The 6th Trumpet; Demonic Army Kills One-Third of Mankind. Rev. 9:12-21

Revelation 9:12 ^NASB “The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things. [13] Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.” What is the significance of this? We will look at it in terms of three things. First, understanding the shadow reality imagery used of the earthly tabernacle and the heavenly tabernacle or temple. There is this emphasis in Scripture that that which was created in the earthly tabernacle or temple is merely a shadow of an ultimate real temple or tabernacle that exists in heaven. This is not to suggest that there is a whole temple in heaven, that there is a building like a temple there. The word that is used in Revelation is the word naos [naoj] which refers to the inner sanctum, but there are the figures or the furniture there. There is reference to the altar that is before the throne of God that is in heaven. The shadow is what we have in the tabernacle and it depicts many things about the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The furniture that we have seen inside the tabernacle speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, we have to understand the role of the altar of incense, and third, how the altar of incense is used and depicted in the book of Revelation.

Acts 7:44 ^NASB “Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed {him} to make it according to the pattern which he had seen.” The word “testimony relates to the Ten Commandments, that testimony of God’s favour on Israel, the covenant He made with them in the wilderness. Moses was shown a blueprint pattern related to the order and organisation of these pieces of furniture in heaven. He saw the prototype, the heavenly tabernacle, and it was on the basis of that that he constructed the earthly tabernacle.

Hebrews 8:2, 5 ^NASB “a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man…. who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned {by God} when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, ‘SEE,’ He says, ‘THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.’” Verse 2 refers to Christ’s priesthood and it is not a reference to Moses’ tabernacle in the wilderness but to that heavenly dwelling place (“tabernacle” means a dwelling place). This is talking about the dwelling of God, His throne room in heaven. Verse 5 – the earthly tabernacle is just a copy, a shadow, a vaguer resemblance to this ultimate reality in heaven.

Hebrews 9:11 ^NASB “But when Christ appeared {as} a high priest of the good things to come, {He entered} through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation.” This is talking about the ascension when He is taken to heaven and He enters that heavenly dwelling place of God that is referred to as the throne room of God in Revelation as well as the heavenly temple and tabernacle.

In the book of Revelation there are multiple references to the throne room of God as the heavenly temple. The fact that there are so many of these tells us how important they must be. Revelation 7:15 ^NASB “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.” This is referring to the martyrs that are in heaven, those who are martyred during the Tribulation period. Revelation 11:1, 19 ^NASB “Then there was given me [John] a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, ‘Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.’…. And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” Revelation 13:6 ^NASB “And he [the first beast] opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, {that is,} those who dwell in heaven.” Revelation 14:15, 17 ^NASB “And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’… And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.” Revelation 15:5, 6 ^NASB “After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean {and} bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes…. [8] And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.” Revelation 16:1 ^NASB “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God’.”

All of this is important because it shows us the connection between the altar of incense and the ark of the covenant. Notice that there are only two pieces of furniture related to the tabernacle or temple that are mentioned in the heavenly dwelling place—the ark of the covenant and the altar of incense, because they are so intimately connected with one another. That was seen every year in the celebration at Yom Kippur. Actually, Yom Kippur was the only one of the annual pilgrimage feasts of Israel that was not a time of celebration in the way of coming together and having more of a festive attitude. It was a time of fasting, a time that was one of reflection upon the sin of the nation and God’s deliverance and solution to that sin problem. So we can’t think about the altar of incense apart from its significance on the Day of Atonement.

That brings us to an understanding of this word “atonement.” It comes from the English phrase at-one-ment, emphasising reconciliation, bring two disparate parties together. So the word “atonement” emphasises only one aspect of the work of Christ which is reconciliation. However when we look at the Day of Atonement we also wee that there is a sacrifice of a sin offering, and a sin offering for the nation, and the blood was taken into the Holy of Holies by the high priest and was applied one drop or smear on the mercy seat, sprinkled or splattered on the floor in the front of the mercy seat, and the indication of this blood sacrifice emphasises a payment. The theological word that comes out of the Scripture that emphasises the payment of a price is the word “redemption.” Redemption is distinguished from reconciliation in the New Testament but redemption is listed in many dictionaries as the one meaning of atonement. What we see in this word “atonement” is a general word that really incorporates all of the different facets of Christ’s work on the cross. So the blood sacrifice relates to the payment of a price, that is, redemption. Then we see that the mercy seat itself, the lid of the ark of the covenant, is made of one piece and on it are two cherubs associated with the righteousness and the justice of God sitting over the box of the ark of the covenant in which were originally the tablets of the law, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the manna from heaven; all of which related to events in Israel’s history where they had sinned and rejected the provision of God—His provision of the law, His provision of a leader, a high priest in Aaron, and the provision of sustenance in the manna. So when that blood is applied it is a picture of the fact that God’s righteousness and justice are satisfied by that payment price.

Every year, from one Yom Kippur to the next, Israel would amass a number of sins and trespasses against God and against the law. This is a pile of debt that has accumulated and by satisfying God’s righteousness He will then cancel the debt. The cancellation of that debt is referred to by two different words that were used to describe this, expiation and forgiveness. Forgiveness in the Scripture is the idea of completely wiping out a debt, completely removing a debt. It is not simply the idea of not having to suffer consequences. It is the cross that solves the problem. Sin is solved by unlimited atonement. The key thing here is that it is unlimited and that means that Christ paid for all sin. Paul states in Colossians 2:12-14 that the certificate of our debt was nailed to the cross. It is a past tense verb, that means that at the instant as the instant Christ paid the penalty He paid it in full; the debt was wiped out. The penalty for sin is paid for through redemption. Then we see that the problem of the character of God is resolved by propitiation, expiation and forgiveness.

We also see this altar mentioned in other passages. Revelation 6:9 ^NASB “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.” This is a reference to believers during the Tribulation who are killed, executed, tortured for their faith in Jesus Christ. So when they go to heaven with their intermediate body they are under the altar of incense. And this is depicted again as their prayers going up to God, and they are praying that God would bring an end to the evil on planet earth and to execute His judgment against the Antichrist. And God says: “Wait, it is not time.” In chapter 8:3 we see again this angel coming and holding this golden censer by the golden altar. ^NASB “…and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.” This is the prayer of the martyred saints for vindication and judgment during the Tribulation period. And when the angel takes the censer and fills it with fire from the altar and throws it to the earth that is showing that God is now beginning that final process of bringing about that judgment and answering that prayer.

We see this again in 9:13 ^NASB “Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.” This connects to those previous passages indicating this is part of the answer to those prayers. Revelation 16:7 ^NASB “And I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments’.” So when we hear the voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, this is the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb who is the one overseeing these judgments bringing about the final answer to this particular prayer.

Revelation 9:14 ^NASB “one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’” These four angels are four demons, not elect angels. That had been bound there since some time in the past for this particular moment. [15] “And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.” How much more precise can we be? There is a precise hour on a particular month of a particular year. That is when they will be released, and God knows when that time will be and it is in the period of the Tribulation. They will kill a third of mankind. This is remarkable in terms of the slaughter and the death that occurs during the Tribulation period. Remember that is was in the seal judgments that a quarter of those on the earth perished, and that is not counting those who died in the wars and the famines and the other events that occurred during the seal judgments. Then during the first part of the trumpet judgments there are various other events that occur and each involves also many human beings dying during that time. Then we come to this sixth judgment where a third of those left are killed. This means that somewhere beyond half of the human race is killed during the first half of the Tribulation period.

Revelation 9:16 ^NASB “The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.” Actually this doesn’t mean 200-million. It is the Greek dismuriades muriadon [dismuriadej muriadwn]: “myriad of myriads.” It is two times myriads of myriads. It is an uncountable number, and extremely high number but not a specific number. Millions upon millions of demons are released at that particular time.

Revelation 9:17 ^NASB “And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: {the riders} had breastplates {the color} of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.” Some translate “hyacinth” as a deep reddish black colour, like fire; others take it to be more of a blue-black. Fire and brimstone in Scripture are specifically related with the judgment of God. The ferocity is expressed by the imagery of the horses having heads like lions, “and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.”

Revelation 9:18, the fulfilment of their mission. ^NASB “A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. [19] For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.” Notice that in the previous judgment the tails were like scorpions but in this army their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm. We can’t quite imagine what that looks like but they are going to be the source of tremendous death at this time towards the middle of the Tribulation period.

Revelation 9:20, the spiritual interpretation and impact. ^NASB “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands…” They don’t change their minds, they are still dead set in their rebellion against God. They will not submit to His authority; they resist Him; and they are not going to change from worshipping demons. “… so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.” That doesn’t mean they are actually bowing down and worshipping a physical representation of a demon. Demon influence is thinking like Satan thought, operating on arrogance. [21] “and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.” There is no recognition that they are in violation of God and His authority.

Joel 2:12 tells us that God continues to reach out in grace—a passage that foreshadows the end-time day of the Lord. ^NASB “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; [3] And rend your heart and not your garments….” Ultimately it is not the physical act, it is the change of mind. “…Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.” The Lord is able to forgive because Christ paid the penalty for sin. There is no sin too great for the grace of God.

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