As the world shrinks in fear from what is about to come
upon them (Luke 21:25-26; Rev. 6:15-17), those of the church who are "in fellowship"
with God, will lift their head in expectation knowing that their deliverance
has arrived (Lk. 21:27).
"But when these things begin to take place, straighten
up and lift up your heads, because your redemption (physical resurrection)
is drawing near."
Those who are "out of fellowship," and "walking
in darkness," will be embarrassed and shamed (1 John 2:28).
"And now little children, abide in Him (walk in the
light), so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink
away from Him in shame at His appearance."
A large group of "orthodox" Jews, who have been
waiting for their Messiah, will recognize the signs as the arrival of the
Old Testament Day of the LORD and will rejoice with great expectation .
When He arrives in the clouds of the sky the first thing He will do is
announce His presence with His own victory shout (1 Thes. 4:16) along with
the victory shout of the Archangel Michael. And then the trumpet of assembly
will be blown to gather His elect (Those who have trusted in Christ as
savior) scattered throughout the whole world. Both those who are "in
fellowship" as well as those who are "out of fellowship"
will be gathered to meet the Lord. The requirement for "rapture"
is simply salvation status, not fellowship (1 Cor. 3:15), "but he
himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."
This "trumpet of assembly" is called the trumpet
of God at 1 Thes. 4:16 and "a great trumpet" at Mat. 24:31. It
is called "the last trumpet" at 1 Cor. 15:51 because it is the
"last" in a series for calling to assembly. This "last trumpet" is different
from and does not correspond with the 7th trumpet of
Rev. 11:15.
It is at this time that the
"catching out" of the church will occur as is described at 1 Thes. 4:13-18. Jesus will bring with Him the souls of those believers who
have died since 30 AD and they will be given a resurrection body just like
Christ's (Philip. 3:21). Then all the Christians who are physically alive
at this time will also be given a resurrection body and be gathered by
the angels to meet the Lord in the air and "forever be with the Lord."
The church will then be escorted to heaven to await the
consummation of the Day of the LORD judgments and the establishment of
Christ's 1000 year earthly kingdom. Thus we see in heaven immediately after
the Day of the LORD, a large multitude from every nation, tribe, people
and tongue standing before God and designated as having come out of the
great tribulation (Rev. 7:9-17).
Left on the earth will be a large multitude of unbelievers,
both Jew and Gentile as we have previously discussed. But almost immediately
after the Lord's arrival, a large group of Jews who have been looking for
the arrival of their Messiah will recognize that Jesus is indeed the Prophesied
One for whom they have been waiting and will embrace Him as Lord and savior.
This group is indicated by the 144,000 mentioned at Rev. 7:1-8 and are
known as the "first fruits to God and to the Lamb" at Rev. 14:4.
They are so designated because they are the first ones to believe in Christ
after the Day of the LORD arrives.
Before God actually begins to pour out His wrath upon
the world He will give these Jews a certain amount of time to trust in
Christ. Those who do will be "sealed" and protected from the
wrath of God which will be poured out only on the unbelievers. Once those
initial "first fruits" are sealed, the wrath of God will be poured
out through the 7 trumpets found at Rev. 8:1 through 11:19.
The 7th seal (Rev. 8:1) paves the way for God's wrath
to be poured out on the world. This awesome event is prefaced by a 1/2
hour of silence in heaven which probably speaks of the intensity of what
is about to take place. Rev. 8:1
And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence
in heaven for about half an hour.
This 1/2 hour of silence is simply part of the vision that is shown to
John. It has nothing to do with Zephaniah 1:7.
The activity at Rev. 8:3-5 answers more
specifically the question of the
believers who had been martyred throughout history as found at Rev. 6:10.
And they cried out with a loud voice, saying,
How long, O Lord, Holy and True
Will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood
on those who dwell on the earth?
Revelation 8:3-5
"And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding
a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it
to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before
the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before
God out of the angel's hand.
And the angel took the censer; and he 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."
Fire, here represents the administration of divine justice
and "altar" takes us back to Rev. 5:8, where we see the bowls
of incense which are the prayers of the saints.
The act of "throwing" the fire upon the earth
speaks of divine wrath being expressed upon the world in perfect justice.
And of course, it fulfills the fears
expressed by the world at Revelation 6:17.
"For the great day of their wrath has come; and who
is able to stand?"
The Greek word for wrath here is orge, which
refers to the judicial attitude of divine disfavor. God's expression of wrath
will begin with the trumpet judgments and intensify with the bowl judgments.
The wrath administered by the bowl judgments is the Greek word, thumos, which
refers to a passionate and "boiling" wrath, which is said to be completed by
the bowl judgments.
SUMMARY OF ORGE AND THUMOS
All the translations have to struggle with how to handle seemingly
synonymous words. Actually, thumos is just a more INTENSE expression of
God's judicial wrath (orge).
It is more PASSIONATE than orge, but the two words refer to the same thing.
Thumos is just a more EMOTIONAL expression of wrath (orge).
So the use of the word FURY to express thumos is fine, because it indicates
a more passionate idea than simply anger or even wrath.
(Even when used of man, the two words have this relationship.
Eph. 4:31, let all thumos and orge be put away from you.
Col. 3:8, but now put them aside; orge, thumos . . .
Notice that Paul does not make a big deal about what order to put these two
words in.
They are both weaknesses of human character in these passages; orge is the
ATTITUDE of anger, and thumos is the emotional, passionate expression of
that anger.
In the list of sins at Galatians 5, Paul mentions only thumos - and in the
plural.)
Prior to Revelation 14, in the rest of the New Testament, whenever God's
wrath is mentioned, orge is the word used. The emphasis is on judicial
wrath as a simple expression of divine disfavor and justice. Thumos is not
used.
The only exception is at Romans 2:8, where, as would be expected, BOTH are
mentioned - because God's judicial wrath has both a divine ATTITUDE
perspective (orge) and an intense, passionate EXPRESSION perspective (thumos).
In the Book of The Revelation, before Revelation 14, God's wrath is viewed from an objective,
matter-of-fact, JUDICIAL perspective. Thus, orge is used, and is properly
translated as wrath (although anger would be just as good a translation).
As the intensity of God's judgment increases, so also the intensity of God's
wrath increases.
Accordingly, after Revelation 14, only thumos is used for God's wrath (or thumos
PLUS orge), and orge never occurs alone. BUT orge is still what is being
expressed.
At Revelation 11:18, "your wrath came," is the SIMPLE announcement of the arrival
of God's judicial wrath via the next stage, which is the bowl judgments.
When the vision gets to the SPECIFICS of this next stage of God's judicial
wrath, the focus is now on INTENSITY, and so THUMOS is used.
At Revelation 14:10 reference is made to the ULTIMATE expression of God's judicial
wrath via the lake of fire, and therefore the INTENSITY of it is mentioned
by using thumos. "He will drink of the wine of the thumos of God (the
passion or fury), which is mixed in the cup of His ANGER (orge)."
Thus, it can be seen that this "passion" or "fury" is PART of orge (judicial wrath).
It is
simply a more intense expression.
And at Revelation 14:19, the vision looks forward to Armageddon, and mentions "the
winepress of the thumos (passion, fury, wrath) of God."
This corresponds with Revelation 19:15 - see below.
At Revelation 15 and 16, THUMOS is used to refer to this stage of God's
judicial wrath, that was announced at verse 11:18, because the emphasis is on
INTENSITY. But it is still ORGE, as verse 16:19 indicates; "the cup of the wine
of the thumos (PASSION or fury) of His orge (anger)."
It is the fury or passion OF HIS ANGER. The subject is STILL his orge.
At Revelation 19:15 for the Armageddon encounter, "He treads the wine press of
the thumos (passion or fury) of the orge (wrath) of God. Thumos is used to
indicate the INENSITY of God's judicial wrath (orge), but the subject is
STILL ORGE.
Thumos is also used at Revelation 12:12, but not for God's wrath, but for the
INTENSITY of Satan's wrath expressed against God and against God's people.
THE SEVEN TRUMPETS
Although we do not know the day or the hour
that the Day of the LORD will occur, we do know the "times and the seasons."
We know that it will occur sometime after the mid-point of Daniel's 70th week,
After the "man of lawlessness (the beast)" has been revealed
and during his oppressive reign. 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no one in any way deceive you
For it will not come
until the apostasy comes first
and the man of lawlessness is revealed
Once it does occur, those who have insight
will know how many days remain until the 70th week will end and will know that
God's wrath will extend for 30 days longer (Daniel 12:11-12) during which time
God will pour out the 7 bowls of His final wrath which will culminate in the
battle of Armageddon.
However, based on the length of time allotted to the 5th
trumpet (5 months) it is certain that the period of time between the Day
of the LORD arrival and the end of the week, will be at least that long.
Furthermore, the nature of the 6th trumpet, which is a world-wide military
invasion by the king of the North, should, by the nature of the invasion,
take place over several months.
So for the sake of expediency I will operate on an "assumed"
time frame for these trumpet judgments to take place. I will simply "arbitrarily"
assign 2 years for the great tribulation, extending from the "mid-point"
of the week until it is "cut short" by the return of Jesus at
the Day of the Lord. This will leave approximately 1 1/2 years for the
duration of the trumpet judgments which close out the 70th week. Then
there will be a 30 day period for the final judgment as represented by the 7 bowls.
These judgments will
culminate in the war at Armageddon which is precipitated by Bowl #6
(Rev. 16:12-16) and recorded at Revelation 19:11-21.
REMEMBER! This is not setting the date. This is "approximating"
the amount of time involved between the rapture and the end of the week
in order to more efficiently correlate the many events that take place
during that time period.
THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS
The 7 trumpets are divided into 2 parts; the first 4 are
strictly environmental judgments designed to undermine the economic controls
of the beast. It will be seen that these are limited in their scope and affect
only part of the earth.
The FIRST trumpet: Revelation 8:7
And 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.
This is divine judgment on the agriculture of the earth.
The purpose is to put economic pressure on the world so
as to aggravate the beast's implementation of his economic strategies.
What this judgment entails is a volcanic or meteoric occurrence
that actually affects 1/3 of the vegetation on the earth. This will greatly
affect the food supply and cause great disruption within the beast's kingdom
for months to come. Incidentally, this is not a "natural" occurrence
but a specific and direct act of judgment from God.
POINT of comparison between the trumpets and the bowls:
There are some who believe that the trumpets are not "followed"
by the bowls in a chronological order, but that the bowls are simply restatements
of the judgments represented in the trumpets.
A comparison of all of the trumpets and bowls will reveal
the fact that, although there are similarities, the differences are significant
enough to prevent me from holding to that idea.
Regarding the 1st trumpet and bowl, there are no similarities.
Trumpet #1 is a
judgment on 1/3 of "agriculture" of the earth.
It is on the actual PHYSICAL earth.
Bowl#1 (Rev.
16:2) is a judgment on "people"
Trumpet #1 is a FIERY judgment on vegetation.
Bowel #1 is a HEALTH judgment on people.
The SECOND Trumpet: Revelation 8:8-9
And 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.
This is judgment on the sea which, once again, will greatly
affect the economic environment. This is very possibly the same event of
Trumpet #1 but the greater bulk of a meteor that falls into the sea. The
affect is that 1/3 of the sea is polluted, and all life in that 1/3 area of the sea is killed.
Also all sea-going vessels are destroyed, which effectively shuts down all shipping
activity in that same area. Again, this could be a separate
direct act of God and not be related to trumpet #1 at all. This judgment is
likewise limited in its scope. The land mass is not affected, but only ONE
THIRD of the SEA is polluted.
POINT of comparison:
The 2nd
trumpet is a "partial" judgment on the salt water resources.
Trumpet #2 shows
us that only
ONE
THIRD of the sea creatures are killed and 1/3 of sea vessels are destroyed.
Bowl #2 shows us that "EVERY sea creature is killed even though the sea itself
is not destroyed.
The THIRD trumpet: RRevelation 8:10-11
And 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; and 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.
In this case it is not so much a "destructive"
force as it is a major pollutant that affects 1/3 of the fresh water supply
in the earth. This judgment as well seems to result from something falling
from the sky. Whether this be a "natural" item or one of man's
machines is not clear and does not really matter.
POINT of comparison:
Trumpet
#3 is "partial" poisoning only a third of the fresh water supplies.
The language at Revelation 16:4 for Bowl #3 certainly implies "total."
And there is no “mountain” falling into the sea.
The FOURTH trumpet: Revelation 8:12
And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and
a third of the moon and a third of the stars were smitten, so that a third
of them might be darkened and the day might not shine for a third of it,
and the night in the same way.
A massive atmospheric "blackout" which shuts
down the light that reaches the earth. This will have an affect on agriculture,
health and climate not to mention the resultant chaos and trauma.
This is NOT the same thing that happens at the start of the Day of the Lord,
that is described at Rev. 6:12-14; Mat. 24:29-30; and Joel 2:31.
The darkening of the sun, moon and stars that announce the arrival of Jesus
and the inception of the Day of the Lord is a ONE TIME event, that lasts a
short time and is then over.
The blackout of the 4th trumpet is an ON-GOING event that continues over
several days. It can thus be said that "the day might not shine for a third of
it, and the night in the same way."
This judgment has an on-going (day to day) effect on the environment. The
SIGNS that announce the arrival of the Lord are not A JUDGMENT, but a SIGN
that occurs once, and is then over. And they do not have an on-going affect on
the environment.
POINT of comparison: The two are TOTALLY
different
Bowl
#4 (Rev. 16:8) is an effect on the sun which causes an intensification of its
heat and results in severe burns on people.
Trumpet 4 LESSENS the light
Bowl 4 intensifies the light
THE LAST THREE TRUMPETS
The Last Three trumpets entail "the 3 woes."
Revelation 8:13
And I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in mid heaven,
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, from the beginning of the beast's reign at the mid-point
of the 70th week, he has been progressing in the implementation of the
mark of the beast and accomplishing economic control over a large part
of the earth.
He has also been progressing in his persecution of "Religious"
Israel and the church as described at Revelation 12:13-17.
Once the church is removed through rapture at the inception
of the Day of the Lord, and these "trumpet" judgments begin to
pour out on the world, the ability of the beast to implement his economic
and worship policies will be greatly hindered.
Not only that, but the peoples of the earth will become
more and more disillusioned with his ability to fulfill the promises made. And with just a few months left in the beast's "allotted" reign
there will be a large block of nations that take this opportunity to mount
a military attack against him and against his kingdom.
This massive military invasion begins with a campaign
against the kingdom of the beast (king of the West) that extends worldwide,
but culminates in the land of Palestine.
But before that invasion is launched, the 5th
trumpet sounds and a horde of demons is released upon the kingdom of the beast
to torment people for 5 months. This is -
THE FIFTH TRUMPET
THE FIRST WOE: A demon horde to torment
people
Revelation 9:1-12
Verse 1
And 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.
This understanding of this symbolism is based
on comparing with other Scripture.
Stars usually refers to angels. Satan is an angel.
This star was in heaven and HAD FALLEN to the earth. Not only had Satan been
kicked out of heaven as a place to dwell, but at the midpoint of the week, he
is cast PHYSICALLY to the earth. Revelation 12:7-13
(See THE MIDPOINT OF THE WEEK)
This star is given authority (a key) to release a demon horde that has been
shut up in the abyss. It cannot be affirmed dogmatically, but I strongly
believe that this star is Satan.
THE DEMONS IN THE ABYSS
SEE TOPIC: The Abyss
One thing is certain concerning this judgment. The creatures
in view come from the abyss. This is not viewing a human military force
that oppresses, but a demon horde released from a "prison" to
express its violent aggressions on human victims. Verses 2-4
"And 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.
And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth;
and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And they were told that they should not 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."
One could speculate about the description of these creatures
"forever" but let us simply recognize that they are "uggggly"
and they hurt! In fact, that is all they are allowed to do and then, only
upon those who have taken the mark of the beast. V. 5-6,
"And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but
to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a
scorpion when it stings a man.
And in those days men will seek death and will not find
it; and they will long to die and death flees from them."
It also appears that God will not allow those afflicted
to find relief through suicide. God can indeed prevent finite humans from
exercising actions that He does not want to take place.
He will allow them to "think it" all they want,
for that is what volition and free will is all about. But He will not allow
them to execute the intent of their will in this case, just as He has done
upon many occasions throughout human history.
The "origin" of these demon creatures is not
really a factor for the study of the PreWrath scenario, but it is probable
that they are the same "spirits" who were imprisoned in "Tartarus"
to await final judgment. Jude 6; 1 Pet. 3:18-20; 2 Pet. 2:4
The release for a short time at this moment in history
does not violate the nature of their imprisonment nor the designed destiny
which they have been assigned. It is not any kind of reprieve but simply
God using an awesome "weapon" to administrate convicting type
judgment upon the world of unbelievers.
They are thus released for a temporary time to express
their pent up anger and frustration from living in the abyss of darkness.
The scripture records no other group of "spirit"
beings which are being held in bonds. It is possible that they will remain
"out" until the end of the judgments, at which time they will
be returned to the abyss where Satan will be bound as well for 1000 years.
Rev. 20:1-2
POINT OF COMPARISON
There is absolutely no similarity between the 5th trumpet and the 5th bowl.
Trumpet #5 represents a demon army released to torment the unbelievers alive
on the earth by causing physical pain.
Bowel #5 represents a darkness judgment on the beast's kingdom that results in
extreme cold. The people are in pain from that cold and the sores caused by
the scorching sun from the previous bowl judgment.
Revelation 9:12
"The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still
coming after these things."
THE SIXTH TRUMPET
THE SECOND WOE
Revelation 9:13-19
It is not "as clear" what the nature of the
second woe is, as it is so very clear as to the nature of the first woe. But
it appears to be a "human" army that advances through the earth
to plunder and kill in order to possess the material resources needed for
its nation to survive. This perfectly corresponds with the Old Testament
teaching that the king of the North will strive against the king of the
West; a campaign that will extend world-wide but culminate in Palestine
and with the destruction of all the armies involved.
This scenario is quite understandable when we recognize
that after the Day of the Lord and the initial trumpet judgments, the kingdom
of the beast will be in considerable chaos and he will be unable to fulfill
the economic provisions he has promised through allegiance to him. It is
within this context that a huge military force begins to move throughout
the world plundering and killing almost at will and "striving"
against the kingdom of the beast all the while.
Revelation 9:14-15
"one saying 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 prepared
for the hour and day and month and year, were released,
so that they might kill a third of mankind."
The "motivation" or influence upon this great
military force is from 4 angels. Angels who have been bound (held in check)
in a particular geographical location, Specially prepared by God until
His perfect timing, "The hour, and day and month and year" (Rev.9:15).
The Euphrates River has historically been viewed as the
"dividing point" between North and South, with the land of Palestine
as the focal point. The significance of the 4 angels is that they will
influence military force to move in all 4 directions which indicates the
world-wide attack which is in view. This does not refer to the movement
of an Oriental army (the King of the East) which is a popular viewpoint,
for that advance is in view at the 6th bowl (Rev. 16:12) and is a "one
way" invasion (into the land of Palestine), so the emphasis is on
the river being dried up (symbolic of geographical restraints being removed)
in order for the army to move Westward from the Orient.
Notice, this military monstrosity actually plunders and
kills 1/3 of mankind as it moves toward its "ultimate" goal which
I believe to be the land of Palestine. In fact, I view this military body
as the armies of Gog (the king of the North) as recorded at Ezekiel 38
and 39.
Revelation 9:16
"And the number of the armies of the horsemen was
two hundred million; I heard the number of them."
This multitude could easily account for the massive military
machine which is described at Ezekiel 38:4-6
"And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your
jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen,
all of them splendidly attired, a great company {with} buckler and shield,
all of them wielding swords;
Persia, Ethiopia, and Put with them, all of them {with} shield and helmet;
Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah {from} the remote parts of the
north with all its troops, many peoples with you."
Before I go further, it is necessary to answer the question,
WHEN does the invasion of Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38
and 39 take place?
1. It must be in the "latter years" and "in
the last days," based on v. 38:8, 16.
2. Some think that it takes place "before" the
70th week of Daniel.
A. They use verse 39:9, ". . .and for 7 years they will
make fires of them."
B. And verse 38:8,
"After many days you will be summoned; in the latter
years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, {whose
inhabitants} have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel
which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from
the nations, and they are living securely, all of them."
C. But the 7 years need not refer to the 7 years of Daniel's
70th week.
D. And Israel "at peace" will not take place
UNTIL the 70th week BEGINS.
E. Furthermore, language in the chapters prevents this
from taking place at any time other than the "final" invasion
of Israel in connection with the Armageddon campaign.
I.e., verse 39:7, "I will not let My Holy Name be profaned
anymore."
In other words, there will never again be such an attack and abuse upon
Israel.
2. Another option is within the first half of the 70th
week and prior to the beginning of the great tribulation. In fact, it is
suggested that this invasion precipitates the breaking of the covenant
by the beast in the middle of the week.
But again, the language of verse 39:7 does not allow for it.
3. It is also suggested that this is the same invasion
of Gog and Magog which is mentioned in Revelation 20:7-9 and takes place at the
end of Messiah's 1000 year kingdom on the earth.
A. However, that does not leave room for the "7 years"
of Ezekiel 39:9, for after the invasion of Revelation 20, the earthly kingdom is
over and the "eternal state" begins.
B. Furthermore, the language of Ezekiel 39:25-29 speaks
of Israel being restored to her own land in an "earthly kingdom"
context, AFTER this invasion.
C. The use of the same names is simply to designate the
"same" geographical location as the origin of both invasions.
Therefore it is best to assign this detailed description
in Ezekiel to the invasion of the king of the North into Palestine which
follows upon his world-wide "push" against the king of the West
who is the beast of the great tribulation.
In the end time, there will be an attack by the King of
the North against the kingdom of the beast who corresponds with the king
of the West described in Daniel 11:36-39. The king of the North will lead
an alliance of nations not only from the Northern regions, but a few from
the Southern area as well (Ethiopia and Libya, Ezek. 38:5, Cush and Put).
According to Daniel 11:40, there will also be an invasion
upon the king of the West from the king of the South, which usually refers
to Egypt, but could refer to these two Southern allies, Ethiopia and Cush.
This Southern alliance is mentioned at Ezek. 30:5 in reference to its destruction
in connection with this very invasion.
Ezekiel 30:5, (v. 3, the Day of the LORD is near)
Ethiopia, Put (Libya), Lud, all Arabia, Libya (Cub),
and the people of the land that is in league
will fall with them by the sword.
Daniel 11:40,
"And at the end time the king of the South will collide
with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots,
with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow
{them,} and pass through."
Notice, "he will enter countries." This goes
beyond the immediate context of Palestine and refers to the kingdom of
the beast as a whole, ie, a world-wide invasion as described at Revelation 9.
Jeremiah speaks of this "world-wide" invasion,
clearly in an "end times," Day of the LORD context. Jeremiah
25:30-38
Jeremiah 25:30,
Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words,
and you shall say to them, The LORD will roar from on high, And utter His
voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold.
He will shout like those who tread {the grapes,} Against ALL THE INHABITANTS
OF THE EARTH.
Observe the CAPITAL LETTERED areas.
Jer. 25:31, A clamor has come to the end of the earth,
Because the LORD has a controversy WITH THE NATIONS. He is entering into
judgment with ALL FLESH; As for the wicked, He has given them to the SWORD,
declares the LORD.
Jer. 25:32, Thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil
is going forth FROM NATION TO NATION, And a great storm is being stirred
up FROM the REMOTEST parts of the earth.
Jer. 25:33, And those slain by the LORD on that day shall
be from ONE END OF THE EARTH TO THE OTHER. They shall not be lamented,
gathered, or buried; they shall be like dung on the face of the ground.
Jer. 25:34, Wail, you shepherds, and cry; And wallow {in
ashes,} you masters of the flock; For the days of your slaughter and your
dispersions have come, And you shall fall like a choice vessel.
Jer. 25:35, Flight shall perish from the shepherds, And
escape from the masters of the flock. (national leaders)
Jer. 25:36, {Hear} the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the masters of the flock! For the LORD is destroying
their pasture,
Jer. 25:37, And the peaceful folds are made silent Because
of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer. 25:38, He has left His hiding place like the lion;
For their land has become a horror Because of the fierceness of the oppressing
{sword,} And because of His fierce anger.
This is exactly what happens when the King of the North
and his allies are "moved to action" by the 4 angels who are
bound at the River Euphrates.
It is a judgment from God that allows the alliance of
the King of the North to move world-wide with the end result that 1/3 of
the earth's population will be killed.
After the king of the North distracts and weakens the
king of the West (Beast's kingdom), he will turn his attentions to the
Middle East. Daniel 11:41,
"He will also enter the BEAUTIFUL LAND, and many
{countries} will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom,
Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.
Ezekiel describes this stage of the invasion as being
moved by God with this language, at verse 38:4,
"And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your
jaws, and I will bring you out,..."
and at verse 8,
"After many days you will be summoned;
in the latter years you will come
into the land that is restored from the sword,
{whose inhabitants} have been gathered from many nations
to the mountains of Israel. . ."
This "influence" to move into Palestine corresponds
with the 6th bowl at Revelation 16:12-16 and takes place during the 30 day period
of judgment that comes immediately after the 70th week ends.
Since the same "northern" alliance is in view,
we find a great similarity of language describing the army at three passages:
Here, at Revelation 9:17; Joel 2:3-8; and Isaiah 5:26-30.
As the king of the North moves through many "countries"
(Dan. 11:40), he will produce great slaughter so that 1/3 of the earth's
population will be killed (Rev. 9:18-19).
And as he attacks and moves on to his final goal of Palestine,
the survivors of his brutality will be little impressed with the death
that has claimed so many around them (Rev. 9:20-21). These people will
continue in their rebellion against God through idolatry and immorality.
Revelation 9:20-21,
"And 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."
POINT OF COMPARISON
Trumpet #6 represents the movement of a great
military force that actually KILLS 1/3 of the earths population in its march
toward Palestine. The reference to the Euphrates river, and the 4
"directional" angels, simply indicates that this army originates in the area
NORTH of Palestine and that its march is toward all four directions before
finally settling in Palestine as a result of the influence from demons (Rev.
16:14, 16).
Bowl #6 represents the making of a pathway so that a specific army from the
East might march toward Palestine. Nothing is said of killing people. Instead,
the context of verses 13-16 indicates that the purpose for bowl #6 is to
gather the world's armies into the Palestinian area for the battle of
Armageddon.
Revelation's chronological progression ends here and picks
up again at chapter 11:14 which gives the conclusion of this judgment we
have just studied.
"the 2nd woe is past, Behold, the 3rd woe is coming
quickly."
Since the 3rd woe begins at the conclusion of the two
witnesses' testimony which began at the mid-point of the week, John here
summarizes the 1260 day ministry of these two men at chapter 11:1-13.
When their testimony is over, the beast actually kills
them in the streets of Jerusalem where they lay for 3 1/2 days; The first
3 1/2 days after the week ends and the beginning of the 30 day period of
final wrath. After that, they are resuscitated by God and then snatched
up into the sky while the onlookers are struck with fear.
Almost immediately, a great earthquake occurs, destroying
a tenth of the city and killing 7,000 people.
However, as a result, a large group of people express
worship humility toward God and accept the gospel message which had been
proclaimed so often.
"And the rest were awe struck and gave glory to the
God of heaven."
This is the required response at this time based on the
message that had been proclaimed. Revelation 14:6-7; 16:9
It is at this time that God officially ends the reign
of the beast and prepares to administrate the final judgments of His wrath
as represented by the sounding of the 7th trumpet and then the pouring
out of the 7 bowls. The 3rd woe is the pouring out of the bowls of God's
final wrath on the unbelieving world.
SUMMARY of activities after the arrival of Jesus and prior
to the sounding of the 7th trumpet:
1. The 2 witnesses of Revelation 11 are still doing their "teaching"
which they began at the mid-point of the week and continue their convicting
ministry of "torment" (Verse 11:10) upon the unbelievers.
2. The 144,000 "servants" who were saved right
after the arrival of Jesus, are ministering probably in a world-wide context,
although the place of their ministry is not specified.
3. The beast is still attempting to gain the "worship"
allegiance of the world's population through the help of the false prophet,
but their efforts are greatly impeded by the disruption caused by the trumpet
judgments.
4. There are many people who trust in Christ during this
time. Although we have only one place where humility worship toward God
is expressed (at the end of the week, Rev. 11:13) yet after the wrath of
God has been fully expressed, there will be a multitude of people still
alive who populate Messiah's earthly kingdom as believers.
5. However the vast majority of humanity will remain in
spiritual rebellion against God and will be experiencing the awesome judgments
from the 6 trumpets.
6. And now toward the end of the week, a massive military
machine is oppressing the nations of the world and undermining the reign
of the beast.
7. It is at this time that the beast has finally "had
enough" of the two witnesses and kills them in the city of Jerusalem.
This act brings his reign crashing down around him as it paves the way
for the FINAL outpouring of divine wrath via the 7 bowl judgments which
are announced by the 7th trumpet.
