YES IN HIM!!!

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. --2 Corinthians 1:20

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

I so love this verse.  What a kindness of God that by His sovereignty and perfect will I am here today in my study of God's Word. Today, knowing that my mom's time here on earth may be ending...knowing that she is suffering. Praying God's perfect will for her.  Praying for her knowing that He does not want any of us to perish but desires that all come to life in His Son.  

I will start with this verse from Luke 24.

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

Jesus has fulfilled the law. He has fulfilled what was written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. As fully God and fully man, the Son lived a life of perfect obedience to His Father and conquered sin and death by dying in our stead on the Cross at Calvary.  He who knew no sin became sin for us.  In rising from the dead He became the Just and the Justifier and the Author of eternal salvation for all who put their trust in Him. 

Galatians 3 that asks this important question...What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made;

The purpose of the law was to show us our inability to keep it.  None of us could possibly earn salvation or keep the standards of the law.  Even if I love the Lord with all my heart and I do...I cannot keep all His commandments...in my flesh I still sin. 

For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Here is the very good news. Jesus is the Seed that was promised. He is the better Hope by which we can draw near to God. There is nothing dependent on me or on you.  It is all taken care of in Jesus Christ.  All we need do is believe.

and more from Chapter 7 of Hebrews...

22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them....For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

Jesus is the surety of a better covenant.  He continues forever and has an unchangeable priesthood.  He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.  Jesus is the word of the oath, which came after the law...The Son who has been perfected forever!

If we are in Christ, we can find shelter in each and every promise of God.  Jesus is the perfect One...He is perfect truth, perfect love, and perfect obedience.  He is our perfect Savior. We who are in Him are in the ark of safety.  Me, a foolish and weak sinner can be justified by His grace and made perfect in His love.

All God’s OT and NT promises of peace, joy, love, goodness, forgiveness, salvation, sanctification, fellowship, hope, glorification, and heaven are made possible and fulfilled in Him.  God the Father will always say yes to the Son and He will always affirm what the Son says.  We who believe wear the righteousness of Christ.  When God sees us, He sees His Son. All the promises of God are yes to the Son and because we are in Christ, yes to us!

Praying that each of us will abide under the shelter of His wing...despite how the storms might be raging all around us....There is nothing to fear in Christ. Perfect Love casts out all fear.  

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

Love

Mom

WYSIWYG....

For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. ¹³ For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end ¹⁴ (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.--2nd Corinthians 1:10-14


WYSIWYG....What you see is what you get.  The word sincere here means without wax.  Wax?  Wax was used to hide defects in pottery or statues.  When the heat of the sun hit, it became evident because the wax would melt.  Paul tells the Corinthians that he has lived a life of godly sincerity before them.  A life with no wax.  He did not try to deceive them or hide anything from them...he was open and transparent.  Ah...to live a life by the grace of God...the unmerited favor and merciful kindness that our God uses to gently exert His holy influence on our souls and turn us to Him.  My God strengthens me with the things of eternity...the things that last...the truth. He is without wax. He strengthens me by the work of His grace and merciful loving kindness to stay the course and endure to the end.  All glory to Him only...forever and ever! 


Continuing on to verse 14 Paul tells the Corinthians that he knows they recognize and understand if only partially that they are each other's boasting.  The more they read, heard and understood Paul's instructions to them, the greater their understanding would be that they would be each other's "treasures" in the day of Christ. They would be each other's reason to be proud.  Paul longed for the day when they would rejoice over each other in glory.  One commentator used 2nd Corinthians 5:16-17 to illuminate what Paul is trying to say.  Truly it blessed my heart and and I will end with it. 


Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

Paul did not regard fellow believers according to the flesh.  He saw them not with all their bangs, dents and scrapes but he attempted to see them with the eyes of God who sees us not as we are now but in our glorified state!  How wonderful if my own eyes worked this way!

Lord, let me see the work of your Spirit in the lives of those believers you have so graciously placed in my life.  Let me see them with your eyes...how they will look when they stand before you in glory.  Let me see beyond the eyes of sight that focus and zero in on sin and imperfection and see with the eyes of faith.  Let me see them as Paul saw the Corinthians...in the light of your glory and grace.  

Love

Mom who sees each of you with the eyes of faith.

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun ea good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.--Philippians 1:6-8

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.--2nd Timothy 1:12

Finally, there is laid up for me othe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous pJudge, will give to me qon that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.--2nd Timothy 4:8

For kwhat is our hope, or joy, or lcrown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the mpresence of our Lord Jesus Christ nat His coming? For you are our glory and joy.--1Thessalonians 2:19-20

Reaching the End of Yourself...

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰who delivered us from so great a death, and does^[a] deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, ¹¹ you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our^[b] behalf for the gift granted to us through many.--2nd Corinthians 1:8-11


To My Daughters,


We really cannot be sure here of which trial it is that Paul speaks of...he went through many.  This one, however, burdened him beyond measure, above strength and he despaired even of life.  This was a big one.  This was one where he felt he had the sentence of death in himself and through it God taught him not to trust in himself but in His God, who brings life from the dead!  


At one point or another in all of our lives, God brings us to the point where we do come to the end of ourselves and sometimes, like Paul, despair of even life itself.  God used this kind of time in my life to bring me to His Son so that my darkest hour became the hour of my greatest hope.  My God illuminated my darkness and even now, as a believer, He uses the night seasons of my life to encourage me to trust in Him and not in myself.  Most of us like to solve our problems ourselves. God wants us to rely solely on Him and will use trials to bring us to the point where we "see" with heart knowledge that our hope is in Him and in Him alone. It is truly the greatest moment of our lives when we say, "God, I am tired of trusting in myself.  I want you to rule and reign in me.  I want you to work in my heart and conform me to your image."  Man's weakest moment becomes His greatest triumph, when he trusts God to deliver him and see him through.


Our God, girls, can bring the dead back to life.  He has revived me time and time again. Trust Him to work in your life.  


who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,


He has delivered us, He is delivering us and He will continue to deliver us! Past, present and future deliveries guaranteed.  How great is that?  Remember how He has seen you through in the past.  He is faithful.  He will do it again.


you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.


Paul sees his deliverance as being helped by the prayers of many. Pray for others...intercede on their behalf...bear their burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ...ask others to do the same for you. 


Prayer glorifies God.  It thanks Him for His perfect work in our lives, it thanks Him for His sovereignty and it changes our hearts. Prayer is an act of humility.  When we pray, we acknowledge our own helplessness before God and our desperate need for Him.  Praying helps us to put aside self rule and submit to God and His plans.  It reminds us of where our true help comes from and makes us thankful.  James tells us that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  Prayers is a part of the delivery process.   Pray.


Love
Mom

MORE ON COMFORT

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.--2nd Corinthians 1:5-7

To My Daughters,

There is so much "comfort" in these three verses!  Here is what they tell us. 

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

The comforts of Christ will be equal to any suffering you endure for Him.   Paul is not talking here about the suffering of Christ on the cross for our sins...the atoning sufferings of Christ.  He is talking about the kind of suffering a believer faces because he names the name of Christ.  If you are truly His, you will suffer for His namesake.  You will perhaps face rejection, hatred, betrayal, persecution and more.  Read Isaiah 53...read the Gospels...Christ endured them all! He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He has gone before us and can comfort and console us like no other!  God, as your Father, suffers when His children endure affliction.  He assures us, however, that His love will comfort, console and strengthen us during these times and it will be enough.  His grace will be sufficient and we will be able to do all things through Him who strengthens us.  THAT is a beautiful picture. One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture comes to mind here.  

In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.--Psalm 94:19  

How beautiful is that.

Verse 6:

Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 

I love this too...so both my sufferings and my comfort are for the strengthening and consolation of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who have gone through hard times, trials and tribulations are best equipped to speak comfort and encouragement to those that are facing similar circumstances. Paul uses the word salvation here.  I don't think he is talking about the salvation of their souls. I think he is saying that they would have the strength to endure through whatever they were facing. They would see the comfort and grace Paul received and know that God would do similarly for them in their own trials and tribulations.  The same is true for me when I read the word of God and see those that went before me....the cloud of witnesses so to speak.  I see the consolation they received and am encouraged to endure and stay the course, knowing that His grace is truly sufficient and knowing that heaven (the salvation of my soul) is just around the bend.   

And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

Here is the verse that comforted me the most today as I meditated on it. There are so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering much for His namesake and are a beautiful testimony to those God has placed in their lives of His grace and mercy.  My hope for them can be steadfast.  As they partake of the sufferings of Christ, they will also partake of the consolation.  His comfort will be equal to their need.  His grace will be sufficient.  Sometimes my heart gets overwhelmed when I see a sister or brother in Christ in deep grief or pain.  What a comfort for me to remember this verse.  God is there in the midst.  Sufferings do not come alone...the consolations of God follows and accompanies them!  

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Psalm 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me  All the days of my life; 

 And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

Love

Mom

The God of all Comfort!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.--2nd Corinthians 1:3-7


To My Daughters,


Aside from knowing that my salvation is assured and that heaven awaits this is my most favorite part of knowing God.  I do not need my thumb...I do not need my blanket...I HAVE GOD WHO IS ALWAYS WITH ME!!!  I have God who has gone through and understands all my trials and my woes.  He is my first thought when i wake up and my last thought before I sleep.  He commands His lovingkindness toward me in the day and His song is with me at night. Nothing can separate me from Him and His love...and He changes not!!  


God uses our trials and troubles and through them gives us a heart of compassion for others as they go through the trials of this life. Be you a believer or a non believer, you will suffer in this life.  We live in a fallen world amongst fallen people. Believers have the assurance that God works all that they go through for their good and His glory! 


People who have not gone through betrayal, the loss of a loved one, financial difficulties or physical pain and suffering, find it difficult to comfort someone who is suffering. As believers, if we desire to be used by God to comfort others and identify with Jesus, we will suffer. This suffering will work the image of Jesus on our hearts and enable us to minister His mercies and love to those He places in our path. We can say to them as I am saying to you...Put your faith in God.  He will do for you as He has done for me in my times of trial.  He will be your shelter and your hiding place...the One who changes not and never leaves you nor forsakes you.  He will be the One who perfects all that concerns you and performs all things for you.  


We do not have to live our lives fearful of what is coming at us around the bend.  Our God is for us, who can be against us.  By His grace and His power we can have joy through the adversities we face and be a testimony to His comfort, care and grace for all around.   


Beloved, taste and see that the Lord is good.  Accept Him now as your Lord and your Savior.  Watch as you find His comfort waiting for you in every cranny of your life...in every trial, in every storm and in every challenge.  The God of mercy awaits you.  Experience His faithfulness and mercy firsthand and then by His grace comfort others with the comfort you have received.  Assure them of His faithfulness...assure them of His love. 


Love
Mom

But for the Grace of My God...

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.--1 Corinthians 15:9-10


To My Daughters,


1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.


Paul declares himself here to be the least of the apostles who is not worthy to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church of God....God's people.  Paul had made similar declarations...


For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.--1 Corinthians 15:9


To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,--Ephesians 3:8


This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15


The least of the apostles...the least of the saints and the chief of sinners....that is how Paul identified himself.  Now if that is how Paul identifies himself how can I possibly think of myself any differently!  The more Paul knew and saw of the beauty, grace and majesty of God the more he saw himself for who he really was...a sinner saved by the grace of His God. 


1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, 


In the Book of Exodus God identifies Himself this way:  "I AM WHO I AM."  Our God is the Becoming One, He becomes whatever our need.  


Then in Exodus 34 He describes Himself:


Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. ⁶ And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” 


Girls, the God we serve is a God of perfect justice but at the same time He is a God of mercy!  He is known for His mercy. Justice is getting what we deserve.  According to God's law, we all deserve death and eternal punishment.  I DO NOT want justice, I want mercy.  I want to be spared judgment.  When I believed on Him who died in my stead, I was justified.  I put on not my own righteousness, but Christ's. I am, according to the Bible, a joint heir with Christ.  That is grace..not just being spared the judgment I deserve but getting blessings that I do not deserve.  


Do you understand now why Paul said it is only by the grace of God that I am who I am? He knew what and who he was without God.  The more he knew of what he truly deserved the more he understood the glorious gifts God was bestowing upon Him. Paul had experienced His Lord's forgiveness, long suffering and grace.   How then could Paul cry out for justice for anyone else if he himself had received such mercy.  


If you are praying for God to bring judgment upon someone who is doing you some evil, then you are not praying according to the will of God and you do not understand grace. Whatever you are it is by the grace of your God! God suffers long and bears with our sin.  God's will is that no one should perish but all should come to life in His Son. Pray that His goodness will lead not just those you love to repentance but also those that are your enemies.  Pray for His richest blessing, which is salvation, upon them and their families. Pray that He would give you the grace to love them with His love.  


1 Corinthians 15:10 and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.


This attitude of Paul's is 180 degrees different then the attitude he had prior to his conversion. There was a time when he thought he was something. Here is what he says in the 3rd chapter of the Book of Philippians.


though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.--Philippians 3:4-6


All of Paul's credentials he says meant nothing.  He may have looked righteous on the outside but on the inside his heart was black and full of sin. All his attempts to earn God's grace and approval that might have elevated him in the eyes of men, were a waste of time.  He saw them as rubbish when compared to the excellencies of the true knowledge of God. 


The life Paul lived after his conversion was in response to the goodness and grace God had bestowed upon him. He could live it no other way. Paul understands that he was a billboard for HIS God's grace and mercy for others to see, marvel and perhaps turn from their own futile ways to God.   The works we do should be the inevitable outcome and outflow of the love that He has poured out in our hearts.  If you understand grace you will understand that there is no other acceptable response to God but wholehearted commitment and service.  


Serving God, girls should not be a have to...if it is there is something wrong with your view and understanding of God and the grace you have been shown.  Serving God should be a complete and utter "get to" from start to finish.  This is why all of us who believe are still here...to show the glory and light of God to others through our words and our life.  


Love 
Mom

Being Carried On...By Anna

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

It is in our nature to move on. We may not do it consciously—we may not even want to—but, eventually, we do. The wound does not just stop hurting altogether—Time cannot ‘heal’ it, but it does act as an anesthetic. Instead of the soul-hurt continually throbbing in agony, the pain decreases gradually, almost infinitesimally, till one day you wake up and realize you’re still alive; you’re not dead, the hurt didn’t kill you…you’re not as broken as you thought. God didn’t design us to wallow in pain for the rest of our lives. We’re just not constructed that way. No matter how bad the knock-out blow was, eventually we get to our feet again.      Occasionally, you ‘pick at the scab’ a little too much, or you strain your stitches, so to speak, and the pain returns. But only for a little while—twinges, every now and then, when something reminds you a little too much of what (or who) you’ve lost.

But I think that, in one way, having those you have lost still be alive hurts worse. I strongly doubt there will be any recriminations in heaven, and besides, unless you murder yourself, it is not physically possible to rejoin your loved one(s). To put it simply, it would not be your fault you cannot be with them. And it’s not mine either. But at times it feels that way. It feels as though I am betraying those I would die for by this unconscious ‘moving on’, that I have callously left those who I swore I never would, that every time I love someone else I am forgetting those who I loved first, or, worse, I am merely using these new loves as replacements (and I’m fairly certain that’s rather sick). I feel as though any gift I am making should be for my lost loved ones, not the ones that God has given me now. I feel that I should have their picture up in every corner of my room, that I should never let them go, that I should never let myself heal.

Of course, knowing we’re supposed to move on doesn’t mean (a), that well-intentioned people telling us that we’re supposed to move on, or we’re taking this too hard, or we’re being too protective of the loved one(s) we have left, is any less hurtful, and (b), it doesn’t mean that moving on doesn’t hurt like hell (if you’ll pardon the expression, but even, say, having an anvil dropped on your head doesn’t quite seem to cover the agony involved, so that was the closest simile I could come up with).  I am moving on—not quite consciously, and I rather suspect that I stupidly drag my feet and kick and scream whenever God tries to lead me away from my place of pain—and every time I do, it feels as though I am betraying the ones I’ve lost. Mum told me that spouses, when they lose the other to death, if they eventually remarry, struggle with the same sense of guilt.

Just yesterday, in fact, we were driving home from church and I suddenly burst into tears in the backseat. (A thirty-or-forty minute drive, about 2/3 of it spent in violent sobbing all over my sister’s pink sweater—which she was gracious enough to forget about—without the saving grace of tissues anywhere in the car. Imagine.)

The funny thing is, I’d had a brilliant time. But I’d strained my stitches. I’d picked the scab. And I’d discovered I’m still very new to this business of moving on.

Lucky for me, my younger sister—the pink-sweater one—saw my distress and instantly switched seats, scooting closer to me and burying her face in my—well, her—pink sweater in an attempt to comfort me. (Of course, her motives were not entirely  altruistic…there was an extremely volatile stinkbug-hitchhiker at her end of the car. J All in all, it was a pretty nerve-racking ride.)

I will always love them, and I won’t ever forget them—I never could, not if I lived a hundred thousand years on this fallen earth (which I really hope I don’t). But, as my other sister kindly explained—nearly dislocating her wrist in the process…she was sitting in the front seat and reached her hand around to crying me in the seat behind her—it would be truly wrong NOT to move on, not to love others, not to have joy and life again. It would be wrong to focus entirely on what I’ve lost and not spare a thought for what my Savior has so graciously given me in return. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

See, I woke up one day and I realized that I wasn’t sucked dry, that I wasn’t empty, that I wasn’t broken—anymore. I’d been all these things, but He’d restored me. He’d filled me up over and over again. He’d picked up all my pieces and put me back together again.  (And He did it so gently I didn’t even need Novocaine.) He did a new thing; better than what I had before. It sprang forth so swiftly, so easily, just when I needed it the most—and I didknow it. He made a road—He WAS the road—for me in the wilderness of my grief. He gave rivers of His comfort to drink from in the desert of hopelessness that I get stuck in all too often.

You know what the best bit is? I don’t have to ‘move on’ on my own.

Because He carries me forward.

Revelation 8 and 9 Notes...

¹ When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. ³ Then another angel, having a golden censer, 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. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 


There is a pause in heaven at the opening of the seventh seal before the first trumpet sounds.  This seal comes with an earthquake, the seven trumpet judgments and the seven bowl judgments which roll out from the seventh trumpet judgment.  (Still with me) The silence "heard" in heaven is the calm before the storm. All voices are stopped as the awesomeness of the judgment that is about to occur is contemplated.  The prayers of all the saints are offered upon the golden altar of God which is before His throne and the judgments to come are God's answer. (see Revelation 5:8)  His Kingdom is coming! 

⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

There is the earthquake...

⁶ So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The trumpet judgments are more severe than the seal judgments but not as destructive as the bowl judgments that are coming.  They occur in the final 3.5 years of the tribulation.  The first four affect the earth itself...the last three affect its inhabitants and are demonic in nature. 

The First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

⁷ The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth.^[a] And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.


The Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck


Then 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. ⁹ And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.


The Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck


¹⁰ Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.


The Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck


¹² Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. 


And as if it was necessary, read the last verse of chapter 8:


¹³ And I looked, and I heard an angel^[b] 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!”


Three woes...three more trumpet soundings...worst than the first four.


Chapter 9


Fifth Trumpet: The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit


¹ Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. ² And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. ³Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. ⁶ In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
⁷ The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. ⁸ They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹ And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wingswas like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. ¹¹ And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. 


This star is an angelic being...maybe Satan himself who releases "demonic locusts" who were given the power to torture the inhabitants of the earth (but not kill) for five months. They were only to harm men who do not have the seal of God upon their forehead.  Those tormented by these creatures will find no relief...they will seek relief in death but dying will not be an option. 


One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.

The Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates


¹³ Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For their power^[a] is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. 


These are fallen angels that were bound and are released to kill a third of mankind.  I am seeing God's sovereignty here....how about you? 


"So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind."


Final Words of Chapter 9:


²⁰ But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. ²¹ And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries^[b] or their sexual immorality or their thefts.


Unbelievably those that remain who were not killed by these plagues will not repent.