Hardened Hearts
We are to warn unbelievers to respond
to the message of salvation immediately
and not to harden their hearts.
Here’s Gene:
Revelation 8, verse 7--we see,
and following through,
actually through verse 12––
that the first trumpet sounded.
Here comes the judgement now
of the first trumpet.
And remember now,
the seven trumpets really are the seventh seal.
As the seventh seal is unfolded,
those are the seven trumpets.
The first trumpet: Destroying the foliage on earth,
creating desert conditions.
We read in Revelation 8:7:
The first [angel] blew his trumpet,
[and] hail and fire, mixed with blood,
were hurled to the earth.
So a third of the earth was burned up,
a third of the trees [were] burned up,
[and] all the green grass was burned up.
Then we have secondly, the second trumpet:
Attacking the oceans, impacting marine life.
Revelation 8:8-9:
The second angel blew his trumpet,
[and] something like a great mountain
ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. …
We don’t know what that is exactly
but it’s very destructive to the oceans.
…So 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.
This is talking about salt water.
Because God doesn’t stop there,
He pollutes the fresh water sources.
The third trumpet creates a drought:
The third angel blew his trumpet,
[and] a great star, blazing like a torch,
fell from heaven.
It fell on a third of the rivers
and [the] springs of water. …
Not just the oceans
but now the fresh water sources.
…The name of the star is Wormwood,
[and] a third of the waters became wormwood.
So, many of the people died from the waters,
because they had been made bitter.
And then we have the fourth trumpet.
And this was clouding the earth’s light source
creating mental and emotional distress.
And by the way, that’s very significant
because if you live without light for very long,
you’re going to have biological responses to that.
And it takes tremendous adjustment
because people who live
in the North Pole region
when there is no sunlight
often are afflicted with depression––
biological depression.
And imagine when God
shuts off the light source:
The fourth angel blew 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 were darkened.
A third of the day was without light,
and the night as well.
So here we have these four incredible judgments.
Which really send a message
today because if you read on [in] the passage it says:
They did not repent.
Many did not.
Many did, but many did not.
And here’s the lesson for us today.
And in Hebrews we read--chapter 3, verse 15:
As it is said: Today,
if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
There it’s referring back obviously to
the Old Testament rebellion.
But we could also project into what
we’re reading in the book of Revelation:
...Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts
as in the [day of] rebellion.
So how does this unrepentant response
on the part of unbelievers
relate to what Paul described about
human nature in Romans chapter 1?
See this is human nature.
Whether we’re living today,
whether we’re living in Abraham’s day,
Noah’s day, David’s day. Today.
The New Testament days. Or on into the future.
Man’s tendency is to harden his heart.
And so we read:
For God’s wrath is revealed
from heaven against all godlessness
and unrighteousness of people
who by their unrighteousness
suppress the truth. …
And there he’s talking about
this period of grace.
And in a sense, God’s wrath
is being revealed today
through the natural consequences of man’s sin.
This is not Revelation.
This is not the seals.
This is not the trumpets.
This is what man brings on himself.
Those who suppress the truth:
…since what can be known about God
is evident among them because
God has shown it to them. …
Boy, the book of Revelation--
He’s really showing it to them.
And still they’re repressing the truth.
…From the creation of the world
His invisible attributes, that is,
His eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly seen, being understood
through what He has made.
As a result, people are without excuse.
For though they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as God
or show gratitude…
Boy, that’s really played out
in the book of Revelation:
…Instead, their thinking became nonsense,
their senseless minds were darkened.
[And] claiming to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory
of the immortal God
for images resembling mortal man,
[mortal man,] birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
In fact at the end of this whole chapter
it talks about the fact that
they would not turn from their sins,
but continued in their sorceries,
in their worship of idols,
and following after evil.
In spite of all the judgments
that God is giving them.
They were not responding to God’s grace
through these judgments.
And so the message really
relates to Principle 18:
We’re to warn unbelievers to respond
to the message of salvation immediately
and not to harden their hearts.
Today is the day of salvation.