The Prayers of Saints and Trumpets of Wrath – 17

Why won’t God do anything about the evil in the world? I hear that question a lot, and actually, I think about that question a lot. It has a lot to do with what I study and write about in my PhD work. I want you to think deeply for a second. We’re going to do a little exercise. If you were God, what would you do about the evil in the world?

Well, if you say, “Just get rid of it,” where does that leave you? Haven’t you sinned? Shouldn’t he then get rid of you? What if you say, “He should just make us where we do not sin.” Well, then you would lose a whole lot of good. We would just be robots and incapable of so much that we enjoy, like love.

We agree that evil should be dealt with. That’s justice. And justice is a good thing. But we also want mercy when justice should be given to us. And we want to know and experience love. Well, that’s exactly how God has dealt with evil. All of that. He expressed his love for you by taking on flesh, living the perfect life that you can’t, to die a sacrificial death in your place. And there’s coming a day when he will pour out his wrath, in perfect justice, on the world who has not received the free gift that he’s offered. There’s justice. There’s mercy. There’s love. And it’s all good and perfect.

We’ve seen his sacrifice and love, but we’ve yet to see his complete justice. So, that has us still crying out now amidst evil and hardship. And God wants us to cry out. And he promises to hear us and to act. He IS going to deal with evil, and it starts with your prayers crying out to him.

Revelation 8

Keep praying. Your prayers will be answered. (1-5) In Revelation 6:10, the martyrs who died for their faith cried out, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then in the next verse they were told to “rest a little longer.” And what’s about to unfold is the answering of their prayers, and yours.

God is about to pour out his wrath on this world. And he has long planned its coming. There are echoes of it all throughout the Old and New Testament. And only God the Father has known its timing. So, why does God wait for these prayers? Have you ever wondered what the purpose of prayer is? Why should you pray if God knows what’s going to happen and God is in control and sovereign?

God’s sovereignty means that he not only appoints the ends, but the means by which those ends are reached. As Jim Hamilton says, “One of the means to the ends that God has appointed is prayer.”[1] God uses your prayers as the means to accomplish his desired ends. He desires that you and I be involved in his work in the world, and that includes his justice coming.

So, if you ever feel like your prayers don’t matter, or they never get answered, let these verses encourage you. God may be saying, “Just a little while longer.” And he certainly hears them.

Creation will be judged. It’s not just humanity that is fallen, but creation itself is. What we see here is devastation that comes upon the earth and also impacts humanity. These judgements that follow these four trumpet blasts parallel those found in Exodus when God brought judgment upon the Egyptians and delivered God’s people. I think it is a purposeful parallel because God is doing the same thing, except this time on a far grander worldwide scale. He has delivered his people, and he is judging those who are against him.

(6-7) First Trumpet – 1/3 of earth burned

This first trumpet corresponds with the seventh plague that God brought against Egypt. Can you imagine the devastation this would cause? One third of all the earth, one third of all the trees, and all of the grass is completely burned up, sizzling, and smoke rising. Can you imagine being alive when this is happening? I once had to help put out a crop fire. It took us over an hour because the fire circle just kept growing larger and larger. It’s the most exhausted I’ve been in my entire life, trying