Remember the Layout Scheme in Revelation.
“THE SIXTH ANGEL SOUNDED HIS TRUMPET AND I HEARD A VOICE FROM THE FOUR HORNS OF THE GOLDEN ALTAR WHICH IS BEFORE GOD, SAYING TO THE SIXTH TRUMPET, “RELEASE THE FOUR ANGELS WHO ARE BOUND BY THE GREAT RIVER EUPHRATES.” – REVELATION 9:13,14.
Remember the scheme of Revelations Layout. The 7 trumpets stand opposite the 7 last plagues in the chiastic structure. Here the plagues are limited in Revelation 16 they are “final.” As the church became distant from the word of God the woes increased. The lies, superstitions, and doctrines of devils became normal. The character of God was maligned to the point where He was portrayed as a cosmic terrorist that will roast anyone who does not believe in Him in a place called Hell nonstop forever. When talking about eternal destruction (e.g. in 2Thesselonians 1:9) the Bible uses the noun, not the verb. In fact, the Bible never uses the verb – which would read “the punishment of eternal destructing.” There is an eternal difference between the noun destruction (which is an event) and the verb destructing.
Pictured as demonic plagues 1/3rd of humanity perishes. Historians note, that about that number perished during the Medieval period and after as a result of the Black Death.
As horrible as the sixth trumpet is, the passage begins with a voice from the four horns of the altar. The horns of the altar were renowned in Scripture as a place of mercy. Read 1 Kings 1:5-53. David was old and Adonijah attempted to be crowned king of Israel with the support of Joab and Abiathar the High Priest. The aged prophet Nathan, conspired with Bathsheba to get David involved (they alone seem to have known David’s preference for Solomon, his son with Bathsheba). David decides to transfer the throne to Solomon immediately. There was a blast of trumpets and a mighty crowd chanting, “Long live King Solomon.”
Joab picked up on the sound and said, “What’s with all this noise coming out of the city?” Abiathar’s son arrived with the news of David’s action. In an instant, Adonijah’s guests fled for their lives. Left alone, Adonijah could think of only one thing to do. He went directly to the sanctuary and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar, invoking God’s protection on his life. Solomon respected the action and let him live.
As horrible as the sixth trumpet is, mention of the horns of the altar puts a touch of mercy into the plague. The door to salvation has not yet closed. As the earth slides into the final stages of self-destruction, it is still possible to hear the voice of Jesus and repent.
When life causes us to hit bottom the way Adonijah did, the only sensible thing to do is hang our helpless souls on the mercy of God.
Our planet is known as the blue planet, due to its extensive reserves of water. Unfortunately, 98% of this water is in the oceans, only two percent is accessible as freshwater. 90% of the freshwater supply is either frozen at the poles or remains under the ground. As I teach in year 8 Geography, the availability of freshwater supplies is one of the defining keys to a nation’s success. As the earth’s population increases, wars over scarce water supplies will increasingly be fought.
In the Bible lands, fresh water has always been in short supply. In such a place, the abundance of fresh water in the Euphrates River was a guarantee of power and wealth for those who controlled it. In today’s passage, the river symbolizes the great power and resources of the final opposition to God in this world. God’s people, in ancient times, were located in a land with only one major source of fresh water, the Sea of Galilee. They had to rely, therefore, on heaven to provide water when they needed it.
There are strong parallels between the sixth trumpet and two other scenes in the Book of Revelation. In Rev 7:1-4 there are four angels, a form of restraint, and the comment “I heard the number.” So, the two-hundred million-strong army of Rev 9:16-17 is in contrast with God’s end-time people, the 144,000. There is also a strong parallel to the sixth plague, where you also have the river Euphrates, military language, and a demonic hoard (Rev 16:13-16). So, the sixth trumpet portrays the gathering of satan’s end-time army for the Battle of Armageddon.
There are many scenes of war in the Book of Revelation. But the book is less interested in the affairs of nations than it is in the progress of the gospel on this earth. The war that truly matters to God is the battle going on in our minds every day. As we approach the end, even the smallest decisions of life have eternal consequences.
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Ross your message this morning is most interesting, thank you for your hard work.
Hey Ros, thanks. I am blessed if I know others are being blessed. I sometimes wonder if anyone is even reading them, but then I get comments that indicate that God is using this format to bless others.
G’day Ross.
I have read every one and eagerly await the next instalment. Thank you for piecing it all together the way you have. Please be assured, we are all blessed by your efforts.
Thanks Keith – I put a lot of time into this and sometimes I wonder if any one is out there? But from time to time I get comments like yours and that gives me incentive to press on. So thanks. If you are blessed them so am I. PTL How are you both?