November 2nd, 2025
by Lars Dahl
by Lars Dahl
Have you ever woken up at 4 AM with your mind racing, unable to shake a profound truth that demands attention? Sometimes, the most important revelations come in those quiet, uncomfortable moments when we're forced to confront brutal realities.
The book of Revelation contains some of Scripture's most challenging passages, including descriptions of judgment that can be overwhelming and even frightening. Yet, within these apocalyptic visions lies a truth we desperately need to understand: God's mercy always precedes His judgment.
Romans 2:4 NLT asks a piercing question: "Do you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?"
God's kindness isn't weakness. His mercy isn't passivity. Rather, they reveal the fullness of His beautiful character. He doesn't want to break us down like a Marine Corps Drill Instructor reshaping raw recruits. Instead, He seeks to bring us to a point of breakthrough, a moment of clarity where we finally understand who He is and who we are in relation to Him.
When we fully surrender to His kingship through the power of the Holy Spirit, something remarkable happens:
This isn't about surrendering the comfortable parts of our lives while holding back the difficult areas. It means surrendering everything—health, finances, relationships, fears, and dreams—recognizing that everything belongs to Him.
Historical Patterns of Mercy
Throughout Scripture, we see God's pattern of providing extensive warnings before judgment falls:
Noah's Generation: God gave 120 years of warning before the first raindrop ever fell on earth. For over a century, people watched Noah build a boat and had the opportunity to respond.
Sodom: An angel literally appeared at Lot's doorstep with an urgent warning. While Lot's wife and daughters prepared to leave, his sons mocked and laughed. They mistook God's patience for emptiness, His warning for foolishness. The result was their destruction.
The Tribulation Period: Even during the judgments described in Revelation, God provides multiple opportunities for repentance. In Revelation 7, we see 144,000 from the tribes of Israel saved, followed by an innumerable multitude of martyrs. In Revelation 14:6, an angel literally flies through heaven declaring the gospel, calling people to repent and believe in Jesus.
God is relentlessly merciful, pursuing humanity even in the darkest times.
Understanding the Trumpet Judgments
The progression of judgments in Revelation reveals God's measured approach. In Revelation 6, a quarter of things were affected. In Revelation 8, it becomes a third. Only in the final bowl judgments does complete destruction come.
Every time you encounter the phrase "a third" in these passages, remember: this represents God's continued mercy. He is still withholding the full measure of judgment, still providing an opportunity for repentance.
The Second Trumpet: The Sea
When something like a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea, turning a third of it to blood and destroying a third of the ships, the impact is catastrophic. Whether this represents a volcanic eruption, a celestial event, or something more modern, the result is clear: ecological collapse and economic disruption on a global scale.
Yet even this devastation mirrors the plagues of Egypt, reminders of how God previously warned Pharaoh repeatedly before each judgment fell.
The Third Trumpet: The Rivers
A great star named Wormwood falls from heaven, contaminating a third of freshwater sources. The name itself is significant—wormwood was a bitter plant used throughout the Old Testament as a symbol of sorrow, judgment, and poison.
This imagery carries profound spiritual implications for today. Just as wormwood turns clean water poisonous, false teaching contaminates the pure water of God's Word. When churches compromise and dilute Scripture to fit cultural preferences, they're poisoning the very source meant to bring life.
The warning from 1 Timothy 4:3-4 feels particularly relevant: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to fables."
We must guard against the spiritual wormwood in our own lives by:
The Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens
When a third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck and darkened, something shifts. We move from earthly catastrophes to the disruption of what seems permanent and unchangeable. The removal of these natural light sources signifies God's withdrawal of His natural blessings from creation.
Spiritually, this reminds us that apart from Christ, we can become spiritually darkened. We must remain connected to the Light through consistent time in Scripture, prayer, and authentic community.
The Angel's Warning
After these four trumpet judgments, an angel flies through heaven crying, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet."
The repetition emphasizes urgency. The worst is yet to come. But even this warning is an expression of mercy, a final call to turn to God before it's too late.
What This Means for Us Today
God's warnings are never expressions of cruelty. They are expressions of love, mercy, and grace. He warns because He cares. He delays judgment because He desires repentance, not destruction.
Like the sons of Lot who laughed at warnings of impending judgment, our culture often mocks those who take God's Word seriously. But when God says something will happen, it will happen. His patience shouldn't be mistaken for absence or indifference.
The question for each of us is simple: Will we respond to His mercy while there's still time?
There is no mountain He won't climb, no shadow He won't light up, no distance He won't travel to pursue us. His love is purposeful, relentless, and undeserved.
The invitation stands: confess, repent, believe, and surrender, fully and completely, to the One who loved you enough to give His Son so you could have a relationship with Him.
That's not judgment. That's mercy.
The book of Revelation contains some of Scripture's most challenging passages, including descriptions of judgment that can be overwhelming and even frightening. Yet, within these apocalyptic visions lies a truth we desperately need to understand: God's mercy always precedes His judgment.
Romans 2:4 NLT asks a piercing question: "Do you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?"
God's kindness isn't weakness. His mercy isn't passivity. Rather, they reveal the fullness of His beautiful character. He doesn't want to break us down like a Marine Corps Drill Instructor reshaping raw recruits. Instead, He seeks to bring us to a point of breakthrough, a moment of clarity where we finally understand who He is and who we are in relation to Him.
When we fully surrender to His kingship through the power of the Holy Spirit, something remarkable happens:
- Peace replaces turmoil
- Purpose replaces confusion and chaos
This isn't about surrendering the comfortable parts of our lives while holding back the difficult areas. It means surrendering everything—health, finances, relationships, fears, and dreams—recognizing that everything belongs to Him.
Historical Patterns of Mercy
Throughout Scripture, we see God's pattern of providing extensive warnings before judgment falls:
Noah's Generation: God gave 120 years of warning before the first raindrop ever fell on earth. For over a century, people watched Noah build a boat and had the opportunity to respond.
Sodom: An angel literally appeared at Lot's doorstep with an urgent warning. While Lot's wife and daughters prepared to leave, his sons mocked and laughed. They mistook God's patience for emptiness, His warning for foolishness. The result was their destruction.
The Tribulation Period: Even during the judgments described in Revelation, God provides multiple opportunities for repentance. In Revelation 7, we see 144,000 from the tribes of Israel saved, followed by an innumerable multitude of martyrs. In Revelation 14:6, an angel literally flies through heaven declaring the gospel, calling people to repent and believe in Jesus.
God is relentlessly merciful, pursuing humanity even in the darkest times.
Understanding the Trumpet Judgments
The progression of judgments in Revelation reveals God's measured approach. In Revelation 6, a quarter of things were affected. In Revelation 8, it becomes a third. Only in the final bowl judgments does complete destruction come.
Every time you encounter the phrase "a third" in these passages, remember: this represents God's continued mercy. He is still withholding the full measure of judgment, still providing an opportunity for repentance.
The Second Trumpet: The Sea
When something like a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea, turning a third of it to blood and destroying a third of the ships, the impact is catastrophic. Whether this represents a volcanic eruption, a celestial event, or something more modern, the result is clear: ecological collapse and economic disruption on a global scale.
Yet even this devastation mirrors the plagues of Egypt, reminders of how God previously warned Pharaoh repeatedly before each judgment fell.
The Third Trumpet: The Rivers
A great star named Wormwood falls from heaven, contaminating a third of freshwater sources. The name itself is significant—wormwood was a bitter plant used throughout the Old Testament as a symbol of sorrow, judgment, and poison.
This imagery carries profound spiritual implications for today. Just as wormwood turns clean water poisonous, false teaching contaminates the pure water of God's Word. When churches compromise and dilute Scripture to fit cultural preferences, they're poisoning the very source meant to bring life.
The warning from 1 Timothy 4:3-4 feels particularly relevant: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to fables."
We must guard against the spiritual wormwood in our own lives by:
- Staying grounded in God's Word rather than consuming endless negative news cycles
- Guarding our motives, ensuring that why we do what we do honors God
- Meeting together in person as the body of Christ, not isolating ourselves
The Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens
When a third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck and darkened, something shifts. We move from earthly catastrophes to the disruption of what seems permanent and unchangeable. The removal of these natural light sources signifies God's withdrawal of His natural blessings from creation.
Spiritually, this reminds us that apart from Christ, we can become spiritually darkened. We must remain connected to the Light through consistent time in Scripture, prayer, and authentic community.
The Angel's Warning
After these four trumpet judgments, an angel flies through heaven crying, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet."
The repetition emphasizes urgency. The worst is yet to come. But even this warning is an expression of mercy, a final call to turn to God before it's too late.
What This Means for Us Today
God's warnings are never expressions of cruelty. They are expressions of love, mercy, and grace. He warns because He cares. He delays judgment because He desires repentance, not destruction.
Like the sons of Lot who laughed at warnings of impending judgment, our culture often mocks those who take God's Word seriously. But when God says something will happen, it will happen. His patience shouldn't be mistaken for absence or indifference.
The question for each of us is simple: Will we respond to His mercy while there's still time?
There is no mountain He won't climb, no shadow He won't light up, no distance He won't travel to pursue us. His love is purposeful, relentless, and undeserved.
The invitation stands: confess, repent, believe, and surrender, fully and completely, to the One who loved you enough to give His Son so you could have a relationship with Him.
That's not judgment. That's mercy.
Lars Dahl
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