Escaping the Carnage of the Great Tribulation Revelation 8
During a season of economic turmoil, one steelworker admitted he was waiting for a leader the world would follow “like he was John the Baptist.” Scripture tells us such a figure is coming—the Antichrist—and the conditions for his rise are already taking shape. As the Great Tribulation unfolds, the trumpet judgments described in Revelation unleash devastation unlike anything humanity has ever witnessed. Yet even in the midst of judgment, God is warning the world and calling people to repentance before it is too late. Escaping the Carnage of the Great Tribulation, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.
This Week: The seven trumpet judgments, the rise of global deception, and the life-saving question every person must answer—are you ready to escape the Tribulation?
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Each week's podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.This weeks call is:
Jesus is coming again. That's a Bible fact. It's as real a fact as Jesus first coming was. But just like Jesus first coming, there were many who didn't believe it. The same is true of His Second Coming. Where are you in these truths?
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Each week's podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).This week's question is:
The great Tribulation is no cake walk. How does that thought motivate your heart to live solely for God? Please leave your comments in the comments section below.
About Emery
Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 37 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.
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Podcast Notes:
Tribulation Judgments: The Seven Trumpets
The First Trumpet
The first trumpet heralds a fiery cocktail of “hail and fire mixed with blood” (Revelation 8:7).
A world on fire, molten, horrid
One-third of the world’s trees are burned up in this plague.
Can you imagine this devastation, a world without trees?
All of the benefits of trees are diminished by one-third.
Trees absorb CO2.
Trees clean the air and absorb odors.
Trees provide oxygen.
In one year an acre of mature trees can provide enough oxygen for eighteen people.
Trees cool the streets and the city by up to ten degrees.
They conserve energy, save water, help soil erosion, and pollution.
And these are just a few of the benefits of trees.
Additionally, this plague destroys one-third of the grass.
So, add now to your thinking the lost benefits of greenery on planet earth.
The Second Trumpet
Revelation 8:8 (ESV) — 8 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.
The second trumpet is a mega meteor-like fiery mountain on fire thrown into the sea” found in Revelation 8:8.
This fireball smokes a third of the sea life and ecosystem turning it to blood.
Sounds like God turning the Red Sea into blood doesn’t it.
On top of that, the very impact of the mountain smacking the waters creates a water displacement so sever, I guess you can call it a nuclear level tsunami, that it causes one-third of the ships to sink.
We are talking ships now, not dingy rowboats.
We’re talking destroyers, aircraft carriers, cruise ships you know big huge flotillas.
This is no joke.
I’m talking about end-times here.
The Third Trumpet
The third trumpet is like the second but this judgment affects the fresh water supply.
Trumpet two affects salt water.
Trumpet three affects fresh water.
Same fiery hot smoldering mountain type shooting star smacking the waters.
The same third of the waters are affected.
The flaming star has a name; it’s called Wormwood.
Wormwood is a bitter plant, an extremely sour herb.
Many more people die because of these toxic waters.
You know position and power will mean nothing during these days.
Men who have denied God because they put their trust in a cement load of cash are going to find their financial stature and their financial influence means zero zip in that day.
They think they're going to escape, that their stock portfolios will pad them against the wrath of God.
It won’t.
Some of these rich cats will be cruising on their yachts laughing, boozing, whoring around and rejecting God when all of a sudden Wormwood plunges their revelry to the bottom of the lake.
We’re still talking about Matthew twenty-four, verse twenty-eight:
We’re still talking about vultures and corpses.
The Fourth Trumpet
The fourth trumpet is the great blackout.
One-third of the sun, moon, and stars turn dark.
Think about the catastrophe this brings.
The sun goes into a coma.
The stars short circuit.
And the moon phases out.
And then an eagle comes crying out saying:
Revelation 8:13 (ESV) — 13 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!”
Think about this: the earth has already endured, up to now, seven seals of spectacular judgment, four tremendously difficult trumpets and what does the Spirit of God say to the unbelieving of planet earth?
“Woe! Woe! and Woe, a triple woe to the unbelieving inhabitants of the earth, because of what’s behind door number two.
The first eleven judgments were behind door number one.
Three Trumpets are left and three ‘woes’ describe them, one woe per remaining trumpet.
This is serious deep weeds to be in, do you understand?
The Fifth Trumpet
The first ‘woe’ is the fifth trumpet.
What’s behind door number two?: demon locusts.
They come from the pit of hell.
They come with torture in their tails.
They come to plague those who are unsaved and they do it for five miserable months.
Puncturing, stabbing, attacking, and inflicting pain and excruciating agony.
So much miserable torment that the scripture states:
Revelation 9:6 (ESV) — 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
These demon locusts are nasty looking things.
The Word of God describes them.
Revelation 9:7–11 (ESV) — 7 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, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 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. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 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.
Look, if there are those of you listening who have not received Jesus, please, please, please don’t delay.
Don’t wait another minute.
Get it together with heaven now.
We’re talking about End-Times here.
Do you want to know what’s going to be like?
This is it and I’m sure I am doing a poor describing what’s going to happen.
It’s hard to imagine.
There is no horror picture which has ever been created that can match the pain and suffering an unbelieving world will experience when the grace of God has run out.
The Sixth Trumpet
The sixth trumpet is the second woe.
And it’s four really evil angels.
You think the demon locusts were bad these abhorrently evil angels kill one-third of the population that’s left.
You remember the fourth seal was the Black Rider of Death who mutualities one-fourth of mankind into their graves.
Now, these four angels get another thirty-three percent of who’s left.
These four evil angels are so profusely wicked that they are kept bound at the great river Euphrates.
When they get their ‘get of jail free card’, they lead a supernatural demon cavalry of thousands upon thousands to kill a third of humanity.
If you thought the description of the demon locusts was stomach turning, check out this bunch.
Revelation 9:17(ESV) — 17 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.
It’s going to be bad, really bad.
I can’t tell you how bad it’s going to be.
But, here’s the ultimate description of stupid, right here, the Bible gives it to us.
Revelation 9:20–21 (ESV) — 20 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, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
So hardened are they in the deceitfulness of sin that they can’t see the forest for the trees.
Here’s the last Trumpet.
I’m still talking about corpses and vultures.
And, we are not even halfway through the judgments yet.
After the seventh Trumpet, then we are half way.
The Seventh Trumpet
The seventh Trumpet sounds.
Here’s what the Word of the Lord says about it.
Revelation 11:15–19 (ESV) — 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”… 19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
So, there’s yet another earthquake and heavy hail.
Now come the seven plagues.
🎧 Suggested Light Notes Post
If you found this teaching on The Tribulation helpful, check out “What Real Prayer to God Is About” — a clear and encouraging look at what authentic prayer is and how it deepens your relationship with the Lord.
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