When God AnswersRead Revelation 8:1-13 (w/ focus on 7-13) Prayer Introduction Illustration: When I was in undergraduate school for engineering a few of the classes I had to take dealt with safety (OSHA). They told us that we needed to know how to be safe at work, and also how to keep other people safe too. (As a side note there, I’ve been in a few plants where I would have felt safer in a pack of wolves with a steak!). In one of the classes, we had to write a research paper based on a book of

Read Revelation 8:1-13 (w/ focus on 7-13)

Prayer

Introduction

Illustration: When I was in undergraduate school for engineering a few of the classes I had to take dealt with safety (OSHA). They told us that we needed to know how to be safe at work, and also how to keep other people safe too. (As a side note there, I’ve been in a few plants where I would have felt safer in a pack of wolves with a steak!). In one of the classes, we had to write a research paper based on a book of our choosing. I choose to read a novel called The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair in 1906. In the book, Sinclair, portrays the struggles of a Lithuanian immigrant family trying to survive in harsh working conditions of the Chicago meet packing industry. Although he received severe pushback from several sources after the book’s publication, Sinclair’s novel was based on real situations he’d seen when he went to investigate for himself. The publication of The Jungle gave voice to the cries of those who had been, and were being, mistreated for the sake of money and big business, and because of it the federal government was forced to act to form what would become the Food and Drug Administration. Those calls for help eventually received an answer. In Revelation 8:7-13 John tells us about God’s answer to the pleas of his people by giving us a brief glimpse into what it will be like when God begins to act with finality. Believers can be sure that God will answer the prayers of his people. The picture John gives us is of the first four out of seven trumpets, and each of the four affects some aspect of human existence So, let’s take a look at what he says.

8:7 “The First Trumpet”

In v.7 John says, “The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth”. Then, as a result “a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” Now, we need to be very careful here because the obvious question is how are we to take this? Is it to be read in a woodenly literal manner, or is it symbol laden? If we follow what John, himself, says in Revelation 1:1, remember, John said there that God had “sent and signified it (that is: the message of the Revelation) through His angel (HCSB)”, that word “signified/showed/communicated” means to make known through symbolism in the Greek, then I’d say we have to take this as at least some form of symbolism. (Taking this as being symbolic DOES NOT you are spiritualizing the text or trying to allegorize it!) So, what is this symbolic of?

-1) The mention of “hail and fire mixed with blood” is an allusion to the 7th plague in Egypt prior to the Exodus. Moses gave Pharaoh a stern warning that if he didn’t let the God’s people go everything in the field, be it man, beast, or plant, would be utterly destroyed when God rained down hail.

-2) Because of the “hail and fire mixed with blood”, notice that “a third of the earth was burned up”. Some of the older translations don’t have this statement, but the oldest manuscripts we have contain it, and it does add a little extra punch to what John is saying, and here’s why. The combination of the verb to burn 3x, [the earth was “burned”; the trees were “burned”; and the green grass was “burned”] underscores the severity of the judgment to which John is referring. Also, notice that the fractional amount 1/3 is used twice, once in reference to 1/3 of the earth, and then in reference to 1/3 of the trees. All of this taken together means that reason the phrase “a third of the earth was burned up” is important to what John says is because it sets the parameters for the that last line in v.7, “and all the green grass was burned up”. That is, it qualifies all of the “green grass” being burnt to a portion of, or in other words, 1/3 of the entire earth. “[1]A total devastation of all the green grass including grain products in the world would mean an end to life for all human beings and animals.” This fact, in and of itself, should alert us to the symbolic nature of what John is seeing and telling us. The fact that John focuses his attention on the natural order and places a great deal of emphasis on vegetation may well point to the fact that part of the punishment on unbelievers as we draw closer to the end may center on diminished food sources and famine.

-3) Whatever else we want to say about this first trumpet, the main point of what John is telling us here is that God has heard the prayers of his people and he is severely displeased with how they’ve been maligned and mistreated, and therefore he is going to act on their behalf in a way that is drives their oppressors to their knees!

8:8-9 “The Second Trumpet”

The focus of the second trumpet in vv.8 and 9 is on “something like a great mountain burning with fire (that) was thrown into the sea.” The effect is that “a third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.” What are we to make of this?

-1) While some people take the “great mountain” that’s “thrown into the sea” to refer to some kind of asteroid, the textual reference here points us to Jeremiah 51:25, a passage of Scripture that’s referring not to an asteroid but instead to God’s judgement on the Babylonian Empire who had oppressed and subjugated his people [turn to Jer. 51, read 51:24-26 (note the reference to Babylon as a mountain); also 51:61-64 (note the reference to Babylon sinking].

-2) John’s mention of the sea turning to blood, like the first trumpet, is a reference to the plagues leading up to the exodus, and particularly the first plague where all of the water sources of Egypt were turned to blood. His additional mention of 1/3 of the living creatures in the sea dying combined with the loss of 1/3 of all the ships gives us the picture of massive loss of life in both the human and animal spheres. You see, it’s impossible for anything to live in blood saturated water, and it’s also impossible for humanity to sustain itself without the commerce that comes from seafaring vessels. The judgement described here in the 2nd trumpet anticipates the ultimate downfall of Babylon that’s described in Revelation 18.

8:10-11 “The Third Trumpet”

The third trumpet, vv.10 and 11, like the second, focuses on the topic of water sources, except for the following difference: in the second trumpet judgement the sea was affected, whereas in the third trumpet fresh water sources are the target. However, what’s interesting is the way John says they’re affected. “10 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.” Now, just like before, there are interpreters who take this to be referring to some kind of astronomical event, like a meteor or possibly a comet, but I wonder if that’s really what John means for us to see? In other places in the book of Revelation stars refer not to comets or meteors but to spiritual beings like angels. Take for instance Revelation 1:20 where we read, “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand (that is Jesus’ hand) and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches …” Also, as commentator GK Beale points out, what John says here harkens back to Isaiah 14 and the prophet’s description of the fall of Babylon’s guardian angel. Isaiah 14:12 says, “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn!” In Revelation 8:11 John names the star he sees that’s fallen. He says his name is “Wormwood” Now, I must tell you that I don’t think this is the angel’s name like Michael or Gabriel, but it’s the name John gives him to describe what he does or his purpose in the next part of v.11. We’re told that “a third of the waters became wormwood.” ---- Wormwood was a bitter herb that was often used to contaminate water and it’s referenced in Jeremiah 9:15 when God said of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.” The effect of the “Wormwood” or this spiritual being/fallen angel in the third trumpet of Revelation is that “many men (people) died”!

(Appeal) Let me pause right there and ask you a question, do you see a common theme in what John is trying to say? If this doesn’t make you want to make sure your heart’s in the right place, I don’t know what will! When God answers the prayers of his people the judgment is going to be horrendous! Do yourself a favor and make sure you’re in good standing with Jesus Christ before this happens!

8:12-13 “The Fourth Trumpet and a Warning”

In the fourth trumpet John’s picture doesn’t improve any, if anything it seems to grow even more intense because John says “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.” Now, the question here is this, is John simply referring to dimming of the celestial bodies (sun, moon, and stars), or is there something more at work. The allusion here is to the ninth plague before the exodus when, for three days, darkness covered the land. In fact, Moses said that it was so dark that the darkness could be felt! I find it interesting that most of the earliest Jewish interpreters viewed the darkness of the tenth plague in a symbolic sense as spiritual, cultural, or moral darkness.[2] For what it’s worth, there’s likely elements of both literal as well as spiritual darkness in the fourth trumpet judgement, but as with many things, we know God will in retrospect. When we look back on this in eternity, we will know exactly what John was talking about. That said, however, as terrifying as these judgements are, what John says in v.13 make the hair on the back of my neck stand up because of the warning that he gives. John writes, “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!” What scares me about this so much is that there’s so many people who won’t see any of this coming, and we have the responsibility as believers to tell them before it’s too late! Let me give you an illustration in closing.

Conclusion

Illustration: (A Tsunami hits the shore, taking out unsuspecting beachgoers) I want you to use your imagination for just a few short minutes. Let’s pretend that a man named Bob and his family has just been given an all-expense paid vacation to Hawaii. Maybe he bought a ticket at a local fundraiser for a good cause, and he was blessed to win! So, shortly thereafter, Bob and his family are off and on their way. When they arrive, over the next week they enjoy several of the local restaurants and they especially like spending time on those beautiful white sand beaches picking up seashells and going for evening walks. But one day, unannounced to them way out in the ocean, beneath the waves there’s a small seismic shift in the earth’s crust. It’s far enough out to sea that no one would ever pay any attention to it, but that tiny seismic shift then causes a ripple at the surface of the water that slowly but surely begins to make its way faster and faster towards land, growing bigger and bigger the closer it gets. Meanwhile, back on the beach no one knows, sees, or thinks about what’s just happened way out there in the open ocean. And then, all of a sudden, the water on the beach begins to recede exposing parts of the shoreline that might have never been seen before. Some of the people act worried and begin to leave the beach making their way toward their sixth, seventh, and eighth floor hotel rooms overlooking the beach below. You see, there was a big sign posted where you enter the beach with the words, WARNING, IF WATER BEGINS TO RECEDE, PROMPTLY EXIT BEACH! These people read and heeded the warning. However, others on the beach, along with Bob and his family, happened to see the warning, but they really didn’t think it was a big deal and, hey, they’re curious and so they begin to walk farther and farther away from the shoreline, not realizing what’s getting ready to happen. Then, in the distance, way off on the horizon, they see what looks like a thin black wall. It’s relatively small at first, but the longer they stand there the taller it seems to grow, and the closer it gets the more terrifying it becomes until finally all of those curious beach goers, along with Bob and his family, realize that it’s too late and they’re struck by a deadly tsunami. ---- Friends, your prayers are like that tiny seismic shift on the open ocean floor causing the ripple that grows and grows and grows until it reaches the shoreline where the ocean unleashes it’s wrath and furry on those beach goers who didn’t heed and respect the warning they’d been given! How many Bobs do you know? I’d be willing to bet that we all know a few. ---- Don’t you think we ought to tell them that there’s a way to escape the coming tsunami. Friends, the only way anyone will escape the judgements John writes about in Revelation 8:7-13, and for that matter any of the judgements in the Apocalypse, is if they’ve placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Let me ask you, have you done that?

Invitation

Closing Prayer

[1] Revelation: Kistemaker, 273.

[2] Revelation: Beale, 176.