Receiving Truth

When the fifth trumpet sounds, the bottomless pit is opened. Scripture doesn’t call it a pit. It calls it the bottomless pit. A specific place. Smoke rises out of it and then locusts come forth. These locusts are unlike any natural swarm we’ve seen. They carry the power of scorpions. And if you’ve ever studied the sting of a scorpion, you know it’s painful but not fatal. That detail matters. Their assignment is not to kill, but to torment.

Their target is clear. They cannot touch the grass, trees, or anything green. They can only touch the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. This takes your mind back to Exodus. The plague of locusts that devoured Egypt’s fields. And it also connects to Jesus’ words in Luke 10:19 when He told His disciples He had given them authority to tread on serpents and scorpions. The same picture. The same symbolism. Scorpions represent tormenting forces, spiritual powers that hurt but cannot destroy those under God’s protection.

These locusts torment for five months. And their victims will long for death, but death will flee. Because the one ruling over these locusts is the angel of the abyss. Scripture calls him Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. His name means destruction. Yet even under his rule, these creatures are forbidden to kill. Their torment is controlled by God. Death itself refuses them because it recognizes they are under judgment, not release.

Their appearance tells you everything. They don’t look like locusts. They look disguised. They wear crowns like people with authority. They have human faces, which makes them familiar. They have long hair like women, which makes them appealing and soft on the surface. But their teeth are like lions. Their breastplates are iron. Their movement is loud and forceful, like chariots rushing into battle. What they present on the outside is not who they truly are. And that is the deception.

This is why the angel called it the first woe. Because it’s not just destruction. It’s deception so deep that people embrace the very thing tormenting them. These locusts look normal. They look harmless. They look powerful, beautiful, familiar. But their sting comes from behind. Their tails carry the pain. And their victims won’t leave them because they don’t recognize them as the source of their suffering.

The chapter ends with something sobering. Even after all this, the people still do not repent of their murders, sorcery, immorality, and theft. They remain in their sin because their hearts cling to deception. They prefer what appeals to them over what the Word requires of them. They want a god who agrees with them. A god who never confronts their lifestyle. A god made in their own image.

That’s the danger of a familiar gospel. It looks like truth. It sounds like truth. It comforts the sinner instead of transforming them. It gives crowns, faces, and beauty—but behind it is a sting that torments the soul. People succeed outwardly but feel empty inwardly. They live well but can’t find peace. The doctrine that seems pleasant is quietly destroying them.

That is the fifth trumpet. A judgment of deception, torment, and hardened hearts.

When the second trumpet sounds, something like a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea. One third of the sea becomes blood. One third of marine life dies. One third of ships are destroyed.

This connects to God’s judgment in Egypt when the Nile turned to blood and the fish died. But this trumpet affects the broader ocean. Ships sail on seas, not rivers, and only large vessels travel the ocean. People who own ships tend to handle trade, commerce, wealth, and military logistics. This judgment hits global systems, not just a single region.

Blood is thicker than water. A ship cannot move through a sea that has turned into blood. This means the destruction of one third of the sea disrupts trade routes, transport lanes, shipping networks, and military movements. The world economy feels this judgment.

When the third trumpet sounds, a burning star called Wormwood falls from heaven. It strikes one third of rivers and springs. The waters turn bitter and many die from drinking it.

This again reflects the plagues in Exodus. But unlike oceans and seas that link nations, rivers and springs support internal communities. Springs rise from the ground and feed rivers. Rivers support farms, households, energy use, and local travel. Streams feed rivers, rivers feed seas, seas feed oceans. Everything is connected.

If these lifelines become bitter, entire communities suffer. A bright “star” falling and corrupting pure water becomes both a literal judgment and a picture of moral collapse. When a local leader becomes corrupt through greed or the love of power, the community under them feels the bitterness. They steal resources. They block development. They destroy futures. Those who drink from their leadership suffer. The corruption that they pour into others becomes their own undoing.

The fourth trumpet strikes one third of the sun, moon, and stars. Light is removed for one third of the day and night. This mirrors the plague of darkness in Exodus 10. A disruption this large produces a darkness that stops movement and slows life. It creates a blindness where people cannot see what is right in front of them.

Symbolically, this is moral blindness. People live in darkness. Their hearts harden. They cannot discern right from wrong. They do evil and feel nothing. This is the same judgment Pharaoh faced when God hardened his heart until he destroyed himself.

After these trumpet blasts, an eagle flies through the sky crying “Woe, woe, woe” because the next three trumpets will be far worse. Even with all the destruction around them, many still refuse to repent. They keep walking deeper into darkness.

We stop here in Revelation 8. When we enter chapter 9, we will study the fifth and the sixth trumpets.

Revelation 7 closed with an answer to the question that ended Revelation 6. The question was simple. Who can stand in the day of God’s wrath? Revelation 7 showed us the people who would survive. They are the ones sealed by God. They stand before Him. They serve Him day and night. Their worship never ends.

Revelation 8 shifts the scene. We move from constant worship to complete silence. When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, heaven became silent for about thirty minutes. That silence was heavy. It showed the weight of the final seal on the scroll.

Seven angels stood before God. Seven trumpets were placed in their hands. In the New Testament, trumpets signal the end. Jesus said in Matthew 24:31 that a great trumpet blast will gather His elect. If you study Matthew 24, it mirrors Revelation 6 to 11. The same themes appear. The same patterns show up.

After the sealing of God’s people in chapter 7, we now see a new wave of deeper tribulations. The seventh seal opens the way for the seven trumpets. Before the angels blow their trumpets, another angel appears with much incense. Scripture says the angel added this incense to the prayers of the saints on the golden altar.

Incense in Scripture represents prayer. Psalm 141:2 says, “Let my prayer be set before You as incense.” In the Old Testament, priests burned incense twice a day. Here, the angel mixes incense with the prayers of the saints. Could this incense be the intercession of Jesus Himself? The text doesn’t say it plainly. But the picture is strong. The prayers rise before God from the angel’s hand. They move heaven. They shake the earth. They trigger thunder, lightning, and an earthquake.

These prayers seem to be a cry for justice. God hears. God responds. And God judges.

To understand Revelation, you must understand the Old Testament. The more familiar you are with Moses, the prophets, and the writings, the more the judgments make sense. God’s ways do not change. His justice is consistent from beginning to end.

The first trumpet sounds. Hail and fire mixed with blood fall upon the earth. Isaiah 28 explains this picture. Those who make covenants with death, who hide in lies and deception, will be swept away by hail. God calls them out. He exposes their confidence in falsehood. He says their refuge will collapse.

This same judgment appeared in Exodus 9. God rained down hail and fire on Egypt. The hail shattered trees. It killed animals and men. It destroyed plants. And it spared only the land of Goshen. The pattern repeats in Revelation. One third of the earth, trees, and grass are destroyed.

This judgment targets those who walk in lies and deception. Those who trust in demonic covenants. Those who believe evil will shield them. When God judges, every pact with darkness fails. The people who support wickedness share in the consequences. Only those sealed by God escape.

I’ll pause here and continue with the next trumpet in the following post.

Revelation 6…

The Four Horsemen, the martyrs, and the cosmic disruption.

Scroll to read and reflect.

We are entering Revelation 6 and 7. The Lamb begins to break the seals. In Revelation 6, six seals are opened. The first four seals release the four horsemen. Each one carries a different form of judgment we see displayed across history. After the horsemen, we hear the cry of the martyrs asking for justice. Then the sixth seal brings a dramatic cosmic disruption. The earth, the heavens, and all creation react as God’s judgement unfolds.

Revelation 7 pauses the scene. Four angels are holding back the winds, and they are commanded not to release chaos until God marks His people. This shows order, timing, and protection. God seals His own before judgment intensifies. Then we see the 144,000. This passage has sparked many teachings, so we will look at what Scripture actually says. After that, we see a great multitude from every nation, standing before the throne. They came through the tribulation washed in the blood of the Lamb, now worshipping in victory.

Revelation 6 and 7 reveal judgment and mercy side by side. They show God’s control, His justice, and His care for those who belong to Him. As we walk through these chapters, expect clarity, insight, and deeper understanding. Stay engaged, share your thoughts, and follow along as we continue studying Revelation together.

Every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the earth joins in, declaring, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 5 reveals Christ as both Redeemer and Judge, Lamb and Lion, the only One found worthy to open the scroll of history, execute justice, and fulfill God’s eternal plan.

After finishing Revelation 1–3, the letters to the seven churches, the scene shifts dramatically in Revelation 4. John writes, “After these things I looked…,” which suggests that following all those visions and messages, he is invited to look upward. The voice that first spoke to him, the voice of Christ, now says, “Come up here.” That call lifts him beyond the struggles, compromises, and pressures on earth into a realm where unseen realities govern what takes place below.

Instantly John is “in the Spirit.” Whether in vision or ascension, the effect is the same: he finds himself before God’s throne. John does not describe God’s physical form, there is no height, no facial detail, only radiant glory. That tells us this is not about form, but about presence, majesty, holiness.

Around the central throne sit twenty-four thrones, and on them twenty-four elders. They wear white garments and golden crowns. While Scripture doesn’t name them, their attire suggests they represent the redeemed, saints who have stood firm. Angels are never described in Scripture with crowns and white salvation robes, so the symbolism points to believers. Many interpreters see these elders as the church in its fullness, from all ages. 

From the throne come flashes of light, rumblings, and thunder, signs of divine power and awe. Before the throne burn seven glowing lamps, the seven Spirits of God, invoking imagery from Isaiah’s prophecy about the Spirit resting on the Messiah (wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear).

In front of the throne is a sea of glass, clear as crystal. It reflects the purity and peace of God’s presence. Surrounding that sea are four living creatures bristling with eyes front and back. One looks like a lion, one like a calf, one like a man, one like a flying eagle. These creatures reflect creation, wild beasts, domestic animals, humanity, and birds, as Revelation often uses the number four to symbolize the fullness of creation.

Day and night, the living creatures cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” That triple “holy” resounds Isaiah’s vision in chapter six, and the emphasis reminds us, God’s holiness is absolute, unchanging, eternal.

Whenever they worship, the twenty-four elders cast down their crowns before the throne and declare, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” Notice how the focus never turns to them. Their identity is secondary. The throne, the Creator, absorbs all attention.

Everything in Revelation 4 insists, God is sovereign. Jesus is not running for power, He already rules. Every earthly throne, every government, every system is beneath His authority. We must lift our eyes upward, not fix them on human power.

That doesn’t mean we abandon our responsibilities on earth. It means we live with a heavenly lens, understanding that what happens in detail below is shaped by what is already established above. The throne of God is not on earth; it is above. The events that unfold here are reflections and reverberations of realities in heaven.

We’re stepping into Revelation 4 and 5, Heaven before the throne.

After the letters to the seven churches, the scene shifts. John is invited to “come up here,” and suddenly we see heaven.
The sights, the sounds, the glory… everything changes.

There’s a throne at the center. Lightning flashes. Thunder rolls. Twenty-four elders fall before God, casting their crowns in worship. Four living creatures cry out day and night, “Holy, holy, holy.”

Then in chapter 5, the focus moves to a scroll in God’s hand, sealed seven times. No one can open it, until the Lamb steps forward. He was slain, but He’s standing… alive, powerful, worthy. Heaven erupts in worship again.

These two chapters draw us beyond earth’s chaos into heaven’s order. They remind us that before anything happens on earth, worship is already happening in heaven. We’ll dig into this next, the sights, the sounds, the meaning, and what it reveals about God’s rule over everything.

Are you ready to see what heaven really looks like before the throne?