Revelation 8 - Verse by Verse Bible Study

By Pastor Steven L Anderson

Video

January, 2013

Now in Revelation chapter 8, we're entering a new phase in the book of Revelation, because

we are getting into God pouring out his wrath, and his judgment upon the unbelieving world.

Look at verse number , 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 characterised by these 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 will 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 seven seals. And I am 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 is also 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 see... Well, let's just get into it. In Revelation chapter , verse

number it says "And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given

seven trumpets." Then if you jump down to verse it says "And the seven angels which

had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound." Verse . "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 are 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 a third

of the trees are burned up. That's going to be important. Let's back up to chapter .

And I'm going to explain to you why this is so important. You go to Revelation , I'm

going to read to you from Matthew . 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

, I'll read for you the familiar verses from Matthew , beginning in verse . " 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, well look down at your Bible

there in Revelation chapter , verse . 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 unto 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 . 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 , Mark and Luke 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 are going to find it. Now, if we take the OBVIOUS interpretation of Revelation that

I am going to prove to you is right, if we take the obvious interpretation of chapter

that says that the trumpets come after the seals... You know what that mean? 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 is over. That means

that the trumpet judgments are not part of the tribulation AT ALL. And that destroy both

the pre-trib rapture position, and it destroys the classical so-called "post-trib" position.

Which is a post-years rapture, or a post-wrath, or a post-trumpets and vials, or whatever

you want to call it. So we see here very clearly that the rapture takes place... because if

we keep reading in Matthew , 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 "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 being sounded and the 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 part way through, not in the exact middle, but near the middle,

part way 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 you know it seems like when you talk to

people who believe in the pre-trib rapture, they'll tell you there is five raptures, or

seven raptures or three raptures. They have to just make these things up, because their

position just doesn't fit scripture. Go if you would to Revelation , and let me just

break this down for you. So if we just take the obvious, 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 the 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 . There's no mention of any of the trumpet or vial judgments in Matthew

, because Matthew is about the tribulation. So he doesn't get into the pouring out of

the wrath that comes after. Now let me prove to you again... Even though, we should be

able to just read Revelation , 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

is 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 :. Remember in chapter , sun and moon were

darkened, sixth seal was opened. Look at verse of Revelation . "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 foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there

were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children

of Israel." So, in chapter , we have the sixth seal opened, sun and moon are darkened,

and they say the great day of His wrath is 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. He says "don't hurt them until we have sealed the servants of our God

in their foreheads". And then the , are sealed in their foreheads. Now go to Revelation

chapter verse . Revelation :. So, keep this in mind. BETWEEN the sixth and the seventh

seal, the , are sealed. What is the purpose of receiving that seal in their foreheads?

Well, Revelation : tells us. This is when Locusts come out of the bottomless pit, locusts

from hell, to torment mankind, and in verse it says "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 , are going to be on this earth while God is

pouring out His wrath, this seal 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 ,

are sealed. And the , are sealed BETWEEN the sixth and seventh seal, 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, 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 are on this earth, we're not protected, we don't have a mark

in our foreheads. Then after that judgment is completely over God says "okay, I'm going

to seal these guys in the head 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-tribbers, they say "the whole seven

years is called the tribulation", I mean this is their mantra. "Seven years tribulation,

seven years tribulation!" 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 the tribulation. That's why the last time you will even find the word

"tribulation" in the book of Revelation, is in chapter , right after the opening of the

sixth seal. He says "these came out of great tribulation". And so both of those positions

fall flat. Just Revelation 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... 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",

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 happen during

the seals, when CLEARLY Revelation says the trumpets follow the seals." I said "how

do you explain it?" Here's what they said. "Oh, when it says that when it says the locusts

will not those that have the seal of God in their foreheads, that's talking about the

fact that we are sealed with the Holy Ghost." Come on. You got to get real man. In chapter

, 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. Is this

like... I've heard a lot of people talk about receiving Jesus Christ into your heart...

I guess now it's "ask Jesus to come in to your forehead!" Because they are trying to

say that being sealed with the Holy Spirit is equivalent to being sealed in your forehead?

NO! This is a special seal in the forehead that the , receive and no-one else!

Now we will eventually have His name in our foreheads, but that's post millennial, that's

in chapter when we see that. So that's a really important thing that I wanted to

drive in there, that you must realise. And when you read Revelation it's obvious that

the trumpets follow the seals. There is no other reasonable way to interpret this. But

go to Luke and keep your finger in Revelation . I want to show you how Revelation matches

up perfectly with Luke . Then we'll get into the actual specific judgments. There

are four trumpets that are going to sound in chapter . The seven trumpets cover a few

chapters. Chapter covers the first four trumpets, chapter covers trumpets and

and then the seventh trumpet is covered in chapter . But if you would, look at Luke

, and we're going to compare this with Revelation and see how it matches up perfectly. Look

at Luke :, it says " And as it was in the days of Noe, 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 is real clear that the same day that Noah got on the ark is when

it began to rain, the Bible is also clear about that back in Genesis. Look at verse

. " 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 it 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 , and we will 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.

Keep in mind, remember when Lot left Sodom, he was actually dragged out physically be

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. That's a picture of Matthew , where the Bible talks about

at 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 drag Lot out of Sodom. Well

look what the Bible says in chapter . It says in verse , "And when he had opened the

seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." You know,

when we are talking about a half an hour, obviously God is being really 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 , clearly the rapture when that great multitude

appears in heaven... We're still on that same day. A half an 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 it to

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? Verse

. "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 is

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 fact that ALL the green grass is burned

up. Now THAT is a lot of fire. If you're going to burn up ALL the green grass, that is a

tonne of fire. Now, wouldn't you say that that proves that fire is being rained on the

entire earth? Every nation, every continent, every town, every area? I mean, there is NO

PLACE that is going to be spared from this. 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 censer, filled it with fire of the altar and cast it to the earth. So there is 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. 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 in flames. So you've got to picture this.

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 burnt up. 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 that says fire is going to rain from

heaven the same day that we leave. Okay, well, if you go to the end of the seven years, you

don't see this kind of fire being rained from heaven. And look, in nd Peter chapter ,

when the Bible talks about the day of the Lord, being characterised by the heavens being

ON FIRE, and the elements melting with fervent heat, that fits better with the seventh seal

and first trumpet than anything else in the book of Revelation that pre-millennial. And

so right there, it's very clear to see that a post-trib, pre-wrath view, 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 . Keep your finger

in Revelation, let's go to Acts . I just want to explain to you the purpose of the

trumpet judgments. What is the purpose? Why is God going through all of 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? Well look at Acts

chapter , verse . The Bible says, " And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was

preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive"- talking about the fact 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 vial 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 have done. You know the Bible said in Luke , we didn't really talk

about it a few minutes ago, but when we looked at Luke it said that when Jesus Christ

comes back, it will 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 hearts 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 flesh" means queer, we know that these were men with

men, working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error

which was meet. And even the Bible tells us in Genesis that when the men came to try

to assault Lot, and to try to molest him, and to try to abuse him, and commit perverted

acts on him, the Bible says that ALL THE MEN in 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, obviously the primary application of Luke , and the primary comparison

he is 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 point he is making. And that's

the main point that I want to make. But as a secondary application, I believe... And

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 days that we're

living. And honestly, it wasn't this way even ten years ago! Twenty 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 they... 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 think 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 and Gomorrah

again, He's going to rain fire and brimstone again. It's going to happen in Revelation

. The Bible tells us it's going to happen. There will be a restitution of all things.

Whatsoever man soweth, 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 are all kind of sins in this world, right? I mean there are murders, rape,

there is theft, there is all kinds of adultery, there is all kinds of pornography, there is

all kinds of drunkenness, and revellings, and blasphemy against the Lord Jesus Christ

himself. There is immorality, there is 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 is going to overthrow them finally at the battle of Armageddon, and set up his

kingdom on this earth. Well, these trumpet sounds, are the battle trumpets. He is coming

to make war, and he is coming to make restitution and 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 , verse . 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 are also mentioned. Third part of trees burned

up, all green grass burned up. Look at verse . "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 it was "at 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 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." No Go back to Exodus

chapter , keep your finger there in Revelation , but go back to the very beginning of the

Bible, Genesis, Exodus... Look at Exodus . 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 that 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 judgments that were poured out

in Exodus, they all show up again in the book of Revelation. But look if you would at Exodus

, verse . 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 staff, his rod- "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 waters 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 ,

the Bible says "And 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 Moses took his rod and smote the water, as soon as his rod hit that water 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. Everything has to be just right

for them to live. If you have ever tried to have a pet fish, and you've gone through several

of them... 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... "Hey it's Shamu!" Right, at SeaWorld? But

it's like the seventieth "Shamu", or... It's not that many, but you know what I mean. Every

time it dies they get a new "Shamu". We had a hamster named Frankie. We've gone through

a few "Frankies", okay? [Laughs] But anyway. Because these animals, they have a short life

span anyway. Hamsters in a good condition only last for a couple of years. Kids always,

they get a fish, and then it dies, and they get another fish, and it dies. And they can't

figure out, why is it dying? And it's like, "well, you know, you didn't change the water

often enough. It got too cold, it got too hot, you didn't feed it right, you didn't

clean it, you need a little bubbler to put bubbles in the water." You know, conditions

have to be just right. I've never tried filling a fish bowl full of blood, get a fish bowl,

fill it with blood, take a goldfish, throw it in there... But I have a feeling it would

probably die pretty fast. I don't care what kind of a bubbler you are 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 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 to 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. Because think about how these wind streams come through, 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. 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. That's a pretty

horrible judgment right there. It's going to be destroying ships, it's going to cause

disruptions in trade and commerce, because of the fact that 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 judgment. So that was going after the salt

water. He destroyed one third of it. But look at Revelation , verse . 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, we 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". Which

is really what we would call "a meteor", coming down into the atmosphere. Because I remember

when I was a child in the summertime, sometimes we would lay on our backs and look up at the

stars, and on a certain night, sometimes you would see a shooting star every five minutes.

Who has ever seen that, where you see a lot of shooting stars? And you lay there on your

back, and I mean, a shooting star looks just like a star. I mean, you've seen all the stars,

and then you'll just see that one little white streak right there that just looks like a

star falling. 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 listen to what they say...

And I'm not really sure how much of it is theory, and how much of it is really true,

how much of it is maybe false. Scientists tell us that stars are these gigantic burning

masses that are bigger than earth, even, right? So if God were talking about all of those

stars falling in Revelation , or ONE of those stars falling... I mean, it would only take

one to just wipe out the planet. But I believe that God often speaks 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 the earth that is 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 , when the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars fall,

I do not believe that we are talking about Sirius and Betelgeuse, and the star cluster

Pleiades. 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 the moon and the sun not

shining for a third part of the day. That shows that there are still stars in the sky,

after the events of Revelation . You say, "Well, that's because the trumpets happen

before the seals..." Well, we already put that to bed earlier in the sermon. So, it's

clear that obviously when the Bible talks about a star falling unto the earth, what

we are most likely talking about is a meteor crashing into the earth, which is what we

would call "a shooting star". 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 pretty

interesting explanation of what this is probably talking about. Because if you think about

it, the oceans are all connected, aren't they? I mean you look at the Pacific, the 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 being cast into the sea... The effect of that, maybe a different

meteor or whatever. Is it really hard for us to understand how that could affect the

third part of the seas? No, because you could see how that could radiate out from a certain

place, and cover a third of the surface area of what we are talking about. 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, "How could this thing affect the third part of the rivers, and the

fountains of waters?" Is it just affecting a certain continent? I asked myself. Is it

maybe affecting... maybe this is just coming down on Eurasia and Africa, and it just radiates

out and covers a third of the area, the effect of it. I wondered, why would... Obviously

the "star", so-called, that's crashing into the earth, it couldn't be that big, or else

it would demolish the entire planet, okay? So I always wondered, how could this star

called Wormwood, crashing into the earth affect a third part of the waters, when they're not

contiguous? Now, it's possible, I don't know. We don't really know how this is going to

play out, I don't doubt it. I have total faith in what God is telling us here. But you know,

I learned something very interesting a few years back that I think could be part of the

answer. Maybe a little bit of symbolism here. Because of the fact that... And you know what

made me think about this? It was the Fukushima meltdown. Who knows what I'm talking about,

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 basically the nuclear byproduct of their

nuclear power generation, the nuclear waste, the radioactive materials, they were not able

to keep it cool. And then it started melting down, and then it started basically spraying

out this pollutant. Some of which even 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 sense that there was a nuclear accident that caused poison, or

radioactive chemical to be released into the environment, and that is Chernobyl. And that

took place in the 's. 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 similar, just in a different part of the world. Now, 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 is

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, once you create these radioactive

substances that are the byproduct of what you are doing with the nuclear power generation,

you have to store this stuff, FOR EVER. And they stored all 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 keep it cool, keep it from just completely melting... I mean it will melt through the

floor, it will pollute everything. It will 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 somewhat contained from just destroying

the environment, poisoning us all, destroying all of our water supply. Well, here is 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. This power plant was named

"Chernobyl". And this isn't just, "oh, this is just some hokey thing that somebody sent

you in an email, that said forward this to ten people." No, honestly, I verified... And

I'm a language guy. 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 I went and did some homework on this, did research, looked up the words, looked

up the root 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 is also called "Mugwort".

But this plant, "wormwood", is literally called "Chernobyl", that's what the name of the nuclear

power plant meant. Chernobyl, okay? And this plant has become synonymous with the nuclear

meltdown. I mean, any time there is any kind of a nuclear issue, or a Nuclear meltdown,

or a Nuclear accident, it's always compared to what? Chernobyl. And with Fukushima, it

was always "how does this rank with Chernobyl? Is it a better situation of containment, or

is it worse? Is it more serious? Is it as serious?" And so that has become basically...

You know, sort of like when it come to oil spills, what's kind of the big oil spill that

you think of? Exxon Valdez right? Isn't that the cliché major oil spill? 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 is 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 out of these various parts of the world. And I don't think this

is just going to be localised. I believe it is going to be worldwide, it's just only going

to affect a third part of the fresh water, worldwide though. 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 leaching out.

Because if you think about it, when these things get out of control, they melt down

into the earth, they contaminate the groundwater, they get in the air, they come down in the

rain. I remember after the Fukushima thing, they said when it's raining is when there

are going to be more radioactive isotopes because 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 . "Many

men died of the waters, because they were made bitter." And so 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? 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? When you've

got fire coming down from heaven, when you've got the sea being judged, and now a star falling

unto 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 the earth? So I think that's a very interesting

coincidence about the fact that "Chernobyl" means "Wormwood", literally. And do the research

yourself, you will see that what I am saying is true, believe it or not, it's weird, but

it's true. Look at verse . 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 day shone 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 hour day, so 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 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 is going to work. You say "well, so what if there's hours a day of total

darkness? I'll just stay home. I'll just turn on the lights." You know what... the power

company is probably not going to be... 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 are just sitting in darkness. And when you're out and about

in darkness, and when there is no sun, no moon, or stars visible at all, you are just

in complete darkness for hours a day. Now think about the looting that could go on.

Or think about what an evil person could do that has a flashlight, that has a torch. Society

is going to be breaking down. 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

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 is filled with a bunch of weirdos and perverts and wicked

people, and it only takes a few wicked people... And I mean, anybody who is left behind here,

is going to be, you know, in a world of hurt. Thank God we're not going to be there. But

for those that are going to be there, it's going to be bad. If you're there, you are

going to be in a bad place during those hours. So this is a major judgment. You might

think that the fourth trumpet seems mild with the darkness, but it's what man is going to

do during that time. And it's just going to mess up 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 . "And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through

the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, 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 has already

burned up a third of the trees. He has already burned up all the green grass. He has already

rained hail and fire and blood from heaven. He has 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 has already poisoned one third

of the fresh water supply on this earth, made it into Wormwood where people who drinking

it are dying from drinking the water. He has already caused there to be 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 hours a day in a period.

And then verse is there to just tell you, "You know what? You have seen nothing yet".

He's saying "you know what you REALLY ought to be afraid of, is what's still coming".

He says "Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices

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 is angry right now. We may not see his anger right now, but

it's just building up, His anger is building up, building up. And the account is building

up for restitution, building up, building up. Well, one day, He is going to come down

like a tonne of bricks on this world. And it's going to be bad. Let's bow our heads

and have a word of prayer. Father we thank you do much for this great chapter in your

word. Help us to let it sink down into our ears, 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 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.