Message Outline

1. The ALTAR points to Sacrifice. (v.13)
2. The ANGELS point to Sovereignty. (v.14-15)
3. The ARMY points to Scripture. (v.16-19)
4. The AUDIENCE points to Sin. (v.20-21)

1 - The ALTAR points to Sacrifice. - "Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.."

"..the sixth angel.." - Remember that now we have already seen the 7 Seal Judgements, and also 5 of the Trumpet Judgements. 1/4 of the world's population has already died, many aspects of the natural world have been ravaged by God's wrath, and countless Christians around the globe have been martyred for their faith in Christ.
Nonetheless, GOD is still in control, He is on the Throne, and His program of Judgement for the world is about 50% completed.

"..I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar.." - In the tabernacle and temple of Israel, the golden altar was the altar of incense, which was a representation of the prayers of God’s people. Prayers from God’s people influence the end-times drama.
The four horns were each corner of the altar. Atoning blood was applied to the horns. From these horns, John heard a voice. Here we can clearly see an important lesson:
A blood Sacrifice is necessary for man to have any true connection or relationship to the LORD God! (Lev 17:11; Heb 9:22)
"sacrifice" appears 185x in Scripture & "blood" appears 424 times!! (John 1:29)

“The Man with the Golden Arm” - James Harrison, an Australian man born in 1936, has blood that has saved the lives of over 2 million newborn babies. His blood contains a rare antibody capable of curing Rhesus disease, a severe form of anemia, affecting babies whose blood type is incompatible with that of their mother. He has donated blood over 1,000 times and has no thoughts of ever stopping. While Harrison’s blood is capable of saving life, the blood of Jesus Christ is the only blood that can give eternal life, thru the forgiveness of sin. Jesus only donated one time, but it was sufficient for all time!!

2 - The ANGELS point to Sovereignty. - "..saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind."

"..the four angels who are bound.." -

"..the great river Euphrates.." - These angels were connected with the Euphrates River because the Euphrates was a landmark of ancient Babylon. This river holds a very significant place:
It was the frontier of Israel’s Promised Land. (Gen 15:17-21)
It was the boundary of the Roman Empire. (Dan 2, 4)
It is also associated with the first sin. (Gen 2:10-14)
It is associated with the first murder. (Gen 4:16)
It is associated with the first organized revolt against God. (Gen 11:1-9)
It is associated with the first war confederation. (Gen 14:1)
It is associated with the first dictatorship. (Gen 10:8-10)

"..prepared for the hour and day and month and year.." - These angels have a specific sphere of activity (1/3 of mankind), and are only activated in God’s precise timing. They execute God’s will in God’s timing - He is absolutely sovereign!1
Ruth's life...David's life...JESUS' life...

"There is no attribute of GOD more comforting to His children than that of His sovereignty. Under the most difficult circumstances, in the most severe trials, we believe that sovereignty has ordained our afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will use them all. There is nothing for which believers ought more earnestly to trust in, than the doctrine of our Master being Lord over all creation - the Kingship of God over all the universe...for it is King upon the Throne that we trust." - Spurgeon

3 - The ARMY points to Scripture. - "Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm."

The Armies' Description..??? - Does this speak of a natural or a supernatural army? Is this an army of men or an army of demons? If this describes a natural army of men, then the weird description may speak of modern, mechanized warfare. It may be John simply describes modern machinery in the only terms he can, and the result is this weird, grotesque, terrifying account.

"..a third of mankind was killed.." - After combining the quantity of humans already killed up to this point in the Tribulation, we can see that by this time of human history, 1/2 of mankind will have been killed! This reminds us of the words of Jesus during His Olivet Discourse:
Mt 24:21-22 NLT - "For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive."

"..the number of the army...was 200 million.." - A human army this size has never been seen. Over the centuries, statements such as these have caused skeptics and scoffers to laugh at the Bible, and state that it could never be true, and this was definitive evidence that it was only a book written by men!
The total population of the world in the days of John, in the 1st century, didn't even add up to 200 million, on the entire planet!
The total size of all armies in World War II was only 70 million!
However, today the population of the world is more than 6 billion people. 25% of the earths population lives in China, who in 1965 on "Radio Peking", claimed to have a standing army of 200 million soldiers! (Nineveh; Babylon; Pilate)

It's vital for Christians to understand that ALL of Scripture is given by the INSPIRATION of God, and is 100% true and accurate! (2Tim 3:16)
-Only the Bible contains over 1,800 prophecies, and is 100% accurate in predicting the future in advance!
-Only the Bible contains over 300 prophecies of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, which ALL were fulfilled historically in the 1st century!
-Only the Bible is 100% accurate in the areas of ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, PROPHECY, and PHILOSOPHY!!
-It is not only the most reliable and trustworthy ancient book in terms of it's manuscripts and translation, but it's also the ONLY BOOK IN HUMAN HISTORY with a "Divine Signature" upon it, proving definitively that it is truly inspired by the One True Living God!

1Thess 2:13 - "..when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe."

4 - The AUDIENCE points to Sin. - "But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts."

"..But the rest of mankind...did not repent.." - In general, mankind showed no repentance, despite the presence of some pretty overwhelming signs and wonders. It is amazing to see how quickly things return to what is thought to be normal after some calamity such as an earthquake. We are often too quick to forget God’s lessons, even the lessons that come thru His discipline & judgment!!
Why would any person reject the free offer of salvation in Jesus Christ? God’s gift of forgiveness accompanied with eternal life seems too good to pass up. Yet many do just that. Perhaps they can be compared to the 45 million Americans who still refuse to wear their seatbelts. The federal government says that 38 unbelted people die in traffic accidents every day. Most of those people would still be alive today if they had simply fastened the belt. It is easier to be saved than it is to buckle your seatbelt...yet many refuse it.

"..worship demons, and idols.." - Rather than repenting, man will continue with his IDOLATRY in a "business as usual" sort of way. They will continue in their worship of demons, whether their worship is understood by them or not.
1 Cor 10:14,20-22 NLT - "So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols...I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than He is?"

Today, our world is also given over the participation in the occult, satanism, paganism, and demonic worship. In Detroit, there was recently a Satanic statue erected publicly, with the largest public Satanic celebration in US history. There are many "Satanic Clubs" in grade schools now, to intentionally compete with Christianity. In many parts of the world (Haiti, India, Asia) demonic worship is the primary religious way of life, and the people are in tremendous darkness!

However, in the Tribulation period the adoration of demons will descend to new depths, and humanity will give themselves over in an unprecedented way!

"..they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts..." - Rather than repenting, man will continue with his IMMORALITY. This list of sins is a striking accusation against our present age! Certainly, our modern world is characterized by murders, sorceries (associated with the taking of drugs), sexual immorality and thefts.
For the person who is ready to commit the sin of adultery but doesn't know exactly how to go about it safely and anonymously, there is now help online. The website AshleyMadison.com allows men and women to sign up, chat with one another, and eventually make the hook up. Ninety-two percent of the males on the site are married, as are 60 percent of females. The cost of beginning infidelity is $49 for a package that allows 20 contacts. The site has over 4 million subscribers. The CEO of the corporation, Noel Biderman, justifies his site by saying, “Humans aren’t meant to be monogamous.” When Biderman was asked how he would feel if his own wife used his site, he honestly responded, “I would be devastated.”

SOME APPLICATIONS TO CONSIDER

Jesus' Sacrifice....THANK Him for it!!
Jesus' Sovereignty....TRUST in it!!
Jesus Scriptures...COMMIT to it!!
Our Sin...REPENT of it!!