The Lord is about one reality and one expression: His glory. To that end and for that purpose was everything created (Revelation 4:11). This speaks eternal volumes of what matters most to the Lord and that for which He will deal in love or in wrath with humanity. Those who honor Him by loving His Son and living like His Son, to these He will show covenantal love (BBB). To those who refuse to embrace Christ and continue in lives of open rebellion, to this group, He will display apocalyptic type wrath! That is the focus of the seven trumpets in Revelation 8:5-11 and was the focus of yesterday's sermon: "The Lord Will Vindicate His Glory"
One factor that flows through the entire passage is the reality that the Lord hates sin as much as and because of His love of His own glory. Therefore, when men are indifferent His gospel (His extended mercy and grace in Christ) the Lord is offended by such rebellion. How can men whose very lives are the result of His creative and sustaining power have the audacity to reject His love and believe themselves to be safe (Genesis 2 and Acts 17:28)?
The seven trumpets represent the judgment of God upon such men and women with the penultimate aim of bringing them to repentance. However, John tells us that, despite the horrific actions unleashed by the Lord through the means of demonic terrorism, many still hedged their bet that their fate would be different. At the heart of the justified anger of the Lord was the continual idolatry of men in the face of God's extraordinary wrath. John says,
"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 (Revelation 9:20–21).
Here is the essence of what provokes the wrath of God upon humanity: the worship of that which God created in the place of worshiping the Creator Lord (See Romans 1:22-23)! This includes not only the worship of things in nature, but also and perhaps mainly, the exaltation of their passions to the place of lord in their lives such that they (their passions) not God's Word, dictate their actions. This is why John includes sexual immorality and theft, both of which flow out of the heart of men who covet what they cannot and should not have, but pursue it simply because they want it. Consider these words of Paul:
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming (Colossians
3:5–6).
Paul teaches us that when we refuse to kill the passions that wage war in our flesh, those sinful desires that seek to be expressed in our actions, we actually are engaging in behaviors that have one consequence: the wrath of God. Paul is saying what the Trumpets in revelation 8-11 are saying: The Lord Hates Sin and that "on account of these the wrath of God is coming" (v6). What is amazing is that Paul is writing these words or warning to the local church and not the local pub or strip club etc. Such are included, but they are not Paul's focus. We cannot miss this. Yes, the Lord will judge unbelievers - this is the point of the trumpets - but / and there are many people who come to church every Sunday who are, themselves, unbelievers!
There are millions in the United States who profess faith in Christ but whose lives are lived in open rebellion to the Lord because they only want what they want and, thus, only pursue what brings them pleasure, not the Lord (See Colossians 1:10). This does not mean that men are saved by their lifestyle or devotion to Christ. We are saved by grace alone. However, if one is truly in Christ - if one is truly a branch abiding in the vine, Jesus Christ, (John 15:4-8) they will bear fruit consistent with such profession.
Revelation 8-11 teaches us that God is no respecter of persons. God will come to all in wrath and fury, despite their stated profession, if their lives are devoted to, fueled by and focused on sin. In the end, the Lord is still extending the hand of grace and mercy and, therefore, the church must stand as witnesses to the watching world declaring the fury that is to come but the grace that has already come and been accomplished in Christ. The nature of the response to the gospel proves the destiny of the one who responds.
The Lord is looking to the church to be like Smyrna and Philadelphia - those two great witnesses that stood for Lord without compromise. He is looking for the Bride, those protected by faith in Jesus from the fury poured out in the wrath such protection represented by the seal on their foreheads (Revelation 7:3 and 9:4) to be prophetic in these last days. He is looking to for us to live and to proclaim the bitter sweet message of the gospel without fear of repercussions of suffering (Revelation 10:9-11). The gospel message is bitter because it announces the judgment of God on sin and will provoke suffering from the world. It is sweet because it is the good news of the protective grace and mercy of the Lord. Those who repent will find Him gracious. Those who reject will find Him a terror!
With our lives and with our lips may we sound forth the trumpets of the Lord!