WEBVTT 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:01.100 Good evening, guys. 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:06.719 If you don't have a Bible, we'd love to give you a copy that you could take with you. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:08.820 If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:09.900 We'll be able to get you a Bible. 00:00:11.200 --> 00:00:13.800 And if you would turn to Revelation chapter 8. 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:20.359 Revelation is the last book in the Bible. 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.500 We've been going through this book for a few months now. 00:00:23.500 --> 00:00:34.159 Now, I was originally going to go all the way from chapter 8, verse 6, to the end of chapter 9, verse 21. 00:00:34.420 --> 00:00:40.659 But when I was done writing the sermon, it was really long. 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:43.480 And there was enough material there for two sermons. 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:45.340 So I'm just going to cut it in half. 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:52.159 Especially because we're trying to keep this service a little shorter for the sake of parents have young kids 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:54.899 who are staying past their bedtime to be here to worship God together. 00:00:57.259 --> 00:01:02.039 So Revelation 8, verses 6 to 13 is all I'm going to read today. 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.280 But let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word. 00:01:13.479 --> 00:01:19.179 Yes, Father, all the power, all the glory belong to your name. 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:30.379 So magnify your name to us this evening as we humble ourselves before your word. 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:32.700 And address us as you always do. 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:35.579 Speak to us from your word. 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:53.060 So that instead of having the purposes and priorities of our lives being dictated by our circumstances and by the world around us, 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:59.840 that we would align ourselves to your will, to your revealed will in your scriptures. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:13.240 And so that we might be faithful stewards who announce the coming of the King Jesus 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:18.659 and who invite others who don't know him to join his kingdom. 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:27.819 And mature us and grow us as such witnesses even now, Lord, as we listen to your word. 00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:32.019 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.900 Please stand as we read God's word, if you are able. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.479 Revelation chapter 8, verses 6 to 13. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:50.500 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 00:02:51.339 --> 00:02:57.359 The first angel blew his trumpet and there followed hail and fire mixed with blood. 00:02:57.979 --> 00:02:59.759 And these were thrown upon the earth. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:02.560 And a third of the earth was burned up. 00:03:02.979 --> 00:03:04.899 And a third of the trees were burned up. 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:06.859 And all green grass was burned up. 00:03:06.860 --> 00:03:10.320 The second angel blew his trumpet. 00:03:11.140 --> 00:03:15.580 And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:17.700 And a third of the sea became blood. 00:03:18.420 --> 00:03:20.760 A third of the living creatures in the sea died. 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:22.980 And a third of the ships were destroyed. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:25.700 The third angel blew his trumpet. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.520 And a great star fell from heaven blazing like a torch. 00:03:30.040 --> 00:03:33.900 And it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:37.219 The name of the star is warm wood. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.340 A third of the waters became warm wood. 00:03:40.700 --> 00:03:44.659 And many people died from the water because it had been made bitter. 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:48.340 The fourth angel blew his trumpet. 00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:50.680 And a third of the sun was struck. 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:52.379 And a third of the moon. 00:03:52.780 --> 00:03:54.200 And a third of the stars. 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:57.240 So that a third of their light might be darkened. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:03:59.620 And a third of the day might be kept from shining. 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:01.379 And likewise a third of the night. 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:03.240 Then I looked. 00:04:03.699 --> 00:04:08.159 And I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:13.299 Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth. 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:18.659 At the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow. 00:04:19.540 --> 00:04:21.579 This is God's holy and authoritative word. 00:04:21.659 --> 00:04:22.139 You may be seated. 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:40.519 Nowadays if you read the news you see all kinds of calamities and disasters, wars. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.879 How do we as Christians make sense of these things? 00:04:45.099 --> 00:04:49.240 Earthquakes, famines, hurricanes, epidemics, wars. 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:52.300 That are constantly ravaging our world. 00:04:53.259 --> 00:04:57.439 What should as Christians our response be to such things? 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:04.259 What we know from scripture is that not all natural disasters are a direct result of sin. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:10.639 For example, the disasters that happened to Job and to his children are not a direct result of sin. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:16.919 But scripture also tells us that some natural disasters are a direct result of sin. 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:27.439 For example, in Ezekiel 14.21 it says that God's four disastrous acts of judgment are sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence that came upon Jerusalem. 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:31.919 Because the city was, quote, full of blood and full of injustice. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:41.920 Similarly, Jeremiah 3.2-3 tells us that the drought that God inflicted Israel with was because they had polluted the land with their whoredom. 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:44.620 That's a reference to their idolatry. 00:05:46.080 --> 00:05:56.139 Genesis 15.16 says that Israel's conquest of the Amorites in the promised land in Canaan was at least in part because their iniquities had been filled up. 00:05:56.139 --> 00:06:05.360 So scripture does, even though we are perhaps not always comfortable making these connections between, you know, idolatry and drought. 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:07.620 Between violence and epidemics. 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:11.680 Scripture does in some places make very clear connections like that. 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:15.959 And even when we can't be certain that all calamities are directly connected to sin. 00:06:16.099 --> 00:06:20.479 We do know from Romans 8 that in a general and ultimate sense. 00:06:20.659 --> 00:06:25.599 All of the futility and brokenness that we witness in our world is a result of sin. 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:35.319 Every injustice, every disaster, every loss, every death is at least in part a result of sin that has corrupted our world from top to bottom. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:36.439 Why? 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:41.279 Because it says the whole world, the whole creation has been subjected to futility. 00:06:41.719 --> 00:06:42.659 It says in Romans 8. 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:45.360 And that it's in bondage to corruption. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:50.439 The world is corrupted so that it's groaning in the pains of childbirth. 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:52.479 Awaiting God's redemption. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:58.160 So when you read in the news of earthquakes and famines, hurricanes, epidemics and wars, 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:03.939 these are all signs that tell us that this world is not the way it's supposed to be. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.240 There's something wrong with the world as it currently is. 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:13.040 We live in a world that is corrupted. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.879 We live in a world that is under the sentence of divine judgment. 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:22.759 Not only humans, but all of creation is groaning under the weight of that sin. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:28.199 And we know also, as we've been in the book of Revelation, that since Jesus' first coming, 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:33.219 he has ushered in the last days or the end times as scripture speaks of it. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:39.159 Because the spirit of God has been poured out upon all flesh as Joel 2 prophesied would happen in the last days. 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:41.700 And so we are living presently in the last days. 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:47.300 We are not at the end of the end times, but we are at, at least, the beginning of the end times began with Jesus. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:54.980 And that means the groaning and the pain of childbirth of all creation that Romans 8 speaks of is only getting worse. 00:07:56.080 --> 00:08:04.080 So to use that analogy further, the contractions are getting more intense and more frequent as time goes by. 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:08.599 And the nearer we get to the time of Jesus' return, his second coming. 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:14.099 So then what should be our response to these kinds of disasters that afflict the earth? 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:17.899 Jesus gives us the answer in Luke 13. 00:08:18.620 --> 00:08:24.639 There, his disciples ask him a couple of very relevant questions that I think we could see ourselves asking. 00:08:25.159 --> 00:08:29.939 There were these Galileans, Jews, who were offering sacrifices to God. 00:08:29.939 --> 00:08:38.440 But then Pilate, the Roman officer, killed them and then mingled their blood with the sacrifice. 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:45.200 So not only desecrating the sacrifice, but using the humans that he just slaughtered, the Jews slaughtered, 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:50.519 which was a huge, tragic, horrible incident. 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:59.440 And then in addition to that, there were 18 men during that time who died when the Tower of Siloam collapsed upon them. 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:02.740 And so they were asking Jesus this question. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:10.180 These kinds of horrible events, surely they must have done something terribly evil for those things that happened to them, right? 00:09:10.680 --> 00:09:12.120 That's their question to Jesus. 00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:18.080 And Jesus tells them, I'm paraphrasing, no, that's not necessarily the case. 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:23.560 But unless you repent, you all will likewise perish. 00:09:23.760 --> 00:09:24.900 That's Jesus' answer. 00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:35.819 Jesus does not allow his disciples to retroactively, you know, cast moral judgment on people just because some calamity fell upon them. 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:37.240 He says, no, you can't do that. 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:38.740 That's not allowed. 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:51.139 However, he does use this opportunity to teach that every misfortune and every calamity in the world points to the reality that we are living in a sinful world that is under the sentence of divine judgment. 00:09:51.139 --> 00:09:59.419 So we should see every single one of these things as opportunities for self-examination and repentance. 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:04.960 Instead of denouncing the world when these things happen, we need to call them to repentance. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:11.680 It says in Romans, I mean, Revelation 9, 20 to 21, we're not actually going to get there today, but I'll read here. 00:10:11.780 --> 00:10:17.920 It says, the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:25.120 nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. 00:10:25.780 --> 00:10:31.400 Nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:36.279 So that's kind of the conclusion after these seven trumpets, or at least six of them, are blown. 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:40.620 That they should have repented when these things happened, but they didn't. 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:47.120 And that's the main point of our passage this morning, that the sovereign judgments of God should lead us to repentance. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:53.759 I read a helpful article that actually Ed shared with me this week from a theologian named Thomas Schreiner. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:11:01.399 And he helpfully compares these judgments in Revelation to fire alarms that warn us of looming disaster. 00:11:02.059 --> 00:11:04.159 And they alert us to flee, right? 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:09.720 However, if you're like me, and I live in a condo, so fire alarms go off all the time. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:11.639 I think I set them off half the time. 00:11:12.439 --> 00:11:17.539 It's, you know, put something too wet on a hot thing, and it just smoke comes up, and the fire alarm goes off. 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:22.319 And I think, and also there's drills, because we need to be trained to know what to do. 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:25.399 So people are just kind of desensitized to fire alarms. 00:11:25.699 --> 00:11:29.159 I don't think I've ever seen anybody run from a fire alarm. 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:34.599 And that's kind of the unfortunate reality that we are, I think, all familiar with. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:41.179 In 2000, there was a freshman residence hall in a college, a Seton Hall University campus in New Jersey. 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:43.159 I don't know if you guys know about this incident in 2000. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.240 I guess that's kind of a while ago. 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:53.500 So, and there were a couple drunk students that decided that it would be a good idea to set something on fire inside the common room. 00:11:54.060 --> 00:12:00.159 And because it was really cold outside, I thought it would be funny to make the fire alarm go off and make people have to go wait and shiver outside. 00:12:00.680 --> 00:12:01.980 But the fire spread. 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:05.899 Thankfully, the fire alarm worked, and it was ringing all over the building. 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:14.659 However, the students, because they had gotten so used to the alarm, the false alarms going off all the time in the dorm, that they didn't do anything. 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:17.060 And three of them ended up dying. 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.360 And 58 people were injured. 00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:27.019 This was one of the worst incidents of campus fire in recent memory in United States history. 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:33.159 And that's kind of a cautionary tale for what we're seeing here in the book of Revelation. 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:39.639 The trumpet judgments of God that we're going to see, the four of those today, are not a drill. 00:12:40.959 --> 00:12:43.860 They are not a false alarm. 00:12:44.899 --> 00:12:50.860 They are real and urgent warnings that call a sinful world to repentance. 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:57.759 So instead of getting accustomed to ignoring them, we need to pay attention to them. 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:03.180 And so let's pay attention to them and look at them in turn, the divine fire alarms together. 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:04.680 We're going to look at the first four. 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:08.060 They affect four different spheres of the created world. 00:13:08.560 --> 00:13:10.759 First trumpet affects land. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:12.220 Second trumpet affects the seas. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:13.700 Third affects the fresh waters. 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:17.860 Fourth affects the sky or the heavenly bodies. 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:18.860 Third affect the fresh waters. 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:22.480 I mentioned to you last week that there are three series. 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:26.180 I've been saying this multiple times, that there are three series of seven judgments in Revelation. 00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:31.340 I know for some of you who are really good listeners and remember everything I say, this might be a little repetitive. 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:35.639 But Revelation is a very complicated book, so I don't think it hurts to repeat things. 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:38.139 So hopefully you can learn the structure of the book as we go. 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:40.320 So there are three series of seven judgments. 00:13:40.680 --> 00:13:43.200 The seven seals, the seven trumpets, and seven bowls. 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:50.800 And these judgments are not intended to be occurring in a linear chronological fashion, but rather in a cyclical way. 00:13:51.060 --> 00:13:55.420 If you try to understand them in a linear way, then you run into problems. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:00.620 There's contradictions and there's duplicates within these series of judgments. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:09.040 Each of these are cyclical, but the seventh judgment in each of these cycles is the final climactic judgment of God, 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:15.620 where God himself appears in all his glory, so that there's flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:19.399 which are marks of a theophany when God appears in his glory and power. 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:27.799 So then the three series of judgments are different angles or viewpoints of the same divine judgments that occur throughout church history. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:30.659 However, there's a reason why John has three. 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:39.000 He has three of them in turn instead of one to convey the fact that while these judgments do occur throughout all of church history, 00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:45.819 that there is a progressive intensification throughout church history of God's judgments that fall upon the earth. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:50.899 So I've been using the analogy of the Russian doll, right, to explain this. 00:14:50.899 --> 00:15:01.120 When the seventh seal is broken open, instead of seeing something, I mean, you do see the glory of God coming in his final judgment, 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:03.319 but there's not a lot of explanation for what happens. 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:05.679 Instead, it gives way to the seven trumpets. 00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:10.720 And when the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, is blown, then it gives way to the seven bowls. 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:14.759 So it's like you open a Russian doll and there's another one inside that looks just like it. 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:23.740 But instead of getting smaller like the Russian dolls, the judgments actually get bigger and more intense with each cycle of seven judgments. 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:31.019 So to give you the example that we see here, so earlier in chapter 6, verse 8, in the seals, 00:15:31.539 --> 00:15:37.019 death and Hades were given authority to kill a fourth of the earth. 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:42.879 But then here in the trumpet series, God's judgments affect a third. 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:46.759 You see that again and again and again in all these verses, a third, a third, a third. 00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:51.820 And then later in chapter 9, 15, four destroying angels are released to kill a third of mankind. 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:57.500 Then still later in the bowl series, the third of the seven series of judgments, the three series of judgments, 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.100 God's judgments affect all of creation. 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:04.220 So he says in Revelation 16, 3, and every living thing died that was in the sea. 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:10.200 So you can see the escalation, a fourth and a third and then all of creation. 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:15.720 I don't think these fractions are precise figures that we're supposed to try to calculate 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:17.960 and to figure out whether these things have occurred or not. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:22.500 But however, they're general numbers intended to convey that escalation. 00:16:23.280 --> 00:16:29.780 So as I mentioned earlier, the birth pains, the groanings of the pains of childbirth that this creation is under, 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:31.500 it's getting more intense. 00:16:32.020 --> 00:16:35.879 The contractions are getting more frequent and more intense before Jesus' return. 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:40.419 And when the first angel blows the first trumpet, it says in verse 7, 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:43.840 there followed hail and fire mixed with blood. 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:46.259 And these were thrown upon the earth. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:50.480 And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:53.159 and all green grass was burned up. 00:16:53.820 --> 00:16:59.360 So I mentioned last week that these trumpet judgments borrow heavily from the images from the Exodus, 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.320 the plagues in Egypt. 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:02.960 And this is no exception. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:12.319 This is taken from the image of the seventh plague of the hail that comes to kill or destroy all the crops and stuff in Egypt. 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:16.140 And that's recorded in Exodus 9, 23 to 25. 00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:21.660 It says that the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:24.500 And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:29.000 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:34.759 very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:40.140 And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:43.420 So if you take the cue from that passage in Exodus 9, 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:47.440 the fire that's mentioned here along with the hail is most likely lightning, 00:17:47.700 --> 00:17:50.980 because it says in Exodus 9 that the fire flashes, 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:53.240 and it's accompanied by thunder. 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:58.660 And there is a difference, however, in that in Exodus 9, 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:02.519 it's the hail that seems to cause most of the destruction in the crops. 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:07.720 But here in Revelation 8, the fire seems to be doing most of the damage. 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:12.460 Three times it uses the phrase burned up and tells us that a third of the earth 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:16.000 and a third of the trees and all green grass were burned up. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:26.200 But I did some Googling to figure out if these kind of things have ever been seen and observed before. 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.559 And it does seem like it's actually not unusual for these things to happen, 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:33.339 because for me it seems a little contradictory that hail would come with fire 00:18:33.339 --> 00:18:36.480 or cause fire because hail's water. 00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:40.240 I mean, it's frozen, but it's still water. 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:44.299 But if you talk to farmers and firefighters out in California, 00:18:44.299 --> 00:18:46.639 they tell you that often these things happen together. 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:49.299 They have such things called the dry thunderstorms, 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:54.399 where thunderstorms with strong winds that are not accompanied by rain. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:57.879 And when such events happen, because it's so dry, 00:18:58.059 --> 00:19:01.039 when lightning hits, it's like kindling, you know, 00:19:01.159 --> 00:19:03.460 a lit match falling upon a kindling. 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:05.879 It just puts everything into fire. 00:19:06.399 --> 00:19:08.399 And then because there's such strong winds, 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:11.960 it quickly becomes a conflagration and spreads all over the place. 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:15.340 And those things apparently create fire clouds, 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:18.700 which are dense clouds like the kind you see after a volcanic eruption. 00:19:19.380 --> 00:19:21.539 And the intense heat quickly heats up the air 00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:24.960 and causing a lot of water to evaporate quickly 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.160 and into the higher hemisphere where it's colder. 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:31.600 And then that condenses and it becomes rain or hail and falls down. 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:34.100 And so you've seen, I even found some pictures 00:19:34.100 --> 00:19:37.440 where there was big hail all over the ground 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:39.180 where there's fire burning in the forest. 00:19:39.180 --> 00:19:41.580 And so this could happen naturally. 00:19:42.620 --> 00:19:45.180 However, while the literal interpretation is possible, 00:19:46.320 --> 00:19:49.860 I think even more relevantly, there's a symbolic significance here. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:54.060 Because I think this is representative of all disasters 00:19:54.060 --> 00:19:57.500 that destroy vegetation and cause famine. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:59.519 I think there are several clues for this. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.299 First, the effect of the judgment 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:03.600 is that a third of the earth was burned up 00:20:03.600 --> 00:20:05.320 and a third of the trees were burned up 00:20:05.320 --> 00:20:07.140 and all green grass was burned up. 00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:11.220 The green grass and the trees are an allusion 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:14.020 to the creation account in Genesis 1.11, 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.220 where the plants that God creates all over the world 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:19.440 are classified into two main categories. 00:20:19.860 --> 00:20:23.060 The seed-bearing grass or the seed-bearing vegetation 00:20:23.060 --> 00:20:25.160 and the fruit-bearing trees. 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:29.280 So you can, in some ways, describe all of edible plants 00:20:29.280 --> 00:20:31.660 and vegetables in these two terms. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:33.640 So then the first trumpet judgment 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:36.420 is burning up a third of all fruits and vegetables, 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.000 all crops, all things that people would eat, 00:20:39.220 --> 00:20:40.060 which causes famine. 00:20:41.360 --> 00:20:43.800 Secondly, and I think this is the most compelling evidence, 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:47.040 Ezekiel 5 describes the threefold judgment of destruction 00:20:47.040 --> 00:20:48.460 that God will bring upon Jerusalem. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:49.980 And verse 2 says, 00:20:50.100 --> 00:20:53.640 a third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city. 00:20:54.340 --> 00:20:55.960 But then later in that same chapter, 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:57.180 in verse 12, 00:20:57.360 --> 00:20:59.960 when it's speaking of that exact same judgment, 00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:03.799 which earlier was called burning in fire in the midst of the city, 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:04.900 it says this, 00:21:05.360 --> 00:21:08.559 a third part of you shall die of pestilence 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:11.960 and be consumed with famine in your midst. 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:15.799 So there's a clear example there in a prophetic literature 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:19.259 in Ezekiel 5 of fire, burning with fire, 00:21:19.600 --> 00:21:23.880 being a symbol of other disasters like famine and pestilence. 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:27.540 So not only is the third being affected parallel 00:21:27.540 --> 00:21:30.860 to what we have happening here in Revelation 8-7, 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:33.600 we also have this explanation 00:21:33.600 --> 00:21:35.980 that fire can be representative of other disasters. 00:21:36.740 --> 00:21:40.580 So then I think hail and fire are two disasters 00:21:40.580 --> 00:21:44.200 that farming communities, agricultural societies dread 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:45.840 because of their destructive power. 00:21:46.320 --> 00:21:48.500 I think it's representing this judgment, 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.600 anything that can destroy people's livelihoods 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:54.179 and the foods that they rely on, like agriculture, 00:21:54.399 --> 00:21:55.679 and then cause famine. 00:21:56.099 --> 00:22:00.899 So maybe we can think of droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, and the like. 00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:05.859 So then when we see natural disasters like this causing famine, 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:09.240 so yes, of course, we should have compassion 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:12.500 for people who are affected by these things 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:13.459 and are going hungry. 00:22:14.179 --> 00:22:17.219 But not only that, we must also repent. 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:20.980 And we need to call these people to repentance. 00:22:22.120 --> 00:22:26.720 This is a blaring fire alarm warning us, 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:30.079 a trumpet blast announcing that the king 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:33.400 is returning in judgment with his mighty army. 00:22:34.100 --> 00:22:36.100 The final judgment is coming. 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:39.680 Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus for salvation. 00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:44.240 The blood that the hail and fire are mixed with too is symbolic. 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.380 Blood is often a symbol of divine judgment in Scripture 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:51.019 as we're going to see shortly in the next trumpet judgment. 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:53.120 The second trumpet is blown. 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:57.140 It says in verse 8, and it says that something like a great mountain 00:22:57.140 --> 00:22:59.640 burning with fire was thrown into the sea. 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:02.039 And a third of the sea became blood. 00:23:02.180 --> 00:23:04.079 A third of the living creatures in the sea died. 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:06.839 And a third of the ships were destroyed. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:10.500 This is an allusion to the first plague in Egypt, 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:12.180 as you might recall in Exodus 7, 00:23:12.180 --> 00:23:15.480 when all the waters in the Nile turned into blood 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.259 and all the fish in the Nile died as a result of it. 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:22.360 The Nile stank and the Egyptians could not drink the water from the Nile 00:23:22.360 --> 00:23:24.740 so that there was blood throughout the land of Egypt. 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:26.680 Blood represents life. 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:30.400 But when blood is spilled, it represents death. 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:34.720 So blood here is a sign of God's judgment upon Egypt. 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:37.680 And the second trumpet judgment conveys the same. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:41.880 It's hard to say exactly what this judgment represents. 00:23:42.620 --> 00:23:47.580 It's possible that John is seeing in his vision a volcanic eruption, 00:23:47.779 --> 00:23:49.640 as some commentators say in the sea. 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:53.259 And whether the eruption happens underwater or by the water, 00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:56.740 volcanic activity is deadly for fish that's around 00:23:56.740 --> 00:23:59.400 because it superheats the water temperature 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:01.900 and then it reduces the oxygen level in the water 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:03.680 and it acidifies the ocean, 00:24:03.800 --> 00:24:07.360 all of which things can cause millions and millions of fish to die. 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:11.620 But I think, as I did with the last judgment, 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:15.220 it's even more likely that more than the literal meaning, 00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:17.340 the symbolic significance is in view. 00:24:18.320 --> 00:24:22.300 For one, it doesn't say that a mountain was thrown into the sea. 00:24:23.300 --> 00:24:28.320 It says that something like a mountain was thrown into the sea. 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:30.139 It was burning with fire. 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:32.419 This is a simile, right? 00:24:32.659 --> 00:24:38.079 John is comparing what he saw in his vision to a great mountain 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:41.279 because he's not quite sure how to describe it. 00:24:41.439 --> 00:24:43.480 He's comparing it to something that he knows. 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:48.579 But he's not saying that it's a mountain that's being thrown into the sea. 00:24:49.259 --> 00:24:52.279 John also doesn't say that the sea became filled with fiery lava. 00:24:52.899 --> 00:24:54.939 He says that the sea became blood, 00:24:54.940 --> 00:24:59.600 which is clearly a figurative expression referring to the Exodus plague. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:02.779 Later in Revelation 18, 17 to 21, 00:25:02.900 --> 00:25:05.779 it describes the overthrow of the wicked city of Babylon, 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:07.059 the kingdom of Babylon. 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:10.840 And it describes, quote, the smoke of our burning 00:25:10.840 --> 00:25:13.720 and compares the violent overthrow of Babylon 00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:17.700 to, quote, a great millstone being thrown into the sea. 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:19.680 So again, this is an image, 00:25:19.779 --> 00:25:22.200 something being thrown into the sea is an image of judgment 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:24.380 which can be compared to a burning city. 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:27.539 And then when that happens, it says that the people mourned, 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:30.279 saying, alas, alas, for the great city 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:34.580 where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth. 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:39.220 So there's a lot of parallels here with our second trumpet judgment. 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:42.740 The mountains burning with fire that is thrown into the sea 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:47.640 can represent the overthrow of kingdoms and nations that are opposed to God. 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:52.480 And the dead fish and the destroyed ships can represent the food source 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:57.480 and trade, the maritime trade that are disrupted by the overthrow of such kingdoms. 00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:01.820 People's livelihoods, again, are destroyed on account of the second trumpet judgment. 00:26:02.620 --> 00:26:05.900 And this figurative meaning of the second judgment becomes even more likely 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:08.340 when we consider the fact that this isn't the first time 00:26:08.340 --> 00:26:11.060 that Babylon was described as a burning mountain. 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:15.899 Jeremiah 51, 25, when God pronounces his judgment upon Babylon, 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:16.379 he says, 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:19.539 Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, 00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:21.220 which destroys the whole earth. 00:26:21.419 --> 00:26:25.279 I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a burnt mountain. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:29.299 So I think this second seal is referring to the overthrow of kingdoms 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:32.619 and the fact that that has on the people around them. 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:35.619 I know some of you guys are probably like, 00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:38.680 Oh man, Sean is kind of going out there a little bit. 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:40.579 This seems a little far-fetched. 00:26:41.339 --> 00:26:44.039 It seems far-fetched to you that I want you to consider 00:26:44.039 --> 00:26:48.180 that prophetic visions and apocalyptic literature like Revelation 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:51.680 are often, not seldom, often symbolic. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:55.039 For example, Jeremiah 1, 13-14, 00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:59.779 when Prophet Jeremiah sees a boiling pot that's facing away from the north, 00:27:00.140 --> 00:27:01.120 what do you think that means? 00:27:01.940 --> 00:27:04.500 I mean, it's a boiling pot, right? 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:06.740 But then God explains it to him. 00:27:06.980 --> 00:27:07.340 He says, 00:27:07.580 --> 00:27:08.880 That means, out of the north, 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:12.519 disaster shall let be loose upon the inhabitants of land. 00:27:12.620 --> 00:27:15.100 I mean, would you have guessed that on your own? 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:16.519 Probably not, right? 00:27:16.620 --> 00:27:18.279 I mean, that's clearly symbolic. 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:23.379 In Genesis 41, Pharaoh dreams that seven ugly and thin cows 00:27:23.379 --> 00:27:26.339 swallow up seven attractive and plump cows. 00:27:26.519 --> 00:27:28.180 This one's maybe a little bit better, 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:30.259 a little bit more accessible, 00:27:30.500 --> 00:27:34.139 but still, it's symbolic of seven years of plenty, 00:27:34.399 --> 00:27:37.220 plentiful harvest, followed by seven years of famine. 00:27:37.619 --> 00:27:39.720 That's then going to swallow up all the gains 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:41.440 from the previous seven years of harvest. 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:42.960 Again, symbolic language. 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:45.779 If you look at Daniel 2, 31-45, 00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:48.000 King Nebuchadnezzar has a prophetic dream 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:49.940 of a statue with a gold head 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:51.799 and a silver chest and arms 00:27:51.799 --> 00:27:53.599 and a bronze belly and thighs 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:54.879 and then iron legs 00:27:54.879 --> 00:27:56.920 and partly iron and partly clay feet. 00:27:57.579 --> 00:28:00.440 But then this statue is then shattered to smithereens 00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:02.859 by a stone, by a rock. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:05.379 And then Prophet Daniel explains 00:28:05.379 --> 00:28:07.160 that these various parts of the statue 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:09.099 represent successive kingdoms, 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:10.059 earthly kingdoms, 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:13.399 that decrease in glory throughout history. 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:16.460 And that the stone that shatters all these kingdoms 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:19.400 is the kingdom of God that will last forever. 00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:23.720 So once again, these symbols and figures 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:26.340 are the stuff of prophetic literature 00:28:26.340 --> 00:28:27.960 and apocalyptic literature. 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:32.040 So why do we interpret the Exodus plagues literally, 00:28:32.620 --> 00:28:34.640 but not the Revelation judgments? 00:28:35.780 --> 00:28:38.820 Because Exodus is a historical narrative 00:28:38.819 --> 00:28:42.539 and Revelation is apocalyptic literature 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:44.819 which traffics in symbols. 00:28:45.019 --> 00:28:47.200 There are different genres of literature 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:49.039 which you have to take into account. 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:51.939 So then if you see in our lives 00:28:51.939 --> 00:28:52.779 and in the news, 00:28:53.339 --> 00:28:55.200 kingdoms being overthrown, 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:58.220 maritime commerce being disrupted, 00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:00.799 and people going hungry as a result, 00:29:01.419 --> 00:29:02.519 again, remember, 00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:04.859 that's a blaring fire alarm, 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:06.899 a trumpet blast. 00:29:06.900 --> 00:29:10.780 It means repent and believe in the good news. 00:29:12.320 --> 00:29:14.160 Notice the repetition of the words 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:17.120 fire and thrown in these two trumpet, 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:18.580 first two trumpet blasts. 00:29:18.620 --> 00:29:19.519 In both cases, 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:23.060 some kind of fire is thrown upon the earth. 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:24.180 And this is fitting 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:26.400 because earlier in Revelation 8, 3 to 4, 00:29:26.500 --> 00:29:28.960 the prayers of God's people crying out to God, 00:29:29.040 --> 00:29:32.480 remember, came up as incense on a censer to God. 00:29:32.540 --> 00:29:34.019 And these were prayers that reached to God 00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:35.460 that was a pleasing aroma to him. 00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:37.840 And then God is now answering that prayer 00:29:37.840 --> 00:29:38.840 and he answers that prayer 00:29:38.840 --> 00:29:39.880 by sending an angel 00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:41.579 to take that same censer 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:43.200 upon which prayer was lifted to God, 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:45.480 filling it with the fire from the altar 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:47.680 and then throwing it upon the earth. 00:29:48.740 --> 00:29:50.200 And so that's what you're seeing 00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:53.100 with the first two trumpet judgments, 00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:56.019 fire being thrown upon the earth. 00:29:56.120 --> 00:29:58.059 It's an answer to the prayers of the saints. 00:29:58.059 --> 00:30:00.919 And when the third trumpet is blown, 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:02.259 it says in verses 10 to 11, 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:04.399 a great star fell from heaven, 00:30:05.139 --> 00:30:06.419 blazing like a torch. 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:08.879 And it fell on a third of the rivers 00:30:08.879 --> 00:30:10.359 and on the springs of water. 00:30:11.059 --> 00:30:12.919 The name of the star is Wormwood. 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:15.519 A third of the waters became Wormwood 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:17.740 and many people died from the water 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:19.440 because it had been made bitter. 00:30:20.399 --> 00:30:23.460 Once again, a literal interpretation is possible. 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:25.039 And I'm telling you this 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:25.799 even though I don't think 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:27.779 that's really what the main point of this is 00:30:27.779 --> 00:30:29.279 because I might be wrong 00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:30.440 and these things could happen. 00:30:31.100 --> 00:30:31.799 And so this is, 00:30:32.380 --> 00:30:34.759 it could be, some people say, 00:30:34.840 --> 00:30:36.240 the great star could be meteorite. 00:30:36.579 --> 00:30:38.400 As it enters the earth's atmosphere, 00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:39.220 it burns up 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:40.799 and then it falls somehow 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:43.019 upon a third of all the fresh water and springs 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:44.220 and then it poisons them, 00:30:44.579 --> 00:30:46.279 turns them bitter, right? 00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:50.500 Wormwood is a plant known for its bitter taste, 00:30:50.500 --> 00:30:51.259 but once again, 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:52.480 I think the symbolic meaning 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:53.700 is more prominent here. 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:55.359 This judgment, 00:30:55.740 --> 00:30:57.900 if you keep going back to the Exodus story, 00:30:58.279 --> 00:30:59.559 is the exact opposite 00:30:59.559 --> 00:31:02.240 of what God does for his people Israel 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:04.279 in Exodus 15, 22 to 25. 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:07.599 Remember what happened at the waters of Marah, right? 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:09.599 The water was so bitter 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:12.039 that the Israelites couldn't drink any of it 00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:13.940 and they're crying out to God 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:15.339 because if they don't have water to drink 00:31:15.339 --> 00:31:16.660 in the wilderness, they perish. 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:18.920 And because they cry out to God, 00:31:18.920 --> 00:31:21.440 God instructs Moses to throw a log 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:22.800 into the bitter waters of Marah 00:31:22.800 --> 00:31:24.920 and then the water turns sweet 00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:27.640 and then it gives life to God's people. 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:30.800 This here is the exact opposite of that, right? 00:31:31.100 --> 00:31:32.620 And that miracle in Marah 00:31:32.620 --> 00:31:33.920 was particularly meaningful, 00:31:34.060 --> 00:31:35.700 if you remember from our series in Exodus, 00:31:35.900 --> 00:31:39.080 because we were told early in Exodus chapter one 00:31:39.080 --> 00:31:41.060 that the Egyptian slave drivers 00:31:41.060 --> 00:31:43.820 made the God's people's lives bitter 00:31:43.820 --> 00:31:45.039 with hard labor. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:47.960 And so that bitterness of slavery 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:50.099 is what they remember during the Passover 00:31:50.099 --> 00:31:51.960 when they eat bitter herbs. 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:53.659 And then that bitterness 00:31:53.659 --> 00:31:56.359 that is again represented in the waters of Marah 00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:58.519 when God finally turns it and makes it sweet 00:31:58.519 --> 00:32:00.539 and gives life to his people. 00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:04.720 But here, with warm wood falling upon them, 00:32:04.879 --> 00:32:08.139 this is, it's the exact opposite happens. 00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:09.779 Fresh, drinkable water, 00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:12.720 sweet waters of the rivers and the springs 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:15.000 become bitter and deadly. 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:16.600 So if you drink it, you die. 00:32:18.120 --> 00:32:19.759 Warm wood is often used in scripture 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:22.600 as a symbol of suffering and affliction. 00:32:23.100 --> 00:32:25.059 For example, Lamentations 3.19 says, 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:27.819 remember my affliction and my wanderings, 00:32:28.259 --> 00:32:30.140 the warm wood and the gall. 00:32:31.019 --> 00:32:33.000 Similarly, Proverbs 5.3-4 says 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:35.940 that lips of a forbidden woman drip honey. 00:32:36.420 --> 00:32:37.799 Her words are sweet. 00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:39.120 She's attractive. 00:32:39.620 --> 00:32:41.299 But then when you commit adultery with her, 00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:44.079 it says, in the end, she is bitter as warm wood. 00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:44.779 Right? 00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:48.039 Warm wood's representative affliction and suffering. 00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:51.339 So what then does this third trumpet judgment represent? 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:56.139 I think warm wood is an angelic being. 00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:58.379 Stay with me for a little bit. 00:32:59.139 --> 00:33:00.599 A demon, basically, 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:06.440 that turns the sweetness of the pleasures of the world bitter. 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:07.899 Why? 00:33:07.900 --> 00:33:10.960 Because the star has a name. 00:33:11.860 --> 00:33:14.280 And the Bible mentions many stars. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:17.940 Never does it mention a star having a name, 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:21.019 except when I think it has personal agency. 00:33:21.700 --> 00:33:22.759 This star has a name. 00:33:22.860 --> 00:33:23.940 It's called warm wood. 00:33:24.860 --> 00:33:27.180 Moreover, in Isaiah 14.12, 00:33:27.300 --> 00:33:30.400 the fall of Babylon is connected to its representative angel, 00:33:30.580 --> 00:33:32.080 which is named Day Star, 00:33:32.600 --> 00:33:33.620 falling from heaven. 00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:37.079 So this is also corroborated by the fact that a star 00:33:37.079 --> 00:33:40.199 often represents angelic beings in the book of Revelation. 00:33:40.679 --> 00:33:42.299 Remember from Revelation 1.20, 00:33:42.719 --> 00:33:45.659 we are told that the seven stars that Jesus holds in his right hand 00:33:45.659 --> 00:33:46.399 represent what? 00:33:46.759 --> 00:33:50.139 Seven angels that represent the seven churches of God 00:33:50.139 --> 00:33:51.219 before God's throne. 00:33:51.899 --> 00:33:53.439 Later in Revelation 9.1, 00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:55.000 which we're not going to get to yet, 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:58.659 is John sees another star fall from heaven to earth, 00:33:58.660 --> 00:34:01.400 and then it refers to that star as he. 00:34:02.060 --> 00:34:03.400 He received the key. 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:07.960 So this star knows how to take keys from places and open doors. 00:34:08.740 --> 00:34:10.260 And later that star, 00:34:10.720 --> 00:34:13.400 later in chapter 9, I think it's verse 11 or somewhere, 00:34:13.659 --> 00:34:19.019 I think it's called explicitly the angel who rules over the abyss. 00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:22.380 So sometimes the connection is explicit, 00:34:22.539 --> 00:34:23.599 sometimes it's implicit, 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:26.599 but the consistent pattern suggests here 00:34:27.159 --> 00:34:29.639 that the star that falls from heaven 00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:32.819 is likely a fallen angel. 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:36.219 I think C.S. Lewis would agree, 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:40.099 because if you have read the Screwtape Letters, 00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:41.219 which is an imagined, 00:34:41.719 --> 00:34:43.000 it's fictional, 00:34:43.219 --> 00:34:45.239 but it's very helpful theologically, 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:49.599 of letter exchanges between Screwtape, 00:34:49.659 --> 00:34:50.500 the senior demon, 00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:52.760 and his nephew, I think, 00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:53.460 junior demon, 00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:55.360 and the junior demon's name is Wormwood, 00:34:55.860 --> 00:34:58.119 which C.S. Lewis didn't come up with by himself. 00:34:58.900 --> 00:34:59.719 He got from here. 00:35:00.760 --> 00:35:03.519 And so what does this fallen angel do? 00:35:03.559 --> 00:35:04.519 What does Wormwood do? 00:35:04.599 --> 00:35:06.920 He takes the sweet pleasures of the earth, 00:35:07.239 --> 00:35:08.619 and he turns them bitter. 00:35:09.780 --> 00:35:12.099 He takes the sweet pleasures of food, 00:35:12.940 --> 00:35:16.159 and turns them into gluttony and obesity. 00:35:17.099 --> 00:35:19.139 He takes the sweet pleasures of sex, 00:35:19.139 --> 00:35:21.359 and turns it into porn, 00:35:21.799 --> 00:35:22.739 and masturbation, 00:35:23.159 --> 00:35:25.039 and homosexuality, 00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:25.920 fornication, 00:35:26.139 --> 00:35:26.739 adultery, 00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:27.839 prostitution, 00:35:28.299 --> 00:35:29.059 sex trafficking, 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:31.460 and sexually transmitted diseases. 00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:34.599 He takes the sweet pleasures of wine, 00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:37.099 and turns it into drunkenness, 00:35:37.259 --> 00:35:38.099 and debauchery. 00:35:38.879 --> 00:35:41.159 He takes the sweet pleasures of relationships, 00:35:41.779 --> 00:35:43.339 and turns them into jealousy, 00:35:43.699 --> 00:35:44.019 envy, 00:35:44.299 --> 00:35:45.079 selfish ambition, 00:35:45.339 --> 00:35:45.719 rivalry, 00:35:46.039 --> 00:35:46.460 quarrel, 00:35:46.779 --> 00:35:47.119 hatred, 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:48.239 and murder. 00:35:49.539 --> 00:35:53.099 Many people die from drinking these bitter waters. 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:57.900 Do you see around you the sweet pleasures of life 00:35:57.900 --> 00:36:02.159 being turned into bitter waters, 00:36:03.119 --> 00:36:03.859 deadly waters? 00:36:03.860 --> 00:36:06.840 Maybe it's happening in your own life, 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:08.800 and you've experienced some of that bitterness. 00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:12.260 If you try to enjoy the pleasures of life 00:36:12.260 --> 00:36:15.700 in a way that's untethered from God's word, 00:36:16.539 --> 00:36:18.680 then your pleasures will become disordered, 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:20.640 and disproportioned, 00:36:20.860 --> 00:36:21.740 and you will, 00:36:21.840 --> 00:36:22.579 I guarantee it, 00:36:22.640 --> 00:36:25.220 experience the bitter afflictions of the Wormwood, 00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:25.720 and the gall. 00:36:25.719 --> 00:36:31.739 This is the fulfillment of the prophecies of old, 00:36:31.899 --> 00:36:33.899 Jeremiah 9, 15, 23, 15. 00:36:35.279 --> 00:36:36.959 Not all afflictions in your life 00:36:36.959 --> 00:36:38.619 are directly caused by your sin, 00:36:38.959 --> 00:36:41.139 but every affliction in your life 00:36:41.139 --> 00:36:43.419 is a blaring fire alarm, 00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:45.139 and a trumpet blast, 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:46.099 telling us, 00:36:46.239 --> 00:36:47.519 repent of your sins, 00:36:48.039 --> 00:36:49.559 and entrust yourself to Jesus. 00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:54.679 When the fourth angel blows his trumpet, 00:36:54.799 --> 00:36:55.739 it says in verse 12, 00:36:56.320 --> 00:36:58.000 a third of the sun was struck, 00:36:58.239 --> 00:36:59.219 and a third of the moon, 00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:00.539 and a third of the stars, 00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:03.460 so that a third of their light might be darkened, 00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:06.279 and a third of the day might be kept from shining, 00:37:06.699 --> 00:37:08.679 and likewise a third of the night. 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:12.599 There's a reduction of light by a third, 00:37:12.719 --> 00:37:14.579 both during the day and during the night, 00:37:14.779 --> 00:37:18.460 and this is an allusion to the ninth plague of Egypt. 00:37:18.460 --> 00:37:20.079 In Exodus 10, 21 to 23, 00:37:20.519 --> 00:37:22.619 when God inflicts all the land of Egypt 00:37:22.619 --> 00:37:24.280 with palpable darkness, 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:25.740 darkness that can be felt, 00:37:26.460 --> 00:37:27.179 and amazingly, 00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:28.840 this is a miracle, 00:37:28.980 --> 00:37:30.980 because the darkness affects only the areas 00:37:30.980 --> 00:37:32.059 where the Egyptians live, 00:37:32.119 --> 00:37:33.599 so this is not some eclipse, 00:37:34.139 --> 00:37:34.420 you know, 00:37:34.500 --> 00:37:37.659 that affects the entire part of the world. 00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:39.079 It's a miracle. 00:37:40.260 --> 00:37:42.039 The Israelites still have light. 00:37:44.119 --> 00:37:45.340 So this, again, 00:37:45.500 --> 00:37:46.519 could happen literally. 00:37:46.740 --> 00:37:47.659 It can be fulfilled literally, 00:37:47.659 --> 00:37:48.819 but I think, again, 00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:51.000 the symbolic meaning is more significant here. 00:37:51.759 --> 00:37:53.000 Later in Revelation 12, 00:37:53.139 --> 00:37:53.679 the sun, 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:54.339 the moon, 00:37:54.420 --> 00:37:55.379 and the 12 stars 00:37:55.379 --> 00:37:57.259 represent the covenant people of God, 00:37:57.599 --> 00:38:00.019 because that's an allusion to Genesis 37, 00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:02.019 where Jacob and his wife and his sons, 00:38:02.239 --> 00:38:03.219 and if you count Joseph, 00:38:03.359 --> 00:38:04.159 that's 12 sons, 00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:06.420 are described as the sun and moon 00:38:06.420 --> 00:38:07.339 and the 12 stars. 00:38:08.159 --> 00:38:10.679 As Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 5, 14, 00:38:10.819 --> 00:38:12.980 you are the light of the world. 00:38:12.980 --> 00:38:16.500 God's people are the light of the world, 00:38:16.860 --> 00:38:18.940 and the darkening of the heavenly body 00:38:18.940 --> 00:38:21.320 symbolizes the increasing spiritual darkness 00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:22.639 and blindness 00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:26.340 that will overtake the unbelieving world. 00:38:27.240 --> 00:38:29.440 As Ephesians 4, 18 says, 00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:31.539 they are darkened in their understanding, 00:38:32.059 --> 00:38:33.519 alienated from the life of God 00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:35.559 because of the ignorance that is in them 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:37.760 due to their hardness of heart. 00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:40.480 So when you see people 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:42.600 rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ, 00:38:43.740 --> 00:38:45.600 turning away from the light 00:38:45.600 --> 00:38:47.380 of the glory of Jesus Christ, 00:38:47.940 --> 00:38:50.680 when people are desensitized increasingly 00:38:50.680 --> 00:38:53.540 and darkened toward the light of God's people, 00:38:53.980 --> 00:38:55.780 that's, again, a trumpet blast 00:38:55.780 --> 00:38:58.320 and a blaring fire alarm. 00:38:58.980 --> 00:38:59.940 It's telling us, 00:39:00.140 --> 00:39:01.280 repent of your sins 00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:03.860 and believe in Jesus Christ. 00:39:04.040 --> 00:39:06.040 Pledge your allegiance to Jesus Christ. 00:39:06.039 --> 00:39:10.820 Scriptures from Amos 5, 18 to Joel 2, 2, 00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:13.820 from Isaiah 13, 10 to Mark 13, 24 00:39:13.820 --> 00:39:15.279 consistently testify 00:39:15.279 --> 00:39:17.039 that the day of the Lord's judgment 00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:19.940 will be one of darkness and not light, 00:39:21.179 --> 00:39:22.940 a day of darkness and gloom, 00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:26.259 like we saw in the sixth seal in Revelation 6. 00:39:27.019 --> 00:39:29.440 The darkening of the third of the heavenly light 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:31.380 signifies that the day of final judgment 00:39:31.380 --> 00:39:32.659 is fast approaching, 00:39:33.420 --> 00:39:35.360 that day when the sun is blotted out 00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:37.120 and the moon turns to blood 00:39:37.120 --> 00:39:39.079 that Ed preached on for Revelation 6, 00:39:39.180 --> 00:39:40.380 that day is soon approaching. 00:39:40.519 --> 00:39:42.780 A third of the light was already darkened. 00:39:43.680 --> 00:39:44.640 On that day, 00:39:44.720 --> 00:39:46.500 it will no longer be possible to repent. 00:39:47.460 --> 00:39:49.120 So that means you need to repent today 00:39:49.120 --> 00:39:52.019 and follow Jesus when you still can. 00:39:53.099 --> 00:39:55.200 These four trumpets together, 00:39:55.460 --> 00:39:56.820 as I mentioned earlier, 00:39:56.960 --> 00:40:00.440 they affect four different spheres of the world, right? 00:40:00.440 --> 00:40:02.280 Land, and then the seas, 00:40:02.599 --> 00:40:03.780 and then the rivers and the springs, 00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:05.260 and the sky, the heavenly bodies. 00:40:05.940 --> 00:40:08.440 And they together represent the four trumpets, 00:40:08.800 --> 00:40:11.320 the de-creation of the world. 00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:14.940 When God is creating the heavens and the earth, 00:40:15.059 --> 00:40:15.820 in Genesis 1, 00:40:16.019 --> 00:40:18.840 he separates various elements of creation. 00:40:18.980 --> 00:40:20.960 He separates light from darkness. 00:40:21.639 --> 00:40:22.679 He creates the sun 00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:25.320 to occupy the domain of the day, 00:40:25.420 --> 00:40:27.200 and the moon and the stars to occupy the night. 00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:31.239 He separates the water above the expanse, 00:40:31.759 --> 00:40:33.219 that's the clouds, 00:40:33.339 --> 00:40:35.460 from the water below the expanse, 00:40:35.579 --> 00:40:36.759 which is, you know, 00:40:37.179 --> 00:40:38.559 whether any kind of water, 00:40:38.659 --> 00:40:40.039 freshwater river, the seas. 00:40:40.519 --> 00:40:43.539 He separates the dry land from the seas. 00:40:43.659 --> 00:40:45.099 He gathers the water into seas, 00:40:45.500 --> 00:40:47.480 and separates and creates dry land. 00:40:48.039 --> 00:40:49.759 And so in the series of creation, 00:40:49.759 --> 00:40:51.519 the creation narrative in Genesis 1, 00:40:51.579 --> 00:40:53.179 you see God distinguishing 00:40:53.179 --> 00:40:54.839 and separating these things. 00:40:54.840 --> 00:40:57.120 But then in these four trumpet judgments, 00:40:57.300 --> 00:40:59.980 each of those spheres are de-created. 00:41:00.600 --> 00:41:01.860 They're undone. 00:41:02.740 --> 00:41:04.039 They're mixed up. 00:41:06.440 --> 00:41:10.039 So do you think that the tides of the sea 00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:11.200 that we're used to seeing 00:41:11.200 --> 00:41:15.340 will continue to ebb and flow 00:41:15.340 --> 00:41:16.340 like they always have? 00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:21.380 Do you expect that the grass and the trees 00:41:21.380 --> 00:41:22.740 will always remain green 00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:24.699 and cycle through the seasons 00:41:24.699 --> 00:41:26.659 with the seed and then the sprouts 00:41:26.659 --> 00:41:28.000 and then fruits 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:29.719 and then back to seed? 00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:32.239 Do you think that the sun and the moon 00:41:32.239 --> 00:41:34.119 and the stars will continue to shine 00:41:34.119 --> 00:41:35.939 without fail daily 00:41:35.939 --> 00:41:37.039 like they always have? 00:41:39.119 --> 00:41:40.279 The answer is no. 00:41:41.739 --> 00:41:42.859 They're not going to. 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:46.500 Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. 00:41:47.239 --> 00:41:48.639 The world as we know it 00:41:48.639 --> 00:41:51.739 is coming to a definite end. 00:41:52.420 --> 00:41:54.179 And when God's creatures rebel 00:41:54.179 --> 00:41:56.000 and sin against him, 00:41:56.179 --> 00:41:58.819 all of creation becomes deconstructed. 00:41:59.279 --> 00:42:01.019 That's why the first four trumpets 00:42:01.019 --> 00:42:02.940 affect nature and the environment 00:42:02.940 --> 00:42:05.500 because they figuratively represent 00:42:05.500 --> 00:42:07.000 the de-creation of the world 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:08.119 by the creator himself. 00:42:09.619 --> 00:42:10.819 A day is surely coming 00:42:10.819 --> 00:42:12.179 when the sun will no longer 00:42:12.179 --> 00:42:13.859 give its light 00:42:13.859 --> 00:42:15.799 and you will no longer have 00:42:15.799 --> 00:42:16.699 a chance to repent 00:42:16.699 --> 00:42:18.000 if you haven't done so already. 00:42:19.279 --> 00:42:20.639 But there was another time 00:42:20.639 --> 00:42:21.879 previously in human history 00:42:21.879 --> 00:42:24.259 when the sun's light failed 00:42:24.259 --> 00:42:25.500 temporarily. 00:42:27.399 --> 00:42:29.419 It says in Luke 23, 45, 00:42:30.039 --> 00:42:31.519 that when Jesus died on the cross, 00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:33.639 the sun's light failed 00:42:33.639 --> 00:42:35.639 and the curtain of the temple 00:42:35.639 --> 00:42:36.939 was torn in two. 00:42:38.839 --> 00:42:40.319 When Jesus Christ, 00:42:40.619 --> 00:42:41.699 the savior of the world, 00:42:42.019 --> 00:42:42.960 the lamb of God, 00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:43.980 the son of God, 00:42:44.039 --> 00:42:45.039 died on the cross, 00:42:45.039 --> 00:42:46.940 the sun itself 00:42:46.940 --> 00:42:48.639 as if to pay homage to him 00:42:48.639 --> 00:42:49.380 or to acknowledge 00:42:49.380 --> 00:42:50.519 the spiritual reality 00:42:50.519 --> 00:42:51.440 of what is happening, 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:53.440 failed to shine 00:42:53.440 --> 00:42:56.960 because the light of the world 00:42:56.960 --> 00:42:58.880 was extinguished on the cross 00:42:58.880 --> 00:43:01.019 because the Lord of life 00:43:01.019 --> 00:43:03.279 expired and breathed his last 00:43:03.279 --> 00:43:04.599 on the cross. 00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:08.940 And why did Jesus die? 00:43:09.179 --> 00:43:10.960 Why did Jesus go through 00:43:10.960 --> 00:43:12.860 that torture 00:43:12.860 --> 00:43:14.360 and death? 00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:18.099 It told us in Luke 23, 45, 00:43:18.280 --> 00:43:19.099 so that the curtain 00:43:19.099 --> 00:43:19.880 of the temple 00:43:19.880 --> 00:43:20.920 would be torn in two. 00:43:22.460 --> 00:43:24.679 So that the curtain 00:43:24.679 --> 00:43:25.539 that separated 00:43:25.539 --> 00:43:26.820 the holy God, 00:43:27.579 --> 00:43:28.400 the God who is 00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:29.460 holy, holy, holy, 00:43:30.139 --> 00:43:30.860 was separated 00:43:30.860 --> 00:43:31.539 from the people 00:43:31.539 --> 00:43:33.039 who deserve all of us. 00:43:33.240 --> 00:43:34.460 Whoa, whoa, whoa. 00:43:35.659 --> 00:43:36.519 Threefold doom. 00:43:36.920 --> 00:43:37.840 Threefold woe. 00:43:37.840 --> 00:43:39.600 That distance, 00:43:39.740 --> 00:43:40.300 that curtain 00:43:40.300 --> 00:43:41.420 that separated God 00:43:41.420 --> 00:43:42.059 from us 00:43:42.059 --> 00:43:42.660 is torn 00:43:42.660 --> 00:43:43.900 when Jesus dies 00:43:43.900 --> 00:43:44.460 on the cross 00:43:44.460 --> 00:43:45.480 because he dies 00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:47.100 as a sacrificial lamb 00:43:47.100 --> 00:43:48.640 to pay the price 00:43:48.640 --> 00:43:49.460 for our sins, 00:43:49.559 --> 00:43:50.559 to absorb the wrath 00:43:50.559 --> 00:43:50.980 of God 00:43:50.980 --> 00:43:52.260 in our place 00:43:52.260 --> 00:43:54.240 so that we can be reconciled 00:43:54.240 --> 00:43:55.180 to God the Father. 00:43:56.160 --> 00:43:57.760 If it weren't for Jesus 00:43:57.760 --> 00:43:59.200 dying on the cross, 00:43:59.280 --> 00:44:00.120 we would not even have 00:44:00.120 --> 00:44:00.640 an opportunity 00:44:00.640 --> 00:44:01.200 to repent. 00:44:02.260 --> 00:44:03.320 We would just 00:44:03.320 --> 00:44:04.059 have to bear 00:44:04.059 --> 00:44:04.800 that judgment 00:44:04.800 --> 00:44:05.960 and the punishment 00:44:05.960 --> 00:44:07.760 of the trumpet blasts. 00:44:08.900 --> 00:44:09.600 And that's why 00:44:09.600 --> 00:44:10.200 we call this 00:44:10.200 --> 00:44:10.840 the good news 00:44:10.840 --> 00:44:11.660 or the gospel 00:44:11.660 --> 00:44:12.620 of Jesus Christ 00:44:12.620 --> 00:44:13.900 that sinners 00:44:13.900 --> 00:44:14.500 who deserve 00:44:14.500 --> 00:44:15.600 the wrath of God 00:44:15.600 --> 00:44:16.300 can be spared 00:44:16.300 --> 00:44:17.780 and instead 00:44:17.780 --> 00:44:19.640 enjoy the pleasure, 00:44:19.780 --> 00:44:20.260 the favor, 00:44:20.500 --> 00:44:21.440 the grace of God. 00:44:23.480 --> 00:44:25.019 If you have not yet 00:44:25.019 --> 00:44:26.160 trusted in Jesus 00:44:26.160 --> 00:44:27.360 today 00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:29.440 and you hear 00:44:29.440 --> 00:44:30.840 these fire alarms 00:44:30.840 --> 00:44:31.260 ringing 00:44:31.260 --> 00:44:32.840 all around you 00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:33.440 in this world, 00:44:33.940 --> 00:44:34.640 don't wait 00:44:34.640 --> 00:44:35.380 for another day. 00:44:36.860 --> 00:44:37.340 Repent. 00:44:37.780 --> 00:44:38.860 This day can be 00:44:38.860 --> 00:44:39.860 the day of your salvation. 00:44:41.820 --> 00:44:42.900 If you have already 00:44:42.900 --> 00:44:43.920 repented of your sins 00:44:43.920 --> 00:44:44.820 and you already believe 00:44:44.820 --> 00:44:45.660 in Jesus Christ, 00:44:46.059 --> 00:44:47.200 there is an urgent command 00:44:47.200 --> 00:44:47.840 in this passage 00:44:47.840 --> 00:44:49.360 here for us as well. 00:44:49.780 --> 00:44:51.039 It says in Ezekiel 33 00:44:51.039 --> 00:44:52.380 that it is the responsibility 00:44:52.380 --> 00:44:53.280 of those who know 00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:54.480 the word of the Lord 00:44:54.480 --> 00:44:56.539 to serve as watchmen. 00:44:57.820 --> 00:44:59.519 Watchmen stay up 00:44:59.519 --> 00:45:00.820 to watch for danger 00:45:00.820 --> 00:45:01.440 that is coming 00:45:01.440 --> 00:45:02.960 and when they see 00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:04.619 doom approaching, 00:45:05.079 --> 00:45:05.519 they are supposed 00:45:05.519 --> 00:45:07.079 to sound the trumpet 00:45:07.079 --> 00:45:08.700 to warn the people. 00:45:09.720 --> 00:45:10.900 And God says to Ezekiel, 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:12.679 if you blow the trumpet 00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:13.700 to warn the people, 00:45:14.240 --> 00:45:15.679 but then people refuse 00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:16.200 to listen, 00:45:16.300 --> 00:45:17.119 they ignore you, 00:45:17.639 --> 00:45:18.420 then when judgment 00:45:18.420 --> 00:45:19.360 comes upon them, 00:45:19.579 --> 00:45:20.579 the blood will be 00:45:20.579 --> 00:45:21.300 on their own heads. 00:45:22.300 --> 00:45:22.960 But he says, 00:45:23.119 --> 00:45:24.159 if you refuse 00:45:24.159 --> 00:45:24.980 to blow the trumpet 00:45:24.980 --> 00:45:27.139 and people do not hear 00:45:27.139 --> 00:45:28.940 as a result of that, 00:45:29.720 --> 00:45:30.500 and then judgment 00:45:30.500 --> 00:45:31.199 falls upon them, 00:45:31.239 --> 00:45:31.460 he says, 00:45:31.519 --> 00:45:32.280 their blood will be 00:45:32.280 --> 00:45:33.139 on your head. 00:45:34.820 --> 00:45:36.380 And that's why Paul says 00:45:36.380 --> 00:45:38.059 in Acts 20, 26 to 27, 00:45:38.519 --> 00:45:39.960 therefore I testify to you 00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:41.840 this day that I am innocent 00:45:41.840 --> 00:45:42.900 of the blood of all, 00:45:43.260 --> 00:45:44.559 for I did not shrink 00:45:44.559 --> 00:45:45.719 from declaring to you 00:45:45.719 --> 00:45:46.920 the whole counsel of God. 00:45:48.179 --> 00:45:49.019 So Christian brothers 00:45:49.019 --> 00:45:49.460 and sisters, 00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:51.219 do you shrink 00:45:51.219 --> 00:45:52.300 from declaring 00:45:52.300 --> 00:45:53.480 the whole counsel of God? 00:45:54.559 --> 00:45:55.480 To your neighbors 00:45:55.480 --> 00:45:55.900 and friends, 00:45:55.980 --> 00:45:57.099 do you share 00:45:57.099 --> 00:45:58.659 the goodness of Jesus Christ 00:45:58.659 --> 00:45:59.839 with those around you? 00:46:00.579 --> 00:46:01.960 Are you shirking 00:46:01.960 --> 00:46:03.239 from your responsibility 00:46:03.239 --> 00:46:04.759 to sound the trumpet? 00:46:06.399 --> 00:46:08.099 To set off that fire alarm 00:46:08.099 --> 00:46:11.319 so that people might hear 00:46:11.319 --> 00:46:12.759 and turn from their sins 00:46:12.759 --> 00:46:13.379 and be saved? 00:46:14.579 --> 00:46:15.460 That's the point 00:46:15.460 --> 00:46:17.179 of our passage today. 00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:17.980 Let's pray. 00:46:17.980 --> 00:46:18.019 Let's pray. 00:46:18.440 --> 00:46:18.980 Let's pray. 00:46:19.039 --> 00:46:20.039 Let's pray. 00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:21.039 Let's pray. 00:46:21.039 --> 00:46:22.039 Let's pray. 00:46:22.039 --> 00:46:23.039 Let's pray. 00:46:23.039 --> 00:46:24.039 Let's pray. 00:46:24.039 --> 00:46:25.039 Let's pray. 00:46:25.039 --> 00:46:26.039 Let's pray. 00:46:26.039 --> 00:46:27.039 Let's pray. 00:46:27.039 --> 00:46:28.039 Let's pray. 00:46:28.039 --> 00:46:29.039 Let's pray. 00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:30.039 Let's pray. 00:46:30.039 --> 00:46:31.039 Let's pray. 00:46:31.039 --> 00:46:32.039 Let's pray. 00:46:32.039 --> 00:46:33.039 Let's pray. 00:46:33.039 --> 00:46:34.039 Let's pray. 00:46:34.039 --> 00:46:35.039 Let's pray. 00:46:35.039 --> 00:46:36.039 Let's pray. 00:46:36.039 --> 00:46:37.039 Let's pray. 00:46:37.039 --> 00:46:37.440 Father, 00:46:37.579 --> 00:46:40.519 we marvel at your holiness, 00:46:41.259 --> 00:46:42.699 your righteousness, 00:46:43.199 --> 00:46:44.679 and your justice, 00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:45.599 which we see 00:46:45.599 --> 00:46:46.300 in these judgments. 00:46:48.880 --> 00:46:49.699 But Lord, 00:46:49.759 --> 00:46:50.440 we also marvel 00:46:50.440 --> 00:46:51.159 at your mercy, 00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:55.360 that you give undeserving sinners 00:46:55.360 --> 00:46:56.719 opportunities to repent. 00:46:56.719 --> 00:46:58.219 again, 00:46:58.219 --> 00:46:59.399 and again, 00:46:59.399 --> 00:46:59.519 and again, 00:46:59.519 --> 00:47:00.819 and again. 00:47:10.039 --> 00:47:11.839 Form and shape us 00:47:11.839 --> 00:47:14.339 to be faithful watchmen, 00:47:14.419 --> 00:47:14.719 O Lord, 00:47:15.319 --> 00:47:18.000 to sound the trumpet, 00:47:18.719 --> 00:47:20.659 to be attuned to the blast 00:47:20.659 --> 00:47:21.599 of the trumpet, 00:47:21.599 --> 00:47:25.980 so that we can point 00:47:25.980 --> 00:47:27.360 as many people as possible 00:47:27.360 --> 00:47:29.599 to the deliverance 00:47:29.599 --> 00:47:30.759 that can be found 00:47:30.759 --> 00:47:31.880 in Jesus Christ, 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:32.500 your son, 00:47:32.639 --> 00:47:32.920 alone. 00:47:36.920 --> 00:47:38.259 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:47:38.819 --> 00:47:39.079 Amen.