Synopsis: This sermon on Revelation 8 and 9 presents God’s judgments as merciful warnings throughout the Church Age. The silence in heaven reveals holy anticipation as the prayers of the saints rise to God and are used to accomplish His purposes. The seven trumpets symbolize ongoing calamities, natural disasters, and demonic activity, all functioning as divine warnings calling humanity to repentance. Even Satan’s work is under God’s authority and serves His purposes. Yet despite these warnings, many still refuse to repent. The central call is urgent and clear: judgment is coming, so flee to Christ now, who has already borne the fullness of God’s judgment on the cross.

Text: Revelation 8-9
Date: April 26, 2026

Introduction

Opening Illustration – Shot Across the Bow: In the old days of war, many wars were fought and won on the high seas. The British navy was, for many years, the largest and fiercest military in the world. Ships would identify themselves by the flags they flew. And if the British military would spot a ship in the distance and they were uncertain if it was friend or foe, they would “fire a shot across the bow.” It’s an old expression that means they would fire a cannonball that would land in the water very close to the boat’s position. And when the ship saw the explosion nearby, it served as a warning sign. “Stop! If you go any further, we’ll blow your ship to smithereens.” I’m sure throughout history there were many who heeded the warning. And I’m sure there were also many fools, who thought they could outrun the British navy, and perished on their way.

Personal: From time to time in this life, God fires a shot across the bow. These shots are warning signs, or trumpets, designed to wake you up, and lift your head to your need of a Savior. Whenever these trumpets are sounded in our life, we can do one of two things. We can cover our eyes and ears and go on our merry way, playing the fool with God. Or we can take the warning sign seriously, lift our head up to the heavens, and listen to God’s voice.

Context: Today’s passage we read of seven trumpets blown in heaven. And when each trumpet is blown a significant event occurs on earth. Trumpets are warning signs. And so the point of these trumpets is to wake people up to their need of a Savior. If you recall the seven seals from chapters 6 & 7, those were largely describing the hardships that Christians must endure this side of the cross. These seven trumpets are similar, but they’re primarily aimed not at the Christian, but at the nonbeliever. I want us to remember two important ideas about how we are interpeting Revelation.

Symbolic: Revelation is highly symbolic. I stress this every week because I assume that we have folks who may have missed any number of sermons in this series. But Revelation is a particular kind of literature that uses extreme and often fantastic and supernatural imagery, to make simple points. And so part of our difficulty in studying Revelation is doing our best to interpret things properly. The goal of Revelation is not to be confusing, or leave us scratching our heads. Revelation’s goal is to paint a picture of our reality so that we understand truth.

Present: Second, many people have the notion that this book is primarily about events that will happen in our future at the end of the world (as many believe today). I believe this book primarily is telling the story of the entire Church Age. In fact the premise of the entire book of Revelation is to show Christians that in Christ we are more than conquerers. We are called to endure, to persevere, to fight evil, and to stand on the rock of Christ unwaveringly until He returns in glory.

Main Idea: Be warned. Judgment for all sin is coming. Flee to Christ while there is still time.

The Prayers of the Saints

Before we are introduced to God’s seven trumpets, there is a holy moment that takes place. The interlude we began last week as we looked at the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant culminates in a holy silence and reverence before the throne. We read in 1-5.

Revelation 8:1–5 “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”

A Holy Expectation: What is this silence? It is a holy reverence. But it is also more than that. It is a holy expectation. The martyred saints beneath the altar cried out in chapter 6 for God to exact vengaence for their blood. All of heaven recognizes that God is about to act. This is a bit like when spectators hold their breath at the last play of a game, as they await to see how its going to play out. All of heaven sits in silence to behold the hand of God which is about to move!

Prayers & Incense: Let’s answer a few questions about this scene.

Whose Prayers?: The first question is “Whose prayers are in view?” The text actually snswers this for us in verse 3 where we read that the incense were offered with the prayers “of all the saints…” These include those prayers of the saints under the altar, but they’re much more than that. These are your prayers. These are my prayers.

What Prayers?: The second question is “What prayers are in view?” Since God’s response has the feel of judgment to it, “thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning” we wouldn’t be wrong to think that these are prayers like those of the martyred saints, prayers of judgment. These are the prayers and calls to God for justice in this world, for the coming of his kingdom! They include your prayers and my prayers.

Why Mixed?: The third question is “Why are the prayers mixed with incense?” Many have given insight here into what this represents. I believe the smoke of the holy incense takes our imperfect prayers and cleanses them. Our prayers are often so filled with pride and ego, and all kinds of selfish desires, that the incense may represent the purifying of our prayers, stripping the prayers down to their purest sense.

Not an Appendage: These verses are no mere appendage. They are part of the foundation of the entire book of Revelation. Once these prayers reach God, they then are poured back down in response upon this Earth. Quite literally, our prayers are part of the process by which God decrees to accomplish his will on this Earth. In God’s wisdom, he has destined history to move forward on the backs of your prayers.

Implication-Pray!: Let me suggest one simple implication here for everyone in the room. Commit to the work of prayer. Every little prayer you pray falls on willing ears. Your prayers may be full of false motivations and selfish desires, but God receives them. He uses them.

The First Four Trumpets

Introduction: After the heavenly silence, the trumpets are blown one at a time. Like the seven seals that we studied in earlier chapters, each time a trumpet is blown a disastrous event occurs on Earth. These trumpets, like the seals are not single events in history, whether past or future. Rather, they are describing ongoing realities in this world. But what makes these realities different, is that they are trumpet blasts. Trumpets were blown in those days as a warning for a city. They forewarned of coming danger.

Joel 2:1 “Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,”

The Big Questions: The implied question being asked before the trumpets are blown is “How will the world respond when these trumpets are blown. Will they acknowledge, fall on their knees, and proclaim God’s power and authority and mercy. Or will will they defy the judge?”

First Four: In verses 6-13 we read the first four judgments.

Revelation 8:6–13 “Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter. The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!””

First Trumpet: The first trumpet was that we saw destruction come upon the land. Whenever we see a calamity on the land, I believe that is God’s trumpet being blown. When we see towers collapsing, or earthquakes destroying cities, or tornadoes ripping through the heartland. These are God’s trumpet designed to wake up an unrepentant world to the future greater judgment that is to come.

Second Trumpet: The second trumpet was upon the sea. Again, I believe this refers to all calamities on sea. When hurricanes swell and destroy coastal towns. When tsunamis form and sweep thousands of people away. I believe these are God’s trumpet calls waking people up. The real judgment is coming, repent while you have time.

Third Trumpet: The third trumpet fell on the rivers and lakes. Again, I believe this refers to all calamities that occur on those inland waterways. One thinks of the flooding that occurs in towns near rivers, flooding that can be incredibly destructive and deadly.

Fourth Trumpet: The fourth trumpet impacts the sun, the moon, and the stars. We can not overstate how much our planet depends on the proper functioning of the sun, the moon, and the stars. All calamities on earth that are due to the heavens are in consideration here. When the sun scorches the earth, and causes drought and famine and heat stroke. These are God’s warning signs to humanity. The newspapers will report on these floods, but they will fail to mention that these are God’s warning to humanity.

Natural Evil: Theologians over the years have drawn a distinction in this fallen world between two types of evil. Moral evil refers to sinful and wicked actions taken by men. Natural evil, on the other hand, refers to the destructive forces of nature, that often do take life and cause destruction. These first four trumpets are functioning to shape our theology of natural evil. Natural evil, destruction that comes upon humanity due to the forces of nature, are not detached from God’s plan. They are trumpets, calling us to wake up, and see the reality of the consequences of sin. They are real judgment for sin, and yet they are still only a shadow of what is to come. Ultimate judgment stands around the corner of history. These calamities today are screaming to a fallen world, “Wake up, turn to God. Believe and be saved!”

Gospel: How should Christians respond to these trumpets?

Wages of Sin: First, these acts of judgment on the world should always wake us up to depth of our sin. If we say that God “is unjust to use natural evil (hurricanes and earthquakes) in this way” then we have a deficient view of sin. The most destructive force on this planet is our sin. God is totally just to bring judgment for our sin. Let every disaster we read about wake us up, and cause us to take our own sin even more seriously than we have.

Christ: But second, this means that every calamity in the news that we read is an opportunity for us to deepen our understanding of the significance of the cross. If these trumpets are just the tremors, can you imagine what full judgment will be like? It will be overwhelmingly awful. And that is what Christ carried on his shoulders on the cross. On the cross, the full weight of judgment for the sin of the Church laid on one man’s shoulders. Not one ounce of final judgment remains.

Believe: If you’re in this room and not a believer today, I pray that today would be the day you wake up to the reality of God’s judment for sin. The tremors we witness in this life are just that, tremors. Real judgment is coming because God is a just God! Flee to Christ while there is still time.

The Eagle: The first four trumpets have sounded, and we are given an interlude before the final three. The symbol of an eagle flying overhead. Eagles are birds of prey, and so we can imagine that whatever comes after this sign is worse than what came before it.

Fifth Trumpet

The Fifth Trumpet: Chapter 9 contains the description of the fifth and sixth trumpet. We will take each one in its turn.

Revelation 9:1–12 “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.”

Literal: Some interpeters interpret this trumpet extremely literally. They believe that at some point in the future, hoardes of locusts will swarm out of the earth, and will sting people for a set period of time. As you may imagine based on our study of Revelation thus far, I don’t believe these symbols are to be taken woodenly like that. These are symbols, that are teaching us something about our reality.

Symbol of Locusts: Why is the symbol of locusts used. For starters, the locust is commonly used in scripture by God to speak of judgment. One of the plagues on Egypt was locusts. Further, the book of Joel speaks about God’s judgment coming in the form of a locust swarm that will eat all the produce and create a famine. And so, the image of a locust already speaks of judgment. But these are no ordinary locust.

Faces: They have human faces signaling their cunning.

Hair: They have women’s hair signaling their seductive power.

Teeth: And they have lion’s teeth, symnolizing their deadly bite.

The Devil: This fifth trumpet is clearly a reference to the Devil, that fallen angel who lives to war against God and His Church. The bottomless pit represents “hell” in its current state. The image of these locusts and the smoke coming out of hell, communicates that Satan has filled this world with devils and demons. He incites evil, and men are enticed to sin because of his influence.

Smoke: The smoke that bellows out of hell might be interpreted as the great delusion of the world. Folks are so deluded by Hell’s efforts that they cannot see the light anymore, the smoke from hell has literally blocked out the sun.

Seek Death: Verse 6 tells us the sad condition of those who are under their deception. “They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” This describes the heartache of life in a Christless world. It describes the physical and psychological longing of the world, who look out at all the pain and death called by Satan and weep.

This is a horrifying scene, and it describes reality. Those outside of Christ, whether they it or not are plagued by Apollyon and his demonic hoarde. They are stung constantly but do not know it. They believe their pain to simply be the hardship of life, but they have the stingers of the locusts all over their body.

Cannot Harm (4): But we notice very clearly that they are only given permission to harm those who do not have the seal of the living God on their forehead. Indeed, the unrepentant world is harassed by Satan and his armies, and they do n

A Trumpet: Remember, that the Devil and his demons are one of God’s trumpets. In other words, while he deceives and lies and twists and destroys according to his own malice, God uses his work as one of his trumpets, warning of impending doom. It is God’s way of shouting down to earth, “Evil is real. Satan is real. See his wickedness. Feel the harsh reality of a world locked in deception. And turn from him towards Christ, the author of life! Turn and live!”

Sixth Trumpet

Lastly, in this chapter, we read of the sixth trumpet.

Revelation 9:13–21 “Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar 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, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

This sixth trumpet I believe describes war. Not just one particular war. But every war that has taken place and will take place between Christ’s resurrection and his return.

Observations: Let’s observe a few a things from this text.

Angels: First, verse 13 says that four angels were “bound” and now are “released” to enact death and destruction on earth. Unlike other angels we have read in this chapter, these angels are wicked fallen angels who serve the Devil. We know that because they were bound. In God’s sovereignty he has granted them permission to roam during this age. These wicked fallen demons relish the idea of plunging humanity into war.

Mounted Troops: We are told in verse 16 that the number of mounted troops was “twice ten thousand times tend thousand.” That means 200,000,000. The symbolism here is both of “war”, as they were mounted troops, and of the overwhelming scope of war, as that number is many times over the size and scale of any war ever fought.

Entire War Machine: Verses 17-19 describe the overwhelming horror of war. Their lion’s heads speaking of the violence of it all. The tails that sting like serpent’s heads speak of the horrifying sting of the grief of war. Notice that this does not separate just wars from unjust wars. It simply reveals that all war, throughout the entirety of this church age, is God’s trumpet!

Main Purpose: God uses war, he permits it, so that it might function as a trumpet, causing men and women and children to lift their heads up to God, to repent, to trust in the one who is ultimately in control. We see war in Iran, war in Ukraine, war in Sudan, war in the Congo. God permits these evils, and uses them as “shots across the bow.”

Conclusion

The general meaning of these trumpets is clear. Throughout this entire Church Age, the age of the spread of the gospel, Christ our exalted King is not only answering the prayers for justice that the persecuted Church cry unto him, but he is executing that justice in this world in such a way that every calamity and every disaster and every demonic stronghohld is his shot across the bow warning and waking up the world not only to their need of a Savior, but of the wonderful mercy of God that he would so love the world that he would send Christ to take our place underneath the judgment.

Won’t Repent: Surprisingly, the most frightening part of this passage is still to come. Remember the main question we asked earlier, “How will the world respond?”

Revelation 9:20–21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

The world is so stubbornly in their sin that they would rather face these calamities on their own, then turn to the living God. But not all hope is lost. This entire passage has a ring to it of Egypt and the plagues. If you recall in the book of Exodus God used 10 natural disasters as warning signs to Egypt and to Pharaoh to turn from sin, and to trust in the living God. Largely, they rejected God and stubbornly resisted until their death. But, some believed. We read in Exodus 12:38

Exodus 12:38 “A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.”

“A mixed multitude” of Egyptians and Jews. There were some Egyptians who saw the plagues, understood the warning signs, and believed in the living God, and joined Israel in their Exodus.

Repent and Believe: I pray there may be some in this room today. I pray that even one person in this room might feel God’s “shot across the bow” this morning, and not just believe in God’s power and might authority. But would Christ Jesus His Savior who shields us from great judgment that is yet to come.