MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 9
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista
The Sixth Trumpet Judgment Angel
Vic Batista: We are continuing our study of God’s mighty angels found in the book of Revelation. So far in our study, Nathan, you have been scaring me half to death with the Bible’s account of all the horrific judgments that one day will be let loose upon the world!
Nathan Jones: Indeed, there are some terrible catastrophes we are learning about as we read through the chapters of Revelation. God’s angels have to perform some terrible jobs in meting out God’s wrath, but they are awesome jobs, too, as they serve His divine purpose, so we can praise the Lord for them as well. The Tribulation portrays in vivid detail the spiritual world war going on behind our physical world.
Vic Batista: According to the Bible, since the beginning of time there has been a battle raging between good and evil. God’s angels are working behind the scenes to protect mankind from Satan’s forces. There are good angels as well as there are bad angels.
We have been approaching our study of Revelation verse-by-verse, and that’s exactly what we’ll keep on doing. Now we are up to chapter 9 in the book of Revelation and have learned about this incredible Fifth Trumpet Judgment Angel and the demonic locust horde that’s been let loose. Before we get into the Sixth Trumpet Judgment Angel, let’s do a quick recap before we move forward.
Nathan Jones: As we travel through Revelation, we learn the book is God’s oracle telling us what will happen in the end times. Jesus is speaking through the Apostle John who was brought up to Heaven to see all of what will one day happen. John was given a glimpse of the future. John also gets to see the angelic world working behind the scenes performing Christ’s will. We don’t always get to see today the spiritual war between angels being so openly waged here on this earth, for the spiritual world is shielded from our senses, although there are glimpses for some people from time to time. But, here in Revelation we view how God is using His mighty power to work through the Tribulation judgments.
In #Revelation we view how #God is using His mighty power to work through the #Tribulation judgments. Click To TweetFor a seven-year time period God will be judging the inhabitants of the earth for their sins. God has 21 judgments planned for the world divided into sevens: seven Seal Judgments, seven Trumpet Judgments, and finally seven Bowl Judgments.
We are nearing the end of our look into the Seven Trumpet Judgments. Each judgment is proclaimed by an angel who was given by God a trumpet. The angel blows the trumpet and then goes on to deliver God’s wrath. All 21 judgments of the Tribulation are the wrath of God upon this earth. God is using angels both as messengers of his wrath and as foot soldiers waging this battle against Satan’s forces.
Vic Batista: As we look at these passages in Revelation, it’s just incredible to me seeing all the imagery. Sometimes the imagery might even be a little bit too difficult to understand at times, but clearly what we see here throughout Revelation is a spiritual battle. It’s good versus evil and good angels versus fallen angelic beings.
Here in Revelation 9, in a previous segment you told us about the title that is given to one of these angels — Abaddon, or in the Greek Apollyon.
Nathan Jones: God sent an angel after the Fourth Trumpet Judgment to cry out, “Woe, woe, woe!” In other words, he’s warning to look out for the next three woes, or the next three Trumpet Judgments, for they will be worse than anything that has come before them. Considering what we’ve read so far with the Seal and Trumpet Judgments, anything worse is hard to believe. So far we’ve been told a third of the world’s ecology will be destroyed, half the human population will have died, the sun will be darkened for a third of the day, and so on.
We finally get to the Fifth Trumpet Judgment and the angel of that judgment releases a demonic army long held in the Bottomless Pit. These scorpion locust demons are let loose and allowed to punish those in rebellion against Jesus Christ for five months. They are stinging people, but they cannot die, though they wish they were dead because the pain is so bad.
As horrific as the Fifth Trumpet Judgment has been, now the Sixth Trumpet Angel sounds in Revelation 9:13-19:
“Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.”
In the seventeenth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we’ll continue in Revelation 9 to explore what the Sixth Trumpet Judgment Angel has just unleashed upon the world.
Regarding your poll you asked who do you think will be the two witnesses? In one of my studies one man suggested the two witnesses would be the Tribulation Christians as one witness and the Jewish as the second witness. I have always thought it would be Elijah and Enoch, or Elijah and Moses. The Tribulation Christians and the Jewish witnesses are an interesting concept. What do you think?
Revelation 11:7-14 describes how the Two Witnesses will be killed midway through the Tribulation and that their dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3.5 days until the Lord resurrects them. For all those events to occur, they have to be literally two men and not symbolic of people groups, for there’s still 3.5 years left in the Tribulation after their resurrection that requires the presence of those people groups.
Hello Nathan, referring to the 7 seals in the book of Revelation, have any of those seals been opened? And if yes, what are the physical signs? I am mostly concern about the 6th seal. Revelation: 6. 12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Michael, no, not yet. The judgments of Revelation, including the Seal Judgments, are reserved for the coming 7-year Tribulation. Christians today do not have to worry about living during that time, for we are promised to be raptured off this earth beforehand because believers in Christ are promised to be exempt from God’s wrath (1 Thes. 1:10; 5:9; Rom. 5:9; Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:4; Rev. 3:10).
I have been so confused at this time. I have always believe in the rapture but now I am a little confused. I have been listed to some pastor and teachers on television. Saying that we are going through the tribulation and that is 7 years not mid trib and we should start preparing by buying 7 years worth of food and generator and water and go to the mountains. I praying to God to help me understand. I thought that the wrath of God was not prepared for the Christian. Please give me scriptures. I love Bible prophecy.
The Church is not destined to have to live during the Tribulation.
Being a Christian does mean having to endure suffering and trials at the hand of man (Jn. 16:33; Phil. 1:27; 1 Thes. 3:3; 1 Pet. 4:12-13). But, the Tribulation like the Flood is about God’s wrath (Isa. 24:22; Zeph. 3:8; 1 Thes. 5:3; 2 Thes. 2:12), and believers in Christ are promised to be exempt from God’s wrath (1 Thes. 1:10; 5:9; Rom. 5:9; Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:4; Rev. 3:10). There’s an important difference there.
For information on why I believe the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the best argument for the timing of the Rapture, please check out these articles on our website here and here and our “Christ in Prophecy” shows.
On the discussion on whether the 200 million soldiers who are led by the 4 demons from the Euphrates river are human or not…I think they are demon possessed human soldiers…remember the man possessed by legion…he had so much strength, 10 or so men couldn’t bind him…he could break chains. Certainly a man with that kind of strength could kill a lot of people easily…look at the good side…Samson killed thousands with the jawbone of an ass…no sweat
How do spirit beings (good and bad angels) do battle? Swords etc would be of no use. Can’t find anything in scripture that gives any hints. Any thoughts?
Joshua 5:13 describes the Commander of the Army of the Lord: “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand.” We also see angels in the Garden of Eden wielding a fiery sword to block the entrance.