6Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts. 7The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.
8Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, 9one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.
10Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.
12Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night. 13Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”
Revelation 8:6-13
9
1Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. 2When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke. 3Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions. 4They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting. 6In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them! 7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces. 8They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion. 9They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle. 10They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people. 11Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer. 12The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!
13Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God. 14And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.” 15Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. 16I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops. 17And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths. 18One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses. 19Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people. 20But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! 21And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Revelation 9:1-21
10
1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. 2And in his hand was a small scroll that had been opened. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 3And he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders answered. 4When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down.” 5Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven. 6He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay.
7When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his servants the prophets.” 8Then the voice from heaven spoke to me again: “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” 10So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach. 11Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Revelation 10:1-11
11
1Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers. 2But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. 3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.” 4These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. 5If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. 6They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. 7When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. 8And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified. 9And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. 10All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them. 11But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. 12Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched. 13At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.
15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” 16The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him. 17And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign. 18The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the deadand reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.” 19Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.
Revelation 11:1-19
When we are faced with a significant block of text like this one we have to first pay attention to the patterns and structure in the text. In this case it strikes me there are similarities to John’s written account of the seven seals. Which is not surprising: the seven seals morphed into seven trumpets at the seventh seal. The two are obviously connected logically. Are they then connected as well at the big picture level? Apparently that is true too. The trumpets are divided into a set of four and then a group of three, with the fifth and sixth examples leading dramatically to the last. The overall presentation of the seven series of events are dramatically drawn out to increase our anticipation of each phase in the process with pauses along the way at timely points in the action.
Take note of the way the first four seals and the first four trumpets are presented in a very formulaic way with the pattern being repeated each time via a set text, a set use of the same words each time to set the pattern. Let’s compare the set formula between the first four seals and trumpets. Each begins with a set formulaic text followed by the resultant judgement.
The Seals
As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked up and saw a white horse standing there.
Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.
When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!” Then another horse appeared, a red one.
Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.
When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse,
and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”
When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green.
Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.
The Trumpets
Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts . . .
The first angel blew his trumpet,
and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.
Then the second angel blew his trumpet,
and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.
Then the third angel blew his trumpet,
and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.
Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet,
and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.
Following the formula, the next two judgement events, seals and trumpets are highlighted in the following text. The opening of 5th and 6th seals are highlighted by the questions asked as we have seen. The 5th and 6th trumpets are highlighted by the eagle and the announcement made.
Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”
Revelation 8:13
In each case, there is an impending sense of doom contained in the nature of 5th and 6th sequenced events such that we know the seventh announcement of judgement is going to be far worse. Not only is it far worse but it expands again into a seven fold sequence of further outpourings of judgement. And we know the symbolism behind seven (7).
Again we have to ask ourselves “when will it end?” and “who can survive?” Each time we are told the secret or hidden information we need to know. But in a typical apocalyptic manner it is hidden in code or in a secret kept for those who have prior knowledge. We can see the unfolding nature of the coming judgements, increasing in severity as they are, but we also catch the hint of what we have to do to prepare ourselves to escape the pending doom in order to be safe. However, notice yet again the appearance of the refrain I focused on in Gem 2256 – to those who belong to this world. As I have said before, there are two groups of people: those who belong to God and those who belong to this world. Always keep that distinction in mind because John and the Lamb keep emphasising it for us by repeating the message. We are ready now to pay attention to the detail in the text now that we have a clearer understanding of the way the unfolding judgements have been presented to us. Yes, I will answer the questions from those of you who have asked about specific details in the text at the appropriate time.
When we allow past hurts to impair our present judgement all get hurt. Forgiveness is required.
Ian
Move out of judgement into gratitude; leave the judgement to God who judges justly.
Ian
To heap TRUTH on someone who is not ready for it only results in condemnation and judgement.
Ian
Of all the judgements we pass in life, none is as important as the one we pass on ourselves!
Rick Godwin
Rev 8:6 v Rev 9:4
… and ALL the green grass was burned (Rev 8:6) yet in Rev 9:4 ‘They were told not to harm the grass or….
What is going on here Ian the grass has already gone, and I don’t know the answer?
Ross, there are various perspectives to your question:
By fire, grasses can indeed be ALL burned. To the ground. But this does not necessarily indicate their permanent destruction. Many fire-affected grasses, as though by a miracle, are capable of energetic regrowth from their extensive underground starch-containing stolons. We can conjecture that there might have been plenty of time for such re-sprouting between Trumpet 1 and 5! This would provide a perfect biological explanation for the apparent difficulty in reconciling Rev. 9:4 with 8:6.
To add to the above – from a pastoral care point of view, if the grass in Rev 9:4 was newly re-sprouted, this would make perfect sense of the (fifth angel’s?) instruction to the locusts: ‘They were told not to harm the grass’.
But of course the locusts were NOT farmers! In this passage the locusts are the agents of God for the torment of the people without the seal of God on their foreheads. I believe that the protected grass of 9:4, together with the “plants and the trees”, in apposition to those without the seal of God, are symbols of the true believers, those survivors who held strongly to the true faith and who are being restored by God.
The seven angels and seven trumpets. What a wondrous set of passages. What do you think Ian?
David C (Singapore)
You have saved Ross from having to wait David. I am sure he is most grateful. I plan to handle each one of these trumpet judgements in turn. As I said in this Gem above it’s beneficial to look at the big picture first before looking at the detail; it helps to get our perspective on the detail correct. But I am grateful for your input to Ross. It confirms what I thought about the ability of some grasses to regenerate. I think your take on the locusts and the protected grass is thought provoking. It is not a slant on the text I have considered before. So I will ponder it first in the context of analysing the text in detail. More comment to follow. Nice to see you commenting on a Gem. Trust you and Annie are doing well. Thanks for adding your thoughts. I am always interested in the comments that come, especially when they come from an expert in the field.