Edited May 31, 2005

© Rich Nathan 2005

Are You Ignoring God’s Warnings? Rich Nathan

May 28-29, 2005 Revelation: Looking at Life From the Perspective of Heaven Series

Revelation 8 and 9

One of the most amusing features of life in 21st century America is that as a

result of lawsuits and the fear of lawsuits, manufacturers have put the silliest

warning labels on various products. Have you seen some of these? Let me read

to you some of the most ridiculous actual warning labels:

INDIVIDUAL SLIDES on TWO LINES

• Warning on Fireplace Log

Caution: Risk of Fire

• Warning on an Electric Router Made for Carpenters

Caution: This Product Not Intended for Use as a Dental Drill

• Warning on a Bag of Peanuts

Caution: Contains Nuts

• Warning on Frozen Dinners

Serving Suggestion: Defrost

• Warning on a Hotel Shower Cap

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Caution: Fits One Head

• Warning on Nytol Nighttime Sleep-Aid

Caution: May Cause Drowsiness

• Warning on a Cartridge for a Laser Printer

Caution: Do Not Eat Toner

• Warning on a Conair Pro-Style 1600 Hairdryer

Caution: Do not use in shower. Never use while sleeping.

• Warning on a Silly Putty Package

Caution: Not for use as earplugs

• Warning on a Baby Stroller

Caution: Remove child before folding

• Warning for a Household Iron

Caution: Never iron clothes while they are being worn.

• Warning for a Hand-Held Massager

Caution: Don’t use while sleeping or unconscious.

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• Warning for the Cardboard Sunshield

Caution: Do not drive with shield in place.

• Warning for Toilet Bowl Cleaning Brush

Caution: Do not use orally.

• Warning on a Pair of Dice

Caution: Not for human consumption

• Warning in the Manual of a Chainsaw

Caution: Do not attempt to stop the blade with your hand.

• Warning on a TV Remote Controller

Caution: Not dishwasher safe.

Of course, some warnings are to be taken much more seriously. For example,

the American Heart Association regularly publishes the warning signs of a heart

attack. From an American Heart Association Booklet, signs that might indicate a

heart-attack:

SLIDES

• Chest Discomfort – Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of

the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or pain that goes away and

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comes back. It can feel like an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing,

fullness, or pain.

• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain

or discomfort in one or both arms, back, neck, jar or stomach.

• Shortness of breath – This may occur with or without chest discomfort.

• Other signs include: Breaking out in a cold sweat

Nausea

Lightheadedness

• If you or someone with you has chest discomfort, especially with one or

more of the other signs, don’t wait more than a few minutes before calling

911. This is almost always the fastest way to get life-saving treatment.

Some of the saddest stories involve the ignoring of warnings of natural disasters.

We regularly read of people who refuse to evacuate coastal areas despite

repeated warnings of the coming of hurricanes. There have been folks who hold

hurricane parties on the beach and are then swept away by the storm surge.

The state of Washington recently commemorated the 25th Anniversary of the

eruption of Mount St. Helens. Listen to this newspaper report:

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“The four, their lungs filled with ash, were found inside their car after Mount St.

Helens erupted on May 18, 1980 with the force of a hydrogen bomb. Rescuers

also discovered a cassette by Ron and Barbara Seibold’s children, ages 7 and 9,

as the family drove toward the volcano. ‘They were goofing around – asking

whether or not they would see lava coming out of the mountain,’ said Jim

Thomas, an emergency worker at the time. ‘One asked if it was dangerous, and

both parents cheerfully reassured their kids that they would be safe.’ They

weren’t. Like the Siebold’s, most of the volcano’s 57 victims were caught in the

avalanche of boiling mud and ash in sections of the mountain considered safe for

camping and recreation. Most died of suffocation as ash filled their throats,

noses, and lungs.

On television the day after the eruption, then governor Dixie Lee Ray said most

of the victims had ignored official warnings and deliberately went into harm’s

way. President Carter echoed that comment saying: ‘One of the reasons for the

loss of life that has occurred is that tourists and other interested people, curious

people, refused to comply with the directives issued by the governor.’”

Perhaps the most tragic failure to heed repeated warnings involves the persistent

unwillingness of human beings to heed God’s warnings. We persistently break

God’s commandments despite his threats concerning the consequences of what

will happen. We rush through God’s stop signs. We reject God’s wisdom. We

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believe that we know better than God, that our ability to foretell the future is

greater than God’s, and we do so to our own peril.

Today, as we continue in this series from the book of Revelation, I am calling this

message: Are You Ignoring God’s Warnings? Revelation 8.

SLIDE

Rev 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Rev 8:3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. Rev 8:4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Rev 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. The Trumpets Rev 8:6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. Rev 8:7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. Rev 8:8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, Rev 8:9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. Rev 8:10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— Rev 8:11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

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Rev 8:12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, 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 turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. Rev 8:13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

In terms of the structure of the book of Revelation, we first read about Christ

opening six of the seven seals in Rev. 6. Then we read of the blowing of six of

the seven trumpets in Rev. 8 and 9. We are going to read about the seven bowls

of God’s wrath in Rev. 16. So there are seven seals; seven trumpets, and in a

few weeks we will read about seven bowls.

Now, I don’t believe that the events described in Revelation ought to be read in

chronological order. There clearly seems to be a recapitulation, a recycling of

the same judgments with this one difference. Every time the cycle comes around

there is an intensification of the judgment. So, for example, the first four trumpet

plagues that we read about in Revelation 8:7-12 strike the four major regions of

creation: dry land, the sea, fresh water, and the sky.

Now the trumpet blasts, we see, affect only one-third of the region. For example,

we read in v. 8,

SLIDE Rev 8:8 A third of the sea turned into blood, Rev 8:9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

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But when we get to Rev. 16 the bowls affect the same four regions – dry land,

the sea, fresh water, and the sky, there is an intensification of the judgment so

that all is destroyed. We read in Rev. 16:3.

SLIDE Rev 16:3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.

There is repetition in Revelation, but there is also intensification. Perhaps the

best illustration of what is going on in Revelation is the metaphor of a pregnant

woman who goes into labor. Jesus in Matthew 24 describes all the things that

are going to occur between his first coming and his second coming. He says in

Matthew 24:7-8,

SLIDE

Mt 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Mt 24:8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

As we look at our world, we see the wars, and famines, and earthquakes, and

floods that Jesus predicted. We recognize these things as creation’s labor pains.

But like labor pains, the wars and famines get sharper and sharper. There is an

intensification until creation cries out: The Lord has come back for his creation.

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The nearer we get to the second coming, the more intense the labor pains. We

ought to expect sharp pains right now followed by periods of seeming peace and

quiet. As the end draws near, there is a greater and greater intensity regarding

God’s judgments.

Now, from this chapter I think we can draw certain principles regarding God’s

warnings and judgments. First of all, many of God’s judgments are in response

to his people’s prayers. Rev. 8:1-5,

SLIDE Rev 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Rev 8:3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. Rev 8:4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Rev 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. The prayers of God’s people ascend into heaven. Prayers prayed in hospital

rooms. Prayers prayed in prisons. Prayers prayed in hiding places in basements,

refugee camps, and in battered women’s shelters. These prayers, sometimes no

more than groans, seem so unremarkable, but they are powerful. You won’t see

the media or journalists take note of these prayers. They never appear on CNN

or on the O’Reilly Factor, or in a New York Times headline. Yet every prayer

prayed in Christ’s name has earth-shattering potential.

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Once the prayers ascend into God’s presence, they return to earth with immense

force. To use Gene Peterson’s language, they come back as

”Reversed Thunder.” We read in v. 5 these words:

SLIDE Rev 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

The prayer re-enters human history with remarkable consequences. The entire

earth is shaken as a result of the prayers of God’s people. Do you believe that

prayers you pray would come back to earth as Reversed Thunder? Do you

believe God pays attention to your prayers and that your prayers can have earth-

shattering consequences?

Now, what were the prayers? Certainly, among the prayers were the prayers

prayed in Rev. 6:9-10,

SLIDE Rev 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. Rev 6:10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

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This army of martyrs, this 144,000, cry out to God for judgment and for

vengeance on those who have murdered them. God’s response comes as

reversed thunder. The earth is shaken.

One of the questions, of course, that we immediately need to deal with concerns

whether it is proper, whether it is appropriate, whether it is Christian to pray that

God would judge or avenge. Those of you who read your bibles have certainly

come upon prayers, particularly in the Psalms, what are called the “Imprecatory

Psalms” – psalms which call down curses and judgments upon one’s enemies.

And we ask: Could a Christian ever pray a psalm like Psalm 83:13-15?

SLIDE Ps 83:13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind. Ps 83:14 As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, Ps 83:15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.

Those of us who have never cried out for God’s judgment probably have not

been forced to rely upon it to achieve justice. It may be because we are strong,

or well off and you have the knowledge and the money and the clout to deal with

your enemies yourself. If you can’t understand how a Christian could ever pray a

prayer calling for judgment on an enemy, it is likely because you’ve never had to

do that. You’ve never had to appeal only to God for justice.

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Some of you in custody battles, or divorces, or estate fights - who have had your

financial resources exhausted - understand what it feels like to cry out to God for

justice. Some of you who have been abused by churches, where you have had

no voice, understand what it feels like to appeal to God for justice. Some of you

who have been crushed by people too strong for you, family members and

spouses, bosses, lawyers, corporations, classmates, and schools – you

understand why a man, woman, or child might cry out to God for justice and for

vengeance.

Now, our prayers need to be purified. The angel mixes the prayers of Christians

with incense to cleanse the prayers from all their impurities. We cannot assume

that our enemies are God’s enemies, as if we can recruit God onto our side of

every dispute. Our prayers need to be cleansed so that we get on God’s side.

The purification of prayer leads us to cry out not just that God would deal with our

enemies, but that God would deal with His enemies. The purification of our

prayer leads us to pray not that our kingdom would be established, but that God’s

kingdom would be established. The purification of our prayer leads us to pray for

the repentance and conversion of our enemies.

And so in Psalm 83:16, the psalmist prays:

SLIDE Ps 83:16 Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD.

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We want God to warn and to judge from heaven so that God’s enemies might be

converted through God’s discipline.

This leads to a second point. Many of God’s judgments are designed to bring

about repentance. The terrible things that we read about in Rev. 8 and 9 are not

final judgments. They are warnings. Revelation 8 and 9 is all about God warning

people – giving people another chance.

How do we know that? In Rev. 8 and 9 we read about seven angels that were

given seven trumpets. Rev. 8:2

SLIDE Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

And then from Rev. 8:6-9, we read about the angels blowing the trumpets.

Why was John given a vision of angels blowing trumpets? Now there are lots of

reasons for the blowing of a trumpet in the Old Testament. Unlike today, the

trumpet, or back then a ram’s horn, was not used as a musical instrument. When

you read of trumpets in the Bible, do not think of Louie Armstrong or Winston

Marsales. Trumpets existed to make a loud noise, to call people to attention.

Trumpets called people to pay attention to the anointing of a new king. They

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blew trumpets to mark off special celebrations. Trumpets announced times of

public worship and repentance.

One of the main purposes of the blowing of the trumpets was to warn people of

coming judgment. So, for example, we read in Ezekiel 33:1-6,

SLIDE Eze 33:1 The word of the LORD came to me: Eze 33:2 “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, Eze 33:3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, Eze 33:4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Eze 33:5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. Eze 33:6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’

The angels blow trumpets like the watchman in Ezekiel, to warn.

Why do we know that chapters 8 and 9 are warnings and not final judgments?

Because as we learned before, the judgment is only partial. As the result of the

blowing of the first five of the seven trumpets, only one-third of the earth, the sea,

the fresh water, the sky, and human beings suffer. The reason for this partial

judgment is to send a warning to the other two-thirds. (These numbers should

not be taken literally.)

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It is like what Jesus said when he was asked about some Galileans who were

murdered by Pontius Pilate. He said: “Do you think those Galileans were worse

sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? No, not at

all. But unless you repent, you, too, will all perish. Or those 18 who died when

the tower of Siloam fell on them. Do you think they were more guilty than all the

others living in Jerusalem? I tell you no. But unless you repent, you too will all

perish.”

I want to pause here for a moment. Let’s bring this into our world and our own

lives. Let’s apply what we are reading down to this moment, in this country.

A little less than four years ago we watched that terrible scene of two planes

striking the World Trade Center.

SLIDES – Photos #1 and #2

People around the New York area, and in fact, all over the world watched in

horror as the two towers burned before they collapsed.

SLIDE – Photo #3

And we saw those horrible scenes of people running from the collapsing towers.

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SLIDES – Photos #4, #5, and #6

How do we, as Christians, respond to the awfulness of what occurred? Certainly,

one thing that we as a nation appropriately did is that we responded with

compassion to the victims of that terrorist attack. Men and women from all over

America, and indeed, some from around the world, rushed to Ground Zero to try

to dig people out. Millions of dollars poured in including tens of thousands from

this church to assist the families of the victims of 9/11.

There is an aspect of an event like 9/11 that needs to be considered through the

lens of Rev. 8 and 9. Could the World Trade Center attack be a divine warning?

Consider what Jesus said in Luke 13:4-5,

SLIDE Lk 13:4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? Lk 13:5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Do you think these words have any relevance to the collapse of those great

towers in New York? Do you think that the devastation that we witnessed as a

result of that terrible Tsunami in Indonesia, for which we, along with so many

others, responded with compassion, could be a divine warning to the world? Or

the four hurricanes that hit Florida one after another – do you think that we ought

to see something of the trumpet blast warning us and calling us to repentance?

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Do you believe that these verses in Revelation have any relevance to our world,

to our time, to your life, or to mine?

Certainly, one of the things that we ought to read out of the terrible tragedies of

our time is that they are warnings for the rest of us of a second chance to avoid

future judgment.

Why do I believe that Rev. 8 and 9 is designed as a series of warnings to bring

about repentance? If you look at the first four judgments, three of them are

reminiscent of plagues brought on Egypt during the time of Moses. So, for

example, we read about the sounding of the first trumpet in v. 7,

SLIDE Rev 8:7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. The fire is likely a lightening storm. This finds its parallel in the hail and fire that

came down on Egypt as a result of the 7th plague.

The second trumpet, with its turning of the sea to blood, vv. 8-9,

SLIDE Rev 8:8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, Rev 8:9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

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This finds its parallel with the turning of the water to blood as a result of the first

plague that came upon Pharaoh and his court.

The blowing of the fourth trumpet resulted in darkness on the earth,

SLIDE Rev 8:12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, 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 turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. This finds its parallel in the 9th plague upon Pharaoh and his court.

Why is John giving a series of visions that are reminiscent of the plagues that

came upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians? Remember, one of the designs of the

plagues was to bring Pharaoh and his court to repentance. They were warnings.

And finally, if we still miss the message of Revelation 8 and 9, that God thunders

warnings from heaven to awaken us, to shock us, to cause us to fear, in order to

bring about our repentance, and give us another chance - we read about another

devastating judgment in Rev. 9 – the judgment of the locust plague. Rev. 9:1-11

SLIDE

Rev 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. Rev 9:2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.

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Rev 9:3 And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. Rev 9:4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Rev 9:5 They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. Rev 9:6 During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. Rev 9:7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Rev 9:8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. Rev 9:9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. Rev 9:10 They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. Rev 9:11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

Now, there are just a few things that I would like to draw out of this fascinating

text. We read here about a demonic plague of locust that seems to come up

from the fires of hell itself. This plague of locust is under the sovereign control of

God. V. 4,

SLIDE Rev 9:4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

In other words, the power of all of these terrible things that we read about in

Revelation is given by God. These things that happen are not by chance or

accident. It is God who permits them and God who limits them. Specifically,

these demonic locusts are prevented from harming those who are sealed by

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God. Just as the children of Israel were protected from the plagues that fell on

Egypt, so the church escapes the torments that arise from this demonic plague.

There is a separation that takes place in the book of Revelation concerning some

of the judgments that fall on the earth. We have already seen the that the people

of God experience many of the terrible things that happened to everyone else.

We are swept along with the rest of the world but there are some things in the

book of Revelation that God says: No, this shall not touch my people. One of

the things that he says that about is this demonic plague of locust.

Now, why does John have a vision of a locust plague? He is not seeing modern

attack helicopters, or anti-aircraft batteries, or tanks, or modern Strykers that are

being used in Iraq in battle in this plague. That is not what Rev. 9 is about. Why

the locust?

As a Jewish Christian, the author of the book of Revelation, John, keeps

reaching back into the Old Testament for images. John reached back into the

Old Testament in Rev. 8 concerning the plagues that fell on Egypt. John

reached back to the Old Testament to the book of Joel concerning the locust

plague. Joel was the prophet, who prophesied a coming locust plague that would

destroy everything in its path in Israel. In fact, a great parallel text to what you

read here in Rev. 9 is Joel 2.

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But there is a reason given in the book of Joel for this locust plague. It’s this.

Joel 2:12-13,

SLIDE Joel 2:12 “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Revelation 8 and 9 is entirely about God warning us in order to call us to

repentance. The trumpets warn. The partiality of the judgments warn. The

plagues reminiscent of Egypt warn. The locust plague, which parallel the locust

plague in Joel, warn.

I want to step back from the text for a moment to make one essential point that

we might miss. Many of God’s judgments and warnings ought to bring comfort to

God’s people.

One of the great difficulties that we 21st century Americans have with the whole

book of Revelation and, indeed, everything I’ve been talking about today, is that

we simply don’t have any room in our worldview or religious thinking for a God

who judges. If you read the general run of the mill letter to the editor, you will

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likely read an opinion about God that says something like: “I was appalled to

read the statements of Rev. So and So in the newspaper the other day, and

particularly his reference to God’s judgment. I do not believe in a God of

judgment. My God is a loving God. My God is a kind God. My God is a God of

grace.” In 21st century America, we virtually always set the love and grace of

God over against God’s warning and judgments. We believe that these two

things are polar opposites. We believe that God could not be angry and also be

loving.

How many of you struggle with the idea that a God of love could do the things we

read about in Revelation?

The biblical prophets did not view God’s anger and God’s love as polar

opposites. The biblical prophets saw God’s judgment as his caring, loving,

response to the wrongs done to people and to God as a result of human

wickedness. What the prophets declared was that judgment is not the opposite

of love, rather indifference is the opposite of love. Remaining neutral and

apathetic in the face of grave injustice, that is unloving. When God acts on

behalf of victims, when God steps in, when God bears his arm, and warns and

judges, he does so as an act of love and concern. He doesn’t shut off his

concern to show judgment. His judgment is a demonstration of his concern.

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We Christians believe in a God who is affected by what human beings do to each

other. As the great Jewish writer, Abraham Heschel said, “This is one of the

meanings of the anger of God: the end of indifference!”

I want to show you a brief movie clip from the movie Schindler’s List. It is a movie

about the Nazi Holocaust. But even more so, it is a movie about the end of

indifference and neutrality in the life of one man who is forced to see injustice.

SLIDE – Schindler’s List

How could Oscar Schindler, who watched this, be considered a decent man, a

loving man, a kind man and not go to work on behalf of the victims of this

atrocity? How could a just man remain neutral and out of the fray, if he did not

work on behalf of the victim? And even more, how could God observe what went

on in the Holocaust without getting angry and exercising judgment on the face of

the earth?

God’s warnings and judgments are a comfort to people of faith because they

communicate to us that God is affected by what people do. God’s warnings and

judgments are a comfort to people of faith because it communicates to us that

people are relevant to God. He is moved by our plight. He cares about right and

wrong. In the Bible, God’s display of anger always carries with it a call to repent

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and a welcome for those who will repent. God’s ultimate desire is to show mercy

and shower grace upon those who heed his warnings.

Sadly, despite all the warnings that we read of in Rev. 8 and 9, the warnings fall

on deaf ears. Many of God’s warnings do not produce repentance. Rev. 9:20-

21,

SLIDE

Rev 9:20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Rev 9:21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Why do we ignore God’s warnings? The simple answer is because we are

arrogant and proud. In our sinful pride we believe that we are always the

exceptions to the rule. How many times, friend, have you believed that you were

an exception to the rule? Oh, other people may have to pay a price, but not you.

Other people may need premarital counseling, but you and your fiancé don’t.

You are special. Your love is unique. Your situation is different than everyone

else’s. You are not like them. The angels in heaven weep as they see the love

that you have for your fiancé.

What could you possibly gain from premarital counseling?

© Rich Nathan 2005

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You are an exception to the rule. You can smoke and your lungs won’t get

emphysema. You can smoke and your body won’t get cancer.

You can refuse to forgive. You can hold a grudge and it won’t close you off from

God’s grace, even though Jesus said: If you won’t forgive, you won’t be forgiven.

But that doesn’t apply to you.

You can be neglectful or mean, or abusive and your spouse will still hang in there

in your marriage.

You alone can jump off the roof and not hit the ground. 999 other people may hit

the ground when they jump, but not you. When you jump, you are going to go

up.

Why do we ignore God’s warnings? Because we are proud. We say we can

handle this. Addicts do this all the time. “Oh sure, I’ve been told at AA meetings

that I cannot drink again. But I can handle one drink. One drink is not going to

push me off the wagon. I can handle this.”

Listen to teenagers arguing with their parents. “Mom, dad, why don’t you trust

me? I can handle dating someone five years older than me. I can handle friends

who do drugs. I am not going to do drugs. I am not going to get drawn in. I can

handle this.”

© Rich Nathan 2005

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Some of you who are followers of Christ have said: “I can handle dating a non-

Christian. I am not so stupid as to fall in love. I certainly am not going to get

married.”

In sinful pride we do not acknowledge our own weaknesses. In sinful pride, we

do not acknowledge the strength of the opposition arrayed against us. In sinful

pride, we don’t listen to warnings because we ultimately believe that we are

smarter than God and smarter than the whole church. Why do I not listen to

God’s warnings? It can only be because I am smarter than God. I believe I can

predict the future better than he can. I believe that I know better than God what

will ultimately make me happy. I believe I know better than God what will work

out in my life and what will bring misery. We believe we know ourselves better

than God knows us.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9-10,

SLIDE

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jer 17:10 “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”

© Rich Nathan 2005

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Friend, the truth is that we are deceived by our own hearts. We regularly fool

ourselves but God is never fooled by us. He knows you. You are not smarter

than God. And you are not smarter than all of God’s people put together. How

often God warns you and how often God warns me through his church: Don’t go

in that direction. This will result in your hurt. This will bring you down. This will

cause ruin to your life, to your kids, to your marriage, to your future. But in sinful

pride, we deceive ourselves into believing that we know better.

• I can ignore everyone else’s counsel to not marry and it will turn out great

for me.

• I can ignore everyone else’s counsel to not divorce, and it will turn out

great for me.

• I can ignore everyone else’s counsel to get help, to get counseling, and it

will turn out great.

• We can ignore our spouse’s counsel that we are working too many hours

and that we are damaging ourselves, damaging our marriages, damaging

our kids, but we know better.

What would it mean for us to repent? To listen to God’s warnings? To act

differently than the people we read about in Rev. 8 and 9? Let me close with

these thoughts.

© Rich Nathan 2005

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Repentance does not mean what most people think it means. Repentance does

not simply mean: Stop it. Stop sinning. Knock it off. The word repentance in

the New Testament comes from the Greek word

SLIDES

Metanoia

Meta – to change

Noia – mind

Meta means “to change.” Noia, which comes from the Greek word nous, which

means “mind.” Repentance means that you undergo a change of mind.

Let me offer you a simple illustration. Let’s consider a man named John who has

an explosive temper. Normally, he is really nice, but every so often he just

absolutely blows a fuse. He screams and yells at his wife, verbally abuses her,

punches walls, and screams at the kids. Everyone in the house is afraid of him.

Everyone walks on eggshells. He and his wife go in for marital counseling

because she demands it. He tells the marriage counselor: “Well, it is true.

Sometimes I yell. But you have to understand what it is like to live with Jill. If

you were with her, she would drive you crazy also. Besides, this was the way I

was raised. My father was a screamer. He screamed at me all the time. This is

just the way I am and this is the way I was raised.”

© Rich Nathan 2005

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What does it mean to repent? Repentance is not just: John, you need to stop it.

Repentance means John, you need to change your mind. Metanoia - when John

begins to allow himself to begin to see the depths of pain that he causes to his

wife, and to his children, when John stops justifying his behavior, when he stops

seeing it as a legitimate response to his wife’s actions, but instead he sees his

anger as destructive, hurtful, and ugly, he is on the way to repentance. When

John not only changes his mind about his sin, but he changes his mind about

blame, when he stops passing off responsibility for his behavior to his wife, or to

his father or mother – there may be explanations, but no excuses – when John

begins to take responsibility and says: Ultimately I am making sinful choices, he

is on the way to repentance.

Finally, when a person changes his or her mind not only about sin and about

blame, but about Jesus, they are on the road to repentance. You see, even

when we know that we’ve done wrong, even when we stop blaming others, there

is a third step that needs to happen before repentance will have its full effect.

You need to change your mind about Jesus. You see, most of us, even when we

gain insight to our behavior, still rely on ourselves, on our insight, on our own

character, on our own decisions and willpower and determination to produce

change in us. To repent means I change my mind and I recognize that I can no

longer rely on myself to change this ugly destructive thing in me. I must turn and

put my entire hope and confidence in Jesus Christ my Savior. He alone through

the riches of his grace, can produce lasting change in me and in you.

© Rich Nathan 2005

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Friend, is there any area that you need to change your mind about? Is there any

area that you need to listen to God’s warnings to you? Let’s pray.

© Rich Nathan 2005

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Are You Ignoring God’s Warnings? Rich Nathan

May 28-29, 2005 Revelation: Looking at Life From the Perspective of Heaven Series

Revelation 8 and 9

I. Many of God’s Warnings and Judgments are in Reponse to His People’s Prayers (Rev. 8:1-5; 6:9,10; Ps. 83)

II. Many of God’s Warnings and Judgments are Designed to Bring About Repenance A. The Trumpets (Rev. 8:2)

B. The Partial Judgment (Rev. 8:7,9,11,12; 9:15)

C. The Plagues (Rev. 8:6-12)

D. The Locusts (Rev. 9:1-11)

III. Many of God’s Warnings and Judgments Should Bring Comfort to God’s People

IV. Many of God’s Warnings and Judgments Do Not Produce Repenance

A. Why Do We Resist God’s Warnings?

B. What is Repentance?