Apocalypse Now Part XVI
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Introduction
Introduction
Chapter 7 ended with a glorious vision of the new kingdom and the innumerable multitude of which it will be comprised. It is a vision meant to inspire hope and engender courage.
We need such a vision to buoy our spirits in a world that where injustice and brokenness press in on us from every angle. God knows this and so it make total sense that such a rapturous interlude would precede the dark pronouncements that must now occupy our attention.
The birth of the new kingdom like all births will not come without paig
Analysis
Analysis
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Rev 8:1-
This is a deafening silence. Imagine the contrast between this and the scene of worship at the end of chapter 7.
We are being prepared for something solemn and momentous.
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Rev 8:3-
Prayer the church's banquet, angel's age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth
Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
Prayer reenters history with incalculable effects. Our earth is shaken daily by it.
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
Eugene Peterson
George Herbert - Prayer
The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Rev
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tow'r,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days world transposing in an hour,
George Herbert
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
This refers back to the prayers of the martyrs in
Prayer is bi-directional. This scene is a stark reminder that our prayers for justice do not fall on deaf ears.
This scene evokes images of the temple sacrifices and the mixing of the prayers with incense is an image found in other OT verses, for example,
We often think of prayer as a last resort after we have run out of “practical” options. This shows that prayer is possibly the most practical thing we can do in any situation but especially regarding God’s redemptive activity.
Imagine our prayers being filled with fire and hurled back to earth as a sort of “reversed thunder”. Our prayers re-enter and alter history.
We should recall that John was “in the Spirit” when he received this vision and this no doubt meant he was praying. Praying brings about an encounter with God as opposed to just knowledge about God - it is relational. Prayer brings about vision.
Note the contrast between John’s human situtation and this heavenly vision. By all indications Rome is in charge. They have banished John to a lonely island and in so doing excercised their complete control over his person. They think they are in charge but this vision demonstrates otherwise.
Plagues
Plagues
Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
Rev 8:6-13
The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
Rev 8:10-
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
Rev 8:12
Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
There are seven plagues delineated in chapter 8 and 9 and these echo the plagues of Exodus which are listed in
A third of the earth and it’s people are affected by the first series of plagues leaving the final destruction for the last three.
The results of this extended discussion of the Egyptian plague tradition in the OT and early Judaism suggest that there was a strong tendency to reduce the ten-plague tradition of Exodus (itself the result of an expansion of an earlier seven-plague tradition) to a seven-plague schema. David E. Aune, , vol. 52B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 506.
The results of this extended discussion of the Egyptian plague tradition in the OT and early Judaism suggest that there was a strong tendency to reduce the ten-plague tradition of Exodus (itself the result of an expansion of an earlier seven-plague tradition) to a seven-plague schema.
David E. Aune, , vol. 52B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 506.
Application
Application