Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #18 of Revelation, chapter 8, and we are going to be reading Revelation 8:12-13:
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
In Revelation, chapter 8, God has been describing the judgment which began on the churches and verse 12 is discussing the removal of the Light of the Gospel. Then verse 13 is going to be a transitional verse which will lead us from the judgment, which was exclusively on the churches, to now include the entire world.
Yet, at this time, we are just going to finish looking at verse 12 and then, Lord willing, we will look at the first part of verse 13.
Now in verse 12, this is now becoming familiar to us and that is good. When we discuss things often enough that it becomes familiar to us, that is a good thing, because that means we are becoming comfortable and knowledgeable about the things we are reading about. In this case, it is the “sun, moon and stars.” The Bible, in referring to the “sun, moon and stars,” gives us some very mysterious verses and it is rather complicated, so it is an excellent thing that we are getting comfortable with it, to the point that when we read about it we know exactly what is in view, spiritually.
The sun is a type of God Himself or the Lord Jesus Christ. It says in Psalm 84:11: “For JEHOVAH God is a sun and shield.” God is a “sun” and that is an obvious “type” that the Bible defines for us, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the Light that entered into the darkness of this world. The sun is the greatest of lights and God, of course, is the greatest of beings and the Light that He shines is typified by the light of the sun that enlightens the earth.
The moon is a type and a figure of the Law of God. It is more difficult to see how God uses the word “moon,” but we know that the moon was created to reflect the light of the sun and, likewise, the Law of God, the Bible, reflects the light of the one who spoke it – God Himself. The Law of God shines the light into the darkness of this world, just as Christ does. So the Gospel went forth into the world and the Word of God is a reflection of God Himself.
The stars (we went over this previously, in detail) can represent “false believers” and God does speak of “wandering stars” in the Book of Jude. But, for the most part, stars represent God’s elect. They are best typified by the promise given to Abraham that his seed would be as the stars of heaven for multitude. Believers carry the Word of God, the light of the Gospel, from God, so when we carry the Gospel to the world or shared the Gospel within the churches during the church era, we think (and correctly so) that it revolves around the Word of God. The “sun, the moon and the stars” really all relate to the Word of God, the Bible, and it was in the churches that God had placed His Word; they were the caretakers of the oracles of God, just as national Israel before them. If anyone wanted to hear the Bible, where would they think to go throughout the many centuries of the church age? If a man or a woman decided, “Oh, I want to learn about God and I want to learn about the Bible,” then they would go to a local congregation; that was where the pastors, elders and deacons (who were trained in the Word of God) would teach from the Word of God. So the Bible really is the light of the Gospel and when God speaks of the “sun, moon and stars,” it is all wrapped up in the Bible.
So, as it says here at the end of Revelation 8:12, when “the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise,” it implies that there was light; and in order for the third part of the sun, moon and stars to have been darkened, they must have, for a time, given light. Also, for the day and the night not to shine, this means that they once did shine.
This word “shone” is found in John 1:4-5:
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
This is referring to Jesus, so we could say:
In him was life (Christ); and the life (Christ) was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it (him) not.
Christ came into the world as the Light of the world and He shone. God commissioned the churches and congregations to be the light bearers, or carriers, and that was where you could find the Bible – that was where you could find Jesus, since He was the Word made flesh. After He went back to heaven, it was only the Word that was left upon the earth to shine the light into the world of darkness. So the Lord Jesus Christ is completely related to the light of the Gospel and when God speaks of the darkening of the “third part” of the “sun, moon and stars,” we know He is speaking exclusively to the churches; He is not talking about the light of the Gospel in the whole world, but only to the churches, because the “third part” identifies with the churches.
Christ was once in the midst of the congregations, in the midst of the “candlestick” and He shone for the “third part” of the day and the “third part” of the night, but now the church age has ended and it is time for judgment to come; and the Lord Jesus departs and, immediately, since He is the “sun,” the “third part” of the sun is darkened.
But the moon reflects the light of the sun, so the moon, which typifies the Law of God, the Bible, is darkened. And the stars received their light from God, as God created them, and as they typify believers, the believers also carried forth the Gospel message which God gave them and since God was no longer in the congregations and the Light of the Gospel was no longer shining there, then the light of the believers is of no value in itself; they need the Light of God in order to share that light with others in order that others might become saved. Therefore, the “third part” of the stars was darkened. Again, this all revolves around the Word of God. God ceased to bring blessing upon the proclamation of His Word within the churches, so spiritual darkness overcame the churches.
From that point on, we can be sure no one was becoming saved any longer within any churches, as of May 21, 1988, the day before Pentecost. The church age which had begun on Pentecost day in 33 A.D. lasted 1,955 years; and that number breaks down to 5 x 17 x 23. The number “5” points to the atonement and those Christ had atoned for were gathered as they received the salvation of God during the many centuries of the church age; the number “17” points to “heaven” and all the “firstfruits,” which the Bible refers to as the 144,000, were found and did receive eternal life, which is the guarantee that they will all enter into heaven, either at the point of death or when upon Christ’s final return; the number “23” indicates judgment, because now it is time for judgment to come upon the congregations of the world. So 5 x 17 x 23 equals 1,955 years, and that ended in 1988, the 13,000th year of earth’s history. This is the time that was represented by the Israelites going around Jericho thirteen times and then the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. This would be a reference to the “wall of salvation” within the congregations, which came to an end in 1988; there was a collapse, just as Jesus had foretold when He said, “There shall not be left one stone upon another.” God was now finished using the churches as those that represented the kingdom of God.
Let us continue in Revelation 8:13:
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice,
Before we move on to see what the angel is saying, let us look at the idea of “an angel flying through the midst of heaven.” Who would this be? And why is God using the language of flying? I do not know if we will be able to answer both questions, but we can know who it is, but why he is “flying through the midst of heaven,” is something I am not sure if we will be able to understand completely.
First of all, let us look at the word “flying,” just as we would look at anything else in the Bible. We search the Bible to see what God has in view with this language of “flying.” You know, this would have been an amazing thing for people to read throughout most of history. Today, we just read it off-handedly and it does not strike us as all that exciting that an angel is flying through the midst of heaven. After all, we live in the jet age and there are even jet packs and people are flying all over the world in our modern day, so the word “flying” is not as exciting to us as it would have been to previous generations. Of course, man was not able to fly for most of earth’s history; it was only relatively recently that mankind was able to learn enough to fly.
Let us look at 2nd Samuel, chapter 22, to look at the word “flying.” It says in 2nd Samuel 22:7:
In my distress I called upon JEHOVAH, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
Then it says in 2nd Samuel 22:10-11:
He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
That is describing Eternal God and it is saying that God “rode upon a cherub, and did fly.” In this case, He was flying to protect His people – to watch over them and help them. Yet, the Bible is telling us that God flew upon a cherub.
We also find it says in Isaiah 6:2:
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
These “seraphims” are a representation of God Himself, so we can gather that in some way this is indicating that God can “fly.” Now what is flight but traveling to places through space, quickly. Of course, God is everywhere present; He is “omnipresent,” which means it is as if He could “fly,” and that is one of the ideas behind the idea of God “flying.”
We read in Daniel 9:21:
Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
“Gabriel” is another name for the Lord Jesus Christ and it is saying that He was “caused to fly swiftly,” so God can also impart information and He can protect His people, as though He were “flying” as a bird.
We read in Isaiah 31:5:
As birds flying, so will JEHOVAH of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
The image or picture that God is painting is of a bird, such as an eagle, that swoops down quickly to protect its young or to defend its territory, and that is another aspect of the Bible’s picturing of God as “flying;” He can fly to impart knowledge. He can fly to protect. He can fly to attack those that are causing harm to His people. It is all a matter of doing something very quickly, as a bird in flight or as a bird descends from the sky above and gathers speed as it is going for its prey. This is the idea. God is an omnipresent God and all-powerful and very protective of His people.
Let us just look at one more verse. It says in Revelation 4:7:
And the first beast&hellip
And the word “beast” means “living creature,” and these four “living creatures” are, again, a depiction of Eternal God.
And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had a face as a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
Here, again, God is typified by a “man” because the Lord Jesus Christ is a “man,” but He is also picturing Himself as a “flying eagle,” as a bird that can fly quickly to accomplish its purpose.
Going back to our verse, it says in Revelation 8:12:
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven&hellip
And this “angel” or “messenger” would be the Lord Jesus Christ, as we have seen several times already in the Book of Revelation, where a reference to an “angel” was actually a reference to Jesus. Here, too, He is the one “flying through the midst of heaven.”
We do not read of men “flying,” unless it is their soul flying away in death. We read more often of God “flying” than anyone else, so we would be led by the Bible to understand that this is speaking of God Himself, who is “flying.”
We have a similar verse in Revelation 14 and in the first few verses of this chapter God is referring to the “144, 000,” and then we read in Revelation 14:3-4:
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
That is a revealing statement to let us know that the “144,000” typify all those saved during the church age, which began on Pentecost, the feast that dealt with the “firstfruits,” so the “144,000” are gathered and all the “firstfruits” are brought in; and then we read in Revelation 14:6:
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Here, another angel, or messenger, is flying in the midst of heaven and it says in Revelation 14:7:
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
We have the very same ingredients: we have the angel flying in the midst of heaven, but this time it is in the context of the “144,000” having already been redeemed or gathered (the time of the “firstfruits” is over), and what comes at the end of the church age after the “144,000” have been brought in? At the end of the church age comes judgment upon the congregations and that is why this angel flying in the midst of heaven is signaling that it is now time to bring judgment and the hour of God’s judgment has come; the “hour” relates to the “one hour” of the Great Tribulation, the “one hour” in which the churches are being judged, exclusively. The world is not being judged at that time and the official judgment on the world has not yet begun.
So the angel flying in the midst of heaven is an indicator or signal concerning the judgment in the churches and, now, in Revelation 8, we have been reading about that judgment on the churches. So in Revelation 8:13, where we find an angel flying in the midst of heaven, “saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth,” we see that God is repeating what He had done earlier; after He saved the “firstfruits,” an angel flew through the midst of heaven, announcing the judgment which first begins at the house of God.
And, now, even though we are not reading of the great multitude in chapter 8, God has completed the judgment on the churches, completed the salvation of the great multitude which were saved outside of the churches during the season of the “latter rain,” which fell simultaneously with the Great Tribulation (about the last seventeen years of that period) and now the angel flying in the midst of heaven is signaling the transition of judgment (which had been only on the churches) to all the world); and that is why three woes are pronounced to the “inhabiters of the earth.” It is not just for the inhabiters of the churches; it does not say, “Woe, woe, woe to the third part of the inhabiters of earth,” but all the unsaved inhabiters of the earth are in view. The judgment is transitioning, just as it did in Jeremiah 25. (We will hopefully look more at this in our next study, but for now, we will read it and it will be something for us to think about. It says in Jeremiah 25:28-29:
And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith JEHOVAH of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished?...
Here, God is speaking to the nations of the entire world, and it goes on to say in Jeremiah 25:29:
Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith JEHOVAH of hosts.
Here is that transition: the “cup” was first given to the people called by God’s name. It is the “cup of the wrath of God.” They drank from it and then it says, “Shall you be utterly punished, ye nations of the world? Oh, no, you will not escape punishment. You will not be utterly unpunished, but you will certainly drink.”
So God gives the “cup of His wrath” and He brings the sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth. This is a time of woe, the “three woes” that are pronounced against the earth.
We will look more at this when we get together, again, for our next study in the Book of Revelation.