Morning Prayer: 27 Sept – Revelation 9:13-21 ~ point of no return?

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

Revelation 9:13-21 (ESV) – to be read aloud

Four Angels at the Euphrates (mattstone.blogs.com) — Four Angels at the Euphrates
(mattstone.blogs.com)

Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Reflection

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

The Sixth Trumpet (9:13-21)

Overview: The intensity of the trumpet sequence continues to mount…. From plagues that affect land, sea, water and light to a swarm of demonic locusts released to torment unbelievers… the sixth trumpet-plague is even worse. Now demonic cavalry, two hundred million strong, come charging across the scene of history. From their lionlike heads come fire, smoke, and sulphur, and with their tails they inflict lethal damage. A third of the unbelieving world falls before their murderous assault. Those who remain do not repent of their idolatry and immoral lifestyle but continue their idolatrous worship of gods made by their own hands.

Nowhere will you find a more accurate picture of sinful humanity pressed to the extreme. One would think that the terrors of God’s wrath would bring rebels to their knees. Not so. Past the point of no return, they respond to greater punishment with increased rebellion. Such is sinful nature untouched and unmoved by the mercies of God. (Mounce, p.192-193)
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God sends his judgements upon the wicked, but his aim is not to hurt. There is a purpose of love behind the judgements. They are to make plain the seriousness and the ill desert of sin, they are to lead people to repent, to turn to God and be saved. But when they do nothing of the sort they should not think that they have triumphed over God. He is in supreme command. They may resist his will, but it is to their own hurt.

John was writing… for the Christian church. Believers must live in this world, not an imaginary world of their own choosing. John is making plain to a little group of persecuted believers that they must not expect to live in a world that understood them and welcomed their witness. No matter how severe the judgements of God, the world continues with its idolatries and manifold sins. Believers must not delude themselves. This world that John depicts, where sinful people resist God to the limit no matter how much they hurt themselves in the process, is the world believers must live in. There is no other.

But it is a world under judgement. (Morris, p.129)
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Canticle

Christ, as a light – illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield – overshadow me.
Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me – on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me – on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Peanut Gallery: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.

This will not be a Bible Study per se: we will not attempt to unravel the “mysteries” of Revelation… that is far beyond our abilities and is not our interest here. However, so as not to get too far afield, we will rely on three study resources: primary – A Commentary on the Revelation of John (George Elton Ladd); supplemental Revelation (Leon Morris) and The Book of Revelation (Robert H. Mounce).

The general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) On Sundays, we’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world. Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

Morning Prayer: 26 Sept – Revelation 9:1-12 ~ demonic pain and distress

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Revelation 9:1-12 (ESV) – to be read aloud

Greece, Chalkidiki, Mount Athos peninsula, World Heritage Site, Dionysiou monastery, Frescoes of the Book of Revelation or Apocalypse of Saint John (c 1550)

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.

The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

Reflection

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

The Fifth Trumpet (9:1-12)

Overview: The blowing of the fifth trumpet releases the first Woe – a horde of demonic locusts that emerges from the Abyss and spreads out over the land to torment everyone not marked with the seal of the living God. The pain and distress are so great that although people seek death they are unable to find it. (Mounce, p.184)

Background for this is a plague of actual locusts in Joel 2:4-10 which is to precede the coming of the day of the Lord…. In the Revelation, however, the locusts are symbolic of demonic hosts. (Ladd, p.129)

Description: The abyss is pictured as being kept under lock and key under the sovereignty of God…. The key is given to the angelic emissary who, having descended from heaven, releases the demonic hosts…. Their mission is to attack only those of mankind who have not been sealed by God…. The tribulation will be a time of the beginning of the wrath of God upon a rebellious society, a time of fearful persecution of the church… and a time of demonic activity…. However, the church will be sheltered by divine protection from demonic activity.

The appearance of the demonic hosts is terrifying… faces suggesting intelligence… teeth suggesting ferocity… breastplates suggesting their invincibility… tails inflicting torture… all of which indicating their destructive power. (Ladd, p.130-134)

Significance: When people fail to respond to God’s gracious invitation and set themselves in opposition to his purposes, then they become the prey of horrifying demonic forces. They suffer the consequences of their choice. They are not defeating God. His sovereignty is clear to John. God is not mocked. Even in the demonic horrors he works out his purpose. But people must accept the results of their choice. This is so now and it will be so in the last days….

God uses the evil results of our sins to call us to repentance…. The release of the demonic forces… is God’s chastening, and God’s chastening is not aimless. Rightly received it should lead to amendment. (Morris, p.123-124)

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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Morning Prayer: 25 Sept – Revelation 8:13 ~ “Woe, woe, woe…”

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Revelation 8:13 (ESV) – to be read aloud

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

Reflection

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

“Woe, woe, woe….” (8:13)

In John’s vision he is watching something take place. Verse 13 serves as a transition between the four plagues brought by God upon nature to lead humankind to repentance and the subsequent demonic woes in which people will be directly subjected to the forces of the Abyss. Previous plagues have been called forth by angelic beings, but those that follow are announced quite appropriately by a bird of prey (eagle/vulture) hovering overhead.

The three woes correspond to the last three trumpets. These final plagues are not to fall upon the church but upon a pagan and wicked world. Unlike the forst four trumpets, which affected the source of people’s life, the last three fall upon people themselves.

(Mounce, p.182-183)
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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Morning Prayer: 24 Sept – Revelation 8:6-12 ~ judgements upon a recalcitrant world

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Revelation 8:6-12 (ESV) – to be read aloud

Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

apocalypse tapestry Angers_01 — An angel blowing a trumpet leading to shipwrecks on earth. The Apocalypse Tapestry (1377–1382) Musée de la Tapisserie, Château d’Angers, Angers

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

Reflection

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

Overview: God is about to answer the prayers of the saints. The thunders, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and earthquake that follow are reminiscent of the theophany at Sinai (Ex 19:16ff) and remind us that the world still trembles before the presence of God…. The trumpets reveal the active involvement of God in bringing punishment upon a wicked world.

The church is not in view in the judgements that follow…. The trumpet-plagues are directed against a world that is adamant in its hostility toward God. As the intensity of judgements increases, so also so does the vehemence with which people refuse to repent. But the trumpet-judgements are not final… since they do not affect the entire earth. Their purpose is not so much retribution, as it is to lead people to repentance.

As plagues preceded the release of the children of Israel from their Egyptian masters, so plagues will precede the Exodus of the church from hostile political powers. They are the prelude to that great and final Exodus in which the church is taken out of the world and enters into the eternal presence of God…. We are dealing here with that montage of divine judgements upon a recalcitrant world which leads to the return of Jesus Christ as sovereign Lord. (Mounce, p.175-177)

The First Four Trumpets (8:6-12)

The first four trumpet-plagues involve natural catastrophes… analogous to the Egyptian plagues… the precise nature of which is unclear.

Land: Great devastation is caused by the sounding of the first trumpet summoning hail and fire, mixed with blood which scorches one-third of the land…. Its purpose is to warn people of the full wrath of God yet to fall, and in so doing to bring them to repentance.

Sea: The second trumpet brings destruction to one-third of the sea… killing marine life and destroying shipping and commerce… It is affected by something like a huge mountain of fire thrown into the sea…. The plague represents an eschatological judgement that goes beyond any explanation in terms of natural phenomenon. The purpose is to warn and lead to repentance.

Water: The third plague consists of a burning star that falls from the sky on the inland waters, turning them bitter and causing the death of many people…. The star is called Wormwood after the bitter taste of the plant by that name…. A portion of the inland waters were contaminated by this spectacular act of God and many people died as a result of drinking the water…. Like the other plagues… it is dircted primarily against the world of nature… and only indirectly affects people or the spirit world.

Light: The fourth plague darkens the sun, moon and stars for a third of the day and the night… indicating a total absence of light during that time….. This absolute darkness would be far more terrifying than a partial eclipse…. Darkness as a symbol of judegement runs throughout the OT…. The fourth trumpet-plague is a fulfillment of these prophecies (Mk 13;24; Is 13:10).

The darkness of the fourth plague anticipates the transition from divine warnings to demonic woes. It previews that ultimate excommunication of unrepentant people to the punishment prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41).

(Mounce, p.178-182)
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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Morning Prayer: 23 Sept – Revelation 8:2-5 ~ the prayers of the saints

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Revelation 8:2-5 (ESV) – to be read aloud

Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Reflection

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

Preparation (8:2-5)

Jewish writings speak of the seven angels who stand before God…. To these angels are now given seven trumpets… often associated with the end-time in apocalyptic writings (e.g. Mt 24:31).

Before the angels blow their trumpets the prayers of the saints are offered. This is not an unrelated parenthesis. John means us to see that the prayers of God’s people are supremely important. Even the cataclysmic judgements which follow are held up till these prayers have been offered. Indeed in a sense it is these prayers that set the judgements in motion.

The new angel… combines much incense with the prayers of the saints… symbolizing the unity of the worship of heaven and earth…. The golden altar before the throne stresses the importance and value of the prayers of the saints…. They went up from the angel’s hand is probably a way of saying that heaven and earth are at one in this matter. Prayer is not the lonely venture that it so often feels. There is heavenly assistance and our prayers do reach God… there is something sacrificial in true prayer.

The fire came from the very altar on which the prayers of the saints have been offered. This surely means that the prayers of God’s people play a necessary part in ushering in the judgements of God.

What are the real master-powers behind the world and what are the deeper secrets of our destiny? Here is the astonishing answer: the prayer of the saints and the fire of God. That means that more potent, more powerful than all the dark and mighty powers let loose in the world, more powerful than anything else, is the prayer set ablaze by the fire of God and cast upon the earth. (Torrance)

(Morris, p.116-119)
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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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