In this sermon, Greg Boyd explains the meaning of the seven trumpet judgments and how they apply to our modern context. Specifically, Greg addresses the image of the seals on believers’ foreheads, demonstrating how God has sealed us, thereby giving us confidence in the character of God to complete the work that he has begun in us.
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Sealed by the Blood
• Greg Boyd
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In this sermon, Greg surveys the seven trumpet judgements found in Revelation 8 and 9. He does this in three parts. First, he speaks to the nature of these judgments as they related to ecology, highlighting the impact of sin upon the earth. This is seen in Revelation 8:7, where one third of the earth, the trees and the green grass is burned up. This destruction comes at the hands of Lucifer as one-third is a symbol of the “wannabe” God who is grasping for divine glory but does not possess it. The result of sin is the destruction of the earth, and the judgment of sin is built into the natural consequences of the sin. These consequences have been experienced with every historical empire, but none as much as the global empire of modern life. The mentality of perpetual ascent, where everyone is grasping for more and more has resulted in ecological crises as never before seen. We are living in the destruction of the “one third.”
In the second part of the sermon, Greg provides a deep dive into the images of the seven trumpet judgments. With each of these judgments, we are bombarded with a picture of the earth being sieged by demonic forces. Darkness prevails. No one can discern truth from lies or decipher what is real from what is fake.
In the final part, Greg explores the meaning of the image of the sealed foreheads from Revelation 9:4. The seal is a symbol of protection from the stinger of the locusts and the scorpion tails. This is a protection of the mind. Those who are not sealed are vulnerable to stings and are open to the lies of the enemy, whereas those who are sealed are protected by truth. The image of the seal is a reference back to the blood placed over the doors in the Exodus from Egypt as it sealed those who lived within that home. It was a protection from the destroyer. As we are sealed, we live under the protection of the truth that God has spoken over us.
In saying that we are sealed, we are saying that God is protecting us until the end. (See Philippians 1:6). God, who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion. In 1 John 3:1-3, we read about this enduring work of God in our lives that will not end until it is completed.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Discipleship, End Times, Judgment
Sermon Series: Crescendo of Chaos
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Revelation 8:7-9:12
The first angel blew his trumpet, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were hurled to 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. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. 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 died from the water because it was 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 was darkened; a third of the day was kept from shining and likewise the night. Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew in midheaven, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had 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 authority like the authority of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to damage the grass of the earth or any green growth 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 the agony suffered was like that caused by a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them. In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped 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 scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails like scorpions, with stingers, and in their tails is their power to harm people for five months. 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. There are still two woes to come.
3 thoughts on “Sealed by the Blood”
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Is it possible to get a copy of the document Greg refers to that talks about who God says we are?
Hi Drew – If you scroll up on this page, I’ve linked the “Identity in Christ” handout under “Downloads & Resources”. Thanks for asking!
–Sarah from the Communications team
Thank you so much!