Escaping Wrath Filled with Joy

“When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about an half hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with 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, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.” [1]

An altar of incense was one of the items inside the tabernacle of Moses. The top of the altar was square with a horn on each of its corner. The altar of incense was placed before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. On the other side of the veil was the Ark of the Testimony, where the presence of God was. [2]

Aaron was instructed to burn incense on the altar each morning and at twilight, every day, as a regular offering to the Lord. The altar of incense was called “most holy to the Lord.” [3]

Burning incense relates to prayer. David prayed, “May my prayer be set before you like incense.” As the father of John the Baptist (Zechariah) offered incense in the temple, the assembled worshipers prayed. The angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his prayer was heard, and that he would see God’s answer soon. The angel in Revelation mixes the prayers of God’s holy people with incense and allows this mix to ascend before God. When the angel takes fire from the altar of incense and throws it to earth, it yields noises, thunder, lightning and an earthquake. [4]

When our prayers seem to be unanswered, we may wonder if God is hearing us. The Lord told Moses, “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” An angel told Daniel, “Do not be afraid Daniel, since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.” In the last days before Jesus returns, God transforms the prayers of His holy people into fiery judgments on evil deeds. [5]

“So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” God ordered Joshua to have seven priests sound seven trumpets to defeat the city of Jericho. They marched around the city for seven days. When they blew trumpets seven times on the seventh day, the walls of Jericho fell flat down. The people of God inherited the land. When Christ returns, He will inherit the kingdoms of this world, and His saints will reign with Him. [6]

God told Moses to have priests sound trumpets before a battle and He would save them from their enemies. God led Gideon and his 300 men to sound horns before a battle. Priests sounding trumpets preceded a war victory for King Abijah of Judah. His army of 400,000 defeated an army of 800,000. His army slew a half million enemy soldiers in one day. “The children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.” Like Gideon, they trusted the Lord despite overwhelming odds. The same God who did miracles in the past, will do them again. During the end times, angels sound trumpets before judgments rain down on the enemies of God and God’s people. [7]

“The first angel sounded: and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.” [8]

The first trumpet judgment is on grass and trees. Undoubtedly, grass and trees suffer, but grass is also symbolic of human flesh. Isaiah 40:7 says that people are as grass. Trees speak of rulers.

King Nebuchadnezzar is compared with a tree in Daniel 4:22. He who meditates on God’s Word is compared to a tree planted by the water in Psalm 1:3.

“Then 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 living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” [9]

The second trumpet brings down a great mountain. God compares Babylon to a mountain in Jeremiah 51:25. “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, who destroys all the earth, says the Lord. And I will stretch out My hand against you, roll you down from the rocks, and make you a burnt mountain.”

As a result of the second trumpet, a third of the sea becomes blood, a third of sea creatures die and a third of ships are destroyed. This sea may refer to the Mediterranean and not all oceans. In the Apostle John’s world, the Mediterranean Sea was their sea. Isaiah 57:20 says that the wicked are like the troubled sea. God is judging wickedness.

“Then 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 water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.” [10]

Wormwood produces a bitter oil. Wormwood symbolizes bitterness, poison and death. The Lord warns us against bitterness, saying, “Watch carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.” God so loved us that HE gave His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. May He help us to love as He loves. May He help us to forgive as He forgives. Considering God’s grace cures bitterness. [11]

Wormwood in the last days is characterized as a fallen star. Satan is a fallen star: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer (Day Star), son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!” The devil and his minions are like vipers who poison hearts and minds against God. The blood of Christ is the antivenin. We claim the blood of Christ over us just as the Israelites placed the blood of a lamb over their doorposts in Egypt so that the angel of death could not hurt them. Medical antivenin is made from lamb’s blood. It neutralizes the poison from a snake’s bite. [12]

“Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.” [13]

Jesus foretold that in the last days, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.” The people liked the dark side, so God granted their wish. Darkness during the day was one of the ten plagues that God placed on Egypt for their rebellion against His will. [14]

Anne Graham Lotz was interviewed on the Early Show a few years ago by Jane Clayson. Jane asked Anne: “How could God let Hurricane Katrina happen?” Anne replied, “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we have been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. Being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand Him to leave us alone?”

The first four trumpet judgments reveal that God remembers mercy even during judgment. The judgments are partial judgments striking only a third of the targets in each category. When the Israelites were forced into exile it was done in three phases not all at once. God’s judgments are painful but are designed to lead people to repent of sin and turn to Him for salvation so that they might be saved from the most painful judgment of all... from eternal hell.

“And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’” [15]

The proud people of the earth, like Pharaoh, refuse to repent from sin and turn to God after the first four trumpet judgments. God sends an angel to warn them with a loud voice that three more painful judgments are coming.

God does not delight in the death of the wicked. He wants the wicked to turn from evil and to turn to Him for salvation. There is no Savior besides Him, so God must turn sinners to Himself for salvation. Salvation is about receiving. Salvation is about receiving Christ and all that He has done for us. Heaven is God’s home. He invites us to be united with Him. To live happily forever with Him! The one thing people must do to be saved is to believe in Jesus Christ His Son. [16]

Jesus Christ drank the cup of God’s wrath on sin when He died for our sins on the cross. He did not want to drink this cup. He did it for us and for our salvation. We can either believe in Jesus and have Him bear our sin away, which is to drink of the cup of salvation, or reject Him and bear our own sin, which is to drink the cup of God’s wrath. [17]

Jesus urges us, “Drink from it [the cup of salvation], all of you. Drink all of it. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” [18]

Jesus Christ is a wonderful Savior! When we ask Him to forgive our sins, He does. Jesus fills us with His Holy Spirit to help us live a new life. The Holy Spirit helps us to love God and neighbor. He fills followers of Jesus with love, joy and peace so that we can serve God with gladness. [19]

[1] Revelation 8:1-5
[2] Exodus 30:1-6
[3] Exodus 30:7–10
[4] Psalm 141:2; Luke 1:10, 13
[5] Exodus 3:7; Daniel 10:12; Revelation 8:3-5
[6] Joshua 6:1-20; Revelation 8:6, 11:15; 20:4-6
[7] Numbers 10:9; Judges 7:19-22; 2 Chronicles 13:18; Revelation 8:7-13, 9:1-20, 11:15-19
[8] Revelation 8:7
[9] Revelation 8:8-9
[10] Revelation 8:10-11
[11] Hebrews 12:15; John 3:16; 1 John 2:2
[12] Revelation 8:11, 12:11; Isaiah 14:12; Exodus 12:13-28
[13] Revelation 8:12
[14] Matthew 24:29; Exodus 10:21-29
[15] Revelation 8:13
[16] Ezekiel 33:11; Isaiah 43:11; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Revelation 21-22
[17] Luke 22:42; Isaiah 51:17, 22; Jeremiah 25:15; Revelation 14:10; Psalm 116:13
[18] Matthew 26:26-28
[19] Acts 10:43; John 14:18, 26; Acts 1:8; Romans 5:5, 14:17; Galatians 5:22