Understanding Revelation: The Sixth Trumpet Judgement of Rev. 9:13-21

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I believe it’s one of the most dangerous threats to our entire world. The Islamic invasion has indeed happened in the United States. There are now 8 million of them. One of our United States is almost now totally owned by Muslims. And it was their stated goal in 1980 to have a Muslim state in the United States, completely dominated and controlled. They’ve almost accomplished that right now. We’re in for a different kind of a future, people, than we, a lot of us, want to admit. And this is a problem all over the world. You say, what state is this? New Mexico.

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This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking. Today David goes into great detail about the vast army that surges forward in Revelation chapter 9 and how from their path comes fire, smoke, and sulfur. He’ll show us how a third of mankind is swept away by these three plagues, and how the earth is left reeling. Reeling, and yet the rest of mankind, those not killed by the plagues, still do not repent. They continue to worship demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, idols that cannot see or hear or walk. nor do the people repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts. This isn’t just prophecy. It’s a warning for us now. God’s judgment is real. His word is sure, and His call to repentance… It’s urgent. Join us and invite someone you know who needs to hear this as David Hawking takes us through a final yet thorough look at Revelation 9, 13 through 21. Stay with us. Day three of The Army from the East is coming right up. Before today’s lesson, we want to let you know about the Hope for Today Media Center. Listen, you can get there right from the homepage. Click on Media, and you’ll find an entire online library of video teaching series by David Hawking, and you can watch them all free of charge. You’ll find studies through whole books of the Bible, verse-by-verse teaching on prophecy and series that will help strengthen your walk with the Lord. And because it’s online, you can watch anytime, anywhere you can connect to the web. It’s all waiting for you at DavidHawking.org. And here’s David with today’s study.

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I’ll come back to chapter 9 and look at verse 16 and 17. The second thing that I’d like to bring to your attention in addition to the control of this army are the characteristics of this army. And they are indeed awesome. And I want to deal with three things. One, the size of it and the symbolism involved and then some possible solutions to what it all means. First of all, the size of the army, verse 16. The number was 200,000,000. Now in Greek, ancient Greek, the largest number in the mathematical system is 10,000. And that’s what is in the text. So literally in the text, what we have is 10,000 times 10,000 times 2. That’s what’s in the Greek text. How many? 200,000,000. Now God doesn’t go to those kind of details. Let me just explain something. If we would have had 10,000 times 10,000, we could say a number nobody could count. But in the Greek mathematical system and in the Bible, if we said 10,000 times 10,000 times another specific one numerical number, then it’s an exact number. The point is that we’re not saying it literally, so we don’t understand why it’s there in the text. God put it in the text to tell us this is an exact number. This is not a metaphor of something that we cannot count. We’re talking about a specific number in this army, 200 million, coming from the east. Incredible. You say, where does it say from the east? Hang on. We’re going to get to that. So when people ask me, what about this number? Is it a metaphor? Is it just a symbol or whatever? I’m sorry, I cannot believe that. There’s no way of getting out of the way it is in the grammar of the New Testament here. It’s a literal number, 250. million in this army, the number of the army of the horsemen. Now, the second point I’d bring out is the symbolism involved. Let’s read it carefully. Please notice in your Bibles, verse 17, I saw the horses. Is there any word such as like or as at this point? No, not here. So, once again, I’m forced to apply principles of interpretation on the Bible, what the Bible itself reveals, to the book of Revelation and its symbolism. By that I mean, if it doesn’t have symbolic languages to be taken literally, so are these horses. Yes, 200 million horsemen. Now keep reading in verse 17, but it does get a little symbolic. It says having breastplates of fire and of jacinth and brimstone. Any symbolic languages there? No. Are they going to have something, breastplate that’s fire, jacinth and brimstone? Apparently so. It says the heads of the horses were, what’s the next word? Like. Okay, are the heads of the horses heads of lions? No. No, they are like heads of lions, which means the horses are angry, hostile, roaring, vicious looking. And it says, out of their mouths issued fire, smoke, and brimstone. Does it say like fire, smoke, and brimstone? No, it says fire, smoke, and brimstone. And emphasizes again in the next verse, verse 18, that this is the way the men are killed. So here’s what I say to you. There’s no symbolic language referring to the horsemen or the horses, but when reused of the heads of the horses, there is. And remember the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. I think the point of the symbolic language being at the point of the head of the horse being like the head of a lion is to connect in our minds the fact that 1 Peter 5.8 does say the devil is like a roaring lion. It is a demonic plague. even if they inhabit the armies of men. So what are the possible solutions here of this army? I’ll give you three of them that are taught by good Bible teachers. You say, just give us the one you believe. No. Because I’m not sure which one I want to believe. I just want to be faithful to what I know the Bible teaches. And sometimes it’s not clear. One possible solution is that this is an attack of demons that is the same as the opening verses of chapter 9. There are several Bible teachers who believe that. That verses 1 to 12 describe this demonic attack as a locust plague, and in the last half describes it as an army of horses and horsemen. That’s one possibility. A sub-point to that is that there are many who believe it’s an attack of demons similar, but another event that does involve an invading army into the Middle East. A second possible solution, turn to Ezekiel chapter 38. There are quite a number, and if I mention the names, some of you would remember that these names are good Bible teaching prophecy type people who believe that what is being described here is the invasion of Ezekiel 38 and 39. That it will happen somewhere around the middle of the tribulation period. And here’s some of the reasons. Chapter 38. First of all, if you’re living in Israel and you’re looking at the Euphrates River, it is east, but it is also north. For instance, Iraq on the map looks east as you go towards the Persian Gulf. If you’re in Israel, you always refer to Iraq north. ancient Assyria and Babylon as the northern powers. Because they have to come north. They have to swing. They can’t come straight across the Arabian desert. They have to swing north and then come down in. So it’s always seen as an invading army. A lot of us have been detracted a little bit by the north issue to then think it is only Russia. And we realize there are a number of allies connected with her at this invasion. But I want you to understand that it could also come from what looks to be the east. Because what we’re talking about is crossing the Euphrates. And Iran, for instance, is a northern power to the people of Israel. But on your map, it looks like it’s due east. Iran, Iraq, all of them, they’re northern powers. Now look at Ezekiel 38. And just to bring some things to your attention, I’m not saying I believe this view. I’m just saying I don’t know. In verse 4, it says, I will turn thee back, chapter 38, put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth all thine army. Now, Revelation 9 calls it an army. Horses and horsemen. That’s exactly what it says. All of them clothed with all sorts of armor. So maybe the description of the breastplates is an armor appearance. Look at verse 15. “‘Thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou and many peoples with thee.'” Many peoples, hey, the 200 million. “‘All of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.'” Apparently bigger than anybody’s ever imagined or seen. And this is all going to come in the future when Israel comes back as a nation. after the Babylonian captivity, which is described by the prophet Ezekiel. So many believe the invasion of Ezekiel 38 and 39, possibly Russia included, maybe some of its satellite supporters, maybe Iran, because it mentions Iran. Persia is in the text. It mentions some involvement of a coalition of nations. Maybe it includes an army bigger than what we thought. Maybe it includes the armies of the east. It’s possible. So some people believe this is the invasion of Ezekiel 38 and 39. And it’s inspired by demonic activity and that’s why it’s so vicious and awful. We do know that a third of the world is killed by it. And that suggests a very serious issue because If that’s true, then the balance of power is going to be all messed up. And according to the passage in Ezekiel 38 and 39, this invading army of horsemen and horses is destroyed by supernatural intervention by God. And an earthquake apparently is going to wipe out their forces. A giant earthquake is going to happen in the Middle East. and destroy most of their armies, and then this will leave a wide open door for the leader of the Western coalition, whom we call the Antichrist, who’s been Mr. Right and Mr. Clean up to this point, to break his covenant with Israel, go into the temple of God like 2 Thessalonians 2 says, desecrate the place, set himself up as God want to be worshiped, and start persecuting the Jewish people. Why? Because the whole balance of power in the world has now been completely thrown off kilter, and nobody is any longer in his way. A part of this, folks, is the view of modern day Bible teachers that this is a Muslim and Islamic invasion. I do not know that it is an Islamic invasion. All I know is that one out of every five people in the world is presently a Muslim. It is very possible that we are going to see, and you see the hatred and hostility of some of the Muslim world, certainly not all Muslims, but some of them have a hatred and hostility toward especially Jews and Christians. And I don’t know that this is true, but a lot of modern Bible teachers are starting to talk this way. Perhaps this is an incredible Islamic invasion into the Middle East that results in one-third of the entire world being killed because they are death at any price is the issue. And it’s very possible that’s what it is. But there’s also another possibility. Another one that’s held by good Bible teachers is that this is describing the final battle of Armageddon. You say, well, how do you know that? Turn to Revelation chapter 16. We’ll start at verse 12. This is the seven last plagues that we have yet to study. And the sixth angel, what angel sounded in Revelation 9, 12 and following? Sixth angel sounded. Here the sixth angel again pours out his bowl upon the great river, what? Well, isn’t that interesting? And its water was dried up that the way of the kings of the what? East, Greek rising of the sun, meaning east. Notice it’s kings plural, not one. A whole group of them from the east might be what? What’s the next word? Prepared. What did the passage say in chapter 9? They were prepared for a day, an hour, a month, a year. And was the river Euphrates involved there? Yes. And was it the sixth angel also? Yes. And was there an invading army in both cases? Yes. Look at verse 13. I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, out of the mouth of the false prophet. And these are the spirits of devils or demons working miracles that go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Are demonic evil spirits involved in the battle of Armageddon? Absolutely. God clearly in his word tells us that they are deceiving through miraculous deeds of the kings of the earth, the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, they see his shame. He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, The hill of Megiddo is a type or a symbol of all ancient battles and of the future coming terrible battle that will dominate the entire Middle East and result in millions of people being killed. You say, well, which one of these things is right? I have no idea. I really don’t. I can tell you the following things are true, however. One, there will be demonic activity in the tribulation period greater than we have ever seen. Two, that it is going to be an invasion of a literal army, whether just acting like demons or being inhabited by demons. I prefer the latter. I think it’s more faithful to the text. As to when it occurs, I do not know, but I happen to lean towards Revelation being in sequential order. So I lean towards an invasion, an attack, a terrible war occurring approximately in the middle of the tribulation. So I would lean towards Ezekiel 38 and 39 as a possibility. that the great war of Gog and Magog is going to involve more than we ever dreamed. Now the consequences of this army, if you’re looking at chapter 9 again of Revelation, verse 18 to 21, the consequences would be at least three things. One, their plagues obviously bring death to one-third of the world’s population. That’s in verse 18. By these three was the third part of men killed. The fire, smoke, and brimstone are those military weapons? Could easily be. We could be talking a nuclear war. Easily. Easily. The second thing I notice in terms of consequences is their power causes great hurt to people. Verse 19, with them they do hurt. So whatever, if these are machines or whatever, they are hurting people terribly, even those who are not killed. The third thing that I would say is that their punishment, if you can believe this, does not change the hearts of people. What are we ever going to learn? That the problem is in the human heart. The Bible says, verse 20, the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands. Verse 21, neither repented they. Hey, doesn’t the list sound familiar? Look at your Bible, verse 20 and 21. Satanism. worship of devils and demons, idolatry, murder, the word sorceries is our word drug, pharmaceuticals in Greek, drugs, immorality, and theft. Doesn’t it sound like the newspaper? CNN reporting on an average day? The hardness of the human heart. Revelation 21.8 says, The fearful, unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the fornicators, the drug dealers and users, the idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Look at chapter 22, verse 15. For outside of this new city are dogs and drug people and fornicators and murderers and idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. They repented not of their deeds. Tragic, isn’t it? Read verse 17 of chapter 22 and you can go home. The spirit and the bride say what? Don’t you love that word? Jesus said, come unto me, all you that labor and heavy laden. Come. He’s not going to drag you. He invites you with his loving heart. Come. Let him that heareth say, come. Let him that is athirst, come. Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Well, how do I know if I’m one of the chosen? Whosoever will. You say, well, how do I know? Well, do you want to be saved? Do you want to receive Christ? Do you want to be a Christian? Do you want to be delivered? Do you want to be saved? Whosoever will. Let him take the water of life freely. No cost. Well, there was a cost. Jesus Christ paid with his life for you. And you can, by receiving Jesus Christ, spend an eternity in heaven rather than hell. You can even escape all of these terrible judgments that are coming by being with the Lord. Whosoever will. It’s open to you. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord, says Romans 10, 13, shall be saved. Is that not a gracious invitation on the part of our Lord? Come. Whosoever will. Come. Now. Do it. Before it’s too late.

SPEAKER 04 : 20:09

The one who paid for your sin and will deliver you from sin, death, and hell is our Lord Yeshua, our Lord Jesus Christ. And right now might be a good time for you to just open your heart to Him. Lord, I know I’m a sinner, and I need to confess my sin to You and to trust what Your Son has done for me. He’s my Savior. I receive him as my Lord and my King. And thank you for loving me as you do. And I give my heart to you, and I want to see you in heaven. God bless you.

SPEAKER 01 : 20:55

That’s David Hocking, and you’re listening to Hope for Today. By the way, if you just prayed to receive Jesus Christ, or maybe you’re not yet a Christian, but you’d like to know more about what it means to have a personal relationship with him, what it means to be a Christian, according to the Bible, we’d love to send you two free resources. First, David’s booklet, What is Christianity? And second, a Bible study by mail to help you begin growing in your new faith. Call 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, and Bible by the numbers 24253, and we’ll get these resources to you. And before David returns to close us out, Matt and I want to share a great resource with you on Bible prophecy.

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It amazes me how infrequently the major and minor prophets are studied in pulpits, radio, and in print.

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And how much rich teaching and faith-building understanding of God’s plan for the ages. His plan of salvation and eternity is missed as a result. Well, that’s why my dad has written a thorough study of Zechariah titled, Visions of the Future. Zechariah is often referred to as the little revelation of the Old Testament. The historical background follows Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem and the return of the Jews to rebuild the temple. The book also speaks of the centrality of Jerusalem in God’s prophetic plan. And tells how this city will become a cup of trembling to all nations. And prophecy concerning a future invasion of Israel, the Battle of Armageddon. The glorious return of the Messiah to this earth. And the setting up of a kingdom that will never end. Amen.

SPEAKER 02 : 22:31

You know, it’s right there in Zachariah, Jim. Right. And my dad’s book, Visions of the Future, will show you all of the vivid details, historical context, explanations of crucial original text terms, cross-references, and fascinating applications for our lives today.

SPEAKER 01 : 22:45

Well, Matt, may God open our hearts and the hearts of everyone listening to the glorious future awaiting all of us. who have put our faith in the coming Messiah. Visions of the Future is our featured offer for August, and we have your copy for just $15. And when you purchase, please consider adding an extra amount as a donation to Hope for Today or make a donation by itself. Your gift makes you a part of this ministry. And always, please start by praying for Hope for Today. To get your copy of Visions of the Future, call 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order online at davidhawking.org. And if you’d like to give a separate amount to support this ministry, a donation, well, you can do that by mail. Write to us at Hope for Today, Box 3927. tustin california 92781 in canada write to hope for today box 15011 rpo seven oaks abbotsford bc v2s 8p1 or give by phone or online at david hawking.org and here’s david

SPEAKER 04 : 24:00

Thanks, friends, for listening. And we’re in one of those real difficult sections of the book of Revelation to understand. It started out in the first verses with a demonic activity, demons of hell with Satan at their head. It’s amazing. He’s the king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit. And now, that that we’re studying right now began at verse 13, when the sixth angel sounded the four horns of the golden altar before God, brought a voice out and said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound in the great river Euphrates. And what was loosed is going to kill a third part of mankind. Wow, you talk about a disaster and a judgment of huge proportions. And my friends, we need to understand this. that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. And he’s in charge of the day of the Lord. That’s why it’s called the day of the Lord 25 times. And it’s a day of great disaster and death. And this is one of the examples dealing with the trumpet judgments. And wow, what a judgment it is. Well, thanks for listening. We’re going to move on to Chapter 10 in our next time.

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On our next broadcast, a mighty angel descends from heaven with a little book in his hand. John is told to take it, eat it. It’s sweet to the taste, but bitter in the stomach. This is a vision that reveals both the joy of God’s word and the sobering weight of its message. Don’t miss this study in Revelation chapter 10, verses 1 through 11, and invite a friend to listen along with you. They need to hear God’s Word too. Amen? That’s next time, right here on Hope for Today.