The Sixth Trumpet/Second Woe
“And 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 which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” Revelation 9:13-15
The blowing of the sixth trumpet which signaled the beginning of the second woe ushered in death and destruction upon the people of earth. The narrative of the events which occurred during this woe covers Revelation 9:13 through 11:14, thus is rather lengthy. I will try to summarize, but I suggest that those who read this blog will dig into the scriptures for a more detailed description of what will occur in the future.
The four horns of the golden altar were projections on each corner of the altar. They were used to provide a safe haven for fugitives who had unintentionally committed a crime (I Kings 1:50-53). The four angels were likely demons or leaders of nations, led by demons, who were against Israel. They had been bound in the Euphrates River by God, but were about to be released at a specific time to lead thousands of horsemen to kill one third of the population of the people who refused to repent of their sins. In 6:8, we were told that the pale horse representing death and hell killed one fourth of the people. Thus one fourth of the earth’s population added to one third of the remaining three fourths equals half of the world’s population wiped out.
Another angel came down from heaven who had in his hand a little book which was opened. The angel set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. He cried out and seven thunders uttered their voices, but John was instructed not to write what he saw and heard. The angel announced that there should be time no longer. The prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled will come to fruition, and time as we have known it will come to an end, and a new day will dawn unlike anything that we can imagine. All of God’s plan since the beginning of time will be fulfilled. There will be no more warnings and no more opportunities to repent for those who remain in their sins. Whatever restraints God had placed upon Satan will be lifted and complete chaos will reign over the souls of the wicked.
John was given the little book and told to eat it up, and “it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey” (10:9). John did as the angel said, but the contents of the book were not revealed in scripture. God’s word is sweet in that it tells us how much we are loved by God, but it is also bitter to know how much grief and pain we caused Him. Christ was the One who had to swallow the bitter pill of crucifixion to pay our sin debt, but it is sweet to know that we can be forgiven. After John ate the book, he was to prophesy before many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings. In writing the book of Revelation, John did just that.
John was then told to measure the temple and those who worshipped there. The temple built by Solomon had been destroyed by the Babylonians, and the rebuilt temple was destroyed by the Romans. Therefore, this temple must be one that will be constructed during the tribulation. We are not given a reason why John is to measure the temple. Another fascinating event occurred in John’s vision when God sent two witnesses to prophesy for three and one half years. These two witnesses had been given great powers of nature. When they finished their testimony, the beast that came out of the bottomless pit killed them. Their dead bodies lay on a Jerusalem street for three and one half days. People rejoiced over their death, even sending gifts to one another like folks do at Christmas. But then, God raised them to life, and the people who rejoiced became very fearful. At that time, God called the two witnesses into heaven. A great earth quake took place, ten percent of the city collapsed, and 7,000 men were killed. The people who heretofore had mocked and ridiculed God and His prophets now gave glory to the God of heaven. This was the end of the second woe, and the third woe was about to fall upon earth’s inhabitants.
As I wrote earlier, this is only a very brief summary of the second woe. We don’t know the span of time in which these events will occur, but 11:14 tells us that the third woe will come quicky. In the descriptions that we have seen so far, I don’t think Hollywood could come up with anything more fearful than these actual events that will occur in the future. It makes one wonder just how the main stream media will report these events. Will they be truthful or will they try to spin these events somehow to glorify the wicked like they do now?
Next time: The Seventh Trumpet/Third Woe