The Trumpet Judgments

The Rocky Balboa of Churches

I have a lot of fun talking to other pastors around the city. It is always interesting when we get together and start asking, “What is your congregation going through?” When I tell them we are actually going through the Book of Revelation, they usually look at me like I’m crazy. They’ll say, “No congregation has the endurance to make it through that!” And I tell them, “Well, you don’t understand our congregation. We’re kind of like the Rocky Balboa of churches.”

You remember Rocky, right? The old-school Rocky. They made about fifteen too many of them, but those first few were good. Think about Rocky IV. I don’t know what it is about that movie—maybe it’s just my secret obsession with Ivan Drago, that big, built-up dude I wish I looked like—but Rocky would always get beat up. He’d be getting killed out there, and someone would shout, “He’s getting killed!” And old Mickey, who was maybe sober and maybe not, would growl, “He’s not getting killed. He’s getting mad!”

He just knew that if Rocky could hang in there, by the end of the fight, he was going to come out on top. He’d be strong. He’d be the victor. We have that Rocky Balboa spirit here. As we talk about the judgments of God, it can feel like we’re getting beat up. Yet the reality is, if we hang in there together, we will come out on the backside of these twenty-two chapters stronger. we will have a better idea of who God is and a more complete picture of His holiness and the judgment that will rightly fall. In that, we will come to know our Lord better. So, hang in there. Let’s learn a lesson from “The Rock” tonight.

How to Read Revelation

Before we dive into the text, I received a great note from a woman in our church who asked me to clarify something. We talked a few weeks ago about the Bible saying what it means and meaning what it says. She asked, “How do you reconcile taking the Bible literally with all the imagery we see in Revelation—the riders on horses, the personification of the Antichrist, the seven-horned figure? How do you justify a literal interpretation alongside that symbolism?”

That is a fair question. The reality is that there is one interpretation for a text. One of the most dangerous things we can do is sit in a circle, read a verse, and ask, “What does this mean to you?” If the Bible is inspired by God, then the Author had a specific intent. While there are multiple applications, there is only one interpretation.

There are two main camps. One says the Bible says what it means and means what it says; therefore, the natural tendency is to take it literally unless the text demands otherwise. The other side is allegorization or “spiritualizing” the text—taking a passage that has a natural meaning and looking for a “deeper” spiritual secret. The way I am approaching this book is that there is a normal, literal interpretation. We look for the easiest, most natural meaning first.

Now, apocalyptic literature like Revelation, Isaiah, or Ezekiel uses symbolism to communicate truth. There is also poetic literature like the Psalms or Song of Solomon. When the Bible says her neck was “like the Tower of David,” it doesn’t mean she had a stone neck; it’s symbolic. But symbolism is the secondary look, not the primary. If literal doesn’t make sense, then we look for the deeper meaning. If we start with allegory, we end up on a slippery slope to ambiguity and lose God’s original intent.

Often, the Bible is kind enough to translate its own symbols for us. We’ve already seen the seven stars represented seven angels, and the seven lampstands represented seven churches. We saw the seven eyes representing the seven-fold Spirit of God. Scripture usually shows us what the symbols mean so we don’t have to fake it or guess.

The Seventh Seal: A Divine Silence

Here is where we are: the first six seal judgments have been opened. God the Father was on the throne, the Lamb took the scroll, and Jesus began to pop the seals. The first four seals were unique—the four horsemen. Now we come to the seventh seal, which unfolds into seven trumpet judgments.

Revelation 8:1 (NASB)

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Can you imagine a celestial silence for thirty minutes? Even ten seconds of silence in a sermon can feel awkward. You start wondering if the preacher lost his notes! But this is divine silence for half an hour. After seeing God pour out wrath like the world has never seen, the seventh seal is popped, and everything goes quiet. It’s like a “Selah” moment in the Psalms—a time to stop, pause, and let it sink in.

Revelation 8:2 (NASB)

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

All we know about these angels is that they are high-ranking and stand in the presence of God. They are given seven trumpets, and we are about to see what those are for.

The Power of Our Prayers

Revelation 8:3 (NASB)

Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

Another angel appears to mediate for the people, holding a golden censer filled with the prayers of the saints. Some suggest this is the Lord Jesus, but the text calls him “another angel,” linking him to the seven in verse two. This angel has our prayers in the very presence of God.

Revelation 8:4 (NASB)

And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.

How do you think God feels when we pray? Our prayers often feel awkward or feeble. You might start pounding away at God, pouring your heart out, breaking a sweat, and then you look at your watch and realize it’s only been four minutes. You think, “I’m a spiritual moron; I can’t do this.” But our prayers are a delight to God. Even in our awkwardness, He captures them in His presence.

Revelation 8:5 (NASB)

Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

Notice what He does with them. The angel takes the censer, fills it with fire from the altar, and throws it to the earth. These prayers were likely the ones we’ve all prayed: “God, how long will You put up with evil? How long will the wicked prosper? How long do I have to struggle with this flesh?” God captures those cries, shakes them up with holy fire, and responds with thunder, lightning, and an earthquake.

Revelation 8:6 (NASB)

And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

I went to a Maroon 5 concert a couple of weeks ago. It was a great show. In typical concert fashion, they have the big screen and the backlighting, so you just see silhouettes walk on stage. Everyone starts screaming because they know the show is about to start. You hear the band warming up their instruments. That is the vibe here in verse six. The curtain is about to open. The angels are warming up their instruments, getting ready to blow.

The First Four Trumpets: Creation Smitten

The first four trumpets focus on creation. You will notice a recurring theme: one-third of everything is affected.

Revelation 8:7 (NASB)

The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

The first trumpet hits the vegetation. One-third of the earth, the trees, and all the green grass are burned up.

Revelation 8:8-9 (NASB)

The second angel sounded, and [something] like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The second trumpet hits the sea. Something like a great burning mountain is thrown into the ocean. A third of the sea becomes blood, a third of sea life dies, and a third of the ships are destroyed.

Revelation 8:10-11 (NASB)

The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

The third trumpet hits the fresh water. A star called Wormwood falls on the rivers and springs, making them bitter, and many people die from drinking it.

Revelation 8:12 (NASB)

The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

The fourth trumpet hits the heavens. A third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck, plunging the world into darkness for a third of the day and night.

The Three Woes

Revelation 8:13 (NASB)

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’

Now the scene shifts from creation to humankind. An eagle flies through mid-heaven crying, “Woe, woe, woe!” In Scripture, repetition means emphasis. When Jesus said, “Truly, truly,” He wasn’t stuttering; He was saying, “Get this! This is important!” The eagle is saying, “You thought the seal judgments were bad? You thought 1.6 billion people dying was bad? It’s about to get much worse.”

The Fifth Trumpet: All Hell Breaks Loose

Revelation 9:1 (NASB)

Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.

We see a “star” that had fallen from heaven. This isn’t a literal ball of gas; it’s a person.

Isaiah 14:12-15 (NASB)

’How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! ’But you said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ ’Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

Satan is the fallen star. He is given the key to the bottomless pit. Up until now in Revelation, things have been bad, but we haven’t seen unleashed demonic activity. That changes tonight.

Ezekiel 28:13-17 (NASB)

’You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. ’You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you [there]. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. ’You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. ’By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. ’Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.

Satan was the anointed cherub, perfect in beauty, until unrighteousness was found in him. Our stereotype of Satan is often a guy in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork. But the Bible describes him as beautiful and magnificent. That’s why evil is so dangerous—it often looks attractive.

When Satan opens the pit, smoke billows out like a great furnace. Out of that smoke come “locusts.”

2 Peter 2:4 (NASB)

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

Jude 1:6-7 (NASB)

And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

These passages speak of fallen angels who abandoned their proper abode to indulge in gross immorality with human women back in Genesis 6. God judged them by locking them in a place called Tartarus—the bottomless pit. Now, they are being released.

Revelation 9:2-3 (NASB)

He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

I once had the “distinguished” job of vacuuming a gym in Denton called Brick House Gym. There was a cricket swarm. The parking lot was covered in them; it was just “crunch-a-matic” as you drove. I had to vacuum up about 200 of them inside. Have you ever smelled a vacuumed cricket? It liquefies them and reeks. It was nasty.

But a locust swarm is even more devastating. They say it looks like a black cloud covering the horizon. These, however, aren’t normal locusts. They have the power of scorpions.

Revelation 9:4 (NASB)

They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Notice that even when all hell breaks loose, God is still in control. They are told not to hurt the grass (which is what real locusts eat), but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. God protects His own—the 144,000 and the believers of that time.

Revelation 9:10 (NASB)

They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.

They are allowed to torment people for five months. God’s word is a contract; He sets the limits.

Revelation 9:6 (NASB)

And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.

Have you ever been stung by a scorpion? It’s excruciating. We were in Thailand on a mission trip once, and a guy went to put his shoe on, shook it, and a huge scorpion fell out. We nearly wet our pants! Imagine that pain, but you can’t die from it. People will seek death and won’t find it. It’s like Groundhog Day with a dark twist.

Revelation 9:11 (NASB)

They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

These demons have a king over them named Abaddon or Apollyon—the Destroyer.

Revelation 9:12 (NASB)

The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

The first woe is past, but two more are coming.

The Sixth Trumpet: The Demonic Army

Revelation 9:13-14 (NASB)

Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’

A voice from the altar commands the release of four angels bound at the Euphrates River. Holy angels are never bound in Scripture; only demons are bound.

Revelation 9:15 (NASB)

And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

These demons kill a third of mankind. That’s another 1.6 billion people. When the tsunami hit years ago, the most horrifying part was figuring out what to do with the bodies before disease set in. Can you imagine the smell of 1.6 billion corpses?

Revelation 9:16 (NASB)

The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

John hears the number of the army: 200 million. He adds, “I heard the number,” just so we know he isn’t exaggerating.

Revelation 9:17-19 (NASB)

And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: [the riders] had breastplates [the color] of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

John describes them as having breastplates of fire and horses with lion heads breathing fire, smoke, and brimstone. Their power is in their mouths and their snake-like tails. How do you describe a swarm of demons heading your way? The best John could do was use the imagery of locusts, scorpions, and fire-breathing horses.

The Mystery of the Unrepentant Heart

You would think that after witnessing all of this—after seeing 1.6 billion people die and seeing the followers of Christ remain unharmed—the unbelieving world would say, “Whatever ship those people are on, I need to get on it!”

But they don’t.

Revelation 9:20-21 (NASB)

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

In the history of man, one thing is always true: we are rebels. We love to do life our way. The idea of humbling ourselves and admitting we need someone bigger than us is offensive. They didn’t repent of their idols, their murders, or their sorceries. Why? Because they were following “mob theology.” Sin loves company.

Ephesians 4:17-19 (NASB)

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

Paul says the world is darkened in understanding because of the hardness of their hearts. They become callous and give themselves over to sensuality. God eventually says, “If that’s what you want, go ahead. I’ll tell you where that road leads, but if you’re set on it, go.”

How is our culture doing in areas of morality and integrity? If the road we are on is so wonderful, let’s keep going. But things aren’t getting better; they are getting darker. Pop stars and media are the new theologians. I went down that road just long enough to see where it was going, and I realized I didn’t want to be there anymore. I looked at guys in my fraternity—the Sid Mackay fraternity—who were actually walking with God. They told me I didn’t have to live like the world. I could have a new life.

I wonder if one reason the non-believing world is still shaking its fist at God is because we, as the church, don’t look that different from them. That’s an “ouch” for me too. I’m the first guy to lose it when I get cut off in traffic. But we are called to live in such a way that people see a difference.

A Time for Reflection

We are going to spend some time in communion now. As we look at God’s Word, it is difficult to walk through these passages. While we believe we will be taken to be with the Lord before this wrath falls, it is profoundly important to understand where history is going.

We want to turn to the God who provided a way out—the God who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

As we partake in communion, remember what Paul told the Corinthian church. He reflected on the Last Supper and said, “As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me.” But he added a warning: don’t just go through the motions. Don’t just grab the bread and dip it. Examine yourself.

Let’s do some “spring cleaning” in our hearts tonight. See what the Lord is bringing to the surface that needs to be confessed and dealt with honestly. The center aisle is for returning to your seats; please come up the outside aisles. As you feel ready, come and take the elements. Let’s worship and reflect on the grace that spares us from the judgment to come.