 Revelation chapter 8, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 5. When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censor, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censor, filled it with fire from the altar, threw it to the earth, and there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. Now, a little review, and then we'll be looking at chapter 8. We know that as we've been going through Revelation, when we were in chapter 6 of the book of Revelation, that that chapter outlined the terrible destruction that would fall on earth during this period of time that is referred to as the tribulation. We know that as we were looking in chapter 6 that the first five judgments revealed antichrist is false peace, war, famine, pestilence, various disasters, we saw that as we were in chapter 6. As the sixth seal is broken, things became so terrible that the people began to realize that this indeed is a day of wrath. As a matter of fact, in chapter 6 it says in verse 17, the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand? And so the people realized this is the day of the wrath of the Lamb. And so chapter 6 closed with that question, who is able to stand? And chapter 7 was what I shared with you last time, was a parenthetical chapter that basically is separating the sixth seal from the opening of what is called the seventh seal judgment. Chapter 7 supplied the answer concerning who is going to survive the time of God's judgment, and we saw that the answer was given. There are 144,000 from the tribes of Israel who will be sealed and protected, who will go through the tribulation, and because God protects them, will go through unscathed. And then he also mentions the tribulation saints, and we looked at that last time together. And there are some who are believers who are not experiencing the wrath of God, the judgment of God doesn't fall on them, they are believers, but they will be martyred. Some of them will die in the earthquakes or the wars of famines, diseases, because as I mentioned last time, that happens, those things happen. But these are not people who are going to be judged, these are people who will go through and experience death, and they're called tribulation saints. Now, when we enter into chapter 8, we return to the break-in of the seals, and we're actually resuming where chapter 6 concluded. And so the pouring out of judgment on the earth is once again being reported. Now, the opening of the seventh seal introduces a second wave of judgment. The judgments referred to here, and you'll see this, we've already begun to read, and we'll see these are called the trumpet judgments. You see, the seventh seal judgment includes what is called seven trumpet judgments, which leads to what are called the bowl judgments. Now, the judgments of the tribulation period are found written in a scroll with seven seals. The lamb has taken this scroll from the right hand of God, he's the only one in heaven found worthy to do so. And as we've already seen of the seven seals, six have been opened, and we now see the opening of the seventh. Now, it says in verse 1 of chapter 8, when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. There are theologians who have stated and pointed this out very interestingly that there are no women in heaven, because it's silent. No, I don't think they're correct, but that was worth saying. Oh, you chauvinistic pig. Indeed. But notice something about this. We'll look at it. There was silence in heaven for about half an hour. When he speaks concerning the silence, it's an eerie quiet. It is a calm, eerie, still quiet. And it's been called the calmness before a terrible storm. Can you imagine heaven at this moment becoming absolutely quiet with nothing, no noise, nothing? Now, you have to put that into context because we've been looking since chapter 4 at heaven, and heaven is a very active, very loud, if you will, place. Let me refresh your memory in chapter 4, verses 4 and 5. Around the throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white robes. They had crowns of gold on their heads, and from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. There were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Lightning, thundering, voices is the description. In verse 8, the four living creatures having six wings were full of eyes around within. They do not rest their night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him, who sits on the throne, worship him, who lives forever and ever cast their crowns before the throne, saying, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things and by Your will they exist and were created. I mean, from chapter 4, there's this loudness in heaven that is being spoken of. In chapter 5, at verse 8, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures, the 24 elders, fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sang a new song saying, You are worthy to take the scroll, to open its seals, for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood. Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation have made us kings and priests to our God, we shall reign on earth. I looked, I heard the voice of many angels around the throne. Living creatures, elders, the number of them were 10,000 times, 10,000 and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy as the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing. So heaven is filled with activity and it is loud. It is loud. In chapter 7, verse 9, remember with me. After these things they look, behold, there ain't number which no one could number of the multitude, multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, tongues, standing before the throne, before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in the hands and crying out with a loud voice, saying salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne to the Lamb. The angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying amen, blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Heaven is very filled with noise and activity, but now absolute, eerie silence sometimes gets people very uncomfortable. That could happen here in this room. All I need to do is stop talking for a moment. And when I do, people will wait till I start. What happens if I don't start? You're happy. What happens if I don't start? You'll start going, come on. You can do it. Talk. Come on. Why? Because we're not used to silence. In heaven, this isn't just silence. It's an eerie, calm, quiet after all of the praise and worship and excitement. And he says for the space of not 30 seconds or a minute for the space of a half hour, it is stone silent in heaven. The calm before the storm. The Father, the Lamb, four living creatures, angels, the church, martyrs are all silent. Why? Well, perhaps in anticipation of what is about to happen. Judgment is about to fall an even greater judgment than before. 30 minutes of dead silence. Eerie, uncomfortable tension provoking silence. When the judgment is revealed, heaven is reduced to silence because of the terrible things that are about to happen. It has been referred to as the silence of foreboding. Something bad is about to happen. In the Old Testament book of Zephaniah chapter one, verse seven, it says be silent in the presence of the Lord God. For the day of the Lord is at hand. For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice he has invited his guests. Be silent in the presence of the Lord. And that's what's taking place. There's silence in heaven for about half an hour. Verse two. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God and to them were given seven trumpets. Now these seven angels have been appointed by God to direct the judgments of the trumpets. Notice it says they stand before God. When it says they stand before God, this reveals to us that they are angels of great stature and they are angels of great prominence and they are unnamed. Now to them are given these seven trumpets. The seven trumpets are intended to signal judgment. When you look into the history of Israel and especially can see this in the book of Numbers in the Old Testament book of Numbers chapter 10, trumpets were used in the nation's life for a variety of reasons. And when you go through chapter 10 of the book of Numbers, you'll see that a trumpet would be blown at the giving of the law in the announcing of public feasts. They were used as a call for public assemblies and trumpets were used during battles. They were used also to sound the alarm in Joel in the Old Testament book of Joel chapter 2 verses 1 and 2. You see this. It says, blow the trumpet and Zion sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains, a large and mighty army comes such as never was of old, nor ever will be in ages to come. The trumpet sounds. In Jeremiah chapter 4 verses 19 through 22, oh my anguish, my anguish, I writhe in pain. Oh the agony of my heart, my heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent for I have heard the sound of the trumpet. I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster. The whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? My people are fools. They do not know me. They are senseless children. They have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil. They know not how to do good. The trumpets were used in a variety of ways. And one of those ways was to sound the alarm. And so the trumpet sounds. Verse 3, another angel having a golden censor came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. So this angel is a ministering spirit. He's presenting the prayers of the saints. And the prayers of the saints are pictured as incense in scripture. He's offering it upon what is called the golden altar. The golden altar is a place where prayer is offered. So the prayers of the suffering and martyred saints are being offered. Now this altar would be the altar of incense in heaven. There's a type of this altar in the Old Testament. You find it in Exodus chapter 30, for example, verses 1 through 10. You also see it in Exodus chapter 40, verse 5, where it says, Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the testimony. Put the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle. And so there's this smoke, this smoke of incense. And notice with me it says in verse 4, the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angel's hand. The angel took the censor, filled it with fire from the altar, threw it to the earth. There were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. Fire and judgment. It's now descending in greater degree. Notice how he says noises and thunderings, lightnings. An earthquake, this is all described. What's interesting is this reveals the impact of the prayers that had gone up before the throne of God. These prayers are ascending before God, and God is answering these prayers. Now, the question had already been asked in chapter 6, how long go, Lord, at verse 10, how long go, Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? And so you're seeing the answer to these prayers. How long? When are you going to do it? When are you going to take care of business? And the Lord is now answering those prayers. There's an interesting scripture that we ought to take to heart in Mark chapter 9, verse 42. Jesus said it like this, and you can see the principle here as it's acted out in the book of Revelation 8. Jesus said, if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. That's a warning to the unbeliever who's going to stumble the believer. But I think you can apply some of that warning to us as believers when we go about stumbling our brethren because of the perceived liberties that we might possess. And then we encourage them to do things that they haven't got a conscience to do. The whole point, obviously, is that God is concerned for his little ones. And these who had been martyred, and these are the souls of those who had been beheaded for the faith in Christ, crying out how long until you avenge us, while they're about to be avenged. And God is moving on their behalf. He answers their prayers. And so this is what takes place. Verse 6. So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound, the first angel sounded. Hail and fire followed, mingled with blood. They were thrown to the earth, and a third of the trees were burned up and all the green grass was burned up. Hail and fire mingled with blood are thrown to the earth. And the result, a third of the trees were burned up while the green grass is incinerated. Now, let's look at this from them. These judgments are reminiscent of the judgments that God has brought in the Old Testament, and you can see that when God was judging Egypt, you can see it when God judged Sodom and Gomorrah similar. In the case of Egypt, we know that God judged the idolatry of Egypt. How do we know that? Well, it says in Exodus in chapter 9, verses 22 through 26, the Lord God said to Moses, stretch forth your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in the land of Egypt upon man and upon beast and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven and the Lord sent thunder and hail and the fire ran along upon the ground. The Lord reigned hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and the fire mingled with the hail. Very grievous. Such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both men and beast, and the hail smote every herb of the field, broke every tree of the field, only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. Chapter 12, verse 12 of Exodus, I will pass through the land of Egypt this night. I'll smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt. I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. And so when you look into judgment that God brought on the nation of Egypt, he did so because he was bringing judgment in a literal sense on the gods of Egypt. When you take time to read concerning the ten plagues that God brought on the nation of Egypt, you'll notice, and it's very interesting when you have a thorough study of this, it's very interesting that each one of the plagues that come upon the nation of Egypt was intended to be a judgment against one of the gods the Egyptians worshipped. They were idolaters and pagans, and one by one, God takes their gods out, all the way up to Pharaoh, who was regarded by the Egyptians of that day as being a god on earth. And so God's judgment, which says in Exodus chapter 12, was not simply against the nation itself alone, but the gods that the nation worshipped. And he brought his judgment on them as he was delivering his children from it. But these plagues that he brought and these judgments are reminiscent that we see in Revelation 8, are reminiscent of what took place when God judged the idolatry of Egypt in the book of Exodus. But you also have judgment that God brought on the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the small cities that were around those two major cities. I'll develop this with you for a moment and give you a bit of an illustration. God's judgment. Some people say, I don't think that God brings judgment. Well, Revelation 8 says he does. And the Old Testament very clearly shows that he does. What does he judge? Well, one, we just saw it. He judges idolatry. Two, he judged Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, let me give you something out of Ezekiel chapter 16 verses 49 and 50. This is what we read in Ezekiel 16, 49 and 50. This was the sin of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned. They did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen. So there is a whole list of sins that are associated with Sodom and Gomorrah. In the book of Jude in verse 7, in the New Testament it says in a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffered the punishment of eternal fire. Genesis 19-24, the Lord reigned on Sodom and Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And so you see that kind of judgment that fell, not only on the idolatry of Egypt, but also on the variety of sins, including sexual sin that occurred in Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding small cities. Well, I was sharing that just this week. Some of you were with me on Sunday morning, and I was sharing a few things related to the issue of homosexual marriage and all of that. And perhaps you were with me. If not, let me share that that's what I shared on. But I had mentioned in the service that my sister Rebekah, who lived as a lesbian for, she said something like 27 years, my sister Rebekah had written me Sunday morning or it may have been, she had actually left a voicemail for me. It was Saturday night. And she said, David, I want you to know that I have some friends from my old way of life. I have some lesbians that I'm still in contact with who are listening to you tomorrow morning. They will be listening to your message tomorrow. And she said, I'm praying for you that the Lord will use the message to speak to these people whom I love very much and desire to see them set free. And one of the ladies in particular that was listening was a woman that my sister Rebekah had been with as a couple for a long time. And her name is Sam. That's what she calls herself. And Sam and Rebekah lived together in New Mexico, but they would come to visit family off and on over the years that they were together. We got to know Sam because Sam would come with Rebekah, Rebekah would come and visit. She would actually come to church when I was teaching with her friend. And I would give a message, and every time I gave that message knowing that my sister and her friend were there in the congregation, I would pray, oh, God in Jesus' name, touch my sister today. And many times I gave invitations and I'd open my eyes to look to see if Becky was there or Sam. Neither one were there. And I did that, and none of you know this, of course, so I'm telling you now. I did that for some time. I would pray and then I'd look and she wouldn't be there. Well, in 1998 on Easter Sunday, my prayer was answered, and I didn't even know she was there that day, which is God's way. God's way, she came forward. And I've shared this with you before, how that Becky had told me after she got saved. She said, David, one of the things that she knew was the knowledge of the fact that my father would never have the opportunity to lead me up an altar to get married to a man because of the life that I was living, I could never have that experience with my father. She said to me, and then she goes, but here's something that God is so great and so beautiful. She said, because the Lord gave me an opportunity to see something I hadn't noticed, she said, I was looking at some pictures from that Easter that I got saved from the picture of me when I came walking forward. She said, I have a picture of me walking forward to give my heart to Christ. And she says, David, she said, I have my arm in my father's arm as he's walking me forward to give my heart to Christ. She said, my dad did walk me up the aisle to marry my husband. Now that's beautiful. And so I'm speaking to her yesterday and I say to her, well, baby, how to go with your friends listening to the message. She says, well, they called me and she said, one of her friends said, well, I listened to what your brother had to say and I don't agree with him, but I did listen. But Becky, something happened to you. Something's different about you. What is it? And you know what my sister told her friend? Oh, she says, oh, I'm in love. And the woman goes, oh, you are with who? And Becky said with Jesus, I'm in love with the man named Jesus who has changed my life. You see, so even when I speak of this judgment, we need to understand the grace of God, the grace of God that God has given to us so that judgment doesn't have to fall in this way. But the sad fact is people reject the love of God and when you reject the love of God, all that is left to you is the justice of God. That's all that's left to you. Jesus tied on a cross to take God's judgment is justice upon himself so that I could have freedom in him so that I don't have to pay the penalty for my sin. God sent his son so Jesus would. And what I do is because I can't pay the price. I just go to the one who has. And you see in the world, the world is rejecting that and God is bringing judgment, severe judgment on them. Why? They have rejected Christ. Not only have they rejected Christ, they are killing his followers. And that's why the souls under the throne there in heaven, the altar there in heaven are saying, how long? How long? Until you avenge. How long is your patience going to be extended upon those who have killed those who love you? Now their prayers are being answered. The incense represents the prayers of the saints and God is moving. And he's beginning to bring incredible judgment. This judgment destroys the green grass, the trees. It's been referred to as the judgment of thirds and you'll see why because a third, a third, a third is mentioned several times. So the earth is already really none of the judgment of God. We saw in chapter six how that there was war, there's violent death, there's famine. We know that a quarter of the earth's population has already died. We know that the earth's population is estimated at the moment at 7.1 billion people. So you're speaking of incredible death that's already taking place. Famine begins to escalate. The skies are polluted by ash. Ecology is in chaos. And then, per se, the second angel sounded and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea and a third of the sea became blood and a third of the living creatures in the sea died and a third of the ships were destroyed. Judgment, again a judgment that is similar to one enacted against Egypt. One third of sea life destroyed. It says here that something like a great mountain something like a great mountain was thrown into the sea. The sea that's being referred to here, every Jew at that time, every person reading this would have known what sea is. He's speaking of the Mediterranean and so something hits the Mediterranean. Our discussion is what could this be? It's like a great mountain. It may be an asteroid. Now, as you look at this, when it says in verse 8 and 9 that this is thrown into the sea, a third of the sea becomes blood, why would the Mediterranean be targeted? Well, I looked this up today just to make sure that this is current and it is. The Mediterranean Sea is the permanent home of the US-6 naval fleet. It is also filled with Soviet vessels as well as ships from other countries. So the sea is covered with naval vessels, crews and merchant and fishing ships and so there is actually a judgment on these particular powers that are taking place. In verse 10, it goes on to say, the third angel sounded and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became Wormwood and many died from the water because it was made bitter, Wormwood. Notice that this great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch. Again, what is this? Those who are much more scholarly than I would say that this is a description, possibly of a meteorite. A third of the rivers and springs are affected. The reason that it's associated with a meteor or even a comet is because it has a fiery tail. Now, could that happen? Could a meteor hit the earth? Well, the largest proven crater is the Beringer crater discovered in 1891 near Canyon Diablo, Winslow, Arizona. It is 4,150 feet in diameter and about 575 feet deep with a parapet rising 130 to 155 feet above the surrounding plane. It has been estimated that an iron-nickel mass with a diameter of 200 to 260 feet weighing about 2,240,000 tons gouged this crater. So you're looking at something that's 200 to 260 feet in diameter. This thing isn't that small. This is huge. And so when it hits, the unbelievable explosion and everything that takes place is going to tear things up. The second thing, and I find this really interesting, is the word Wormwood. Wormwood. A wormwood speaks literally of bitter herb, but wormwood is... Well, in the Greek language, it's absinthe. It's where you get a drink that's called absinthe. How many of you know what absinthe is? I'm just interested. Ah, drunks. Absinthe is used as a liqueur. France is known for it and there are other places known for absinthe. It's one of those things that people will drink because it's kind of cool and even dangerous. It's like those who eat that puffer fish. If it's not prepared right, you're dead. It's your final meal. Hope you enjoyed it. So people will eat it and they feel like they have been death-defined so they literally have been. Absinthe has been of the same stripe. It's so poisonous that some countries ban it. They have banned its manufacture. They have banned its sale. Now, wormwood is used... The word wormwood is used eight times in the Old Testament, three times in connection with poisoned water. So wormwood, often when used, especially in the Old Testament, when the word is used, it would represent bitterness and sorrow. And so when it speaks concerning verse 11, the name of the star being wormwood, third of the water has become wormwood. Many men die from the water. That gives you some insight into the poisonous quality of it, but also what it produces. So here's what has happened, guys, and I'll give you an application on this. Instead of the... This is important. I hope I can say this right. Instead of the world being open to the living water, the world has always been more open to the water that kills. Always has. Always has. Jesus said that He came to give us living water. Now, when you hear the term living water, you're probably like I... When I first began to read the Bible and I'd read living water, I always associate it with the spiritual reality of what living water is. Living water gives you spiritual life, right? So we're in Israel. And our guide is speaking to us about living water. And our guide says, alright, you're Americans. Let me ask you a question. And we're all seated there waiting for the question. How many of you know what living water is? Well, we're thinking Jesus saying I will give to living water. So he says, well, in Israel, when we speak of living water, we're simply saying it's water you can drink. It's water you can drink. But that gave me a degree of depth to what living water is that I didn't have before simply thinking of it in that very basic way. That's right. It's drinkable water. It's water that you can drink. Now, the water that you drink gives you life. I mean, you can go without eating. Most of us couldn't. But theoretically, you could go without eating for around 40 days. 40 days is the general number that is given that states that when you hit the 40th day, your body begins to shut down and you die. It begins to devour itself. Remember Jesus Christ who is being tempted in the wilderness? How long? 40 days. And what does the Scripture say about Jesus? It says he was famished. The Scripture says that you can read that in Luke 4. You can read that in Matthew chapter 4. After 40 days, and it was, and he was hungry. Well, the word hungry there is, or hungry. He was famished. Why is that significant? Because his body was shutting down. He was getting to the point of starvation to death. And that's why when the devil comes and brings the temptation, take these stones and make them into bread. That's why that temptation is so powerful. Save yourself. Make the stones into bread. If you ever go to Israel, bread. Many times, you'll see loaves of bread that are shaped like stones. That's a very ancient, just, you know, half, it's just round. You'll see it all through Israel. Delicious too, by the way. And so, oh, that made me hungry. Jesus was famished. He was dying. Now when Satan was speaking to God concerning Job, he said skin for skin. All that a man has, he will give for his life. He will give for his skin. Touch him and see what he does. Man's self-interest and self-preservation is so intense that we will actually, while I was reading Jeremiah today, where God was saying this about fathers. He said they're not good fathers. He said their children were in danger and the fathers ran and hid themselves. They're not good fathers. They're good men and they hid themselves to protect themselves because Satan's words, all that a man has he'll give for his own life. That's why Jesus says greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends because the greatest love isn't taking things for myself. It's learning to yield those things for others, you see. And so, people have a tendency of wanting water but they don't want the living water. Instead of the living water, the people were willing to take the bitter water. And even to this day, you can share the living water. Listen, you can tell them about Jesus and how good God is and how much God loves you and what he did with his son, how he sent him for you so your life could be transformed and you could have purpose and joy and peace and instead of going to hell, which you're going to hell without Christ, you can go to heaven. I said, well, that's your opinion, that's nice, but everybody's got their own opinions and I've got mine. I remember one fellow who said, you know, all my friends are going to hell, I'm just going to go with them and we'll party forever. He really was serious. I said, no, I don't think so. That's not what the Bible describes and that's something you ought to be really doing your best to stay out of, not going to. But instead of the living water, they drink the wormwood. They would drink the wormwood. Again, verse 11, the name of the stars, wormwood. Third of the waters became wormwood. Many men died from the water. It was made bitter. They'd prefer the wormwood over living water. Then verse 12, the fourth angel sounded. A third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, a third of the stars so that a third of them were darkened and a third of the day did not shine in likewise the night. And I looked and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth. Because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound. You think it's bad? He's saying it's only getting worse. You think this is bad? It's only going to get worse. It says there that a third of the sun was struck. There's a reduction of light. It's no longer as bright as it had been. Now Jesus had prophesied in Luke 21 verses 25 and 26, there'll be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth nations will be an anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, defensive of what is coming on the world for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. And this is what we're seeing. And in the midst of all of this, and I can't imagine, frankly, I can't imagine how much terror this would be provoking people to, how unusually fearsome this would be. In the midst of all of this is an angel. And he's saying judgment is just starting. It's getting worse. These three woes that you see here, woe, woe, woe. When I read it today, I thought, woe, woe, woe your boat, but that's not what it is. I was tired. It says woe, woe, woe. Each woe is representing a trumpet. Three woes, three trumpets. Now in 2 Peter 3, 11 through 15, I'll close with this. The apostle said, since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed it's coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, a home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation. What manner of life ought we to live? What kind of people are you to be? If you believe these things, there's your problem, isn't it? I'm not saying this about anybody in particular. I'm making a general statement. I certainly would never bring a judgment on anybody. God knows I don't have the right to do that. I think within myself this and I can apply this to myself. If I really believe these things, what manner of life ought I to be living? I mean, if I really, really believe this. Been around for a while, seen a lot of notebooks filled with notes. I have more than one Bible filled with scribblings on the margins. I remember Raul one time. He said, write this on the margarine of your Bible. No, Raul, it's the margarine, not the margarine. That's true. I'm not kidding. You've written this on the margarine of your Bible. No, I'll write it on the margarine. I didn't bring any margarine with me. I do have some butter. He makes me laugh to this day. He makes me laugh. Notebooks filled with notes. Does that matter? Does that matter? Notebooks filled with notes. Bibles. If I showed you my Bible, my Bible's filled with notes. All through it. Does that matter? No, you know what matters? The notes have to be in my heart. They have to be here. During the time of the early church, when Caesar Nero was emperor, there were charges lodged against believers, a variety of them. Believers were cannibals. They would say that about us. And the reason they would say Christians are cannibals is because we eat communion, bread and juice. And so the pagans would say they're actually eating flesh. They're eating the body and drinking blood of a human being is how they misinterpreted communion services. And so they said they're cannibals. They said that we're incestuous. That was a charge. They're incestuous. How could we be incestuous? Well, because they marry someone they call brother or they call sister. So they're incest. These people are anti-family. These are actual charges. These people are anti-family. How did we become anti-family when we celebrate family? No, they are anti-family because when one comes of faith in this Messiah, it often causes the husband or wife to not want to be with them any long. Therefore, they are destroying homes by this faith called Christianity. These are haters of humankind. Why? Because they don't go. They're anti-social. They do not go to our festivals. They don't go to our bars. They don't go to the entertainment places that we all go to. They are anti-social and they hate mankind because they want nothing to do with us because they won't party with us. The church of that day was known for being separated from the world and separated to God. They were known for that. Finally, one of the writers, Pliny, said, behold how they love one another. There's something different about these people. What was it? You know what they said? Pagans. Rather, it was Tacitus. They said, they love each other. There's something different about these people. Listen, in the early church, the quality of meekness was a virtue that pagans hated because they didn't think that you would stand up for yourself. They thought you were weak when you were meek. It was looked at as being something disgusting like it is today. Turn your other cheek to somebody who insults you and they think you're just a punk. That's today. It hasn't changed. When you bite your tongue and bless those who curse you, they look at you as a pushover. You're so weak. It hasn't really changed, guys. And Peter says this. He said, listen, if you really believe that the end is near, then it ought to be showing up in the way you live. Jesus said, in the last times people are going to think, oh, his delaying is coming. He hasn't shown up. He says they begin to eat and drink, eat the other servants. They begin to live, in other words, in the world because God didn't arrive on their timetable. Listen, if I really believe Christ is coming, each day that he didn't show up is a day nearer to when he will show up. And I live like I expect him to be here today. Guess what? I'll wake up tomorrow if I do and he didn't show up. He's going to show up today. If he didn't show up, then he'll show up the next day because it's always really today anyway, right? When is it not today? So he's coming anytime. How should we live? As if we believe that.