Revelation Session 13
Notes
Transcript
The first Four trumpets
The first Four trumpets
Recap:
In session 12 we covered the opening of the seventh seal and the prayers if the saints. (Rev 8:1-5)
Just before that we had just finished chapter seven with the sealing of the 144,00 and the great multitude before the throne. That showed protection assurance in the midst of judgement.
The seventh seal is open and there is silence for about half an hour. This is not emptiness but a reverent pause. The calm before the storm. We showed In Habakkuk 2:20 and Zephaniah 1:7 how often silence precedes judgement
The seventh seal unfolds into the trumpets which reinforces the cyclical or progressive pattern of Revelation depending on your particular view.
Seven trumpets are given to seven angels but before they are allowed to blow, another angel was given much incense which was added to the prayers of the saints under altar connecting this to 6:10 where the martyrs are crying out “how long, O Lord”
Fire from that same altar is cast to the earth because God is now ready to answer their prayers for justice. Thunder, lightning and earthquake are caused by what was hurled to the earth
Briefly this is how the different views see all of this
Dispensational Premillennialism
Dispensational Premillennialism
The seventh seal introduces the trumpet judgements in a future 7-year tribulation
Historic Premillennialism
Historic Premillennialism
Also future oriented intensified end-time tribulation but see recapitulation or overlapping cycles not rigid chronology.
Amillennialism
Amillennialism
Strong recapitulation. Seals, trumpets, bowl are parallel portrayals of the same church age realities from different angles
Postmillennialism
Postmillennialism
Also recapitulation-oriented. Often sees these cycles as symbolic repeated judgements throughout history, climaxing before Christ returns.
Setting the Stage
Setting the Stage
Revelation 8:6-13 marks the sounding of the first 4 trumpets. There were several uses for the sounding of trumpets in the OT
Summoning assembly (Num. 10:1-10)
Announcing war (Jos 6)
Warning of judgment (Joel 2:1)
The Day of the Lord (Zeph 1:16)
Trumpets were not suble. they are public warning. And the structure of the trumpets will bring to memory the plagues of Egypt (Ex. 7-12), showing us that just as God judged Egypt for oppressing His people, H now judges the rebellious world
6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.
7 And the first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8 And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood,
9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea—those which had life—died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
Exposition
Exposition
The first trumpet (v.7)
7 And the first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
This is a deliberate echo of what has happened before:
22 Now Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”
23 So Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and Yahweh gave forth thunder and hail, and fire went down to the earth. And Yahweh rained down hail on the land of Egypt.
24 So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25 And the hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from man to beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field.
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.
Notice the similarity here which would not have escaped John. God is judging the world as He did Egypt. However, this is apocalyptic symbolic language but it does not mean unreal.
Symbols are not to be understood literally but they do depict historical realities
Hail and fire represent destructive divine intervention while blood represents death:
30 “And I will put wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
This is heaven responding to the prayers of the saints (8:3-5). Now this is wrath and this is judgment but it is still very much restrained
“a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up…”
This is not total annihilation. It is severe but partial. This tells us a lot about what God is doing.
God is sovereignly limiting destruction.
This is warning judgment – not final judgment.
Mercy is still present with wrath.
We will contrast these with the bowl judgments later in chapter 16, those are total. Trumpets warn, bowls conclude.
Take a look at the issues this created on the earth: a third of the earth, a third of the trees, all the green grass. This strikes at agriculture directly
No crops = famine.
No trees = economic collapse
No grass = livestock death
This is societal destabilization. Food security is shaken. Think of it this way when humanity worships the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25) God strikes the creation itself. Think Genesis 1:
God brings order:
Land emerges.
Vegetation grows
Life flourishes
Here, vegetation burns, creation begins to unravel. Sin moves creation towards chaos. Let us move on:
The Second Trumpet (vv. 8-9)
8 And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood,
9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea—those which had life—died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
What do you see in John’s use of language here? Look at verse 8, what is he not saying?
Apocaliptic literature frequently uses comparison language because John is describing visionary realities that transcend ordinary categories.
This signals symbolic force, even if one ultimately interprets the event as literal in effect, the emphasis is not geological precision it is theological meaning.
The strongest OT parallel is found in:
25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys the whole earth,” declares Yahweh, “And I will stretch out My hand against you And roll you down from the crags, And I will make you a burnt out mountain.
A mountain:
A kingdom
A political power
A dominant empire
Babylon was called a mountain because it loomed over the nations. And the blood of course reminds us of the Nile turning into blood. Revelation repeatedly blends Exodus plague imagery with prophetic kingdom-judgment imagery.
“Thrown into the Sea” (Table)
The sea in Scripture often represents:
• The nations (Daniel 7:2–3)
• Chaos (Psalm 65:7)
• Restlessness and rebellion (Isaiah 57:20)
In the Roman world, the sea also represented:
• Commerce
• Trade
• Military power
• Economic dominance
The Mediterranean Sea was the artery of the empire. To strike the sea is to strike global systems.
Marine life dies, commerce collapses, trade routes suffer, economic stability is shaken. Where the first trumpet affected agriculture alone, this one is aimed at international commerce. He is shaking systems.
Ships represent:
• Wealth
• Expansion
• Imperial reach
• Economic confidence
Later in Revelation 18, the fall of Babylon includes merchants and shipmasters weeping over economic ruin.
The pattern is consistent:
When human civilization builds its identity on power and commerce apart from God, those foundations are vulnerable.
Structural Pattern So Far:
Trumpet 1 — Land
Trumpet 2 — Sea
This mirrors Genesis 1 in reverse:
• Vegetation struck
• Sea life struck
Creation order is progressively disrupted. But still — only a third. Judgment intensifies, but restraint remains.
The Third Trumpet (vv. 10-11)
10 And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.
Again, John uses visionary language. He does not just say a star feel but he describes a great star and blazing like a torch. This is dramatic, fiery, and catastrophic imagery.
In Scripture, a star can represent:
A literal heavenly body
An angelic being (Job 38:7)
A ruler or authority (Isa 14:12; Dan 8:10)
We must be careful not to import assumptions too quickly. At this point in the text, John simply describes what he saw: something like a flaming celestial object descending from heaven.
So now instead of the sea, this trumpet strikes at rivers and springs. In the ancient world this would be drinking water, irrigation, daily survival.
Sea devastation disrupts commerce. Freshwater contamination threatens life directly. The scope is narrowing and intensifying. The sea can be survived without immediate death. Poisoned drinking water cannot.
Now, who in the world is Wormwood. It is not a who, it is a what. It is a plan
Pic of Wormwood plant
Wormwood is a real plant — commonly identified as Artemisia absinthium.
Extremely bitter in taste
Used medicinally in small doses
Toxic in larger amounts
Known in the ancient world for its sharp bitterness
In Scripture, wormwood is consistently connected to:
Bitterness
Sorrow
Judgment
Covenant curse
18 lest there be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood.
Here it is associated with idolatry and covenant breaking
15 therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
This is associated with judgment
15 “Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood And make them drink poisoned water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.’”
So, false prophets or false teachers lead to wormwood
Wormwood is not random poison. It is judicial bitterness. The idea in Revelation is that of moral corruption producing bitter consequences.
Now unlike the first two trumpets, this one explicitly states:
“many men died”
This is escalation. Vegetation destruction destabilized. Marine devastation disrupted. Now people die directly from poisoned water. The judgement is moving closer to humanity. So creation suffers first:
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
But judgment culminates with the image-bearer because man is morally responsible. Creation groans, man revels.
echoes of Exodus — But Also Beyond It
In Exodus, water turned to blood temporarily (Exodus 7:20–21). Here, water becomes bitter and deadly. There is also an ironic contrast with Exodus 15:23–25: At Marah, the water was bitter. God made it sweet.
In Revelation, sweet water becomes bitter. In Exodus, God healed the water for His people. In Revelation, God judges through the water. Redemptive history and judgment history are intertwined.
TABLE
The sphere of life is systematically struck.
Genesis 1:
• Vegetation
• Seas
• Waters
Revelation 8:
• Vegetation damaged
• Seas corrupted
• Waters poisoned
Creation order continues to unravel, but still a third. It is measured, restrained, it is still a warning.
The fourth Trumpet (8:12)
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.
. The Scope Expands Upward
Trumpet 1 — Land
Trumpet 2 — Sea
Trumpet 3 — Fresh water
Trumpet 4 — Heavens
We have moved from earth to sky. This mirrors Genesis 1 even more clearly:
Day 3 — Vegetation
Day 4 — Sun, moon, and stars
Revelation is deliberately moving through the created order. But now it is not being formed. It is being dimmed. This is de-creation language.
“A Third” — Still Restrained. A third of the sun. A third of the moon. A third of the stars. This repetition is not accidental. John is pressing the idea of limited judgment. Darkness is partial. Light still remains. This is warning judgment, not final judgment. Contrast this with
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
(bowl judgment), where darkness becomes more total and suffocating. Trumpets warn. Bowls culminate.
Darkness in Scripture often signals The Day of the Lord:
10 Before them the earth trembles; The heavens quake; The sun and the moon grow dark, And the stars lose their brightness.
9 “And it will be in that day,” declares Lord Yahweh, “That I will make the sun go down at noon And make the earth dark in broad daylight.
It can also signal covenant judgment (Ex 10:21-23) ninth plague — darkness over Egypt.
Or it can signal cosmic disturbance at divine intervention:
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
Darkening the heavenly lights represents:
Disorder
Judgment
Withdrawal of blessing
The destabilization of what seemed fixed
In Genesis 1:14-18 the sun and moon were given to govern day and night. Here their governance is disrupted.
From a human perspective, the sun and moon are fixed and dependable:
22 “While all the days of the earth remain, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”
Revelation 8 shows what happens when God begins to disturb that rhythm. God is demonstrating control. He can dim what humanity assumes is permanent.
The eagle’s warning (8:13)
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
John signals a shift.
The first four trumpets have sounded. Before the final three, heaven inserts a warning. Judgment is not impulsive. It is announced. God does not move from restraint to escalation without warning.
B. “An Eagle Flying in Midheaven”
B. “An Eagle Flying in Midheaven”
Some manuscripts read “angel,” but the stronger textual reading is “eagle.”
The image matters.
An eagle in Scripture often symbolizes:
Swiftness of judgment
49 “Yahweh will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose tongue you shall not understand,
Devastation
1 Put the trumpet to your mouth! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of Yahweh Because they have trespassed against My covenant And transgressed against My law.
Carrion imagery
28 “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
“Midheaven” refers to the highest visible point in the sky — directly overhead — where a bird would be most visible and audible.
This is a public proclamation. The world cannot claim ignorance. The warning is global.
“Woe, Woe, Woe”
“Woe, Woe, Woe”
Threefold repetition intensifies severity. In Scripture, “woe” is prophetic judgment language. Isaiah 5 pronounces repeated woes on covenant rebellion. Habakkuk 2 pronounces woes on injustice. A “woe” is not merely sadness. It is judicial pronouncement. The eagle is announcing that what has happened so far is not the worst of it. The first four trumpets were severe. The final three will be worse.
“Those Who Dwell on the Earth”
“Those Who Dwell on the Earth”
This phrase in Revelation is technical. It does not simply mean “people living on the planet.” Throughout Revelation, “earth-dwellers” refers to:
Those aligned with the beast
Those who resist repentance
Those who belong to the rebellious world system
It contrasts with:
The sealed servants of God (7:3–4)
Those whose citizenship is heavenly (cf. Philippians 3:20)
The warning is specifically directed at hardened unbelief. God distinguishes His people from those who persist in rebellion.
E. Escalation Announced
E. Escalation Announced
The first four trumpets primarily struck creation.
The final three will strike humanity more directly:
Demonic torment (chapter 9)
Massive death
Intensified suffering
The eagle’s cry signals:
This is no longer just environmental destabilization.
The focus is about to shift to spiritual and personal devastation.
The Pattern of Divine Patience
The Pattern of Divine Patience
Even here, before the worst judgments fall, there is announcement.
God warns before He strikes fully.
This echoes:
Noah before the flood
Moses before the plagues
The prophets before exile
Judgment in Scripture is never unannounced. Warning is mercy.
Theological Reflections
Theological Reflections
Now that we have walked through each trumpet, we must ask: What is John showing us about God, creation, judgment, and history?
Table:
Judgment as De-creation
Revelation pattern:
Vegetation struck
Seas corrupted
Fresh water poisoned
Heavenly lights darkened
Compare this to Genesis 1:
Vegetation established (Day 3)
Luminaries appointed to govern (Day 4)
Waters structured and filled
Revelation 8 appears to be moving in reverse. This is judicial unraveling. Sin brings disorder. When humanity rejects the Creator, creation itself becomes unstable.
Romans 8:20-22 tells us creation was subjected to futility because of sin. And Revelation show us what futility looks like under divine action.
2. Measured Judgment — Mercy Within Wrath
The repeated phrase:
“a third”
This cannot be accidental. The devastation is severe — but not total.
Light remains.
Water remains.
Life remains.
This is warning judgment. Contrast later bowl judgments (Revelation 16), where destruction becomes more complete. The trumpets are not final wrath.
They are escalating alarms. God is not yet ending history. He is shaking it. This reflects the character of God revealed throughout Scripture:He warns before He destroys. He calls before He concludes.
The eagle’s “woe” proves this — escalation is announced before it arrives. Judgment is restrained because mercy is still extended.
3. Exodus Pattern — A New Deliverance Context
3. Exodus Pattern — A New Deliverance Context
The plagues of Egypt echo loudly here:
Hail and fire
Waters turned deadly
Darkness
In Exodus:
God judged Egypt
God distinguished His people
God delivered His covenant community
Revelation presents a greater Exodus.
But notice the shift:
In Egypt, the plagues targeted a specific nation.
In Revelation, the scope is global.
The world that opposes the Lamb becomes the new Egypt.
And just as Pharaoh hardened his heart despite escalating plagues, Revelation 9 will show humanity refusing to repent despite escalating judgment. History repeats the same pattern of hardness.
4. Escalation Toward Humanity
4. Escalation Toward Humanity
There is progression:
Trumpet 1 — Vegetation
Trumpet 2 — Sea life & commerce
Trumpet 3 — Drinking water (direct death)
Trumpet 4 — Cosmic light
Judgment moves closer to human survival and stability.
Then the eagle announces that worse is coming. The first four trumpets disturb the environment. The final three will strike humanity more directly. This is measured intensification. God does not move from zero to total annihilation.
He escalates.
The Distinction Between “Earth-Dwellers” and the Sealed
The eagle’s warning is directed toward:
“those who dwell on the earth”
In Revelation, this phrase describes those aligned with rebellion. But chapter 7 has already shown us the sealed servants of God. This means something critical:
Judgment may shake creation, but covenant identity determines destiny. God distinguishes His people.
Just as in Goshen during the plagues of Egypt,
so here God knows those who belong to Him.
This does not necessarily mean believers avoid all suffering. But it does mean they are not objects of wrath. The Lamb who opens the scroll does not lose His people in the process.
Christ the Sovereign Judge
Christ the Sovereign Judge
We must not miss the Christological thread. Who opened the seals that led to the trumpets? The Lamb (Revelation 5). The same Christ who was slain now executes judgment.
Revelation will not allow us to separate:
Gentle Savior
Righteous Judge
The cross and the throne belong to the same Person. The One who offered mercy is also the One who warns through judgment.
This should sober us. But it should also comfort the persecuted church.
History is not random.
Judgment is not chaotic.
Christ is not passive. He reigns.
Eschatological Views First four Trumpets Revelation 8:6-13 table
Key Structural Distinction
Key Structural Distinction
DP & most HP → Linear and primarily future
A & P → Cyclical / recapitulative (parallel visions covering the same era with intensification)
This structural issue is not minor.
It determines how the entire book is read.
If linear:
Revelation unfolds as a chronological end-times roadmap.
If cyclical:
Revelation repeatedly portrays the church age with increasing intensity until the final judgment.
Observational Notes for Teaching
Observational Notes for Teaching
All four views agree the imagery is severe.
All agree the judgments escalate.
The main disagreement is when and how literally they occur.
The cyclical views see strong literary parallels between:
Seals
Trumpets
Bowls
as repeated patterns rather than separate chronological blocks.
Application
Application
All warnings are Mercy
God warns before He concludes.
The trumpets are not final wrath.
They are alarms.
Natural instability, societal collapse, economic shaking — these are not random events in a godless universe. They are reminders that the world is not ultimate.
If God shakes creation and people still refuse to repent (which we will see in chapter 9), the problem is not lack of evidence. It is hardness of heart.
Crisis alone does not produce repentance. Only the Spirit of God applying the gospel does. So the question becomes: When the world shakes, does your heart soften or harden?
2. Creation is not stable apart from God
We assume:
The sun will rise.
Crops will grow.
Markets will function.
Systems will hold.
Revelation 8 shows us how fragile those assumptions are.
Vegetation burns.
Oceans collapse.
Water poisons.
Light dims.
The things humanity builds confidence in are contingent upon the will of God. Psalm 104 reminds us that creation continues because He sustains it. If He withdraws restraint, order trembles. That should humble us.
3. Economic Security is not ultimate security
Ships destroyed.
Commerce disrupted.
Resources diminished.
Civilizations trust trade.
Nations trust military and economic strength.
Individuals trust income and stability.
But Revelation shows that systems can be shaken. If your peace depends on the stability of the world, your peace is fragile. The church must not anchor hope in markets, governments, or global structures. Our stability is covenantal, not circumstantial.
4. Judgment is escalating but still restrained
“A third.”
God is patient. But patience is not permanence. The trumpets warn that history is moving somewhere.
God is not passive.
Christ is not absent.
The Lamb is not defeated.
Escalation is part of redemptive history. There will be a final reckoning. The proper response is repentance now — not speculation later.
5. The distinction that matters
The eagle’s warning is directed toward:
“those who dwell on the earth.”
Throughout Revelation, that phrase refers to those aligned with rebellion. But chapter 7 has already shown the sealed servants of God. The ultimate dividing line in history is not nationality, culture, or wealth. It is allegiance to the Lamb.
When creation shakes, the question is not:
“How do I escape instability?”
The question is:
“Do I belong to Christ?”
If you belong to Him, judgment is not condemnation. It is the pathway to final deliverance.
6. Christ is both Savior and Judge
We must not domesticate Jesus.
The One who was slain is the One who opens the scroll.
The One who extends mercy is the One who executes judgment.
This should produce:
Reverence
Sobriety
Worship
The same Lamb who shed His blood for sinners now governs history.
He is not merely offering salvation.
He is ruling the cosmos. And that means the world is not spiraling out of control. It is moving toward accountability.
This is not to make us anxious but to detach us from false security and anchor us in eternal security.
