SABBATH THOUGHT 2023-09-16—PURPOSE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD

May God bless you on His Sabbath day!

The holyday known as Trumpets is one that is filled with the contradiction of both dread and hope. The end-time events consist of the Seven Seals that are opened by the Lamb, Jesus Christ. These seals make up the whole of the Day of the LORD also known as the Day of the LORD’S Vengeance:

ISAIAH 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of [strife against] Zion.

ISAIAH 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

JEREMIAH 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Him of His adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Scripture indicates that the first six seals are terrors of Satan unleashed through the hand of the Beast who is the leader of the resurrected ancient Babylonian system. These destructions come upon the whole world; however, it also serves to punish the national descendants of Israel. Once the first six seals are complete, things then change and the punisher (Babylon) becomes the target of punishments. This is a focus of the Day of Trumpets.

As it says in Isaiah 61:2 above, the Day of Trumpets portrays a set of events that occur over a year when the Seven Trumpets announce the various and increasing punishments of God upon the world. In fact, the Seventh Seal IS the sequence of the Seven Trumpets:

REVELATION 8:1-2, 4-6 And when He [the Lamb] had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. … 4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. 6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The Seventh Seal is unique from the first six. It begins with a half-hour pause in heaven (Rev. 8:1) after it is opened. Perhaps this pause is similar to Selah used in the Psalms—it is intended to distinguish the first six seals that were unleashed by Satan from those of the Seventh Seal, which is the beginning of God’s vengeance upon the world. And just as the first six seals are unique from the seventh, the first six trumpets of the seventh seal are unique from the Seventh Trumpet. Notice the events of the first six trumpets:

·       Trumpet #1: 1/3 of trees and all grass burned up (Rev. 8:7).

·       Trumpet #2: 1/3 of sea life dies and 1/3 of ship destroyed (Rev. 8:8-9).

·       Trumpet #3: 1/3 of rivers and springs poisoned causing many deaths (Rev. 8:10-11).

·       Trumpet #4: 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars darkened for 1/3 of the day and 1/3 of the night (Rev. 8:12).

·       Trumpet #5 (Woe #1): The "Destroyer" (Abaddon, Apollyon) and his demons released from the bottomless pit to torment mankind for 5 months (Rev. 9:1-12).

·       Trumpet #6 (Woe #2): Four angels (demons) with an army of 200 million released to kill 1/3 of mankind (Rev. 9:13-21). Also, Revelation 11:14 says that the following are included with the sixth trumpet:

o      The Seven Thunders are spoken but not recorded (Rev. 10:1-4).

o      The apostle John eats the Little Book (Rev. 10:8-11).

o      The Temple outer court and Jerusalem are trampled by gentiles 42 months (Rev. 11:1-2).

o      The Two Witnesses testify 1,260 days against the world and are killed by "Destroyer" (Abaddon, Apollyon) (Rev. 11:3-12).

o      A Great Earthquake destroys 1/10 of Jerusalem, kills 7,000 residents, causes islands disappear, and levels mountains (Rev. 11:13).

As you can see, up until the Sixth Trumpet they are mostly directed to destroying the environment of the earth, which makes it extremely hard for human life to support itself under any economic system. Even though more than 1/3 of mankind dies during these six trumpets, the worst is yet to come.

Trumpet #7 (Includes the Seven Vial Plagues)

When the Seventh Trumpet sounds, it initiates a changeover in the rulership of this world.

·       God & Christ reign over the kingdoms of this world. (Rev. 11:15-18a.)

What happens next is a fulfillment of prophecy:

ISAIAH 63:4 For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come.

This is the realization of the hope of all the saints—a resurrection to eternal life:

·       Resurrection of the saints and the mystery of 1 Cor. 15:51-57 is finished (Rev. 10:5-7; 11:18b-19; 14:1-5).

Having the resurrection at this time is necessary in order to fulfill the prophecies of God that He, and He alone, will exact vengeance on behalf of all the saints:

DEUTERONOMY 32:35, 41 To Me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. … 41 If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to Mine enemies, and will reward them that hate Me.

This is not only to take vengeance on behalf of the saints but also so that they can witness it. Therefore, the saints must be resurrected before the fulfillment of the Seventh Trumpet:

DEUTERONOMY 32:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Continuing, Scripture outlines the next events of the Seventh Trumpet:

·       Declaration of the coming destruction of Babylon (Rev. 14:6-11).

·       "Reaping" of the saints to eternal life (Rev. 14:12-16).

·       "Reaping" of the wicked to the Lake of Fire (Rev. 14:17-20).

·       Declaration of the seven Vial Plagues—the vengeance of God (Rev. 15:1-8; 16:1).

The remainder of the events are so destructive that the Seventh Trumpet is divided into seven Vial Plagues of which the wicked Babylonian system is the target:

JEREMIAH 51:6-8, 11 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; He will render unto her a recompence. 7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. 8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. … 11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for His device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of His temple.

Once again, the first six Vial Plagues differ from the seventh. While all seven Vial Plagues are directed against Babylon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, the first five are God’s vengeance that causes the wicked to greatly suffer:

·       Vial Plague #1: Poured upon the earth (men) causing grievous sores upon those with the Mark of the Beast and those who worshipped his image (Rev. 16:2).

·       Vial Plague #2: Poured upon the sea killing all sea life (Rev. 16:3).

·       Vial Plague #3: Poured upon rivers and springs turning them to blood (Rev. 16:4-7).

·       Vial Plague #4: Poured upon the sun to scorch men with fire and heat (Rev. 16:8-9).

·       Vial Plague #5: Poured upon the kingdom of the Beast causing darkness and pain (Rev. 16:10-11).

As a result of these first five Vial Plagues, Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet decide to battle against God Almighty. Preparation for this is the sixth Vial Plague:

·       Vial Plague #6: Poured upon the river Euphrates and three demons come out of the dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet who gather the nations to the battle of Armageddon against Jesus Christ (Rev. 16:12-16).

As Satan, the Beast, and False Prophet prepare for war, the seventh Vial Plague occurs:

·       Vial Plague #7: Poured into the air causing an earthquake that divides Babylon into three parts and destroys the cities of the nations; causes islands and mountains to disappear; and hail (16" diameter, 50 pound) falls upon all mankind (Rev. 16:17-21).

What now follows is a description of the wickedness of Babylon (Rev. 17) and a description of the destruction of Babylon (Rev. 18; 19:1-3). Then the seventh Vial Plague finishes with:

o      The final and utter destruction of Babylon (Rev. 19:11-21).

After this Satan is imprisoned in the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3). The seven Vial Plagues are so destructive that maybe only a TENTH of the world’s population survives:

ISAIAH 6:11-13 Then said I [Isaiah], Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate [the result of the destruction throughout the seventh Trumpet], 12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

At the beginning I said that the Day of Trumpets is both a time of both dread and hope. Without a doubt, there will be unimaginable terrors and death against the wicked, but there is also great hope for all those who love God. This happens at the resurrection of the saints, which is then followed by the liberation of the world’s remaining survivors from a scorched and dead earth. All of this is directed by Sun of Righteousness—Jesus Christ—who is the King Immanuel prophesied to return and bring:

MALACHI 4:1-3 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Our Savior—God the Father[1] and Jesus Christ—will bring HEALING and PEACE to the world for the first time. Ultimately, THAT is the purpose of the Day of Trumpets. It is so much more than suffering and destruction—it is a New Beginning!

May God’s grace and peace be upon you!

Steven Greene

https://sabbathreflections.org

sabbathreflections@gmail.com