Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #7 of Revelation, chapter 8, and we are going to be reading Revelation 8:5-7:
And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast *it* into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
We have been going through Revelation, chapter 8, verse by verse, and we have seen that the golden altar relates to the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was, indicating God’s presence. The High Priest of Israel would go in once a year with incense and offer the blood of the sacrificial animal on the Day of Atonement.
Here, as we saw back in verse 3, another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer, and it should have been translated as another “messenger” and it is the Lord Jesus Christ, as He is the only one qualified to take the censer with the incense, just as the High Priest of Israel was the only one qualified to go inside the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. So, we can be sure that this angel is Christ Himself. We saw that He took the censer “and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.”
We also saw how “the prayers of the saints” has to do with the Holy Spirit that intercedes on behalf of God’s elect and offers up prayers with “groanings” that only the Spirit Himself is aware of. We, after all, do not know what it best for us; we do not know how to pray as we should.
Then verse 5 tells us that this “angel” (who would be Jesus) “took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth.” This is unusual language and an unusual act for the angel to perform. Why did He take the censer with fire from the altar and why did He cast it into the earth? We are going to have to search the Bible and see if there are any other Scriptures that relate to what we are reading here. We do find, in Isaiah, chapter 6, some interesting happenings, as Isaiah the prophet is given a vision, in the year that King Uzziah died, of God seated upon a throne, in Isaiah 6:5-7:
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, JEHOVAH of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
The seraphim would be a reference to God himself, as we know that God is typified by many things in the Bible. He has many names and the “four living creatures” are Eternal God and the cherubim are Eternal God and, likewise, the seraphim are Eternal God. Since God is a triune God, we can speak of “one of the seraphim” as being One of the Persons of the Godhead, “having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.” So we see that connection with what we are reading in Revelation 8, where fire was taken from the altar by the angel and cast unto the earth. Here, the coal, which would have been on fire, was laid upon Isaiah’s mouth and it took away his iniquity and his sin was purged. That is what is being pictured because, through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sins of His people are cleansed, so that idea is one we have to consider and this may be what is in view in Revelation 8:5 as the messenger took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and cast it into the earth.
Let us look at how that idea has further support in Romans 12:19-21:
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
With these words, God is identifying the sharing of the Gospel with the coals of fire from the altar. When we would share the Word of God with an individual, it could be that God would save him and, therefore, it was as if the coals of fire came upon him or upon the Lord Jesus Christ who would become his head, as 1st Corinthians 11 lays out that figure: “The head of every man is Christ.”
But either way, God is laying out the idea of the coals of fire (which would come from the altar) with the sharing of the Gospel, when we would give our enemies food or drink – the bread of the Lord Jesus Christ and the water of the Gospel.
In Revelation, chapter 8, the messenger took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth, and we know that Revelation 8 is preparing to begin discussing the Great Tribulation period, as that period of time began with judgment on the house of God. But the Great Tribulation period was also a time of great salvation and a time when God would save a “great multitude” of people out of the nations of the world, but that was not at the very beginning; we know that the first 2,300 “evening mornings” was a horrible time in which virtually no one was being saved. But it could still be that God is picturing the taking of the fire off the altar and casting it into the earth as though it is identifying with all those elect upon the earth that will be alive when judgment commences at the house of God and it is, therefore, identifying with the atoning work of Christ on their behalf. That seems to be in view.
Then it goes on to say in Revelation 8:5:
…and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
We see that four things are mentioned and the number “four” points to the universal scope of the judgment on the churches, as it is a worldwide judgment. It is not just a judgment on the North American churches or the South American churches, but it is a judgment on all churches of the world, without exception, and no church is immune. No church is left out. This was actually one of the big questions early on when we were studying the end of the church age. We knew that the Bible spoke of an apostasy coming at the end of time within the churches and we knew God spoke of judging the churches, but the question always came down to “what degree?” How many of the churches would be apostate? Was it possible there could be a handful of congregations, here and there, that God was not judging? And, of course, with that idea, just about every church considered itself to be part of that remnant. No – we learned that Judah was to be “without inhabitant,” and when God judged Jerusalem and Judah, He commanded everyone to go into captivity; none was to remain.
There is a verse in Isaiah 1 and it is really the major verse that allows us to state that God’s judgment is on 100% of the churches all over the world and we do not have to visit each one, as some people would say, “You have never been to the vast majority of churches. You only have limited experience.” Well, we can say it because God says it, in Isaiah 1:21:
How is the faithful city become an harlot!
That is the question. How did the churches become Babylon? How did the churches become part of the kingdom of Satan? First of all, why was it ever considered to be a “faithful city” in the first place? The reason is that it had the Spirit of Christ dwelling in the midst and that is what made it faithful. So how did it become a harlot? It goes on to say in Isaiah 1:21:
… it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
And, according 1st Corinthians 1:30, Jesus is “righteousness” and, again, that is what made the churches to be considered a “faithful city.” But then it goes on to say at the end of verse 21, “but now murderers;” that is, Christ no longer lodged in it. Christ departed from the churches and the Holy Spirit came out of the midst, as 2nd Thessalonians 2 tells us. The “daily” was taken away and that “daily” identifies with the light of the Gospel, which identifies with the Holy Spirit, and the “abomination of desolation” was set up. It is a universal and worldwide judgment upon all congregations, so God speaks of “voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake,” indicating the worldwide aspect of the judgment. There is not a church somewhere that is left out – all churches are being judged.
We find almost identical language in Revelation 16, where God is describing the judgment on the world as the “seven last vials full of the wrath of God” are poured out on the inhabitants of the earth. It says in Revelation 16:17-18:
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake,
Now we see the similarity. We have four things listed in Revelation 8:5 and they are the same things: voices, and thunders and lightnings and an earthquake. The only difference is that Revelation 5 said “earthquake” and Revelation 8:5 said “great earthquake.” Then it goes on to say in Revelation 16:18-19:
…such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
This explains what is going on. Here, Babylon typifies Satan’s kingdom of this world, which would, at this point, include the churches. The whole kingdom of Babylon has fallen and Babylon fell immediately after the Tribulation on May 21, 2011. Babylon had been victorious over the churches during the time of the Great Tribulation, during the time that God was judging the churches. But it was afterwards (just like after the seventy year period that typified the Great Tribulation) that Babylon fell and Judgment Day came and, at that point, “there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake,” and it is then that God gives to Babylon “the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.”
It is the language of “the cup” that helps us to understand. God is using these four things to indicate that judgment begins at His house, as Jeremiah 25 reveals to us, and the Lord first judges the people called by His name (they are first given “the cup”) and following that, “the cup” is given to the nations of the world, as typified by Babylon. So we are not surprised to read almost identical language: voices, thunderings and lightnings and a great earthquake, and that is because it is the identical cup of wrath. It is spiritual judgment, first upon the congregations, and then a spiritual judgment that is transitioned and expanded to include all the world.
Let us continue in Revelation 6:8:
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
They “prepared themselves to sound.” The word “prepared” means just what it says: the seven angels made preparation for their sounding. This is curious and we wonder why do they not just take their trumpets and sound? The seven angels, or seven messengers, that had the seven trumpets….and, remember, we know the Bible makes identification between trumpets and the Word of God. So the seven messengers, the true believers, have the Word of God, so why is “preparation” necessary before they can sound? But that is what it says: “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”
This word “prepared” is used in Matthew 25:34:
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
As we read this verse, we understand that God is telling us that all preparation for His salvation plan was made from the foundation of the world: the ones that were to be saved, the elect, were predestinated to salvation before the world began; the Lord Jesus Christ then made payment and took their sins upon Himself and He died for them and rose from the dead from the foundation of the world; then, as the Son, He created this world and this universe. So all things necessary for the salvation of these souls was prepared in advance and now the Eternal King of Heaven, the Lord God is bidding, “Come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” We see how all the preparation was done in advance.
We also find this word three times in a few short verses in Mark 14. It says in Mark 14:12:
And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
Then it says in Mark 14:15-16:
And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.
It is the word “make ready” that is the same Greek word.
And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.
There was “preparation” made in advance of Christ’s coming to the upper room for the Passover and that is the word “make ready” that we also find in Revelation 8:6:
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
They “prepared” to sound. What did they have to do before they sounded the trumpet? There is another verse in Revelation that may help us understand this and it will also further confirm that the “seven angels” are actually “seven messengers” which represent the believers. In Revelation, in a chapter where we are given that glorious look at the “bride of Christ” which is made up of the body of believers, it says in Revelation 19:7:
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Here, the term “made herself ready” is a translation of the same Greek word translated as “prepared.” Notice, in Revelation 7, it said that the seven angels “prepared themselves,” and in Revelation 19, the “bride of Christ” also “prepared herself.” What did she prepare herself for? She prepared herself for her marriage to the Lamb.
We can understand this if we think of the traditional wedding that many nations have, in which the bride does make preparation in advance before she goes to the groom and they are joined together in matrimony. That idea comes right from the Bible. It comes from this verse that says, “his wife hath made herself ready.” That is how things work in the world and we understand that, but how does this work spiritually, once we realize that the bride is made up of all of God’s elect and they are being joined through salvation to the Lord Jesus, the bridegroom? How is the bride involved in making herself ready for this wedding? Does not the Bible teach us that God does everything in the matter of salvation? Christ is the Saviour and we are saved by His faith and not by our own faith, so what part do we play in making preparation for the marriage to the Lamb? The answer is that God used His people to carry forth the message of the Gospel throughout history: “How beautiful are the feet of them…that bring glad tidings of good things,” the Bible tells us.
So the wife was commissioned and faithfully did carry the message of the Word of God to the nations of the world; and God’s elect within those nations heard and God blessed the hearing of that Word to their hearts; they then became saved and were added to that very same body – to the formation of the body of Christ. So, in that sense, the bride spiritually “made herself ready” for the marriage.
We see this in special detail in the time leading up to May 21, 2011. It was the bride of Christ on earth (the believers) that fervently and diligently carried the message of the Bible regarding the approaching Judgment Day to all the world. This enabled those elect that had not yet been redeemed by having the blood of Christ applied to their hearts to “hear” and the believers contributed by God moving in them to “will and to do of His good pleasure” in forming the “bride” and to, finally, make herself ready as all of the elect were saved and the “complete and total” bride was made ready. The preparation was done.
This is what is in view in Revelation 8, too. The “seven angels” or “seven messengers” are true believers and they have the seven trumpets of God and once the seven trumpets begin to sound, that signals the beginning of judgment at the house of God. But before they could sound, they had to “make preparation” for that sounding of judgment by being utilized by God in carrying the Gospel to the nations during the church age, in order that the “firstfruits” could be gathered and God could save all of those He intended to save before He could end the church age and bring about the “silence in heaven for about the space of half an hour.” Preparation was necessary, so they made themselves ready to sound by completing the task that God had given them. Then, as Revelation 7 put it, once the “144,000” were sealed, then the “hurt” could begin and the wrath of God could be poured out upon the churches and congregations of the world.