Think of the devastation, everything we take for granted is effected – crops, smoke, smell, lumber, livestock, no grass, meat, home prices, toilet paper, oxygen, balance of nature, food chains, emergency services. People will be fearful, desperate, dangerous and demonic.

COMING UP: Trumpets Part II