Revelation 8:12

12 Then the fourth angel sounded: 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 did not shine, and likewise the night.

A. Here the trumpet sounds and all of our sources of light on the earth are darkened.

B. The trumpet warns that there will be times when there is no one willing to stand and preach the light of the gospel.

C. There was a period in our history, called the Dark Ages, in which the Bible was hidden. There was no one to give the light of God to a dark world. There will be times in various centuries and in various places, where the spiritual light will be darkened. Men will be forbidden to preach the gospel of God.

D. There are places today, China and Laos, for example, where the gospel is very dark. There is no light to shine in the hearts of these nations. Until 1992 the great nation of Russia was dark.

E. Could it happen here? Yes. We do not know what the future holds. We do not know how our laws regarding freedom of religion will be interpreted and enforced. Could it become illegal to preach against homosexuality? Could you be arrested for trying to help a woman not abort a baby? Could you be punished for bringing a Bible into a public school classroom? Could you be jailed for having a group Bible study in your home? [The answer to all the above questions is - YES. Not only is such possible, it has already happened in some places. It is not a stretch of our imagination to see that such could happen on a wider scale.]

F. The 4 th trumpet warns that our light must shine and no man should darken our zeal and willingness to spread the light of the gospel to the world. When you allow your light to go out or be snuffed out, you will die spiritually.