Sound The Trumpet

Our Prayers Are Welcome.

The chapter begins with the opening of the seventh seal. It is interesting that no judgment action flows from the seventh seal. Instead, it results in the beginning of the trumpets. Like a nesting doll, these flow one out of the previous. Breaking the seventh seal is unique because it is followed by silence. Fanning believes the silence is connected to the Jewish tradition of silence form the angels when incense and prayers are offered in the Temple. This has nothing to doo with God’s ability to be attentive to both the angels’ worship and the satin’s prayers, but rather shows that God is particularly attentive to the prayers of His people. This fits contextually with vv.3-5.

There are seven angels standing before God. This shows attentiveness and a readiness to serve. Another angel came forward, and he has a golden censer and he’s given much incense. Imagery here is very similar to the throne room scene Rev.5:8 (“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”). Incense makes the prayers acceptable to God. For this reason, it seems appropriate to associate the incense with Christ’s priestly work. Incense was also symbolic for the prayers of God’s people as they rise to His throne.

God aids in the process of ensuring the prayers of His people reach His throne and are pleasing with/as they arrive!

There is much to be said about prayer...

Prayer models...

What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name?”

Should we recite the “Lord’s Prayer” or use it as a model?

When? How long?

His Judgment Is Fierce.

The priestly angel becomes the avenging angel. Casting the censer seems to borrow from Ezk.10:2-7. The Ezekiel judgment connects the sealing of God’s people with judgment that included coals, lightening, and fire.

The response of God to the prayers of the saints seems both swift and severe. The very censer that carried the prayers is hurled to earth with terrifying signs.

The Ezekiel parallel sees the angel throw down fire form heaven to judge Jerusalem for her sins. The near fulfillment was Nebuchadnezzar burning the city (there are obvious Babylon/DOTL parallels).

Similar pictures are seen in Sodom and Gomorrah’s judgment.

This also mimics the seventh plague of Egypt. The peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake invokes Sinai imagery, which has been common before (see previous commentary on how the Sinai event became synonymous with divine judgment (Israel delivered through Egypt’s judgment)). Here, God’s presence certainly equals judgment.

The first storm theophany (Rev.4:5 “From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God,”) was a part of God’s declaration of His sovereignty and was connected to worship. Here, it is connected to judgment. Throughout the book, worship and judgment are often intertwined.

It is possible to trace a line of thought that says:

The church cries out and prays to God.

These prayers are particularly voiced by the martyrs and their cry for justice.

These prayers fill the golden censer…

Which is then hurled to the earth,

Showing God’s retributive answer to prayer.

And, it’s interesting to note that the hurling of the golden censer foreshadows the first of the trumpet judgments.

The angels with trumpets get ready to blow them. Normally, priests would blow their trumpets together, but here they go one-by-one. Trumpets precede the DOTL in Joel 2:1; Zeph.1:16; Zech.9:14, and the language is mirrored by Jesus in Mt.24:31 and Paul in 1 Thes.4:16. The judgments intend to follow the Exodus judgments and come against idolatry. There is a final chance for repentance. As the trumpet sounds, hail and fire, mixed with blood falls to the earth. This mimics Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.19:24), the seventh plague of Egypt (Ex.9:23-24), Jerusalem’s destruction (Ezk.10:2), God’s defeat of God and Magog (Ezk.38:22), etc. Joel 2:30-31 shows this imagery in connection with the DOTL, and Isa.9:5; Ezk.21:32; and Ezk.38:22 all link blood and fire together in judgment. There is debate as to how literal these judgments should be taken. Certainly it draws on Exodus 9 and Egypt’s judgment-by-plague events. That was literal. But, the vast majority of Revelation should probably be taken symbolically unless we must interpret it literally, and even those in the more “literal interpretation” camps disagree here. What is unfolding is fierce judgment.

It is very possible the burning and great mountain are meant to recall similar depictions of Babylon in Jer.51:24-26 (““I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord. “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord.”). Remember that God uses Babylon as a instrument of judgment before judging them. With the Babylon imagery in play, and many scholars from across the interpretive scope take this stance, then the Babylon cycle of Scripture should be recalled, meaning either this is another cycle of Babylon OR (and I lean this direction) this is the final DOTL judgment of Babylon the Great. OR…it could be both!

The fact that a third is destroyed could point to critical, yet not utterly fatal, judgments. This may point to a dire warning that offers an opportunity for repentance. The fact that ships were destroyed is a specific toll taken on mankind, not just creation.

Then verses 10-11…what’s with this whole Wormwood business? There is no universal opinion on whether this star is meant to refer to a literal comet/asteroid coming to earth, or if it is symbolic. Some say symbolic of the coming of the Anti-Christ, one who claims religious authority and then becomes apostate. Others simply point to the effect Wormwood has, making the waters become bitter. Wormwood means bitter or bitterness. The Complete Jewish Bible actually does not use the name Wormwood, and only translates it as “bitterness.”

The waters became wormwood, and many people died seems like a fulfillment of Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15 Where God declares that He “will make them…drink poisoned water.”

Much of the Judean wilderness is a dry desert, making springs, both man-made and natural, very important. Further, there are numerous OT passages linking springs to life (Pro.10:11; 13:14; Jer.2:113; 17:13; etc). In these images, there seems to be a reversal, a surprising twist to the natural realm, for what should have brought life actually brings judgment and death.

A fourth…trumpet sounds, and a third of the heavenly bodies are struck. It mimics the three-day darkness of the ninth plague (Ex.10:21-23), but also DOTL passages about sun…moon, and…stars (see Joel 2:10, 31; 3:14-15; Amos 5:18-20; 8:9; Ezk.32:7-8). The language is similar to Joel 2:2, 10, and refers to the DOTL. Certainly the DOTL has/is in view.

Ex.10:21-23 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.”

Joel 2:2 “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.”

Joel 2:10 “The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.”

Joel 2:31 “The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

Joel 3:14-15 “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.”

Amos 5:18-20 “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?”

Amos 8:9 ““And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.”

Ezk.32:7-8 “When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord God.”

Again, let me remind you that prophecies often have near and far fulfillments, and this may be a both/and prophecy, affirming the cycles of Babylon and the DOTL while also anticipating the final DOTL event.

Now, you know my heart…my desire is never to scare anyone…don’t like scare tactics…refuse to use them…and only make it a point to draw attention to the terrifying things in Scripture when Scripture demands we bring them up. Today is one of those days. I believe what we were first introduced to in chapter 6 comes into a bit more focus here, and it is terrifying. But, God is gracious…which leads me to my last encouragement...

There is Time to Repent.

There is a way to be at peace with whatever God wills, and it is through an embrace of Christ as Lord and Savior.

This morning we should be encouraged because God indeed welcomes the prayers of His people. All of the cries throughout the ages for the just to win and the wicked to be dealt with, should bring courage to our hearts…the Good Guy wins!

But, when He once-and-for-all wins, it will come with terrible and fierce and swift judgment. Therefore, let us all the more not only cry out for Christ’s return, but make every effort to make our calling and election sure…working out our salvation in fear and trembling…being thankful that the Lord is patient so we can preach the gospel to those who are lost…all while our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the Author who will one day bring a finish to our faith.