Prophecy
8
The Six
Trumpets –
Revelation 8:2 – 9:21
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Two levels of
atonement (two altars) were required
in the earthly temple because of
timing. When God initiated temple
services in the wilderness, the
population of Israel exceeded two
million people (and the nation became
much larger later on). Therefore, an
Israelite could not bring a
sacrificial lamb to the Altar of
Burnt Offering each time he sinned or
at any time he desired. He had to
wait for his turn. The Talmud
indicates that the twelve tribes were
assigned specific time periods when
they could come to the temple for
services at the Altar of Burnt
Offering.[6] For
example, suppose the tribe of Judah
was scheduled for services at the
Altar of Burnt Offering during the
month of Tishri (the seventh month of
the year). Suppose also that during
the year, all of the people belonging
to the tribe of Judah sinned a few
times each month. Because sinners
cannot live in God’s presence,
the Lord provided a way for the tribe
of Judah to be “covered”
from guilt until their turn came for
the Altar of Burnt Offering. The
grace extended through the whole year
to the tribe of Judah came through
daily services at the Altar of
Incense. Here’s how:
A priest
conducted a special service at the
golden Altar of Incense each evening
and morning. He took a perfect one
year old lamb[7] from
the temple’s herd and sacrificed
it on the Altar of Burnt Offering.
Then, he carried the blood into the
Holy Place of the temple and applied
the lamb’s blood to the horns of
the golden Altar of Incense. This
process was conducted to benefit the
whole camp. The guilt of the whole
camp of Israel (not the guilt of a
particular individual) was
transferred to the horns of the Altar
of Incense twice a day.[8] This
daily atonement allowed an
all-consuming God to live among
sinners without destroying them. The
blood applied to the horns of the
Altar of Incense kept God’s
wrath away from the camp.
We know from
Scripture that ceremonial services in
the earthly temple are shadows of
services that are conducted in
Heaven’s temple.[9] Because
this parallel exists, we can
determine the meaning of the service
that John describes in Revelation
8:3-5. Here is a brief
explanation:
Jesus began
interceding for all mankind
(corporate intercession) at the Altar
of Incense on the day that Adam and
Eve sinned. Jesus stood between the
sudden death law[10] and the
guilty pair. Jesus explained His
intercession to Adam and Eve when He
covered them with animal skins.[11] For
6,000 years, Jesus has protected the
whole world from the sudden death law
because He interceded for us daily at
the Altar of Incense. Prior to the
cross, God required individuals to
show their faith in God’s plan
of redemption by offering a perfect
lamb on an altar of burnt offering.
Abel showed His faith through
obedience, Cain did not. After the
cross, burnt offerings were
terminated, but living by faith
remains unchanged. God still requires
each person to surrender his will to
God’s will. He calls us to offer
ourselves as living sacrifices.[12]
The corporate
intercession that began when Adam and
Eve sinned will soon end. When it
does, the censer at Heaven’s
Altar of Incense will be cast down
and God’s wrath (the seven
trumpets) will break out. God will
release the four angels at the four
corners of Earth and His four deadly
judgments will punish the world. His
four deadly judgments are sword,
famine, plague, and wild beasts.[13]The seven
trumpets contain these deadly
judgments.
Revelation
8:4
And
the smoke of the incense, which came
with the prayers of the saints,
ascended up before God out of the
angel’s hand.{4} I
saw a brilliant angel standing at the
Altar of Incense. He served the Lord
as a priest. Then, I saw all of
God’s saints on Earth kneeling
in prayer. They were fasting and
praying, imploring God to do
something quickly because it seemed
that everyone on Earth was about to
perish. World leaders were crying out
for peace and safety.[14] While
the saints were earnestly praying,
the angel was given much incense. He
put the incense on the altar’s
live coals and a cloud of sweet
fragrance filled the temple. The
sweet scent, along with the petition
of the saints, was presented to
Jesus. He saw the entirety of the
situation on Earth and was moved.
There was war on Earth, the saints
were very anxious, and the timing was
perfect. Jesus sat in deep thought
for a few moments. I could see deep
agony reflected on His face. Then, He
spoke to the angel ministering at the
altar. He said, “Stop the
corporate atonement service, there
will be no more delay.”[15]
Since this
scene occurs after 1798, Jesus is
seated on the throne. He is not the
priest at the Altar of Incense. It
should not be surprising that angels
serve God as priests because human
beings will also serve God as
priests.[16] The
angel-priest casts down the censer
because Jesus gave Him the command to
do so.
Why are all
of the saints praying? What is the
relationship between casting down the
censer and the prayers of all the
saints? The casting down of the
censer and the termination of
corporate intercession is the answer
to the prayers of the saints. I
assume one event which would move all
of God’s saints to pray the same
prayer at the same time would be a
nuclear exchange. Paul makes it clear
in 1
Thessalonians 5:3 that
when people are saying “peace
and safety,” God will send
sudden destruction. When Revelation
8:3-5 occurs, the
world will be on the edge of
self-destruction and the saints will
be praying for the Lord to intervene.
World leaders will be demanding peace
and safety and Jesus will respond. He
will tell the angel who ministers at
the Altar of Incense, “It is
finished. The delay (that began in
1994) is over.” Corporate
intercession for Earth will be
terminated. The angel will respond by
removing the fire from the altar and
throwing it down on the Earth. This
dramatic action indicates
indignation. Corporate mercy has
ended, the fourth seal will be broken
open, and the appointed time of the
end will now begin.
Revelation
8:5
And
the angel took the censer, and filled
it with fire of the altar, and cast
it into the earth: and there were
voices, and thunderings, and
lightnings, and an earthquake.{5} The
angel serving at the Altar of Incense
removed the live coals on the altar
and put them in a censer. Then he
threw the censer to Earth. There came
peals of deafening thunder that
caused people to panic. There were
voices coming out of the ground and
huge bolts of angry lightning filled
the sky. Then a great earthquake
violently shook the whole world for
several minutes[17] and
then the whole world came to a
standstill.
When the
censer is cast down, Jesus will
immediately empower His servants who
have been selected and sealed. The
1,260 days allotted for the Two
Witnesses will begin. The 1,335 days
allotted for the Great Tribulation
will begin. The “end of
days” begins when daily services
conducted at the Altar of Incense
cease.[18] The
appointed time of the end is a
well-defined period of time.[19]Everyone will
see and feel God’s wrath. The
Great Day of the Lord will be
terrible.
It is my
understanding that since 1994, four
angels have been holding back
God’s deadly judgments. There
have been huge disasters on Earth,
including earthquakes, tsunamis,
tornados, and fires, but these have
not been God’s deadly judgments.
They have been prophetic samples of
events to come. The difference
between a random act of violent
nature and God’s wrath is a
message of redemption. There are
several instances recorded in the Old
Testament where God’s wrath
broke out and thousands perished.[20] When
these instances occurred, there was
always a divine message. As we
approach the day when the censer will
be cast down, remember that perfect
love drives out fear.[21] If we
abide in Jesus, there is nothing to
fear. He has promised to be with us
until the end of the world.[22] Given
the scope and scale of destruction
presented in the book of Revelation,
it seems almost impossible that
anyone will survive God’s wrath.
In fact, less than fifty percent of
Earth’s present population will
live to see the Second Coming; yet,
amid all the coming devastation,
remember that God is love. He has
carefully and deliberately designed
the Great Tribulation to save the
largest number of people possible and
the Bible says a numberless multitude
will be redeemed! God has several
objectives for the seven trumpets,
and as we have discussed, one
objective will be to shatter the
religious beliefs of mankind. When
religious people discover that their
religious beliefs are false, the
honest in heart will discard their
worthless paradigms and embrace
God’s truth as proclaimed by the
144,000 and they will be saved.
The First
Four Trumpets of Revelation
Revelation
8:7
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.{7} Jesus
gave the signal and the first angel
blew his trumpet. Everyone in Heaven
was watching, closely focused on this
tiny planet. There came a meteoric
hailstorm from the sky that was
composed of burning rocks. The
white-hot rocks were unquenchable,
like burning sulphur. One-third of
the land was burned up, one-third of
the trees were burned up, and all of
the green grass was burned up; men
were powerless. They could not stop
the falling rocks or quench the great
fires. Millions lost their lives in
the fires.
The first
four trumpets will serve as “a
surgical strike.” Jesus will
destroy thousands of notably wicked
places, like Sodom and Gomorrah, with
precision. The Bible does not
explicitly indicate this. I make this
assertion for four reasons:
First,
God’s judgments are always
deliberate. They are not random acts
of violent nature. When the censer is
cast down, God’s response to
rebellion and degeneracy will be
plainly seen and felt. The 144,000
will direct everyone to the book of
Revelation so that everyone will see
that God’s wrath was clearly
predicted.
Second, Jesus
wants everyone on Earth to listen to
His servants, the 144,000. There is
no better way to open the ears of
people than to destroy thousands of
places around the world that are
widely known for their wickedness.
Jesus will use the destruction of
wicked places to arrest
mankind’s attention. He wants
everyone to listen to His servants
instead of their religious leaders.
Getting people to listen to the
144,000 instead of their clergy will
not be easy. To make this happen,
Jesus will expose the ignorance of
the clergy. Honest-hearted people
will catch on quickly. They will soon
realize that their religious leaders
did not warn them of God’s
coming wrath because they do not know
God’s Word or His plans.
Third,
Prophecy 11 states that Babylon (a
coming global government) will form
during the fourth trumpet because the
leadership of the world will be
convinced (when they see thousands of
notably wicked places have been
destroyed) that Almighty God is very
angry. God’s wrath against
wickedness will be unmistakable,
based on the evidence of destruction.
Notably wicked places will become
non-existent. When world leaders see
that 1.75 billion people have been
obliterated, they will set aside
their religious and political
differences, and unite in an effort
to appease God’s wrath.
Finally, the
first four trumpets affect the land,
sea, and trees (physical things and
places). The last three trumpets are
called woes (or curses) because they
will directly impact wicked rebels.
In other words, if destroying
thousands of wicked places does not
produce repentance and reformation,
destroying defiant rebels is all that
remains.
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