The Book of Revelation (part 18)

The Day of the Lord Begins

Revelation Chapter 8

7.22.2020

Review

We are going through the book of Revelation verse by verse on Wednesday nights. Our world is changing. Jesus’ return is soon! I want you to be informed as to what the scriptures have to say about His second coming, and what we should be doing to prepare for that day!

The book of Revelation is God coming to repossess the earth that rightfully belongs to Him by judging nations, men, and the demonic hosts of hell that work with Lucifer to hold the earth in bondage to darkness and rebellion. The book of Revelation is God cleansing the earth of all contamination resulting from the fall of man and bringing it back to its pristine condition enjoyed before Adam’s sin.

Revelation 4 shows God as the creator, owner, and sustainer of all things. The Sovereign. The Almighty. He alone is worthy to bring fair judgments and justice into a fallen world.

Revelation 5 shows God with a scroll in His right hand, the hand of authority. The scroll is God’s title deed to the earth, He is the earth’s rightful owner and is preparing to take it back from His enemy Satan, who took the authority over it from Adam and Eve when they sinned.

In Revelation 6, we looked at the opening of 6 of the 7 seals on the scroll on God’s right hand.

Revelation 7 is a parenthesis between the 6th and 7th seals, showing God’s protection of Jews and the raptured saints in heaven.

The rapture of the church occurs after the 6th seal is opened, and the cosmic disturbances happen. The rapture ends this period of severe terror by antiChrist, and prepares the way for the 7th seal to be opened and the Day of the Lord to begin.

Revelation 8:1-6 (NKJV)

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (2) And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. (3) 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. (4) And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.(5) 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. (6) So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Verse 1:

Revelation 8:1 (NKJV) When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

There is silence for half an hour in heaven before the Day of the Lord judgments begin. Listen to Zephaniah…

Zephaniah 1:7 (NLT)

Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord,

for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near.

The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter

and has chosen their executioners.

There is a strange reverence here for the justice of God that is about to be unleashed on the enemies of all this right and true.

(2) And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. (3) 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. (4) And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.(5) 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. (6) So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The Day of the Lord is in answer to the prayers of God’s people for God’s kingdom to come, and for God’s will to be done on earth as is in heaven.

Notice that God keeps our prayers:

Revelation 5:8 (NKJV)

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

I pray daily for God’s kingdom to come, for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In the next few verses in Revelation 8, trumpets will blow and God’s wrath will begin its judgment process. THis is at the latter part of the 7 year tribulation also called Daniel’s 70th week.

Revelation 8:7-13 (NKJV)

First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

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.

Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck

(8) 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. (9) And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck

(10) 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. (11)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.

Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck

(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) 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!”

During this time, believers have been raptured from the earth after the 6th seal is opened, and

now the wrath of God or Day of the Lord is about to begin.

I want to take some time here to go back and look at the Day of the Lord and what the Bible says it will be. The opening of the 7th seal begins the Day of the Lord. This time period on earth has NO EQUAL in history.

 

This Day of the Lord is a period towards the latter part of the 7-year “tribulation” that begins a terrible period of the judgment of God.

This period is spoken of many times in Scripture. This is the beginning of God cleansing the earth from the rebellion against Him through the ages, and it begins God’s judgment against the antiChrist and those who support his ideology.

It’s a time of intense judgment. There is nothing nice or positive about the Day of the Lord…

 

Listen to what the Bible says about the Day of the Lord…

Isaiah 2:12-22 (NIV)

The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), (13) for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, (14) for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, (15) for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, (16) for every trading ship and every stately vessel. (17) The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (18) and the idols will totally disappear. (19) Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. (20) In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. (21) They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. (22) Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?

 

Isaiah 13:6-13 (NKJV)

Hail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. (7) Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man’s heart will melt, (8) And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames. (9) Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. (10) For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. (11) I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (12) I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. (13) Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.

 

Isaiah 34:4,8 (NKJV)

All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. (8) For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

 

Joel 1:15-20 (NKJV)

Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. (16) Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? (17) The seed shrivels under the clods, storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. (18) How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture; Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. (19) O Lord, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field. (20) The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures.

 

Joel 2:10-11 (NKJV)

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (11) The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?

 

Joel 2:30-32 (NKJV)

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (32) And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

 

Joel 3:14-16 (NKJV)

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (15) The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. (16) The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

 

***Amos 5:18-20 (NKJV)

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. (19) It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! (20) Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?

 

Zephaniah 1:14-2:3 (NKJV)

The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. (15) That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, (16) a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. (17) “I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.” (18) Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land. (2:1) Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, (2) Before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! (3) Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.

Zechariah 14:1-4 (NKJV)

Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. (2) For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (3) Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. (4) And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

 

Acts 2:19-21 (NKJV)

I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (21) And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

2 Peter 3:10-13 (NKJV)

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 (NKJV)

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. (3) For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 (NKJV)

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, (2) not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

 

The day of the Lord encompasses a period of time that immediately follows the rapture of the church, and includes God’s wrath, judgment on, and repossession of the world system that has been stolen by Satan from Adam. It is an intense time. There is nothing nice or positive about it from a believer’s perspective.

And the good news is, the church will be in heaven during this time of God’s wrath.

Action Points:

1. Get close to the Lord. Be involved in daily Bible reading, prayer, and in regular attendance in a local church.

2. Pray for your family and friends to come to know Jesus as Lord.

3. Encourage others with the hope of Jesus’ return!