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Rev 8:12  And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Introduction

The symbols of this fourth trumpet are 1) the third part, 2) the sun, 3) the moon, 4) the stars, 5) the day, and finally 6) the night. If any one of these six items are not symbols, then there is no way in the world for us to “keep the things which are written therein”, simply because we cannot “keep” the literal sun, moon and stars. On the other hand, if the sun and the moon were both somehow “kept” and experienced on the day of Pentecost, then maybe we too, will now be able to “live by these words proceeding out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4).
So let’s look at the darkening of the of the sun and moon at that time, and see how Peter and those present at that time, kept those words.

Act 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all [ ye] that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Act 2:15  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is [ but] the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

According to the apostle Peter, the “Sun had been turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before” this day of Pentecost had arrived. If Christ is the “Sun of righteousness” and he had been killed, then the Sun had certainly been “turned into darkness” as he lay in the grave. If the moon really is the “lesser light” of those who wanted to maintain the fading light of Moses’s face and who had killed and denied their own Messiah, as we all have, then “the moon [ had] been turned into blood” just before “that great and notable day of the Lord” which began on the day of Pentecost when Peter stood up and announced that “the last days had begun… and judgment was now on the house of God.”

Mal 4:2  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.
Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [ he made] the stars also.
2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written [ and] engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which [ glory] was to be done away:

“Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke” are the very symbols we are, and will be seeing throughout this revelation of Jesus Christ. The “fire and blood” are both mentioned in the first trumpet.

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Joel and Peter are both giving us part of the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is in this book of Revelation, given to us by Christ himself, where Joe 2, Mat 24, Act 2 and all the prophecies of the Old Testament and the New Testament, are brought together into one cohesive “revelation of Jesus Christ.” It is the things written in this prophecy which show us clearly that all of these symbols are within, and are to be read, heard and kept all within. The emphasis at both the beginning and the end of this prophecy is on the fact that the time to keep the things written therein is right now. That was also stated in Mat 24, but it is being drummed into us with a warning here in this prophecy.

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [ is] nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [ even] at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

No other prophecy makes clear that the present application of the things written therein is right now as clearly as does this “revelation of Jesus Christ.” It opens and it closes with that clear instruction. But it also closes with a warning which makes it super clear that we must never think that there is any part of this revelation that is not for each of us to read, hear, and keep.

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [ it] by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Since Christ is the Word, the oft repeated phrases, “It is near, even at the door… the time is at hand… the time is come… Behold I come quickly… Surely I come quickly” all must therefore refer to the fulfillment and keeping of the words of this prophecy in the lives of those who are looking for the revelation of Jesus Christ in their lives as being “at hand… near, even at the door.”

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Christ’s second coming, like the resurrection itself, is a present truth in “earnest” for those who are given to understand that we are to “fill up what is behind of His afflictions, be crucified with Him, be resurrected with Him and walk in newness of life with Him” because “the time is at hand” to do so.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

It is with the desire to “fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ, that we approach  the words of this prophecy, knowing “the time is at hand” to “keep the things written therein.”
So let’s take these symbols one by one and see what the scriptures say they represent in our lives.

What is the third part?

1) The third part. This first symbol is one we have covered in each and every one of our discussions of the first three trumpets.

The third part is mentioned in the first trumpet in verse seven.

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

The third part is mentioned again in the second trumpet is in verses eight and nine.

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

And it is mentioned again in the third trumpet in verses 10 and 11.

Rev 8:10  And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:11  And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

In each of these trumpets we saw that “the third part” symbolizes the “little by little” process of the work of judgment that is being accomplish by the Word of God in these seven trumpets.

Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
Deu 7:22  And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Peter informed us in Act 2, that this is the last days for those who are “the house of God.”

Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
1Pe 4:17  For the time [ is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [ it] first [ begin] at us, what shall the end [ be] of them that obey not the gospel of God?

In the first trumpet, the third part of our trees are burned up by God’s fiery Word. In the second trumpet, the third part of the seas become blood, killing a third part of the creatures in the sea, and destroying a third part of the ships in the sea, when the fiery word of God is cast into the fleshly seas of our lives. In the third trumpet the third part of our own rivers and fountains of water are made bitter by the word of God “burning as a lamp,” just as they are made bitter in our stomach in these verses.

Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Our waters are made bitter by the words of this prophecy, as its words begin to destroy and kill our old man within us. We saw the verses in Eze 31 that likened the king of Tyre to Pharaoh whose “root was by great waters.”

Eze 31:7  Thus was he fair in his [ Pharaoh’s] greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.

The king of Tyre and Pharaoh are both planted by God Himself. They are both types of us prospering by God’s own decree, in our own “great waters” even as we live our lives contrary to the words and laws of our God.

Jer 12:2  Thou [ Lord] hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.

Where are the heavens and the earth which are mentioned in all of these trumpets?

Psa 50:4  He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

God’s people are in both the heavens and the earth. It is there that He is judging His people. That judgment is taking place within the heavens and the earth which are both within us, where our God dwells.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 13:13  Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

God is not judging or addressing His “rebellious children” in the physical bodies of the physical heavens. That is not the heavens in which He or His children dwell. He dwells in the heavenly realm within His people.

Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Isa 51:16  And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

God “puts His words in our mouths” for the purpose of  “planting the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth in His people.” That is what is being done as we read His words concerning His works in the heavens and in the earth in these seven trumpets.

What is the sun?

2) What is the sun and what does “a third part of the sun was smitten” mean?
A darkened sun is the spiritual type of “another Jesus and another gospel ” with which we replace the True Christ, and the true gospel.
As is always true with every word of God, the sun, the moon and the stars all have a negative application when they are worshiped as Gods in their physical form, instead of being seen as spiritual types of spiritual realities. We do that today when we worship the planet, and believe that the life of this planet comes from the physical sun. Believing that life on earth depends upon the sun, is like believing that the milk and egg comes from a store. They do not originate at a store. The store is just the channel for getting the milk and eggs to the public. Milk, comes from cows, and eggs come from chickens.

Jer 8:2  And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
Eze 8:16  And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, [ were] about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east.

It is the inclination of the natural man to worship the lesser light that rules the night. Yes, they think they are worshiping the Sun who is the greater light, but the sun they worship is in reality the light of “the lesser light.”
But what is the positive spiritual reality of the sun? Here it is again:

Mal 4:2 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.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Christ is God’s “Sun of Righteousness who arises on, and gives light to the just and the unjust.” But we have to realize that He does send His sun to rise on the evil and the good before we can understand the meaning of “a third part of the sun was smitten.” We first have to understand that the light that shines on us as carnal babes is the same sun, the same word, but with only the light and understanding that is given to Babylon. It is the beginning of the darkening of even that light which is “the third part of [ our] sun is smitten.” The three trumpets yet to sound will gradually blot out the light of our Sun.
In the third trumpet, a third of our ships were destroyed. As we see our ships being destroyed. As we are brought into darkness, we are slowly but surely “brought to our wits end.” It all leads to our salvation, but we must first “keep the things written therein.

Psa 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
Psa 107:23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

What is the moon that is smitten with darkness?

3) What is the ‘moon,’ and why is it “smitten with darkness?”

We have already shown that the moon is called “the lesser light,” and it was placed in the heavens “to rule the night”.

Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [ he made] the stars also.

The moon has no light in itself. All the moon can do is reflect some of the light of the sun and “rule the night” with its much “lesser light”. At times the earth comes between the sun and the moon, and there is no light from the moon. It is then that we realize that the light of the moon is of itself nothing more than darkness.

Once again it is Babylon’s doctrines in us which give us “the lesser light that rules the night.” So the moon is our “bondwoman” mother, before we are, by the mercy of God, transformed into “the son of the freewoman.”  Once again, If our light is darkness, Christ is not in us.

Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

We have all been in “darkness and the shadow of death,” and at “our wits end.” That is an essential part of this revelation which is these seven trumpets.

Mat 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Joh 5:33  Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
Joh 5:34  But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
Joh 5:35  He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
Joh 5:36  But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
Isa 13:10  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Isa 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Isa 60:19  The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

What is “the moon [ that is] turned into blood?”

Like Joseph’s brothers, we think we are honorable men who would never steal a silver cup (Gen 44:8-9). Like Job, we all think of ourselves and men who are “eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and a champion to the widows” (Job 29:13-15). Like all of Christ’s apostles, we all think that we would never, ever deny our Lord (Mat 26:35). But until our moon is smitten and shines not for a third part of it, we are never made aware that it was our sins that killed our Lord, and that we have denied Him with an oath. This is the sun being turned into darkness and the moon into blood before we become the house of God to begin our continuing judgment.

Joe 2:31  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Eze 32:6  I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, [ even] to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
Eze 32:7  And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
Eze 32:8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

“Man shall… live by” these words (Mat 4:4). Which of “the things written therein; the words of the book of this prophecy [ will you dare to] take away?

Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [ from] the things which are written in this book.

What are the stars that are smitten with darkness?

4) What are the stars? We saw in the last verse of chapter one that stars are angels. The angels of these trumpets are God’s elect who “stand before God,” and “keep the saying of this prophecy.”

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Zec 4:11  Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
Zec 4:12  And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden [ oil] out of themselves?
Zec 4:13  And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these [ be]? And I said, No, my lord.
Zec 4:14  Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earthRev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him [ the angel]. And he said unto me, See [ thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard [ them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See [ thou do it] not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

We are the ones who “keep the sayings of this book,” and it is we whose stars are smitten with darkness so that they shine not for a third of them. When our stars are darkened they work against us as we fight against God.

Jdg 5:20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
Eze 32:7  And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

Whether our stars are darkened or not, they are the working of our Lord.

Psa 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Jer 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

What is “the day?”

5) What is “the day and why is it dark for a third of the day?”
“The day,” all through scripture typifies the time we are in the light. The sun shines, and gives us light by which we see, in the ‘day.’ The ‘day’ is “the light of knowledge” (2Co 4::6). The day that is darkened by a third is the day of the process of judgment against the darkness of that ‘day.’ That is the symbolism of “one third of the day is darkened.” What we are being told is that this day is beginning and it is getting dark, as these trumpets of judgment are being blown. It is only through judgment that we learn righteousness,” and become “children of the day.”

Joe 2:1  Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Zep 1:14  The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Zep 1:15  That day [ is] a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
Zep 1:16  A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
Zep 1:17  And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Zep 1:18  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Our God is “calling light out of darkness.” We will live by these words first. We will be darkened before we become children of the day.

Job 12:22  He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:9  But ye [ are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

What is night?

6) What is night and why is the night darkened?
“Night,” we must remember, is called “the lesser light.”

Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and t he lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

The fact that the sun, moon, and stars are all darkened, and the day and the night shine not for a third of each, respectively, is a symbol of how thorough is this process of judging the darkness out of which we are being called..Job 12:22, 2Co 4:6, and 1Pe 2:9, all quoted above, are speaking of coming from darkness into light, and they are speaking of coming out of night into day. Night, thoughout scripture typifies, lack of knowledge, being deceived, living in darkness, ignorance and rebellion.

Joh 11:10  But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
1Th 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the nigh t.

Christ comes to us and begins His fiery work in us while we are yet in the darkness of deception and rebellion. He comes to us “in the nght.” Christ does not come to us after we have decided to repent of our sins, as we have all been taught. It is He who comes to us “as a thief in the night,” and then He “leads us to repentance.”

Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth [ Greek, ‘ago,’ brings, or drags] thee to repentance?

How is that accomplished?

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Summary

We have seen that the symbols of this fourth trumpet are:
1) the third part, which we have before demonstrated to be the symbol of the process of judgment into which this revelation takes us.
We have seen that:
2) the sun is the symbol of the greater light that rules our day and is the symbol of “the light of the knowledge of… God… in Christ.”

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We have seen that:

3) the moon has no light in and of itself, and is the “lesser light that rules the night,” out of which we are called.

We have seen that:

4) the stars are angels, and we saw that the angels that blow these trumpets, “stand before God,” just like the two candlesticks of Zec 4 and Rev 11. We also saw again the verses in Rev 19:10 and Rev 22: 9 which reveal that these angels are us, if indeed we are those who “keep the sayings of this book.”

We saw that:

5) the day is ruled by the sun and symbolizes the time of understanding and knowledge, which is being darkened by the falsehoods and heresies into which we are all predestined to fall.

Finally we saw that

6) the night is the time of our walk which is ruled by the lesser light of the moon, and that it is out of this time of our walk that we are being called through the agency of this revelation of Jesus Christ.

Next week we will, Lord willing, begin our study of the last three trumpets of which we are warned:

Rev 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Here is what we are told of the first of these three trumpets after our sun, moon, and stars are “smitten with darkness so that the third part of them is darkened.” This first ‘woe’ is actually the 5th trumpet.

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [ was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Rev 9:7  And the shapes of the locusts [ were] like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads [ were] as it were crowns like gold, and their faces [ were] as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8  And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as [ the teeth] of lions.
Rev 9:9  And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings [ was] as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power [ was] to hurt men five months.
Rev 9:11  And they had a king over them, [ which is] the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [ is] Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [ his] name Apollyon.