Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES MINISTRIES

We have spent the better part of 2 ½ months in the book of Revelation. Let’s read from God’s word. Revelation 11: Verses 15 through 19.The Seventh Trumpet15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

We are in another one of the parenthetical passages in Revelation. If you will remember, we encountered one of these between the six and the seventh seals. Now, we encounter one between the sixth and the seventh trumpets. There are several reasons why the Lord gives us these pauses in the action. One reason is to give the reader a break. We have been studying terrible scenes of tragedy and death. He gives us these pauses to allow us to regroup and gather our emotions. These pauses allow the Lord to give us words of encouragement and comfort.Let’s read from the Word of God. If you have your Bibles, turn to Revelation Chapter 10, verses 1 through 11 (yea, the entire Chapter).The Angel and the Little Scroll10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a]” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

9 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

In verse 1, the seventh seal is broken by the Lord Jesus. When He breaks this seal, seven trumpet judgments are unleashed upon the earth. If you think things have been horrible thus far, you are right, but the worst is yet to come. Today, we will watch as the first four trumpet judgments are sounded against the earth. We will see things go from bad to worse for those living on the earth during the Great Tribulation. Allow me to share the observations offered in this passage as I preach about When Heaven Falls Silent.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Beginning in chapter six all the way through chapter nineteen, we are placed in the middle of “Tribulation Period”, or the time known as the “Great Tribulation”. This period of seven years is broken down into two parts, with each portion lasting 3 ½ years.This time is clearly described in the Word of God.

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”