Revelation 8 - The First Four Trumpets

Revelation 8 -The First 4 Trumpet Judgments

Revelation 8 – The First Four Trumpets

On Sunday April 25, 1999 many churches experienced an increase in attendance for a couple of weeks. Sunday September 16 a little over nineteen years ago most of the churches across the United States saw an unprecedented increase in attendance. I could get into more history but the truth is the Sunday after the Columbine school shooting brought many people to church, some for the first time and many came back in a spirit of repentance. The same was true for several weeks after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Often it is true when natural disasters occur as well. The fact is our lives and our world is but a series of struggles and trials. For the believer that serves to conform us into the image of Christ as we see in Romans 8:18 and 28-29 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us[1]…28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.[2] But for the body of lost people, described in the Revelation as “the inhabitants of the earth”, it is a call, an opportunity to repent and turn to God. We saw that in the Exodus when God through Moses brought upon the Egyptians and Pharaoh particularly 10 plagues. After each of the plagues Pharaoh would relent to let the people of God go but then he would harden his heart and God would harden his heart and another plague would be forthcoming. Each time Pharaoh and the Egyptians could have repented. Yet each plague got worse and worse until it led to the death of the first born of all the Egyptians. God provided for repentance yet the Egyptians refused. Finally God provided grace for His people by the blood of a lamb while the Egyptians experienced God’s wrath; the death of the first born. God’s people were liberated and the Egyptians mourned their dead after experiencing God’s judgment. Today we are going to be looking at Revelation 8 in its entirety as we look at the first four trumpet plagues on the inhabitants of the earth. Let’s pray then we will get started.

Just so you know I was going to do chapters 8 and 9 this morning but I didn’t want to keep you for two full hours so let’s read Revelation 8 1When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.8 Then 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 living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.10 Then 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 water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.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.13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”[3]

We have already discussed verses 1-6 last week but let me just mention one more thing here. This is the last of seven seals that are opened and there is some debate as to what that seal brought about. Some say that the silence and the prayers and then God beginning to answer those prayer and deliver on His promise to avenge those who are martyred when the angel casts the censer with the burning coals and incense down to the earth bringing the noises, thunderings, lightening and earthquake is the opening of the seventh seal. Then some people believe that the 7th seal is in fact the next seven trumpet plagues. I tend to think that it is the former rather than the later but in reality it doesn’t matter which one it is because the time of God’s judgment on those who are on the earth has arrived. 6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Let’s see what those seven trumpet plagues bring the inhabitants of the earth.

Revelation 8:7 7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. This could be the results of the censer that the angel threw to the earth, or this could be the result of some catastrophic disaster like Chernobyl or Fukujima or Three Mile Island or even an asteroid strike when it comes down to the destruction. This is reminiscent of Exodus 19:13-35 when the plague of hail and fire fell on Egypt and it sounds somewhat like Joel’s prophecy in Joel 2:30 where God said through Joel: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. But we must understand that whether this is a disaster as I mentioned above or not it is none the less and act of God, it matters not how it happens. Without a doubt this is devastating. 1/3 of the trees are burned up and all the green grass but notice if you will that this is still just a partial destruction. Can you imagine the reaction of the ecological community when this happens? When God used a similar plague in Egypt His purpose was to call the people of Egypt and particularly Pharaoh to repentance. This trumpet plague is aimed at the same purpose. The plague should call the inhabitants of the earth to repentance. Let’s move on and see how that worked out.

Revelatioin 8:8-9 8 Then 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 living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. So far 1/3 of the trees are gone, all the green grass is gone and now 1/3 of the of the seas are in ruin, 1/3 of all the sea creatures are dead and 1/3 of the ships and therefore the commerce involved is destroyed. Again this could be explained by natural causes. The people of John’s time knew a bit about volcanoes because Mt. Vesuvius had erupted in 79 AD and the Revelation was probably written sometime between 81 and 96 AD and volcanoes are known to throw some very large boulders into the air. However only the hand of God can throw something that could be called a mountain into the sea. He could direct an asteroid or simply cause it to happen, He is God. On the fifth day of creation He created all the sea creatures and here He destroys 1/3 of that part of His creation. 1/3 of the sea (all seas and oceans) are turned to blood or at the very least poisoned in such a way that they turn blood red causing the death of the sea creatures and 1/3 of the ships to be destroyed. This is the first time there had to be the loss of human life. When 1/3 of the ships are destroyed it is practical to believe that many if not all of those aboard the ships perished with the vessels. This is indeed devastating but it is still only a fraction of the seas, a fraction of the sea creatures and a fraction of the shipping industry. God’s judgment on the people of the earth is being experienced but God is still showing His mercy for the purpose of calling the people of the earth to repentance. Let’s move on and see if it works.

Revelation 8:10-11 10 Then 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 water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter. In Revelation 1 we saw that the seven stars in Jesus’ hand were seven angels so this “great star” could be an angel or it could be some other heavenly body falling from the sky but either way 1/3 of the trees, seas, sea creatures and ships, and all of the green grass have been destroyed. Now the people of the earth lose 1/3 of all the fresh water on the planet. Something that John described as a great star that was burning like a torch hit and polluted 1/3 of all the fresh water. John named this star or whatever it was “wormwood” because it caused the water to be bitter. Just for your information wormwood is a very bitter plant that is not deadly but is noxious. It is used medicinally to remove intestinal worms (wormwood) and today is used as a treatment for crones disease. But I think the point is that the flaming object that hit the fresh water polluted it and many people died from it. Some have suggested that it is a nuclear device that will contaminate 1/3 of the fresh water and that could be the case but if that is the case it had to have been directed by God because it did not contaminate all of the fresh water supply. This is reminiscent of Exodus 7:14-21 where God used Moses to strike the waters of the Nile, turning it into blood, causing the people to have to dig for water. We know that the purpose of that was to bring the people of Egypt to repentance and that God’s people would be free. I don’t think God has changed.

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. On the 4th day of creation God created the sun, moon and stars. In Genesis 8:22 God promised Noah: 22“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” From what John is describing here it looks like the end of the earth. 1/3 of the sun, the moon and the stars are struck in such a way that there is only 1/3 of the light reaching the earth’s surface. This could mean 1/3 of the brightness of the heavenly lights are blocked out by atmospheric condition (1/3 of the trees and all the grass has been burning and a fiery star hit 1/3 of the fresh waters causing steam) or it could be that God causes 1/3 of the heavenly lights brightness to fail. God could cut 8 hours of daylight out of the day but that wouldn’t explain the moon and stars. How ever it is that God does this if it continues for very long all life on earth will cease. From all of this we can see that God is dismantling His creation – land, sea, and sky has been affected all for the purpose of calling the people who dwell on the earth to repentance.

Revelation 8:13 13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!” Let me go ahead and consider the angel first. In earlier ancient manuscripts the word used where we just read “angel” is the Greek word for “eagle” so many of the newer translations of Scripture use “angel” instead of “eagle”. But whether it is an angel or an eagle given the ability to proclaim a warning, matters very little. Either way it is a dire warning. As bad as the six seals were describing what is going on in our world today, and as horrible as these first four trumpet plagues appear, worse is yet to come. These four plagues harmed God’s natural creation; nature, only indirectly harming mankind. But the next three will inflict grave harm on the people of the earth. I want us to look at the contrast we see here. Beginning in chapter 4 and on through chapter 7 we have been observing the throne room of God. All of God’s people, His angels and the four living creatures are celebrating and praising God and the Lamb. In that throne room we hear the proclamation; Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. But now we hear a messenger of God proclaiming to the people of the earth a different song. “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!” Why is it just going to get worse? Why aren’t the first four trumpet plagues enough? 1/3 of the entire world has been affected. 1/3 of the trees, all the grass, 1/3 of the seas are blood, 1/3 of the sea creatures are dead (can you imagine the stench from the blood and dead animal not to mention the disease it will bring?), 1/3 of the ships are destroyed and most likely most of their crews, 1/3 of the fresh water is undrinkable and poisonous, and then 1/3 of all the light from the sun, moon and stars are gone. And the worst is yet to come? And again I have to ask why? In the next chapter that we will look at next week there is an attack from hell by demonic locusts who sting like a scorpion with a sting that is so bad that anyone stung wishes that he would die and God will not allow that. Then there is an attack from what I would have to term as a demon army and after that things get even worse with the seven bowl judgments. Is God just being vindictive? I mean He could do that and be that way; vengeful, it is the people of the earth that are rebelling against Him. But there is an eternity for that kind of judgment, so there has to be a different reason for the judgment that we see in these chapters of the Revelation.

Though God’s judgment is sure so is His mercy. He always calls people to repentance before His judgment reigns. We can see this in the story of Noah, 2 Peter 2:5 says that he was a preacher of righteousness. We can see it with Moses in Egypt as we noted a couple of times earlier. We can see it all the way through the history of Israel with the Judges, then on to the Kings. The people of Israel would rebel and God would send a prophet to preach repentance. He even did it with the people of other nations, remember Jonah in Nineveh? All the way through redemptive history God has called people to repentance. The problem is God’s patient mercy is often seen as a license to continue on sinning. “God hasn’t taken me out yet so I must be ok with God.” Not many people would actually say that but it is exemplified in their lifestyle. But as we see in this passage of Revelation and in Genesis and Exodus and Judges, and the Kings and Chronicles, there does come a time when God’s judgment comes. Though God is merciful He is also just and sin must be punished.

If this is the last generation before God’s judgment then you need to understand that if you are not a follower of Christ you will experience all of these judgments first hand; the fires, the thirst, the lack of food, the death and carnage. We are told of these things beforehand as a warning to repent. Sometimes God uses written warnings and preacher to call us to repentance and sometimes He uses catastrophes, either way it is a call for people to repent. Sometimes believers begin to think of God’s patience as a license just like the lost. The Holy Spirit is always at work calling believers to repentance (we talked about that last week with the call to examine ourselves) but sometimes we are stubborn and God brings trials or tribulations to bear to conform us into the image of Christ which requires our repentance. This passage in Revelation this morning should be a call to the church, the people of God, to repent, and as a warning to the people of the earth that God’s mercy has its limits and He will judge the people of the earth. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ro 8:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ro 8:28–29). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 8:1–13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.