The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Mighty Angels of Revelation 8 Reviewed

MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 8
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

Angelic Warfare

Nathan Jones: So far we have had a fascinating discussion about the angels of Revelation. I’ve taught Revelation a number of times, but I’ve never focused on the angels before. I’m so glad we picked this topic because I am finding it a fascinating approach to the book of Revelation.

Vic Batista: It is so wonderful to study the book of Revelation from a different perspective by seeing the wonderful work of God through His mighty angels. Angels even work today in our personal lives, right?

Nathan Jones: Exactly, a study in angelology is applicable to us today, it is applicable to us tomorrow, and it’s applicable to us in the future. So, it’s so very important that Christians read through and not neglect the study of Revelation.

Nathan Jones: It's so very important that Christians read and not neglect the study of Revelation. Click To Tweet

Vic Batista: In previous segments as we’ve read through Revelation we have been witnessing angelic warfare. There’s a battle going on all around us between God’s mighty angels and Satan’s demons that we cannot see.

Nathan Jones: The Bible tells us that behind all of human government there are angelic forces at work. These are the forces of God versus the forces of Satan. Satan knows his time left before he’s banished to the Pit is short, so he is trying to pull as many people away from God as possible by distracting and confusing them, and even turning them into the enemies of God.

In Revelation, we see the veil that separates humanity from the angelic forces being pulled back. We get to see what’s truly going on in the world behind the scenes. Specifically, we’re reading about God’s work during the time period known as the Tribulation. The Tribulation lasts seven years and is where God pours out His wrath in judgments upon the earth to the point where Jesus has to come back to stop and defeat evil otherwise there wouldn’t be a earth left.

Vic Batista: Wow, that is amazing! There’s this incredible battle that is going on in the heavens and also in our present lives, for due to the Bible we know there is a fight between good and evil. The Enemy seeks to distract us in order to pull people away from God. I find it encouraging that there are more angels on our side than on the Enemy’s side.

Nathan Jones: We will find out later in Revelation that only one-third of the angels followed Satan and were struck down to earth due to their rebellion. Two-thirds of the angelic forces remain loyal to Jesus Christ. And, even if all the angels turned against Jesus Christ, none of them are as powerful as God. They can all work together against Him and still would lose. So, no matter what, if you have accepted Jesus as Savior, you are on the winning side.

Vic Batista: Praise the Lord! We are on the winning side. People get excited about football and baseball and the winning team, but by the end of the day, Christians are on the real winning team, and that is Jesus Christ.

Nathan Jones: Exactly. Why would anyone want to live a life with all the trials and tribulations in the world, the sorrow, the heartache, the death, and not have the love of God in their life giving them hope in knowing that they could have a future with their Savior forever? Learning about all the destruction that is coming to the earth, again, why would anyone want to live through it? We think we can survive on our own without God, but when we read later in Revelation 13 how during the Tribulation a one-world government and a one-world leader — the Antichrist — will force everybody to worship him. All of mankind left on the earth will end up no matter what having to make a choice between Jesus Christ or Satan. There won’t be a middle ground. So, why wait until then? Do it now! Make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Vic Batista: I pray that people will grow closer to the Lord as we look at this incredible book of Revelation.

Recapping Trumpet Angels 1 and 2

Vic Batista: Well, so far, we’ve been taken through the opening of the seven Seal Judgments, and now we’re looking at the seven Trumpet Judgments starting with Revelation 8. Let’s recap the First Trumpet Judgment before we continue.

Nathan Jones: As we study the angels who are serving the Lord, we read about how Jesus uses them to release 21 judgments: seven Seal Judgments, seven Trumpet Judgments, and later seven Bowl Judgments. We are now to the Trumpet Judgments that are continuing God’s judgment upon the earth. These judgments are initiated by seven angels whom God assigned to carry His will out. Each angel blows a trumpet before they act and deliver another of God’s judgments upon the earth.

The first angel in Revelation 8:7 sounded his trumpet and released a hailstorm mixed with fire and blood, which was thrown down to the earth. It burned up a third of the trees and all of the green grass. That’s a tremendously devastating attack against the ecology of the world, which then would affect the world’s economies and produce scarcity in the food markets.

We next read in Revelation 8:8-9 about the Second Trumpet Judgment where the seas are struck by a giant burning mountain, like a meteorite crashing into the sea. The burning mountain poisons a third of the seas of the world, and a third of the living creatures in the seas die, and then the ships are destroyed as well. Now we’ve got the ecology of the oceans being attacked by God’s Second Trumpet Judgment.

Vic Batista: We’ve had oil spills today, such as by Exxon and other oil producers, and they’ve caused some damage. A number of animals were coated in oil and died, but nothing compares to what we are talking about here during the time of the Tribulation.

Nathan Jones: No, the oil spills gave us a little glimpse into what this judgment might be like, but to see the world’s oceans poisoned and the animals dying is stupefying. Just imagine a third of the seas becoming poisoned in the end of times. That is a tremendous attack against the earth’s inhabitants. What a tremendous judgment by God for mankind’s sins!

The scope of the destruction proves that we are now not living during the Tribulation because nothing like this has ever happened, or will happen again, in all of recorded history. God is turning up the heat so much so across the earth in order to bring people to their wit’s end so that they have to make a decision for or against Jesus Christ.

Vic Batista: This is the wrath of the Lamb — Jesus Christ. This is the wrath of God trying to get people’s attention. He wants to get people on their knees to repent. He wants them to come to Him in repentance, because He loves people. Sometimes God takes extreme measures in order to get our attention.

Nathan Jones: Well said, exactly! When people are thinking about the Tribulation and how it’s God’s wrath upon evil, we learn that evil cannot continue to get worse and worse. It will grow only to a point until God says, “Enough is enough!” and He finally deals with it. But, God’s purpose isn’t always to judge. First He wants people to come to repentance. We’ll later read in Revelation how millions and millions of people, in fact, the Bible says that multitudes from every nation, tongue, tribe and people, will give their hearts to Jesus Christ during that time period. So, it takes terrible disasters to wake people spiritually, but the Lord is willing to go that far in order to make salvation happen.

Vic Batista: The Bible says that the grace of God leads to salvation. God is pouring out his grace through Jesus Christ, even during the judgments of the Tribulation. But, people are stubborn and little hard-headed, so sometimes it takes a little bit more effort to get their attention. That’s why in the book of Jude it says some are saved through fire.

Nathan Jones: Perfect reference! Yes, we get so comfortable in our routines. We think that we are running our lives, but that is an illusion. We are not really running our own lives. There are so many influences that affect us. It gets to the point where we realize we can’t run our own lives and that we need God.

We were created to have fellowship with God. If we are not living for the purpose in life then we aren’t really living. And so God is finally going to come and say, “Enough is enough! I’ve given the world enough time. It’s now time to judge evil and to bring about a great remnant of people who love Me and want to live with Me forever in Heaven.”

In the eleventh segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we’ll look at more of the Trumpet Angels found in Revelation 8.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

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