So, thank you very much.
Now, Revelation chapter 8, we're entering a new phase in the book of Revelation because
we're getting into God pouring out his wrath and his judgment upon the unbelieving world.
Look at verse number 1, the Bible reads, and when he had opened the seventh seal, there
was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
Now, it always boggles my mind how anyone can read the book of Revelation and read these
two verses and walk away not understanding that the trumpets come after the seals.
I mean, it seems pretty simple, doesn't it?
Because the opening of the seventh seal is characterized by the seven angels being given
seven trumpets.
So, it makes absolutely no sense to say that the trumpets come before the seals.
However, those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, that is exactly what they believe,
believe it or not.
When you talk to them, they'll usually tell you that the sixth seal judgment is actually
after the trumpets, and it just makes absolutely no sense.
Now, let me just prove this to you quickly because I think this is a really important
point to make, and I'm going to explain to you why those who are pre-trib resist the
clear and obvious truth that the trumpets follow the seals, and I'm going to prove that
a couple of different ways in a moment.
But not only that, most people who call themselves post-trib, they call this the classic historical
post-trib position.
They actually believe that the rapture takes place not only after what the Bible calls
the tribulation but also after God pours out his wrath.
They believe that we'll be here during God's outpouring of wrath on this earth.
I don't call that position post-trib.
I call what I believe post-tribulation.
I call what they believe post-wrath, okay?
But honestly, that view also is based on the same mistake of believing that the trumpets
do not follow the seals.
And so by proving that the trumpets come after the seals, I am proving that the only way
that you can legitimately interpret the book of Revelation and end times Bible prophecy
is a post-tribulational pre-wrath rapture.
It's the only thing that makes sense in light of that because anyone can look at this and
say, well, let's just get into it.
In Revelation chapter 8, verse number 2, it says, I saw the seven angels which stood before
God and to them were given seven trumpets.
Then if you jump down to verse 6, it says, and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets
prepared themselves to sound.
Verse 7, the first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood
and they were cast upon the earth and the third part of trees was burnt up and all green
grass was burnt up.
And of course, we're going to get into all those judgments and what they are.
But notice right away when the trumpets begin to be blown, the first thing God tells us
is that fire is raining down and that all the green grass in the earth is burned up
and that the third of the trees are burned up, okay?
That's going to be important.
Let's back up to chapter 6 and I'm going to explain to you why this is so important.
You go to Revelation 6.
I'm going to read for you from Matthew 24 and I'm going to explain to you why those
who believe in a pre-trib rapture must try to smuggle in the trumpets before the seals
or during the seals and mix those two judgments.
Let me explain to you why.
Go to Revelation 6.
I'll read for you the familiar verses from Matthew 24 beginning in verse 29.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon
shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens
shall be shaken.
Now that verse makes it very clear that the sun and moon being darkened and the stars
falling comes after the tribulation, doesn't it?
Okay, we'll look down at your Bible there in Revelation chapter 6 verse 12.
The Bible reads, and I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal and lo there was a great
earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood and the
stars of heaven fell into the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when
she is shaken of a mighty wind.
So right there we see the exact same event described as what we see in Matthew 24.
We see the sun and moon being darkened and the stars falling.
Now here's the thing, search the book of Revelation all you want.
This is the only time in the book of Revelation that that event is recorded.
When Jesus said in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 that the sun and moon would be darkened
and the stars would fall, if you go to find that in Revelation, this is the only place
you're going to find it.
Now if we take the obvious interpretation of Revelation that I'm going to prove to you
is right, if we take the obvious interpretation of chapter 8 that says that the trumpets come
after the seals, you know what that means?
That means that if the sun and moon are darkened and the stars fall at the sixth seal and that
the sun and moon being darkened is after the tribulation, that means that anything after
the sixth seal is not part of the tribulation.
Think about that.
That's very important.
Anything after the sixth seal must not be part of the tribulation because when the sun
and moon are darkened at the sixth seal, that's already after the tribulation's over.
That means that the trumpet judgments are not part of the tribulation at all.
That destroys both the pre-trib rapture position and it destroys the historical classical so-called
post-trib position, which is a post seven years rapture or a post wrath or post trumpets
and vials or whatever you want to call it.
We see here very clearly that the rapture takes place because if we keep reading in
Matthew 24, you don't have to turn there, but right after it says after the tribulation,
the sun and moon are darkened, it says in verse 30, and then shall appear the sign of
the son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall
see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from
the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
Obviously the rapture, Jesus comes in the clouds, trumpet sounds, he gathers the elect.
Here's why this destroys the pre-trib position because those that are pre-trib, this is what
they say.
They say, well, there's a rapture before the tribulation and then there's another rapture
at the end of the seven years after the tribulation.
Well, when we look at this and see that this trumpet sounding and elect being gathered
is when the sun and moon are darkened, that's not at the end of the seven years because
you still have all the trumpets and all the vials after it.
It's partway through, not in the exact middle, but near the middle, partway after the middle,
sometime during the second half is when this is going to take place when Jesus Christ comes
in the clouds and the trumpet sounds and so you see now they're having to come up with
new raptures and it seems like when you talk to people who believe in the pre-trib rapture,
they'll tell you there are five raptures or seven raptures, three raptures.
They have to just make these things up because their position just doesn't fit scripture.
Go if you would to Revelation 7 and let me just break this down for you.
So if we just take the obvious, I mean if we just open our Bibles and just read it and
take it for what it says, the obvious truth is that the tribulation, what Jesus called
the great tribulation is over by the time the sixth seal is opened and the sun and moon
are darkened and then the trumpets and vials that are carried out afterward are not part
of the tribulation.
That's why Jesus didn't even cover them at all in Matthew 24.
There's no mention of any of the trumpet or vial judgments in Matthew 24 because Matthew
24 is about the tribulation and so he doesn't get into the pouring out of the wrath that
comes after.
Now let me prove to you again, even though just we should be able to read Revelation
8 and anyone can see that opening the seventh seal is what initiates the seven trumpets,
but just to prove it to you further, just in case there's any doubt in your mind that
the trumpets come after the seals, which just is the final nail in the coffin of both
pre-trib rapture and a post seven years or post wrath rapture and I'll explain to you
why.
Look at Revelation 7-1.
Remember in chapter 6, sun and moon were darkened, sixth seal was opened.
Look at verse 1 of Revelation 7 and after these things, now doesn't that indicate chronology
when he says after these things?
I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the
earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and
he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and
the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees, till we have sealed
the servants of our God in their fords.
And I heard the number of them which were sealed, and there were sealed one hundred
and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
So in chapter 6, we have the sixth seal opened, sun and moon are darkened, and they say the
great day of his wrath has come.
But just before that wrath is poured out, God stops everything and says, wait a minute,
don't hurt the earth yet, don't hurt the sea yet, look that proves that the sea and the
earth have not been hurt during the first six seals, okay?
He says, don't hurt them until we've sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads,
and then the 144,000 are sealed in their foreheads, okay?
Now go to Revelation chapter 9, verse 4, Revelation 9, 4.
So keep this in mind, between the sixth and the seventh seal, the 144,000 are sealed.
What is the purpose of receiving that seal in their foreheads?
Well, Revelation 9, 4 tells us.
This is when locusts come out of the bottomless pit, locusts from hell, to torment mankind,
and in verse 4 it says, and it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of
the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not
the seal of God in their foreheads.
So the purpose of that seal in their foreheads was to make them immune from these judgments
that are going to be poured out on the rest of mankind.
Because the 144,000 are going to be on this earth while God is pouring out his wrath,
this seal in their foreheads will allow them to be protected and immune from the judgments
that are being poured out, and specifically here, this judgment is the fifth trumpet judgment.
So this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the fifth trumpet comes after the 144,000
are sealed.
And the 144,000 are sealed between the sixth and seventh trumpet, and the sixth seal is
already after the tribulation, because he said, after the tribulation, sun and moon
are darkened.
Sun and moon are darkened at the sixth seal.
Therefore, this proves that the fifth trumpet judgment must come after the tribulation.
It cannot be part of the tribulation, because they're not even sealed to be immune from
it until after the tribulation.
I mean, it's bizarre to tell me, and people will try to tell you, well, you know, the
seventh trumpet and the sixth seal, they both line up, you know, because the seals and trumpets
are happening at the same time, and the sixth seal lines up with the seventh trumpet.
You know what that would mean?
That would basically mean that the fifth trumpet happens, locusts from hell are attacking while
we're on this earth.
We're not protected.
We don't have a mark in our foreheads.
Then after that judgment's completely over, God says, okay, I'm going to seal these guys
in the forehead to protect them from something that already happened.
But this is the bizarre kind of circular logic and mental acrobatics you have to do to believe
in either a pre-trib rapture, you know, because the pre-trib, they say the whole seven years
is called the tribulation.
I mean, this is their mantra, seven years tribulation, seven years tribulation.
I mean, they call the whole thing the tribulation.
The Bible does not call the whole thing the tribulation because anything after the sixth
seal is not the tribulation.
It is never called tribulation.
That's why the last time you'll even find the word tribulation in the book of Revelation
is in chapter seven, right after the open of the sixth seal.
He says they came out of great tribulation.
And so both of those positions fall flat.
Just revelation eight alone is enough to demolish both of these false teachings.
The post seven years rapture and the pre-trib rapture both fall apart when you look at it
that way.
I've asked those that are pre-trib to explain this.
They can't.
I mean, they stammered and stuttered and struggled and they've never been...
No pre-tribber has ever been able to give me an answer that was even close to being
legitimate to this.
And then I asked those who believe in a post seven years, you know, a post-wrath rapture,
the historic classical post-trib position, I asked them, how do you explain this?
How do you explain...
By trying to say the trumpets happened during the seals, when clearly revelation eight says
the trumpets fall on the seals, I said, how do you explain it?
Here's what they said.
Oh, when it says that the locusts will not hurt those that have the seal of God in their
foreheads, that's talking about the fact that we're sealed with the Holy Ghost.
Come on, you got to get real, man.
In chapter seven, he seals people in their foreheads.
Two chapters later, he says, we're not going to hurt the ones that have the seal in their
forehead.
Now, all of a sudden, it's the sealing of the Holy Ghost.
I'm sorry, the Holy Ghost has not sealed me in my forehead.
I mean, you know, is this like...
You know, I've heard a lot of people talk about, you know, receiving Jesus Christ into
your heart.
You know, I guess now it's, you know, ask Jesus to come into your forehead because they're
trying to say that being sealed with the Holy Spirit is equivalent to being sealed in your
forehead?
No.
There's a special seal in the forehead that the 144,000 received and no one else.
Now, we will eventually have his name in our foreheads, but that's post-millennial.
I mean, that's in chapter 22 of Revelation that we see that.
So that's a really important thing that I wanted to drive in there that you must realize.
And when you read Revelation 8, it's obvious that the trumpets follow the seals.
There's no other reasonable way to interpret this.
Now go to Luke 17 and keep your finger in Revelation 8.
I want to just show you how Revelation 8 matches up perfectly with Luke 17.
Then we'll get into the actual specific judgments.
There are four trumpets that are going to sound in chapter 8.
The seven trumpets cover a few chapters.
Chapter 8 covers the first four trumpets.
Chapter 9 covers trumpets 5 and 6.
And then the seventh trumpet is covered in chapter 11.
But if you would look at Luke 17, and we're going to compare this with Revelation 8 and
see how it matches up perfectly.
Look at Luke 17, 26, it says, And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in
the days of the Son of Man.
They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day
that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
So the Bible's real clear that the same day Noah got on the ark is when it began to rain.
Bible's also clear about that back in Genesis.
Look at verse 28, Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded, but the same day that Lot went out
of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
Even thus shall be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
So there's a comparison here made between the second coming of Jesus Christ and Noah
and Lot.
And that comparison is that the same day Noah got on the ark, it rained.
And then the same day Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone.
We know that God is not going to destroy the earth with a flood ever again.
He made that promise.
But he will destroy the earth with fire and brimstone.
Now with that in mind, look at Revelation 8, and we'll see this come to fruition, what
Jesus Christ said.
And remember, the comparison he was making was that it was the same day.
Same day Noah got on the ark, it rained.
Same day Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone.
And keep in mind, remember when Lot left Sodom, he was actually dragged out physically
by the angels.
Remember Lot was hanging around and he was delaying, he wasn't getting out of the city
fast enough.
And finally the angels grabbed him and laid hold on him and literally dragged him out
of Sodom.
You know, that's a picture of Matthew 24, when the Bible talks about it, the rapture,
the trumpet sounds, he'll send forth his angels to gather the elect.
The angels will gather up the saved, just as the angels dragged Lot out of Sodom.
Well look what the Bible says in chapter 8.
It says in verse 1, when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven
about the space of half an hour.
You know, when we're talking about a half hour, obviously God's being real specific
with us about the timing here.
We're still on the same day.
The same day that the rapture took place, the same day that the sun and moon were darkened
and Jesus came in the clouds, the great multitude appears in chapter 7, clearly the rapture
when that great multitude appears in heaven, we're still on that same day.
A half hour goes by and the Bible says, I saw the seven angels which stood before God
and to them were given seven trumpets.
And another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer and there was given
unto him much incense.
Notice the word censer is similar to the word incense.
A censer is a piece of equipment used for burning incense.
It says that the angel had a golden censer and there was given unto him much incense
that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which
was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before
God out of the angel's hand.
And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar, and watch this, and
cast it into the earth.
And there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake.
So right here, right away, half hour later, after the rapture is described, we've got
an angel taking a censer, filling it with fire of the altar, and casting fire into the
earth.
So you can see how the same day that the rapture takes place, fire will rain from heaven.
Not only that, but after the seventh seal causes this fire to be thrown into the earth,
then the trumpet judgments begin.
And what's the first trumpet judgment?
Verse seven, the first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood
and they were cast upon the earth and the third part of trees was burnt up and all green
grass was burnt up.
And so we see here that the first judgment that happens immediately after the rapture
is fire being rained from heaven.
Now stop and think about this.
The Bible's really specifically telling us here that with this first trumpet, one third
of the trees on the earth are burned up.
But that is contrasted with the fact that all the green grass is burned up.
Now that is a lot of fire.
I mean if you're going to burn up all the green grass, that is a ton of fire.
Now wouldn't you say that that proves that fire is being rained upon the entire earth?
I mean every continent, every nation, every town, every area, I mean there is no place
that is going to be spared from this.
I mean it's going to be raining fire everywhere.
And notice what the Bible specifically says.
First of all, it says that the angel took the sensor, filled it with fire of the altar
and cast into the earth.
So there's a mention of just specifically fire being cast into the earth.
But then with the first trumpet, it's mentioned as hail and fire mingled with blood.
Okay, so basically we've got hailstones that are coming down with fire and these hailstones
that are coming down with fire are basically igniting everything that they come into contact
with, into flames.
So I mean you've got to picture it, houses are going to be burned down, buildings are
going to be burned, trees, I mean forest fires like you wouldn't believe, green grass being
burned up.
I mean this is an extreme amount of burning.
And again this proves again that a post-tribulational pre-wrath rapture is what fits scripture.
Because if you compare Luke 17 that says fire's going to rain from heaven the same
day that we leave, okay, if you go to the end of the seven years, you don't see this
kind of fire being rained from heaven.
You see this kind of fire being rained from heaven.
And look, in 2 Peter chapter 3, when the Bible talks about the day of the Lord being characterized
by the heavens being on fire and the elements melting with fervent heat, that fits in better
with the seventh seal and first trumpet than anything else in the book of Revelation that's
premillennial.
And so right there it's very clear to see that a post-trib pre-wrath view is the one
that just is the obvious view when you read scripture.
So that's the first trumpet, fire coming from heaven.
Let's look at the second trumpet, but before we do, flip over to Acts 3.
Keep your finger in Revelation, let's go to Acts 3.
I just want to explain to you the purpose of the trumpet judgments.
What is the purpose?
Why is God going through all this?
I mean, couldn't God just snap his fingers and everybody will be in hell?
What's the point of even having these trumpet judgments and pouring out his wrath in this
way?
We'll look at Acts chapter 3 verse 20.
The Bible says, and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the
heaven must receive, talking about the fact that Jesus is going to ascend up to heaven
temporarily, whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things,
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
So when Jesus Christ returns, it will be a time of restitution of all things.
Now if you look up the word restitution in the Bible, it's used over and over again about
someone stealing something and then having to make restitution, having to pay it back.
So basically what we see with the trumpet judgments and the vile judgments, which are
both the outpouring of God's wrath, is we see payback time.
This is God in a very clear way showing that he will recompense sin.
He will pay back mankind for all the wickedness and sin that they've done.
The Bible said in Luke 17, we didn't really talk about it a few minutes ago, but when
we looked at Luke 17, it said that when Jesus Christ comes back, it'll be like it was in
the days of Noah.
And if you remember what it was like in the days of Noah, the Bible says the wickedness
of man was great upon the earth and that the imaginations of man's heart were only evil
continually.
It was a very wicked day.
The Bible also tells us that in Noah's day, the earth was filled with violence.
And so that is why God destroyed the first world with the flood.
And then in the days of Lot, we know that the whole city was given over to fornication
and going after strange flesh, which obviously strange means queer.
We know that these were men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving themselves
that recompense of their error, which was meat.
And even the Bible tells us in Genesis 19 that when the man came to try to assault Lot
and to try to molest him and abuse him and commit perverted acts on him, the Bible says
that all the men of the city came young and old.
I mean, even young men, even children there were already perverted and corrupted by the
filth of that city.
And you know, it's obviously the primary application of Luke 17 and the primary comparison he's
making is that it will be like the days of Noah and Lot in the sense that the same day
they left, the judgment was poured out.
That's the main point he's making.
And that's the main point that I want to make.
But you know, as a secondary application, I believe, and you know, I used to think that
that's all it meant, but you know, now that I look around and see the sodomy that abounds,
the homosexuality, the filth, the perversion, you know what, it makes me think, wow, it
is getting to be like the days of Sodom in the day that we're living.
And honestly, it wasn't this way even 10 years ago, 20 years ago it was not this way at all.
But I'm telling you, just every day this world we live in gets more sick, more sinful,
more perverted, and even Christians, even God's people are to the point where they cringe
when they hear preaching against homos.
I mean they cringe, they hate it because it's their friends and it's their co-workers and
it's their relatives and they say, oh, you're not loving, look, I can't preach too hard
against the homos.
Look what the Bible says about them.
The Bible says even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner,
giving themselves over to fornication and going forth after strange flesh are set forth
for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
He said that's an example to us today in the New Testament of what God thinks about that
kind of sin.
What he did to Sodom and Gomorrah is an example of what he thinks about it.
And he will do it again.
He rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, well you know what, it's getting
to be like the days of Sodom again, he's going to rain fire and brimstone again.
It's going to happen in Revelation 8.
The Bible tells us it's going to happen.
There will be a restitution of all things.
Whatsoever man, so with that shall he also reap.
It's going to be payday someday for the wicked, filthy sinners of this world.
But that's not the only sin that's out there.
I mean there's all kinds of sin in this world, right?
There's murder, there's rape, there's theft, there's all kinds of adultery, there's all
kinds of pornography, there's all kinds of drunkenness and revelings and blasphemy against
the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
There's immorality, there's sin, and God is going to settle the score.
I mean God is going to punish this earth.
He will come to punish the world and the inhabitants thereof.
And that's what these trumpet judgments are.
Basically a trumpet in the Bible is often a declaration of war.
And if you remember the Antichrist before this point has already made war with the saints
during the tribulation, before the wrath begins to be poured out.
But you know what?
The lamb is going to make war with them.
And the lamb is going to overcome them.
And he's going to overthrow them finally at the battle of Armageddon and set up his kingdom
on this earth.
Well these trumpet sounds are battle trumpets.
He's coming to make war and he's coming to make restitution and to take this earth back
for his own kingdom.
And the kingdoms of this world will soon become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.
Let's get to the next judgment here.
Let's look at Revelation chapter 8 verse 8.
We'll get into the second trumpet.
That was the first trumpet where fire and brimstone were rained from heaven.
Hail and fire mingled with blood also are mentioned.
Third part of trees burned up, all green grass burned up.
Look at verse 8.
And the second angel sounded and as it were a great mountain, burning with fire was cast
into the sea and the third part of the sea became blood.
Now notice, it doesn't say that a burning mountain was cast into the sea.
It says that it was as it were or as if a great mountain burning with fire was cast
into the sea and the third part of the sea became blood.
So what was that?
Well probably some kind of a flaming meteor, you know, crashing into the earth.
That's what it seems like.
But whatever it was, it had the effect of being similar to a great burning mountain
being cast into the sea.
And when that took place, the third part of the sea was turned to blood.
And the Bible says the third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died and
the third part of the ships were destroyed.
Now go back to Exodus chapter 7.
Keep your finger there in Revelation 8, but go back to the very beginning of the Bible,
Genesis, Exodus.
Look at Exodus chapter 7.
Because it's really interesting when you compare the plagues that God brought upon Egypt in
the Old Testament, the ten plagues, how similar they are to these final plagues of the book
of Revelation.
And I looked at the ten plagues and really the only ones I couldn't really find a parallel
for in Revelation were the lice, the flies, and the frogs.
But in reality, I mean obviously I know there are the three unclean spirits like frogs,
but I didn't really see the flies and the lice and the frogs.
But other than that, the other seven judgments that were poured out in Exodus, they all show
up again in the book of Revelation.
But look if you would at Exodus 7 verse 20.
The Bible reads, and Moses and Aaron did so as the Lord commanded and he lifted up the
rod and smote the waters that were in the river in the sight of Pharaoh, meaning he
hit the water with his rod, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants and
all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
And watch what the effect was of turning the rivers of water into blood.
And the fish that was in the river died and the river stank and the Egyptians could not
drink of the water of the river and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
So go back to Revelation and in Revelation chapter 9 the Bible says in the third part
of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died and the third part of the ships
were destroyed.
So right there we see a parallel where when Moses took his rod and smote the water, as
soon as his rod hit that water, right, it turned the water into blood and because of
that all the animals died because obviously fish are not designed to swim and live and
function in blood.
You know everything has to be just right for them to live.
You know if you've ever tried to have a pet fish and you've gone through several of them,
you know, and in our house when a pet fish or a pet hamster dies we keep giving it the
same name.
Sort of like Shamu, you know, we're like, you know, hey it's Shamu, right, it's Sea
World but it's like the 17th Shamu or I mean it's not that many but you know what I mean.
Every time it dies they get a new Shamu.
Well that's kind of, you know, like we had a hamster named Frankie, you know, we've gone
through a few Frankie's, okay, but you know, but anyway, you know, because these animals
they have a short lifespan anyway, hamsters on a, you know, in a good condition only last
for a couple of years but you know, you know, kids always they get a fish and it dies and
then they get another fish and it dies and they get that and they can't figure out why
is it dying and it's like, well, you know, you didn't change the water off enough, it
got too cold, it got too high, you didn't feed it right, you didn't clean it, you know,
you need a little bubbler to put bubbles in them, you know, conditions have to be just
right.
Now I've never tried filling a fish bowl full of blood, you know, get a fish bowl, fill
it with blood, take a goldfish, you know, throw it in there, but I have a feeling it
will probably die pretty fast.
I don't care what kind of a bubbler you're using, I don't care what kind of fish flakes
you put in, I don't care how often you change out the blood, okay, so in Exodus we see that
the whole land of Egypt stank because I mean the smell of all those dead fish and the smell
of that blood, I mean doesn't that sound like a horrible smell, just a bloody river full
of dead fish floating at the top, I mean it stank, it stank horribly, okay, that was the
Nile River.
Now imagine a third of the seas, a third of the ocean turning into blood and a third of
the fish dying, I mean that's going to make the whole world stink, I mean because think
about how these wind streams come through, you know, these air streams, the prevailing
westerlies and you know you look at the globe and the wind just keeps going around and going
around and going around, you know, think about the stench, think about the sickness that's
going to be caused by that diseased filthy air from this bloody mess in the ocean that's
going to kill one third of the sea creatures, I mean that's a pretty horrible judgement
right there, it's going to be destroying ships, it's going to cause that you know trade
and commerce isn't going to progress like it should because of the fact that you know
most of our imports and exports are carried by sea, you know they get these giant ships
with all these railroad cars stacked on them and so forth so that's a pretty serious judgement
so that was going after the salt water, you know, he destroyed one third of it but look
at Revelation 8 verse 10, the Bible says this, and the third angel sounded and there
fell a great star from heaven burning as it were a lamp and it fell upon the third part
of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters.
Now when the Bible talks about a star falling from heaven or for example what we talked
about earlier, when it talked about the sun and moon being darkened and the stars falling,
what I believe that that is is actually what we would call a shooting star, okay, which
is really what we would call a meteor, you know coming down into the atmosphere because
I remember when I was a child in the summertime sometimes we'd lay on our backs and look up
at the stars and you know on a certain night sometimes you'd see a shooting star every
five minutes, who's ever seen that where you're seeing a lot of shooting stars and you can
lay there on your back and I mean a shooting star looks just like a star, I mean you're
seeing all the stars and then you'll just see that one little white streak right there
that looks like a star falling, I mean that's what it looks like, it looks like a shooting
star, that's why it's called that.
Now you know if we listen to science and we you know listen to what they say and you know
I'm not really sure how much of it is theory or how much of it is really true, how much
of it is maybe false, scientists tell us that stars are these gigantic you know burning
masses that are bigger than Earth even right.
So if God were talking about one of you know all of those stars falling in Revelation 6
or one of those stars falling in Revelation 6, I mean it would only take one to just wipe
out the planet okay, but I believe that God often speaks in in language that expresses
our perception and our view from Earth, like when the Bible says the sun rises, the sun
goes down, we obviously know that the sun is not going up and down, we know that the
sun is basically taking a circular route but it's really not the sun that's even moving,
it's us that's moving in a circle around the sun and the Earth is rotating and the Earth's
rotation is what's causing the sun to have the appearance of going up and going down.
But there are a lot of things like that in the Bible where God uses language that man
can understand or that's from man's viewpoint or man's perception.
So I do not believe that in Revelation 6 when the sun and moon are darkened and the stars
fall, I do not believe that we're talking about you know Sirius and and Beetlejuice
and and you know the star cluster Pleiades, you know I don't believe that those stars
are what's referred to.
And further proof of that is that after the events of the sixth seal, later on with the
fourth trumpet, the Bible talks about the third part of the stars not shining and and
the moon and the sun not shining shining for a third part of the day.
You know that shows that there are still stars in the sky after the events of Revelation
6.
You say well that's because you know the trumpets happen before the seals.
Well you know we already put that to bed okay earlier in the sermon.
So it's clear that obviously when the Bible talks about a star falling under the earth
what we're what we're most likely talking about is like a meteor crashing into the earth
which is what we would call a shooting star okay.
So this meteor comes crashing down into the earth and the Bible says that it fell upon
the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters and the name of the star
is called wormwood and the third part of the waters became wormwood and many men died of
the waters because they were made bitter.
Now for a long time this scripture perplexed me a little bit but I think I understand it
now and I have a I have a pretty interesting explanation of what this probably is talking
about because if you think about it the oceans are all connected aren't they?
I mean you look at the Pacific Atlantic Indian Ocean Arctic Ocean they're all connected right.
So is it really hard for us to understand how the third part of the seas could be affected
by a mountain burning with fire like object you know being cast into the sea the effect
of that maybe a different meteor or whatever okay.
Is it really hard for us to understand how that could affect the third part of the seas?
No because you can see how that could radiate out from a certain place and cover a third
of the surface area of what we're talking about but when it comes to the rivers and
fountains of waters are they connected?
No the rivers and fountains of waters are on different continents different sides of
the world not connected not contiguous so I always wondered you know how could this
thing affect the third part of the rivers and the fountains of waters?
You know is it you know is it just affecting a certain continent you know I asked myself
is it maybe just affecting you know maybe this is just coming down on the you know Eurasia
and Africa and it kind of radiates out and covers a third of the area the effect of it
and I wonder you know why would I mean obviously the star so-called that's that's crashing
into the earth you know it couldn't be that big or else it would demolish the entire planet
okay.
So I always wondered like how could this star called wormhood crashing into the earth affect
a third part of the waters when they're not contiguous now I mean it's possible I don't
know you know we don't really understand how this is going to play out I don't doubt it
I mean I have total faith in what God's telling us here but you know I learned something very
interesting a few years back that I think could possibly be part of the answer maybe
a little bit of symbolism here because of the fact that and what you know what made
me think about this was that the Fukushima meltdown who knows what I'm talking about
with the Fukushima reactor that melted down with the giant tsunami that took place in
Japan and what was the tsunami a result of an earthquake right there was a great earthquake
in Japan and that earthquake caused a massive tidal wave to come in and this massive tidal
wave came into a nuclear power plant and actually caused the power plant to not be able to cool
down their reactive substances that were there and that basically the nuclear by the
byproduct of their nuclear power generation the nuclear waste the radioactive materials
they were not able to keep it cool and then start melting down and started basically spraying
out all this pollutant even some of which reached the United States radioactive material
that's highly deadly and carcinogenic but if you remember there was another famous event
where this took place in the in the sense that there was a nuclear accident that caused
poison or radioactive chemical to be released into the environment and that is Chernobyl
okay and that took place in the 80s and the Chernobyl incident killed many people caused
many people to be deformed and diseased in Eastern Europe and it was a major major catastrophe
of course Fukushima was was similar just in a different part of the world now the Chernobyl
accident was different than the Fukushima accident the Fukushima accident was caused
by an earthquake but think about this there are nuclear power plants all over the world
in fact there's one right outside of Phoenix I mean a major nuclear power plant and I did
a little research during the Fukushima incident about nuclear power plants and if you look
at this and study it you'll see that this waste that they produce this nuclear radioactive
byproduct that is a result of generating power by nuclear means it doesn't go anywhere you
can't just throw it in the trash you can't just throw it in the landfill some of this
stuff will remain radioactive for thousands of years I mean this stuff you once you create
these radioactive substances that are the byproduct of what you're doing with the nuclear
power generation you know you have to store this stuff forever and they stored all these
used you know these used rods or whatever they were I'm not an expert on it but they
stored all this stuff at Fukushima and they had to constantly keep running water with
other chemicals in it over this stuff to try to keep it cool keep it from just completely
melting I mean it'll melt through the floor it'll melt down it'll pollute everything it'll
get down into the groundwater so they have to keep this stuff contained and all of these
nuclear power plants are containing these type of materials and keeping them in a condition
that is you know somewhat contained from destroying the environment poisoning us all
you know destroying all of our water supply our fresh water supply well here's something
that you may or may not know but did you know that the word Chernobyl is literally the Ukrainian
word for wormwood just by total coincidence I mean you know this power plant was named
Chernobyl and I've you know and this isn't just oh that's just some hokey thing that
you you know somebody sent you an email like that and said forward this to 10 people no
honestly if you if you I mean I verified and I'm a language guy you know I'm a guy who
studies a lot of languages I don't speak Ukrainian or Russian but I do speak German Spanish Norwegian
and so I've studied a lot of language and you know I went in and and did some homework
on this and did research you know looked up the words that the root words looked up the
words involved and it is true that literally the word Chernobyl actually is referring to
the plant which is in the Latin called Artemisia vulgaris and in English it is known as common
wormwood and sometimes it's also called mugwort but this plant wormwood is literally called
Chernobyl that's what the name of the of the nuclear power plant meant Chernobyl okay
and this plant is become basically synonymous with the nuclear meltdown I mean anytime there's
any kind of a nuclear issue or a nuclear meltdown or a nuclear accident it's always compared
to what Chernobyl you know and with Fukushima was always like how does this rank with Chernobyl
is it better is it a situation of containment or is it worse is it is it more serious is
it as serious and so that has become basically you know sort of like when it comes to oil
spills what's kind of the big oil spill that kind of you think of Exxon Valdez right isn't
that kind of like you know just the cliche just major oil spill you know there are certain
events that are kind of defining events or quintessential events and basically when it
comes to a nuclear meltdown you can't really talk about it without mentioning Chernobyl
it's kind of become symbolic because it was the first really major type of a nuclear accident
like that and I just think it's a bizarre coincidence that Chernobyl means wormwood
and so I wonder if what God could be trying to show us think about this now let's say
a meteor comes crashing into the earth right what's it going to create earthquakes what's
it going to create tidal waves and what is that going to cause earthquakes and tidal
waves could basically release all this highly radioactive deadly toxic garbage out of these
nuclear power plants in various parts of the world and the reason I just don't think that
this is going to be localized I believe it's going to be worldwide it's just going to only
affect a third part of the freshwater worldwide though not just one not the third part of
the earth being affected but I think a third part of the water supply of the whole earth
is going to be contaminated probably through these nuclear waste facilities you know leaching
out because if you think about when these things get out of control I mean they melt
down into the earth I mean they contaminate the groundwater you know they get in the air
they come down in the rain I mean they brought with the clouds I mean I remember after the
Fukushima thing they said when it's raining is when there's going to be more radioactive
isotopes because you know the clouds are carrying this stuff in the moisture and so you could
easily see how a third part of the water could become bitter to the point where it is killing
people because look at the end of verse 11 many men died of the waters because they were
made bitter and so why would he why would he name the star after a plant wormwood which
is a bitter plant it's a poisonous plant you say well he named it that because he wants
us to know that this star crashing into the earth is going to have the effect of making
the waters bitter that's why it's called wormwood because the waters are going to become wormwood
right but could that be by the means of releasing nuclear waste I mean think about it how could
the nuclear waste that's stored in these power plants how could it not get released with
this kind of cataclysm going on I mean how could you when when you've got fire coming
down from heaven when you've got the sea being judged and now a star falling under
the earth and crashing into the earth how could you not release that stuff when just
a basic earthquake and tidal wave released it in Japan what is this kind of a collision
going to do of a meteor crashing into it so I think that's a very interesting coincidence
about the fact that you know Chernobyl means wormwood literally and you know do the research
yourself you'll see that what I'm saying is true believe it or not it's it's weird but
it's true look at verse 12 this is the fourth angel that was the third judgment the wormwood
judgment look at the fourth trumpet and the fourth angel sounded and the third part of
the sun was smitten and the third part of the moon and the third part of the stars so
as the third part of them was darkened and the days show not for a third part of it and
the night likewise so basically mankind during this time is going to experience total darkness
for one third of the 24 hour day you know so eight hours a day it's going to be completely
dark because right now even at night you've got the stars you've got the moon illuminating
things and the only reason that we don't see that the stars very well is because we live
in the city and the city is so bright but you know when all these cataclysmic things
are happening you better know there are going to be a lot of power failures not everybody's
lighting to where you say well so what if so what if there's eight hours a day of total
dark I'll just stay home I'll just turn on the lights you know what the power the power
company is probably not going to be remember remember what just happened to the nuclear
power plant with the third trumpet the nuclear power plant is not going to be generating
so there are going to be times when you're just sitting in darkness and when you're out
and about in darkness and when there's no sun no moon or stars visible at all you're
just in complete darkness for eight hours a day now think about the looting that could
go on or think about you know think about what an evil person could do with that has
a flashlight you know that has a torch I mean society is going to be breaking down you know
whenever society even begins to break down there are wicked people who are ready to jump
on that opportunity and take advantage of a bad situation take advantage of a hurricane
or a flood remember Hurricane Katrina and I remember hearing the news with Hurricane
Katrina they talked about how there were all these people being being assaulted and
especially being abused and molested so this is going to be a horrific time to be sitting
in darkness and keep in mind the believers are gone man you're sitting in total darkness
the whole world's filled with a bunch of weirdos and perverts and wicked people and it only
takes a few wicked people and I mean anybody who's left behind here is going to be you
know in a world of hurt thank God we're not going to be there but I mean you know for
those that are going to be there it's going to be bad I mean you know if you're there
you're going to be you're going to be in a bad place during those eight hours so this
is a major judgment you might think that the fourth trumpet seems mild with the darkness
but it's it's it's what man is going to do during that time and it's just going to it's
going to it's going to mess up you know people who are trying to get food they're trying
to just recover from the other judgments and then this but look at the last verse of
the chapter verse 13 and I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven
saying with a loud voice whoa whoa whoa to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the
other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound now that's a pretty
scary verse when you think about what has just happened he's already burned up a third
of the trees he's already burned up all the green grass he's already rained hail and fire
and blood from heaven he's already turned the third part of the sea into blood and caused
a third part of the ships in the world to be destroyed a third part of the sea creatures
have been destroyed he's already poisoned one third of the fresh water supply on this
earth made it into wormwood where people who are drinking it are dying from drinking the
water he's already caused there to be a darkness and it's the type of darkness that was back
in exodus where he said it was a darkness which may be felt and that kind of darkness
is going to be there eight hours a day in a 24 hour period and then verse 13 is there
to just tell you you know what you have seen nothing yet he said you know what you really
ought to be afraid of is what's still coming he says whoa whoa whoa to the inhabitants
of the earth by reason of the other voice of the trumpet of the three angels which are
yet to sound and when you see the judgments of the fifth trumpet and the sixth trumpet
and the seventh trumpet you'll see why he said that because it's about to get a lot
worse a lot worse I mean this is going to be bad but this is nothing compared to the
other three god's mad god's angry that's what we take from this chapter more than anything
look it's god's wrath and wrath means extreme intense burning anger what's making god so
mad sin wickedness god is angry with the wicked every day and he's angry right now and we
may not see his anger right now but it's just building up his anger is building up it's
building up and the account is building up for restitution building up building up well
one day he's going to come down like a ton of bricks on this world and I mean it's going
to be bad let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for
this great chapter in your word help us to let it sink down into our ears you know thank
god we as christians will not be present for these judgments but what we can take away
from this is that you hate sin and that you're angry about sin help us not to participate
in it help us not to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather
reprove them help us to live a clean and and godly and righteous life in this crooked and
perverse nation among whom we shine as lights in the world and in jesus name we pray amen