Revelation 8

Introduction:

Text:

Revelation 8:1–13 (NKJV)

Seventh Seal: Prelude to the Seven Trumpets

8 When 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.

First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

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.

Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck

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.

Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck

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.

Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck

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!”

I. Seventh Seal: Prelude to the Seven Trumpets - 1-6

8 When 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.

A. The Silence - 1

8:1 The opening of the seals that began in 6:1 is concluded in the first verse of chap. 8. The chapter division added at this point of the narrative might seem contrived since it occurs between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. The appropriateness of the division was perhaps suggested by the significant departure in the progress of the opening of the six seals, whose messages are revealed essentially in chap. 6. The interim vision of the 144,000 in chap. 7 gives way to the opening of the seventh seal in chap. 8. However, the opening of the seventh seal provides an unexpected development: “silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Rather than the immediate continuation of the chaos created by the opening of the first six seals, a pregnant pause of half an hour is introduced. Since the text does not present an exact explanation of this parenthesis, commentators are left to speculate about its significance. Thomas notes five different possibilities and includes Alford, who sees the silence as the beginning of the sabbatical rest for the millennium.74 Walter Scott’s view is that the pause is only a brief cessation of judgment and not a literal silence because the heavenly songs continue.75 The third view is that of H. B. Swete, who argues that there was apparently a temporary suspension of heavenly revelations imposed upon John.76 Of course, this could have been caused by any number of factors, including time for John to write what had been given to him thus far or perhaps even a period of rest before the intensity of the remaining visions unfold. The fourth view, that of R. H. Charles, links the pause with the text that follows, which focuses on the prayers of the saints.77 This view has the advantage over the first three in that, while speculative, it nevertheless does take into careful consideration the actual text that follows. As God’s people pray and their prayers are wafted aloft into the presence of God, time is given for intercession before the resumption of the judgments to follow. Thomas, following Beckwith, Seiss, Walvoord, and a host of others, opts for a fifth view. The dramatic pause is “to symbolize the awe and dread with which the heavenly hosts await the events about to happen.”78

Perhaps choosing between these last two perspectives is unnecessary. Clearly, the pause is for dramatic effect and serves the purpose of alerting the reader to a significant turn in the narrative. However, since the chapter begins by highlighting the prayers of the saints, Charles also is probably not wrong to suggest the possibility of an interlude for the prayers of God’s people. Certainly the significance to the opening of the seventh seal and the sounding of the seven trumpets is being tied by John in some way or another to the question of the prayers of the saints. In 6:10 the saints cried out to God to “avenge our blood” on those who were the inhabitants of the earth. The cry there, as here, is not a vengeful cry but one frequently heard by the people of God for justice. Though the content of the prayers in 8:3 is not specified, certainly a call for justice as well as for mercy is always appropriate for the people of God.79

B. The Intro to the Trumpets - 2

1. More severe than the seal judgements (but no as severe as the bowl judgements cf. 16:1-21

2. Timing - sometime during the last 3.5 years

3. The Focus:

a. Earth’s Ecology (6-12)

b. Demonic Devastation (9:1-21)

C. The Involvement of the Saints - 3-4

D. The Result of the Saint’s Prayers - 5 cf. censors ( 5:8; Exodus 27:3; Luke 1:8,9)

8:2–5 Seven angels are summoned before God and are issued trumpets. The Greek word for trumpet is salpigx. Two primary Hebrew words translated trumpet in the Old Testament are ḥãṣōṣĕrâ and the known and more popular shôphār. The shôphār, a curled ram’s horn, which subject to heat becomes malleable and is shaped by the artisan, is mentioned slightly more often than the ḥãṣōṣerâ. But, when New Testament literature is invoked, the salpigx is the instrument referenced in every case. In the LXX, the salpigx is used to translate shôphār more than 40 times. On the other hand, the ḥãṣōṣĕrâ is uncertain in its derivation but according to Friedrich was a “narrow and shrill instrument.”80 He goes on to say that this corresponds to the description found in Josephus and the depiction of the trumpet found on the arch of Titus.81 Usually the trumpet was an instrument made from silver and distinct from the shôphār.

On this basis one cannot be sure whether the instrument given to each of the seven angels is more like the ḥãṣōṣĕrâ or the ram’s horn. Whichever the case, as the plot unfolds, the sounding of each trumpet will announce a new judgment.

At this point still another angel appears with golden censer or fire box in hand, and he comes and stands at the altar. Given much incense to offer, the angel is set to offer this sweet savor, which represents the prayers of the saints that ascend to God from the angel’s hand. This action on the part of the angel is perfectly in keeping with the actions of the priest working each day with the altar of incense in the holy place. What makes the vision totally distinct is the next act of the angel wherein the censer is filled with fire from the altar and hurled to the earth, resulting in peels of thunder, lightning, and an earthquake.

The questions presented by vv. 3–5 concern the identity of the angel, the particular altar in view, and the two acts of that angel. The natural tendency to identify this angel with the glorified Lord is understandable and not impossible. Much more likely, however, the terminology “another angel” (allos aggelos) generally depicts “another” of the same kind as opposed to a heteros or “another” angel of a different kind and suggests that this angel is not ontologically distinct from the seven angels who were given the seven trumpets. He simply is another angel with a different assignment. Like the high priest in the holy place, he has a golden censer, or fire pan, and he stands at what is apparently the altar of incense. The altar of incense was critical to the function of the holy of holies since on the Day of Atonement, the high priest, upon entering that sacred precinct, was preceded by the smoke of the incense, which provided temporary covering of the prayers of God’s people until such time as he could sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial goat on the mercy seat.

As this angel stands before the altar of incense, he is given much incense mixed together with the coals of fire in his fire pan, and the incense is said to be the prayers of all the saints offered on the golden altar before the throne. Of interest to the reader here is the fact that the golden altar is no longer placed in the holy place immediately in front of the veil leading to the holy of holies but rather is now before the throne of God. Of course, there is a sense in which even in the tabernacle the altar’s location is related to the throne of God. The use of incense as an analogy for the prayers of the saints is both helpful and encouraging. Two apparently antithetical aspects of the nature of God are brought together in this metaphor. First, God is transcendent and holy. As such, the approach to God is specific as to its nature and encompassed with gravity. Nevertheless, transcendence and holiness notwithstanding, the approach of God’s people to commune with the eternal Creator is seen here not only as welcoming and encouraging but also as something in which God delights. Just as the smell of burning frankincense and certain other kinds of incense are pleasant to the human nostril, so the approach of God’s creation to their Creator is not a matter of indifference to God.

As anticipated, the angel, functioning in much the same way that the high priest would function, offers the incense upon the golden altar; the smoke of the incense representing the prayers of the saints ascends to God. The emphasis here not only grasps the approachability of the unapproachable, transcendent, and holy God but also hints at the effectiveness of prayer. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Jas 5:16b NKJV). Prayer is the God-ordained conduit through which he has determined to channel his sovereign power and response to the concerns of the saints. This effectiveness of prayer becomes apparent in the judgment that follows.

Now the same angel who had offered the prayers of the saints in the form of incense takes the censer and fills it with fire from the altar.82 Once again the question is which altar? In the case of Nadab and Abihu, who offered strange fire on the altar (Leviticus 10; Numbers 3:4), there is indication that the fire offered on the altar of incense should have been ferried from the altar of sacrifice in the outer court, but they had taken a shortcut and used fire from some other source. This costly failure resulted in their immediate demise. Here, however, only the one altar is mentioned, and that is the one standing before the throne. Probably then the censer, or fire pan, in the hand of the angel is filled from that same altar that has provided the incense. Having secured the fire from the altar, the angel turns and hurls it to the earth. This act of judicial appointment seems again to be in direct response to the prayer of the martyrs mentioned previously in 6:10. In any event the coals of fire are hurled to the earth. The results come in the form of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. Thunder and lightning and earthquakes are common enough. What appears here, however, is clearly uncommon and is a harbinger of that which transpires next at the sounding of the trumpets.

Several times reference has been made to the prayers of the saints. Because there is still widespread misunderstanding about the “saints,” a word of explanation is appropriate. The word translated “saints” in the NIV as well as other versions is hagios and means most basically “the holy ones.” Once again, this is not to be understood as a separate category of Christ’s followers who have somehow achieved greater sanctity or ecclesiastical recognition than others. These are men and women who have been made holy through the experience of repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the accompanying regenerating ministry of the Holy Spirit. The word is used of both the departed dead who have died in Christ as well as living, regenerate individuals.

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.

8:6–12

The First Four Trumpet Plagues

The sorts of judgments characterizing the judgments of the trumpets and bowls are mainly taken directly from the ten plagues of the exodus (except that they are numerically adjusted to seven; see comment on Jn 2:11, the first of probably seven signs in John). As in other Jewish texts (e.g., Pseudo-Philo, Artapanus), the sequence and even number of the plagues is not important for the point of the image. Some of the plagues are echoed in other judgment texts (especially Sibylline Oracles) but never as systematically as here.

8:6. See comment on 8:2.

8:7. This plague echoes the seventh plague in Exodus 9:24–25.

8:8–9. Waters running with blood would normally indicate war (e.g., Is 15:9), but these verses also echo the first plague in Exodus 7:20–21. The mountain hurled into the sea characterizes the sort of imagery standard in this type of literature (e.g., the burning star hurled into the sea in a roughly contemporary oracle in Sibylline Oracles). (The suggested parallel to Babylon as a burning mountain in Jer 51:25, 42 is not as obvious, although it would have been more available than the Sibylline Oracles; it is doubtful if either Revelation or the Sibylline Oracles depends on the other, but the writers of both had access to Jeremiah.)

This plague addresses contamination of the water supply, effecting not only many swift deaths by dehydration but also long-term devastation by destruction of Egypt’s irrigation and fishing (Ex 7:18) resources.

8:10–11. Like the preceding plague, this judgment alludes to the poisoned water of Exodus 7:20–21, but through a sort of poisoning or embittering agent called “wormwood” (Jer 9:15; 23:15; cf. Jer 8:14), often used figuratively (for idolatry—Deut 29:18; fruits of adultery—Prov 5:4; suffering—Lam 3:19). This plague strikes local fresh-water supplies and would naturally worry John’s readers in Asia, especially in Laodicea (see comment on Rev 3:15–16).

8:12. This plague echoes the ninth plague in Exodus 10:22–23; many ancient texts speak of darkness as a dreaded judgment, and the Old Testament (see comment on Rev 6:12–13) and some other Jewish texts also associate it with the end time.

A. Hail and Fire

Maybe a volcano

Dust and gases (look like blood?)

B. Mingled with blood

C. Results: Land Struck

1/3 of the Trees gone

All green grass was burned up

8:6–7 As the seven angels prepare to sound the trumpets, which have been given to each of them, the sound of the trumpet of the first angel peels over Patmos.83 John sees a mixture of hail and fire mixed with blood, which is hurled down on the earth with the result that a third of the earth is burnt up. This includes especially trees and all of the green grass. The plagues associated with the blasts of the trumpets seem to echo the Exodus plagues, particularly the seventh one mentioned in Exod 9:23–27. The difference in this plague is that of intensity. While hail fell in Egypt, the combination of fire and blood heightens the devastation of this plague. As usual, those authors who want to avoid a more literal understanding of the text view this as somewhat poetic language to describe the judgment of God but do not anticipate a literal fulfillment. Others would find it to be little more than graphic apocalyptic genre language that should not be taken in any sense to be literal.

Among those who find a more literal understanding of the text, differences in precise interpretation can be expected. Whether this is to be interpreted as the result of meteor activity, volcanic activity, or simply unprecedented storms dropping hail in the midst of lightning that also takes its toll and results in a blood bath on earth, the one thing interpreters agree on is that the plague is not just a “natural occurrence” but represents the physical judgments of God on the earth. The effect is duly noted as devastating.

III. Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck - 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.

A. Like a Great Mountain - probably a meteor - 8

1. Burning with fire

2. Thrown into the Sea

B. The Results - 9

1. 1/3 sea animals dead

2. 1/3 ships were destroyed

8:8–9 The second angel sounds his trumpet, and a huge mountain that is ablaze with fire is thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turns to blood, a third of the creatures in the sea die, and the cataclysmic upheaval at impact seems to destroy a third of the world’s maritime commerce. Once again, this could be the result of a monstrous volcano, which erupts from the ocean floor devastating everything around it, or it could be a meteor. A considerable amount of time is being devoted now by the space administration and military organizations to find a way to deter a meteor of considerable size, the trajectory of which indicates an intersection with earth and corresponding devastation. Most scientists believe that these kinds of things have happened in the past and that there is no reason to believe that they cannot happen in the future. A meteor of sufficient dimension seemingly could indeed destroy all life on the earth. These predictions and precautions give v. 8 a certain viability that might not have been imaginable in John’s day.

IV. Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck - 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.

A. Star fell from heaven

1. Fell on rivers and springs

2. Name: wormwood

a. Poison

b. Caused drunkeness

Deuteronomy 29:18 (NKJV)

18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood;

Proverbs 5:4 (NKJV)

4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Jeremiah 9:15 (NKJV)

15 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

Lamentations 3:15 (NKJV)

15 He has filled me with bitterness,

He has made me drink wormwood.

B. Results

1. 1/3 waters became wormwood

2. Many died from the water

8:10–11 When the third angel sounds his trumpet, a great star comes blazing like a torch. The impact of this star when intersecting with the earth has a malevolent effect on the rivers and springs of water. The waters are turned bitter, and people who drink the bitter water die as a result.84 The star is even named Apsinthos, which is translated “wormwood.” The reference is to a plant especially bitter to the taste.85 The word found in the Old Testament in Jer 9:15 and 23:15 and in Lam 3:15, 19 invariably is used in connection with the concept of God’s judgment. Interpreters who tend to view the text as literal in its fulfillment have sometimes argued for another meteor in this case, especially because of the reference to the “great star.” However, more modern commentators have sometimes noted the effect of this particular blazing star upon the waters and the fact that the waters are contaminated, resulting in the death of those that drink them.

Some years ago the author visited a lake between Pavlodar and Semipolatinsk in Kazakhstan. Though beautiful, the lake was radioactive, and, as a result, nothing lived in it. The radioactive effects of an atomic explosion found in the water are well known, and some have therefore suggested that John could have seen a missile streaking across the heaven, exploding an atomic warhead and thus generating the bitter waters. Since John would have no idea or context from which to judge what he saw, to speak of it as a “great star” would not be unnatural. In the end the exact nature or origin of this great star is impossible to determine. Reading contemporary circumstances back into a Johannine milieu, of course, is both risky and totally unnecessary. That some form of toxicity is apparently associated with the explosion that makes a third of the waters on the face of the earth undrinkable is possible to affirm.

Another thing that makes this passage especially interesting is that under normal circumstances, for a body of water that becomes radioactive to reach the point where it could again sustain life of any kind takes hundreds of years. The tribulation period is limited to seven years; and the Bible describes the kingdom period on the earth, which follows the tribulation, invariably with almost Edenic features. The Bible says that the waters of the salt sea “shall be healed” (Ezek 47:8 KJV). If that is universal, then the effect, while devastating, will be nowhere nearly as permanent as other such calamities have been.

V. Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck - 12-13

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!”

A. 1/3 Darkening

1. Sun

2. Moon

3. Starts

B. Result:

1. The Sun did not shine for 1/3 of the day

2. The Stars did no shine for 1/3 of the night

Revelation (1) The First Four Trumpets (8:2–13)

8:12 The fourth angel now sounds his trumpet, and the sun is struck with a dimming of a third of it; correspondingly, a third of the stars and a third of the moon are turned dark. This results in a third of the day being without light and also a third of the night darkened more than usual. Whether this fourth trumpet simply chronicles the atmospheric effects of the three previous trumpets and the corresponding darkness on the earth or whether, as seems more likely, the impact of this plague is actually on the sun and the consequence of that being on the moon also and on the other luminaries of the heavens is not fully clear.

Since the relationship of planet earth is tied rather intricately to both the sun and the moon and affected perhaps more than one can know by the other luminaries of the heavens, particularly those in the Milky Way galaxy of which the earth is a part, one can only surmise that the effects of this fourth trumpet would indeed be devastating. In one sense, that life could continue (and Jesus did say that “if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive”; Matt 24:22) is difficult to comprehend. The possibilities of such catastrophic results on the sun and the moon, however, are not hard to imagine in light of what is known from astronomy and astrophysics. Astrophysicists have argued for some time that the sun is in the process of burning itself out. Millions of years in the future have been posited for this brilliant star at the center of our solar system actually to succeed in burning itself out. But it is also known that frequent explosions occur on the surface of the sun, creating effects of various kinds on the earth and doubtless on the other planets that are in closer proximity to the sun in our solar system. Whether such an explosion could begin the formation of a black hole or some other accompanying catastrophe is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility and is comprehensible in the text.

In conclusion, the thoughtful interpreter must admit that ascertaining the exact nature of the plagues unleashed at the sounding of the four trumpets is not possible. Having so said and with what is known about the cosmos, nothing revealed here is beyond the physical possibilities that are known to exist. Further, there is definite affirmation of monumental judgments of God on the rebellious earth and of the intensity of suffering unleashed on the inhabitants of the earth, a large number of whom obviously will perish as a result of these trumpet blasts.

8:13 The NIV translates the expression kai eidon, literally “Then I looked,” as “As I watched.” There is no real difference except that the NIV may have indeed succeeded in catching the mood intended by John. One can almost imagine John transfixed as he observes the devastation of the elements occurring as a result of the sounding of the seven trumpets. And suddenly he now hears an eagle flying in midair, calling out with a loud voice and announcing three times woe to the inhabitants of the earth. The text here contains a significant variant: aetou, or “eagle,” was the choice of the NIV translators, while aggelou, or “angel,” was the choice of the KJV translators. One manuscript that has even conflated the two into aggelou hōs aetou, meaning “an angel as an eagle.” One can safely conclude that the conflation probably is a classic case of an attempt on the part of a copyist to make sense of the word he saw in the text translated in the NIV “eagle.” The action of the eagle is less in keeping with what might be expected of a great bird than what would probably be expected of an angel. However, this may also account for the reading “angel” since later copyists might have found the term “eagle” to be as unlikely as some modern translators might think it to be.

The burden of evidence lies however with the word “eagle,” which is supported by Codex Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus and most of the minuscules. The Textus Receptus, however, follows a number of later manuscripts.86

Several conclusions can be drawn. First, like most of the remaining contested readings of New Testament documents, the meaning or the theology of the text here is unscathed whether one reads the text “eagle” or “angel.” Clearly woe is determined upon the earth, and this is the judgment of God not just the results of circumstances. Furthermore, even if one follows essentially a literal interpretation, the language is highly poetic and figurative, and some unusual occurrences can be expected. Observation of great eagles and the hearing of their cry as they fly through the air could easily give John the sense of the word “woe” (ouai).

The threefold cry of woe from the call of the eagle has nothing to do with the four trumpets that have just sounded but rather with the trumpet blasts sounded by the other three angels, a fact often unnoticed. The significance of this declaration by John must have been devastating. The calamities unleashed by the blasts of the first four trumpets are beyond anything imaginable to the inhabitants of the earth today, but the woes announced by the eagle have to do with the profoundly serious judgments yet to come.

The interjection “woe” (ouai) has an unchronicled origin, employed infrequently if at all in classical Greek. Moulton notes that it is common in the Septuagint and the New Testament. The interjection oua denotes wonder, real or ironical (Mark 15:29), and not commiseration as with ouai.87 Liddell and Scott treat the word as an exclamation of pain and anger.88 Whatever the genesis of the word, the ominous overtones are apparent. John now must brace himself for the sounding of the fifth angel.

V. The Increased Intensity of the Final Woe Judgements - 13

New Testament 8:13–9:11—The Fifth Trumpet Plague

The Fifth Trumpet Plague

8:13. The announcement of three impending woes indicates that as negative as the first four trumpet plagues were, the worst is yet to come. “Woe” often begins a new oracle in 1 Enoch and probably serves a similar function here.

The eagle was a symbol of imperial Rome carried by the legions and used on Herod’s temple, but that symbolism is probably irrelevant here. Perhaps more to the point, eagles were used as messengers in some texts (4 Baruch); they could symbolize God’s protection (Rev 12:14), or—most likely—the term here means (as it often does, including in the LXX) “vulture,” indicating a bird of prey (see 19:17), and thus imminent doom. “Midheaven” (NASB, NRSV) is the level of heaven between God’s throne and the lowest atmosphere (in the minimal three-heaven scheme of some ancients—on which see comment on 2 Cor 12:2–4—but also in some other schemes, e.g., in 2 Enoch).