Title: Flying Eagle
Contents
2007' Lecture on Revelation from the pulpit of the tendency (53)
"Flying Eagle"
Revelation 8:13
Now, the apostle John is revealing the identity of the trumpet plague. The first trumpet was a plague of war, in which hail and fire mixed with blood struck the earth. The second trumpet was a disaster for the Red Christian nation, where a burning mountain struck the sea. The third trumpet was a plague of heretics, when a great star burning like a torch struck the river. The fourth trumpet was a disaster for religious and political leaders, in which one third of the sun, moon, and stars were paralyzed and darkened.
Now, while waiting for the fifth trumpet plague, we see an unexpected scene. That is the warning of an eagle flying through the air.
Revelation 8:13 says, “And I saw and heard an eagle flying in mid-air, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, besides this, because of the sound of the fire trumpets of the three angels.”
what kind of eagle What does an eagle do?
1. It is an eagle that soars through the air.
Here 'mid-heaven' means in the middle of the sky, referring to the central location where the sun hangs in the sky. This scene is very dramatic and feels terrifying. It is a scene in which a large eagle is flying across it in a high and wide air.
2. It is an eagle that screams loudly.
Our text reads, “He said with a loud voice… ’ (Rev 8:13).
Why did he shout?
① Because the content of the sound is so serious, urgent, and certain.
② To inform everyone.
At any time in a special event revelation, it appears as a loud or small voice that refreshes our attention and memory.
3. It is an eagle warning of God's judgment.
It is said, “Woe to those who dwell on the earth, woe, woe to them.”
It was said that the content of the woe was because of the sound of the fire trumpets of the three remaining angels (Rev 8:13). That woe is the name of God's judgment (disaster).
1) The woe is upon those who dwell on the earth.
Here, ‘those who dwell on the earth’ are those who regard the world as their permanent city, settle and live by that belief. I mean the world's first inhabitants who professionally devise and obsess over permanent plans. Revelation 3:10 says, “It is a time to test those who dwell on the earth.” They're utter goldists It means “those who settle down and live in this world” and believe that their hometown is only in this world.
2) What was it that repeated the anger three times?
① It emphasizes the certainty of God's judgment. ② This also means that the fifth, sixth, and seventh, or three times, of the next calamity remain. ③ The reason why it was repeated is that the next calamity will be eternal torment that will come upon human souls and bodies indefinitely.
4. The Eagle as an Instrument of God's Judgment
The eagle thus symbolized God's judgment. The eagle is the king of powerful and fast-flying birds. This eagle is often represented as an instrument of God's judgment.
1) The invasion of the Gentiles was compared to an eagle.
Deuteronomy 28:49 says, “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the ends of the earth, like the flight of an eagle, a nation whose language you do not know.”
2) The enemy is compared to an eagle.
Hosea 8:1 says, “Put the trumpet to your mouth, and your enemies will strike like eagles on the house of the Lord, for they break my covenant and transgress my law.”
3) He compared the invasion of an enemy country to an eagle.
Habakkuk 1:8 says, “The horse is swifter than a leopard, and fiercer than the evening wolves, and its cavalry is a cavalry that runs fast from afar, like the flight of an eagle trying to grab food.
5. What is the identity of today's eagle?
Today, God is sending various types of eagles soaring in the sky warning of His judgment. It could be an angel sent by God.
It may be the messenger of death (Matt. 24:28).
But above all else, it is the true church of Jesus Christ that bears witness to the gospel of Jesus in the world.
The Bible and church history make these great facts clear. For example, the movement of Noah's ark, announcing the judgment of the flood about 120 years later, was the mission of flying eagles. Wasn't the angel who foretold the destruction of Sodom to Abraham a kind of flying eagle? Wasn't Jeremiah a flying eagle that predicted the appearance of Abraham praying for Sodom and the end of Israel and the invasion of Babylon? Wasn't Elijah, who prophesied God's wrath upon Ahab's royal family and urged repentance, was not the eagle that flew through the air of that time?
Wasn't John the Baptist's cry a warning from a flying eagle? Paul, who warned of the collapse of the Roman Empire, was obviously an eagle flying in the middle of his time. The voices of Elder Park Gwan-jun and prison church leaders who announced the end of Japanese militarism were also warnings from eagles flying in the sky.
Regardless of age, wear the fullness of the Holy Spirit, put on the helmet of salvation, put on the breastplate of righteousness, put on the shoes of the gospel, and hold the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God, and fly toward the earth even in the night of deep sin, regardless of age. There was an eagle that heralded God's judgment on the generation of sinful dwellers. The true churches that solidified their status like an impregnable castle and foretold God's righteous judgment were indeed eagles passing through the sky (center) of that time.
Isaiah prophesied about this, saying, “Have you not known or have you not heard? Eternal God, the LORD, who created the ends of the earth, does not grow weary, he does not grow weary, his understanding knows no bounds; he gives strength to the weary, and strength to the powerless. “Even the youth will grow weary and weary, and the young will stumble and fall, but those who wait on the Lord will find new strength, and they will rise up like eagles on wings; they will run and not get weary, they will walk and not get weary” (Isa. 40:28-31).
Oh! True churches of Jesus Christ! Become an eagle flying in the sky, announcing God's imminent judgment to those who dwell on the earth! No, become the eagle of the gospel that tells the children of God the hope of salvation!