WORD TODAY: The Sixth Trumpet

 

The Sixth Trumpet Continuing the Study of Revelation on Thursdays  REVELATION 9.13 The sixth angel sounded. I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God, 9.14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!” 9.15 The four angels were freed who had been prepared for that hour and day and month and year, so that they might kill one third of mankind. 9.16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million. I heard the number of them. 9.17 Thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those who sat on them, having breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the horses’ heads resembled lions’ heads. Out of their mouths proceed fire, smoke, and sulfur. 9.18 By these three plagues were one third of mankind killed: by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur, which proceeded out of their mouths. 9.19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they harm.  -WEB Bible. The ancient text of Enoch describes how some of the fallen angels were bound and locked up until the last days of earth. Well, that time has come. The four angels are not good characters; they are fallen angels and they are powerful. These reprobate angels waste no time putting together a massive army. IMAGE CREDIT: The ancient manuscript illustration is from the Welles Apocalypse, by English artist Peter of Peckham, circa 1320 A.D.  The image of battle tanks is from a WWII poster. St. John's vision of the fire-breathing horses is about ground warfare. Ancient artists did their best to illustrate what John described, but they didn't see his vision, and the things they are trying to draw are many hundreds of years ahead of them in time: so of course, they have absolutely no experience to go by. It wasn't until modern times that we could picture it. The image of battle tanks (above) is from a World War II poster. By the time Armageddon actually happens, the fire-breathing vehicles will likely be very different from WWII tanks, but this image gives us an idea of it. Notice that the four fallen angels were kept ready for this precise time. We think that earth rambles along in its own haphazard fashion, but God has not left anything to chance. There is a plan. Eventually God will put an end to evil. No lie will stand unchallenged and no corruption will go unpunished. Even the fallen angels cannot escape it.  This chapter of Revelation helps us understand why many Christians and churches hold a Fall Festival, rather than Halloween: because demonic beings are real, their evil is beyond comprehension, and they are definitely not worth celebrating.

 

WORD TODAY: What Cannot Be Uttered

 

What Cannot Be Uttered In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. Romans 8:26 Have you prayed and prayed... and prayed for someone, or a situation? And now, you've run out of words. After all these months and years, there are no more words to say, and yet the longing is still there. The intercessory burden is as great as it has ever been. The mountain has not moved, the situation has not changed, and the souls you claim for God are STILL not saved.  This isn't a failure of faith: we know that what we long for can only be accomplished in prayer! Therefore, we don't dare cease our praying, and yet... the words have run dry. This is when the Spirit steps up and prays on our behalf: converting that great, consuming burden into deeply spiritual intercession that only God Himself understands. "Oh God, oh God, oh GOD!" is a prayer that our loving Heavenly Father understands completely. He knows what you're praying about, He knows how much it matters to you, and He is listening intently. He understands every detail and nuance in those groans. It is good to pray in words. But it is also good, when we run out of words, to throw ourselves on God so that our whole being becomes a prayer. Sometimes we don’t understand any more than that God is praying in us and through us.