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The Second Trumpet
RV138-02© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)
Please turn with me once more to Revelation 8:7 through Revelation 9:21. Our subject tonight is "The Prophets of Doom." This is segment number two.
My telephone rang this past week as some of you were watching the Phil Donahue program, and you wanted to be sure I was watching it. Well, I
happened to be watching it. It was a program that had some homosexual Roman Catholic priests and theologians. And it was interesting listening to
these men defending this great moral evil concerning which the Bible is so explicitly clear and condemning, and because the Bible is explicitly
clear in condemning it, is evidence thereby that this is not something you are born with. This is like adultery, a personal choice. Like fornication,
it is a personal choice to do evil. So, the Bible calls sin that over which we have a volitional control.
Eventually, people in the audience asked questions. One of the people eventually said, quoting Scripture, that God has called upon man to be
fruitful and multiply, and a very logical question was then presented to the priest: "How can you do that if you're a homosexual?" And the answer
was that there are many ways for a person to be creatively fruitful and to multiply his abilities and capacities. Then he went on into a little
discourse that was totally spiritualizing that Scripture. Obviously, anyone who reads the Genesis passage where God, upon creating Adam and Eve,
told them to be fruitful and multiply, can have no doubt as to what He meant at that particular point. He meant to populate the earth with human
beings. When He said "fruitful,' He meant to be sexually reproductive of new lives. It is only the gross evil in man that wants to take the
Scriptures, and to keep the Bible from saying what it is saying.
Another one of the Roman Catholic homosexuals defended his position from the Bible. I thought, "Well, that's good. We are talking about the Bible."
Finally, we got the Bible in the Donahue program. So, he proceeded to say, "Scripture defends what we are doing because the Bible says, 'It is not
good for man to be alone.'" I said, "Boy, how way out and wild can you get!" I mean, anybody with half a brain (of which most would qualify) could
read the passage in Genesis, and know exactly what God meant when He said, "It is not good for Adam to be by himself." It is obvious what God brought
as a solution. He didn't bring another Adam, but he brought an Eve into the picture. How crazy can you be?
However, evil has no fear of distorting the Word of God in order to defend the actions of the sin nature. God's wrath is being tested, and He is
being tested today by increasingly gross evil. The literal interpretation of the Bible is still under attack, and certainly no greater place is it
under attack than when we come to the study of the book of the Revelation.
The First Trumpet
Out of the breaking of the seventh seal on the scroll held by Jesus Christ, which contains the tribulation events, come seven angelic trumpeters.
The time of these trumpeters is the last half of the seven-year tribulation period. The terrible judgments on the antichrist world, which were
revealed under the first six seals, are now going to be increased in intensity. The first of the new series of God's judgments is released by the
sounding of the first trumpet. We saw that the Bible tells us that a third part of the earth's surface is struck by an intense hail storm, resulting
in great destruction of life and property. Hail is accompanied by balls of fire, which cause further destruction on earth.
Furthermore, the hail and the fire are mixed with blood, which is splattering everywhere, and heightening the terror of this judgment. A third part
of the earth is affected by this particular judgment, and it is an ecological disaster, as all the trees and the grass in that particular area are
destroyed.
The Second Trumpet
The second trumpet is blown, and a burning meteoroid comes hurtling from outer space and hits a saltwater sea. The submerged meteoroid affects
one-third of the earth's saltwater oceans, and it turns those waters into literal blood. The view of an ocean of real blood is mind boggling to
try to imagine. The meteorologists will be frantic, trying to explain to a panic-stricken world what has happened, as people stand on the seashore,
and watch that blood lapping up on the shore as the waves move it back and forth. They reach down and say, "What is this stuff?" And they feel that
it is indeed has that sticky quality that real blood has.
Evolution
So, we continue in Revelation 8:9 with the consequent marine life catastrophe of this second trumpet judgment. We read, "And the third part of the
creatures which were in the sea." The word "creatures" is the Greek word this "ktisma." The word "ktisma" refers to a product of God's creation.
Of course, this is also going to be a severe blow to the evolutionary scientists of the tribulation era. The whole concept of evolution is coming
under attack today, not only by Christian scientists, but even by the non-Christian scientists. The non-Christian scientists now are ready to admit
that Darwin made a fundamental mistake. Darwin believed that life forms could change without limits. But even in Darwin's day, they had experimented
enough to know that you can indeed change animal life, and you can indeed change plant life, but only to a certain limit. You can make something
bigger, but only to a certain limit. You cannot go beyond certain limitations.
Because that was true, they told Darwin, "You're wrong." Even in Darwin's day, they said, "There are limitations to how much a thing can be changed."
But Darwin said, "No, I believe that every little change (microevolution) within a species will eventually accumulate over millions of years into a
macro change (a major evolutionary change), so that it even becomes a different life form.
Well, for over 125 years, that concept has been held and debated, and finally today, no reputable scientist holds it. They all know that you can
change an animal species only so much, and when you push it beyond that limit, there's a sudden reversion back to its normal form. You can't push
it beyond a certain degree. So, they now must admit there is no scientific evidence that you can cross over from one species to another by changing
it enough as you go along, let alone the total contradiction of the first and second laws of thermodynamics – that there is only so much energy
capacity in all the world, and it is running down like a top. Radioactive material is not being created. It's going to lead. Somebody had to put all
of that radioactive material there to begin with. So, the result is that there is no capacity inherent in nature to bring about these kinds of
changes.
Well, in the tribulation, that concept is still going be held to by some, like some scientists today. Some of them even admit that there is no
scientific justification for the idea of evolution. They admit that the creation scientists have a better argument because what they do see in
fossil records is an explosion of a certain life. Bingo – just out of no place! And they say, "Where did this come from? It looks like
somebody just created it, and all of a sudden, these forms were there, which is exactly what the Bible says.
However, are they going to change their
minds? No, some of them are willing to admit that we have no place else to go but to the belief that there's a supernatural God out there who
made all of these things, and then who holds authority over us in all matters, but they we cannot accept that, so, they're still going to teach
evolution. We're still going to argue about having textbooks that have enough evolution taught. We're still going to listen to people like Carl
Sagan, who has the audacity to stand up and say, "Evolution is not a theory. It is a proven fact," even though he and anybody that has any
scientific experience knows very well that it is not. So here, suddenly, the evolutionist (whose domain are the creatures of the product of what
he believes came from evolution), are suddenly struck. The creation of God is given a mortal blow.
This word "ktisma" can be illustrated, for example, from 1 Timothy 4:4 that says, "For every creature (every 'ktisma' of God) is good, and nothing
is to be refused if it is to be received with Thanksgiving," there clearly referring to something that God has created.
James 1:18 uses this word: "Of His own will, He begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." We
Christians are the firstfruits of what He has created, for man is going to be ultimately the superior, dominant force over all creation.
Even in Revelation 5:13, we've already had this word where, we read, "And every creature (every 'ktisma' that God has brought into being) that is
in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying. 'Blessing and honor, and glory,
and power to him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." That verse clearly shows you that he is referring here to these
living animal life forms.
Saltwater Areas
So, John sees something happening to the marine life, which is in these ocean areas, that have been turned into literal blood. He's referring
specifically to that one-third portion of the ocean area of the earth. Two-thirds of the saltwater areas have not been affected:
One-Third of the Sea Creatures Die
"And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had." The word "had" is the word "echo." This means a constant possession that
belonged to the creatures. And what these creatures had was "life" ("psuche"). This is the word for "breath of life." The ocean was teeming with
all kinds of animal marine life creatures that God had made. And before the meteoroid hit, these ocean areas were in full productive operational
status. But once the waters are turned to blood, you obviously know what will happen to that marine life; namely, John sees that they died. The
word "die" is "apothnesko." "Apothnesko" refers to physical death – the physical death of the sea creatures. In the Greek Bible, this is
the word that begins the sentence. So, we know that this is the thing that God the Holy Spirit wants to stress. He wants to stress that what people
are going to be seeing on their television screens, multiplied over many times, is death. They're going to see the beaches strewn with dead sea life
that has been washed up on the beaches. And man is never as helpless as he is in the face of death.
When you are in the prime of life, you feel very confident and very aggressive toward your daily situation. But when you face death, that's when
you sense your finiteness and your helplessness. And people will watch this marine life being washed up in droves – dead creatures lying all
over the beach, and they will be well aware of the fact that death is running rampant, and they can't do a thing about it. Somebody has the control
and the power, but they do not have it.
The verb "died" is in the aorist tense. At the point when the water turns to blood is when it happens. It is active voice. The creatures actually
do die in the blood. The seawater becomes poisonous to the marine life upon turning into blood. It's very much like what we sometimes call "the
red tide" that comes in on saltwater areas, and it has a deleterious effect upon marine life. When the red tide comes in, you can stand and you
can just see that it looks like somebody has just spilled something red there on the ocean area, and it kills marine life. Well, this is going to be
totally red blood.
The dead sea creatures will create quite a stench from the decaying flesh. They will, of course, be a great potential to health. Disease will
eventuate immediately from them, so there will be even some effect upon human life.
Of course, you can see the food chain is going to be vitally affected again in some degree because of this disruption of the marine life. This is
going to add to the fact that the food supply has already been terribly disrupted under the judgment of the third seal in the first part of the
tribulation era.
Back in Revelation 6:5-6, you remember that we had that described: "And when he opened the third seal, I heard the living creature say, 'Come,'
and I'd beheld, and lo a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand, and I heard a voice in the midst of the four living
creatures say, 'A measure of wheat for a denarius (a day's wages), and three measures of barley for a denarius, and see that you don't hurt the
oil and the wine.'" The implication there is that you can buy three cheap meals for yourself for one day's wages, or you can get one good meal of
wheat for a day's wages, and if you have a family, you're in real trouble. But certain luxury items are going to be in abundance with no one able
to buy them. But in any case, now the famine condition is considerably increased.
A Tidal Wave
Furthermore, as if that isn't enough, that the marine life is affected, and thus the food supply is affected, we read that it has affected the
naval vessels which were upon that part of the salt water areas. You can understand that the meteorite striking the ocean will create an intense
turbulence in the water, and it will probably create a huge tidal wave. It will probably set up this condition of a huge tidal wave made of blood,
sweeping across the ocean, resulting in the destruction of one-third of the naval vessels and of those on the affected oceans.
A tidal wave is a very, very frightening thing. When I was in Alaska a few years ago for two weeks at the Alaska Bible College, they were telling
me about the earthquake that they had previous to that. Actually we were very near the epicenter, which was down there at Valdez. They were telling
me how some of the men at the dock had reported in for work. They were lined up, and the foreman comes out and says, "OK, you, you, you, you, and
you." And they got a couple of dozen or 30 of the men, and they were going to use them for unloading the ships that day. They said, "The rest of you
go." And one man who was there said, "So, I got up and left, and walked up the hill, and suddenly turned around, and here was this mountain of water
coming." And he said, "You just stood there, transfixed, with your mouth open. You couldn't believe this thing (he tidal wave which had been created
by the earthquake), and the ship which was at the dock was hit by that tidal wave; picked up; and, put right on all those men standing on the dock,
ready to unload it, and they were crushed to death, just like that."
To be in the presence of a tidal wave is frightening enough, but to be in the presence of a tidal wave made of blood is a nightmare. The ships at
sea are going to face this kind of a huge mountain of water sweeping down upon them. Of course, the result is that the ships will be destroyed,
and they will be sunk. We're talking about regular vessels. This is the word "ploion," which is the ordinary Greek word for "ships at sea." And
what is going to happen to them is very explicit again in the Bible. It uses the word "destroy" ("diaphtheiro"). "Diaphtheiro" means "to make havoc
of." It's just going to make havoc of the naval vessels which happen to be on this sea of blood.
The loss of the ships will again create a great blow to the economy of the tribulation world, which is already reeling under great inflation.
However, there is limitation, again, of this destruction to only a portion of the salt water areas – one-third. Two-thirds are not affected.
There again, we have the testimony that the God of grace is saying, "You're seeing on your television nightly news reports what I have done. I
have not hit all of the earth. I'm moving in one step at a time. I'm giving you a chance to change your mind, and turn to God." It is an expression
of God's grace that only one-third is struck, and the rest have an opportunity to change before they lose everything as well.
Then in verse 10 and 11, we come to the third angel who is now prepared to sound his trumpet upon the signal from God. The third angel blows his
trumpet, and the third divine judgment against nature is released. I remind you that the first four trumpets hit elements of nature. So, here's
the third one, again hitting an element of nature. People on earth are still getting over the shock of the destruction of life and property as the
result of the first two trumpet judgments, when suddenly the third blow hits. People are helpless in the face of disasters in nature. So, the fear
mounts among those who have thus far escaped the disaster. It's like being in an earthquake area. You have survived. You know that aftershocks are
coming, and you're just on edge waiting: what next? So, after the first two trumpets, people are standing by and saying, "What next?"
The Third Trumpet
Suddenly, they realize that something indeed is afoot. The third angel sounded, and there fell." The word is "pipto." Something is seen falling
from space toward the earth. When the third trumpet sounds, here this thing comes hurtling toward them. What is it?
A Huge Star
First of all, it's big. The Bible says, "It's 'megas.'" It is huge. It is an "a star" ("aster"). Now we're going to treat the Bible literally.
They actually look out there, and they see something that looks like our sun (because that's what a star, as it approaches, will look like). They
see this thing hurtling toward the earth. This, of course, creates enormous consternation on the earth. A star, as you know, is a concentration of
gases of various kind. It is actually a gaseous body in space. That's what forms the stars. But this star has broken free from its gravitational
restraint, and has become a falling star. And it is falling toward the earth.
Furthermore, the Bible makes it very clear as to who's responsible for this, because it says that this huge star "Comes from" ("ek"), which indicates
the source out of heaven ("ouranos." This refers to the second heaven of the interstellar space where the sun, the moon, and the stars were placed
by God to illuminate the earth. At this time, man is out there. We're already out there. Probably by the time this happens, perhaps at the turn of
this century, we will be out there in greater degree than ever before.
Burning
So, there's little puny man out in the tremendous interstellar spaces, but he can't control anything. Again, the TV cameras on earth are following
the progress of the approaching fireball, which will be clearly visible. And it is a fireball. The Bible says, "It is burning." The word is "kaio."
Of course, it is burning because what a star is made up of is exploding gases that have a gravitational force that pulls a certain amount of those
gases together so they are retained in a shape which makes them have the star feature about them. Stars are made up of exploding gases, so they do
emit light by God's design. They were put up there, as you know, to give light to the nighttime here on earth.
This word "burning" is in the present tense. It's constantly burning, and perhaps getting brighter as it comes to the earth. When a star gets
brighter and brighter, astronomers say that it's going into a nova, which means that it's going to die. So, it has a burst of burning energy, and
it becomes enormously bright. Perhaps this thing we'll be doing that. In any case, people see it, and it comes right toward the earth.
Then John sees this, and makes a comparison as he sees this great star from heaven burning, "As though" ("hos"). This is a comparison. He's telling
us that it's not actually this, but when you look at it, this is what it reminds you of. It appears like something, and what it appears like is a
"lampas" (a "lamp"). The star casts a great illumination all around it as it travels, and as people on earth look upon it, it looks like someone
coming from outer space carrying a lantern, and it is illuminating the path all around it as it is coming toward the earth. The burning star, of
course, is so large that it will seem to be near the earth even when it is far off. Of course, it will look enormous as it comes near the earth.
A few years ago, the paint company down the road caught on fire. It was wintertime, and it was snowing. It was a beautiful night. I just happened
to open the door to look out at the snow, and all of a sudden there was a huge fireball. I mean, it looked to me like it was just across the street.
I mean, it was a huge fireball. I'd never seen anything like that. My immediate reaction was to say, "Lord, I'm listening." It seemed like a portent
from heaven.
Well, what had happened was that the fumes from the paint company had accumulated and accumulated and accumulated over this area, and suddenly
ignited. It was only later that I found that there was a fire blocks and blocks away. But when that ball exploded, it looked like it was just
across the street because it was so huge.
This is what these people are going to be seeing – something so big that it looks like it's just immediately over the horizon. And, of
course, eventually it does come right to the earth itself.
This is one of the signs from heaven that the Lord Jesus Christ said would mark the wrath of God upon the tribulation world. So, those who know
anything about the Bible will say, "Yep, I remember back in Luke 21:11, this is what we have recorded that Jesus said was going to happen: "And
great earthquakes shall be in different places, and famines, and pestilence, and fearful sites, and great signs there shall be from heaven." This
is exactly what Jesus said was going to happen. This is exactly what John sees coming.
In Matthew 24:29, this statement is again made concerning the conditions in nature in the tribulation era: "Immediately after the tribulation of
those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the power of the heavens
shall be shaken." Well, we have already seen under one of the seals that stars have fallen from heaven. And we shall see in the next trumpet that
the sun, and the moon, and the stars are going to have their term of light during the day affected.
Mark 13:25 reiterates this same concept: "And the stars of heaven shall fall." This is during the tribulation, Jesus says: "And the powers that
are in the heavens shall be shaken."
Freshwater Areas
So, these tremendous things are going to be seen by the people on the earth. They will be frightful. Here comes this burning ball, this star,
which looks like a lantern coming out of space, and we're told that it hits the earth: "It fell upon." The word "upon" is "epi," indicating
specifically where it hits. We were told that this time the damage is done to freshwater areas. It hits the rivers ("potamos"). "Potamos" is the
normal word for freshwater streams and rivers. They are struck by this falling star. It probably splinters into all kinds of particles. You might
almost describe it as stardust. And it falls upon one of the most basically essential things to human survival – water. You can go without
food for a long time, but three or four days without water, and you're done for.
So, the life process of the physical body cannot go without water. Here, the rivers and streams are contaminated by this falling star. And as if
that is not bad enough, it's even worse because it says, "It falls upon one-third of the rivers and the ponds. Furthermore, the fountains."
"Fountains" is the Greek word "pege," and "pege" means "spring." It refers to the sources that the rivers and the streams come from.
In John 4:6, we have this word used to illustrate its meaning: "And Jacob's 'pege' (Jacob's well) was there."
Then in John 6:14, we have the same thing: "But whosoever drink it of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I
give him shall be in him a 'pege' (a spring) springing up into everlasting life," a well springing up into everlasting life. So, here are the
fountains of water "hudor," the word for "freshwater" here. The very sources of the freshwater streams and rivers are going to be struck by this
star – one-third of the earth's fresh water surface supply and of the underground water table. So, the water supply of whole cities is going
to be affected by this stardust.
There is great concern today, as you know, that a terrorist could create problems with a city's water supply, but contaminating it. There is great
concern today about the disposal of radioactive waste – that it not be buried in some place such that could affect the underground water
levels, and thus contaminate the freshwater streams. Now, here with one blow, and with man totally incapable of controlling it, a third of his water
supply is contaminated.
Wormwood
We're told that the name of the star is "wormwood." In the Greek Bible, it is "opsinthos." What this translate to is a drug – "absinthe."
This star has a drug contaminant, absinthe, which is a deadly substance. Its continuous use causes nervous derangement, and it will cause death.
It comes from a plant that is both bitter in taste and toxic in its effect. One third of the fresh water supply on earth is going to be affected
by this absinthe contamination, and a third of the water becomes; that is, it changes by this into a poisonous substance. We are told that the
result is that, in large population areas, the water supply is contaminated, and the result is that: "Many (a large number of) men." And the word
is "anthropos." The Bible has another word when it means "man" as a male person. That's "aner." But it is not talking about man as a male person.
When it uses anthropos, it's talking about males, females, children, and adults. What it means is "human beings." So, all ages and sexes of the
tribulation population are going to be affected by this contaminated water.
The result again is predictable. We're told that with this absinthe in the waters: "And many human beings died of the waters." Again, we have the
word "apothnesko" as we had before, referring to physical death. So, some people, in desperation, are trying to drink this water. They drink it,
and they die.
It's like in Western movies sometimes, when people are out in a desert place, and they're looking for something to drink. Or maybe the Foreign
Legion has been out in the desert, and they've managed to escape the Bedouins, and they finally come to a place that looks like water, and they
all rush back, and suddenly somebody says, "Don't drink it. It's poisonous. If you drink it, you will die." Well, some people in the desperation
of their thirst will drink it.
This is like men who have been shot down during the war over ocean areas. They're in rafts, and they do not have water. It doesn't rain, and they
become so desperate that they drink the saltwater, and that finishes them. People will do desperate things when they're driven mad with thirst.
The result of drinking this water is that people experience physical death. They're in a desperate condition. When they drink this absinthe water,
it causes intoxication. Eventually, it brings on convulsions; it creates paralysis; and, then death. A third of mankind is now subject to great
physical pain; to mental trauma; to agony; and, to death.
The reason that this death comes about, we're told, is "because." That is the Greek word "hoti." This is a conjunction which is indicating the
cause of death. It says, "The waters were made bitter." The word "bitter" is "pikraino." "Pikraino" does mean bitter to the taste, but it
indicates that the waters have become poisonous. "Pikraino" means that it became poisonous. It is aorist tense – done at the point that
the star hit the water. It is passive. It was done to the water by the star from God. It's indicative – a statement of fact.
This judgment is, of course, reminiscent of the bitter water that the Exodus generation faced at Marah. As they were escaping the Pharaoh's wrath,
they came to a place out in the desert wilderness, and they had no water. Finally, they came to a place, and there was water. But when somebody
tested it, they found that was bitter, again meaning that it was poisonous as this water was poisonous. Exodus 15:23-25 records that event:
"And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah."
"Marah" means "bitter:" And the people murmured against Moses saying, 'What shall we drink?' And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him
a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet," meaning that it lost its poisonous character and it tasted better.
"There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them.
So, the Jews had this very experience. For them, God had provided a tree that I suppose had some chemical qualities about it. God said, "Throw
that tree in. It has some qualities about it that will cause the waters to become drinkable. The poisonous quality will be neutralized." The Jews
could not have survived in that wilderness desert without that gracious act of God. The people on earth in the tribulation who are hit with this
terrible crisis will not be able to survive either.
Polluting the fresh water supply on earth is obviously a powerful blow from God against rebellious mankind. You can imagine what the scientists
and the meteorologists are going to be doing – running around, trying to explain all this. There will be huge social services that will be
put into motion by the antichrist to try to deal with the people who are suffering in these areas.
However, two-thirds of the earth has not had its fresh water contaminated. So, again, there is the sounding forth of the grace of God, saying,
"Take a look at it. Some of you people still have good water to drink. You're seeing it on the nightly news. Are you ready to yield? Are you ready
to change your mind? Are you ready to turn back to Me? Are you ready to repent to escape for the judgments?"
Well, as we know, they don't do that. Some perhaps do, but, by and large, tribulation society does not. A little later, we're told that they just
openly admit what they suspect – that there is a living God out there, and He is exercising His wrath. No matter how they have violated the
plain statements of Scripture, and no matter how they have twisted it around to make it say what they want it to say, somebody is going to bring
up the book of the Revelation and say, "Look at that. What's happening is written right here, and it is God who is doing this." Finally, the word
will get out, and people will admit, "Yes, God is doing it."
A little later, we shall read that they cursed God for the misery and the suffering that is being brought upon them. Instead of looking upon that
as a gracious act, for Him to show just what He can do, and what He will do, as He limits His judgment even to certain areas of the earth to give
a chance to come back.
Let us, as Christians, indeed learn the lesson too – what to do when we step out of line. And it is so easy to do that. One of the saddest
things that I've observed in over three decades of ministry is Christians who've come into this assembly as very simple folks with no knowledge
of the Word of God, and no particular material resources. But they were positive to the Word of God. They sat here; they listened; they prospered;
they took it in; they worked upon it; and, they lived by the rules of the Word of God. Suddenly, they found themselves prospering. Suddenly, God
put them in a position of economic advantage. And life just went forward with the blessings that always comes with the person who obeys God. Then,
suddenly, we have seen so many of them get to a certain point where they begin compromising with the Word of God. They forget, like the Jews did,
who was the source of their blessing.
On the eve of going into the Promised Land, the Lord told Israel what would happen to them. Moses stood up and said, "Now I am
going to outline for you the blessings that will come to you if you will obey God." God is a positive, authoritative, assertive, disciplined
type. That means that He tells you what's going to happen if you break the rules beforehand.
Then in the next chapter, he lists things, and he says, "And here's what's going to happen if you obey the rules." He lists terrible curses for
disobedience, and marvelous blessings for obedience. It is so easy for Christians to forget who was the source of their blessing, and to forget
the fact that God is out there calling the plays. And suddenly, we see that these people have drifted off. They're wasting their lives in all
kinds of trivial things that they think God has called them to. They have deviated from the Word of God. They're really no longer living by it.
They're not even really taking it in. They're getting a diluted doctrinal instruction, if they get it at all. And they don't realize that they're
going to have all eternity to regret having forgotten that there is a God out there who will bless our response to His Word, and who will honor
our humble remembrance that He brought us up from nothing, and He made us something.
Job knew that so well. Job was a righteous man. He was not one of these deviants that I'm talking about. He was a man of God who stood by God. And
even when his wife suggested that he just curse God, and let God kill him, and end his misery, he said, "Shall we be happy to accept the blessings
of God? Then when He, in His judgment, decides to bring pressures upon us, shall we not accept that? Blessed be the name of the Lord. The Lord has
given, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." There was a man that, when God was through with him, God prospered him twice
as much then with anything he had up to that time, including family.
So, at least we should learn, from what the tribulation people are going to experience, that God is a God of judgment. He eventually exercises His
wrath. We Christians have no reason to think that we can compromise with the Word of God; we can get sloppy about attending church; we get sloppy
about our Christian service; we can get in different with our financial support; and, we can turn our back upon the opportunities that God gives us,
and think that we're going to get away with it. We will not, any more than the tribulation people will.
However, but God always puts the pressure on a little at a time. That's my point. So, when God puts a little pressure on, that's the time to say,
"Wait a minute. I'm backing off." Eventually it becomes greater and greater and greater, until you pass the point of no return, and then your whole
life is brought to an end – sometimes, with death itself. It's just not worth it. Honor the God who has instructed us, and let Him do for us
all that He's eager to do in blessing, and in our personal wellbeing.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1984
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