Sunday, January 15, 2017

The Seven Trumpets Explained

The Book of Revelation: the Seven Trumpets Explained
by Pastor Paul J. Bern



I have decided to take time out this week to comment on part of the Book of Revelation that has to do with a series of end time events known as “The Seven Trumpets”. I will be quoting from chapters 8, 9 and 11 as I do my level best to explain the meaning of all these future events as they were written down more than 1,900 years ago. But I'm also going to dispel some myths and refocus some misunderstanding about the Book of Revelation and its meaning. There are widely varied interpretations of Revelation being disseminated by an equally varied spectrum of pastors and teachers, as you well know. Many of these various explanations are very accurate and scriptural, but many others not so much, and a few are downright silly. I will bypass commenting on any of these other interpretations for right now. All I'm going to do is explain the Seven Trumpets as best I can, and I have chosen this part of the Revelation because it is very relevant to the times in which we live. I will begin at chapter 8 and verse 6.


Then the seven angels who had the 7 trumpets began to sound them. The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees was burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” (Revelation 8, verses 6-9)


Regarding the first trumpet, the majority of clergy and theologians believe this event has not yet occurred, but I disagree. Once before in human history a similar calamity overtook Egypt during the seventh plague (see Exodus 7, verses 14-24). The difference being that the Egyptian calamity was local, but this judgment will be worldwide. It will most certainly be so unusual that mankind will be forced to recognize that it is a divine judgment. As with all the seals, trumpet and bowl judgments, since the results are literal, the judgments will be literal also. The same can be said for the second trumpet, which describes an apparent meteor or comet striking the earth and landing in the ocean.


A word of caution here – this is not a prophecy of a planet colliding with the earth! Unlike what some are saying on You Tube and other social media, this is not a prophecy of “planet X” or “planet nine”, also called Nibiru (Who dreamed up that name? Sounds like a brand of Japanese car). While this planet does exist, its current location is estimated to be somewhere between Neptune and Pluto, the 2 outermost planets in our solar system. Since it takes approximately 165 years for Neptune to orbit the sun, if Planet Nine is that far out it will take at least half that time or longer to reach earth, if it reaches us at all. So you can all stop worrying about “Nibiru” – it is very, very far away and will do us no harm. Let's move along now to the 3rd trumpet.


The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water – and the name of the star is wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. As I watched I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice, 'Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!'”. (Revelation 8, verses 10-13)


Contrary to what some are saying on social media like You Tube, etc, this is not a description of a second meteor or comet. It is a description of an event all right, but this is completely different. You will recall the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in Soviet Russia, where a nuclear power plant overheated and exploded, blowing the roof off the facility. As some of you already know, 'Chernobyl' translates into English as 'Wormwood' (read more about that here), although the translation is not the same word-for-word. Since the Asian continent where Russia is located takes up one third of the land mass on earth, the references to “one-third of the rivers and springs of water” makes sense to me. The description of the fourth trumpet is different, however. Something is going to cause 1/3 of the planet to have no sunlight in the daytime, and no stars at night either. The best explanation seems to be a large volcanic eruption big enough to cover a third of the skies with dust, soot, ash and smoke, although I can only speculate about how long this will last because Revelation doesn't say what duration this will be for. But if Revelation says it's going to occur, you had best believe it will! What about the eagle, you ask? It is symbolism, most likely for the United States who emerges as the Cold War victor only several years following the Chernobyl/wormwood disaster. And now let's have a look at the fifth trumpet, beginning at chapter 9 verse 1.


The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not given the power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of a sting from a scorpion when it strikes a man. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.” (Revelation 9, verses 1-6)


There is a lot of symbolism here, starting with the 'fallen star', which is Satan or Lucifer. As you know, Lucifer and his band of demons, who were formerly one third of the angels in heaven prior to their insurrection against God and his place of supreme leadership, were kicked out of heaven for their rebellion against God. They were sent to hell or Hades, or the Abyss here in Revelation, to be punished eternally – forever banished from God's presence! When the shaft of the Abyss is unlocked, smoke comes pouring out in prodigious amounts and demons in the form of locusts appear. These locusts are demons that rise with the smoke of spiritual error that ascends from the bottomless pit. As scorpions sting by raising their tails over their heads but do not kill, these exercise power to hurt men spiritually by raising religious tales contrary to faith and elevate false prophets above their rejected Head, Christ the Word. Their stings spiritually paralyze unstable souls with doctrine, which, like the bottomless pit, has no foundation in God's Word. Lost souls become demons, like the 200,000,000 horsemen found in the next trumpet.


They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” This is a dual reference – first to those who have the “mark of the beast” or seal of the Antichrist on their foreheads (see Revelation 13, verses 16-18), but also to the 144,000 who receive the seal of God upon their foreheads (see Revelation 7, verses 1-8). “They were not given the power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months.... During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.” Clearly, out of all the judgments – handed down in the form of trumpets which symbolize shofar horns, the ones the ancient Israelites used to call people to battle – this one is the most severe. These scorpions will inflict pain so extreme, people will want to die. They may even attempt suicide, but those efforts will be unsuccessful. They will all spend five full months writhing and screaming in agony. They will pump themselves up with opiates to deal with the pain, and most if not all will wind up being addicted as a result. And now let's move on to the sixth of these seven trumpets, starting at verse 13.


The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice that was coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates'. And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.” (Revelation 9, verses 13-18)


In short, the 6th trumpet is World War Three. This should not be confused with the war of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39. That is a separate middle eastern war that will occur just prior to WW3, and a topic for a separate discussion for the sake of brevity. The “horns of the golden altar that is before God” is a reference to the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament (see Exodus 25 for a description of the ark). “'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates'. And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.” There are widely varying opinions on the meaning of this, but I happen to believe that the Bible is ultimate Truth. The fact of the matter is that the only nation in the world capable of raising an army of 200,000,000 is mainland China. And yet the “great river Euphrates” empties into the Arabian sea right on the border between Iraq and Iran. So the Chinese army will march to the west, cross the Euphrates river, and presumably march to the Mediterranean sea. The obvious reason is oil. This will be at a time when oil has become too expensive, too scarce, or both, and we're nearly there now. But as to the exact timing of these series of events, no one knows for sure, and anyone who claims to know should be viewed with suspicion. And now let's close out this week's message with one final passage.


The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.' And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 'We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for the judging of the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great – and for destroying those who destroy the earth'.” (Revelation 11, verses 15-18)


Hooray! The kingdom of the world has been replaced by the kingdom of God, administered by none other than Jesus Christ himself! No more rich elitist top one-tenth of one per center's, no more brutal dictatorships, no more multinational corporations who are financially raping and pillaging the earth and their employees, no more military and no more pollution either. Now that's what I call an ideal world! But who are the twenty-four elders? They represent the twelve tribes of Israel (the 12 sons of Jacob) plus the twelve apostles, with Judas Iscariot replaced by the apostle Paul. All the wars that will be fought have been fought by this point in time, and it is an era of complete peace throughout the earth. It is time for Judgment Day, beginning with those who destroy the earth through war and pollution, and ending with those who destroy other people – murderers, sex offenders, and other abusers. Even if they believe in Jesus, it will be just as bad for them on that day as it will be for those who don't believe at all! So until next time, let's keep ourselves together for Christ, acknowledging that one day soon, he will rule the earth and we will be his subjects as well as his peers. Enjoy your week, everyone!

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