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
The first thing about each of these four trumpet judgements that should stand out is the natural world is what is affected. One third of the land was hit, one third of the sea, one third of the rivers and springs and one third of the natural light. The land, the water and the light – these are all crucial components to life on earth. Can you imagine the chaos which results from the combination of these four judgements? It is not that these judgements of God’s wrath are directed toward mankind. In the first instance it’s the environment of mankind that is hit. Why the consistency of one-third? I believe the intent here is the limiting factor, at least at first. After all, these judgements are to warn those who do not yet belong to Christ to repent before it’s too late. Otherwise, why would He not just take them out now? The limiting factor of “one-third” is to give them time to repent and change. That is why these judgements were allowed or sent down. See the end of Chapter 9 where the stubbornness of mankind is highlighted. If God were not concerned about those who rejected Him he would have just killed them. That is what suggests to me the limiting factor of the one-third is to encourage repentance. It shows that God was, is and ever will be long suffering in the hope that more will turn to Him.
We need now to look carefully at the judgements which come with these initial four trumpets blasts. They belong together as a set of four; much like the first four seals belonged together. That is the way they have been presented to us. We looked at the first trumpet blast in Gem 2269. Now let’s examine the remaining judgements in the initial set of four.
The Second Trumpet Judgement
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.
Revelation 8:8-9
What could this great mountain of fire thrown into the sea refer to? Two possible scenarios come immediately to my mind: either a huge meteor or a volcanic eruption. I guess I favour the latter rather than the first. A volcanic eruption seems the most likely and John could well have been given that picture, reminiscent of what happened in the Bay of Naples at Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 AD with the eruption of Vesuvius. You have to admit the similarity is telling and would certainly have triggered memories and discussion of the likelihood of it happening again. We can look at this judgement and think, “How could something like that happen?” Those in the Roman Empire would have no doubt it could happen because that had happened before.
I find it intriguing that this vision includes the sea “becoming blood”. Commentators discuss “becoming blood” or “being like the colour of blood”. I think we all may be missing the point. To me this is reminiscent of the Exodus plagues and the water in the Nile turning “blood red”. I think this is a deliberate targeted message to the Jews and all others for them to remember Egypt and the plagues. The end result of that was a nation and its ruler refusing to repent. Ah, maybe that is exactly the reminder they need.
That a third of things living in the sea (fish) and a third of all ships were destroyed: crushed, burned or sunk would have a much greater effect at end times than the Romans experienced after 79 AD. Those who heard or read of this outcome of the second trumpet judgement could have picked up a number of analogies. All very real and poignant for them. But this judgement described here in Revelation 8 is far more severe and widespread than what happened after Vesuvius erupted. This judgement is the second of many. There’s more coming in the next judgement vision; we are not finished yet. I find it interesting that the second judgement is so in line with the Romans’ recent (79 AD) experience. But let’s look at the next judgement.
The Third Trumpet Judgement
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.
Revelation 8:10-11
You can’t help but recognise the connections in this set of four trumpet judgements. A third of the seas of the earth were hit by the second judgement and now the fresh waters of the earth are struck. It made me think of a planned terrorist attack which knocks out key infrastructure in a city – having just recently watched the movie ‘London has Fallen’. God wants to gain the world’s attention. Interesting isn’t it that now a third of earth’s fresh water supplies are affected, including the underground springs? Even with the limitation of one-third, disaster has come upon the earth.
A great star fell from the sky? A star or a meteor? This third judgement seems more likely to be a meteor than a star. The scale of this judgement again impacts a third of the earth. But if a third of the earth were hit by a fallen star the scale would be immense. I personally think a star would do more damage than just a third of the earth. Think of your ultimate natural disaster movie and multiply its effect many times over. Besides which the nature of the total effect on a third of the earth doesn’t have to mean it is spread over a contiguous area of the globe. The effect could be spread to scattered areas of the earth and yet still total a third of the globe. Commentators debate this description and the nature of the third. I make these comments but not on the claim of having inside knowledge or God’s last word on the subject. I am merely interacting with the text of the Bible and coming to my take on what I perceive to be the outcome.
I must say I find this third judgement fascinates me that the result of this judgement is not its direct impact on the earth but the indirect impact on the population. This ‘star’ is burning, i.e. it comes with fire. The first three of these judgements come with fire and burn in one way or another. Rather the impact of this third judgement is contamination; again reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt. According to David Aune (Word Biblical Commentary 52a Revelation 6-16, page 522) the result of this judgement is [῎Αψινθος] ‘absinthe’ which belongs to the genus artemisia which contains the toxic agent thujone. This toxin can cause intoxication, hallucinations, convulsions and permanent damage to the nervous system. The bitterness of the toxin can still be tasted when a single ounce (28 grams) of thujone is diluted in 2,382 litres of water. That is one powerful toxin. The literal Greek of the reference here contains the idea that the waters “were made bitter” [πικραίνω] pikrainō or polluted and many [anthrōpos] ‘men’, ‘people’ died. That is one serious pollutant coming as a result of this third judgement and affecting the FRESH waters of a third of the earth. At that point in these judgements inhabitants on the earth have to realise they are in trouble and in dire need of repentance.
The Fourth Trumpet Judgement
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.
Revelation 8:12
With this Fourth Trumpet Judgement the four essential elements on this created sphere are affected: land, vegetation, water – salt and fresh, and light. I think by now you are gaining the impression that these judgements affect the very fabric of life on planet earth. Once again the judgements are tracking pretty well with the plagues cast on Egypt: waters to blood, water affected all over the land, plagues on humans and darkness. Sobering!
How are we to interpret the words of verse 12 in chapter 8? Was the effect on light coming from the sun, moon and stars in terms of its intensity or in terms of its duration or the length of time without light? That point is debated by the commentators. Some think it was the time the sun could shine for and therefore the fact that a third of the world was without light for that period. Thus, as stated in verse eight, a third of the day was dark and a third of the night was dark. Others think the sun and moon and stars only shone at a third of their capacity or intensity. Now that woud make you appreciate the amount of light you got even more. Friends who were with us in Indonesia came from Scandinavian countries, living up in the Arctic Circle. They told us living in the low sun period was hard. Bear in mind the further north you go, you effectively experience night conditions for 5 months of the year, end on end. During those times psychological problems such as depression are prevalent because people are not seeing the sun and not getting their dose of Vitamin D. I used that knowledge I had been given to tell a neighbour in NZ who was a nurse and had told me she had been on shift work for weeks and was feeling depressed. I related to her the Scandinavian’s testimony of the effects of not seeing the sun. She then decided you needed to ask the head nurse to take her off night duty.
The description above is far more than that in this case of the aftermath of the fourth judgement. Not only are there the psychological effects of sunlessness or low sun period but also economic and agricultural effects of what is described above. One-third of the land has been burned, a third of the sea affected, the fresh water supplies over a third of the world are compromised and the sun, moon and stars are shining at one-third strength over a third of the day and night. This is not a good sign. Often in the verses quoted about end time events, the signs in the sky, the sun, moon and stars are used as indicators or portents of disaster. Yes it certainly seems as though something bad is coming.
I haven’t yet made comment on verse thirteen of Chapter 8. I thought I would leave the ‘best’ for last.
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 8:13
We will deal with that in the next Gem, this Gem has already grown too long.
Don’t think you can dupe God by asking for a sign; He is the creator and inventor of signs.
Ian
God made the sun, moon and stars as signs; many astronauts have gone into space and seeing the signs from another perspective have become Christians. Help us to see the signs from Your perspective Lord.
Ian
Don’t be afraid, darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter.
Sidney Mohede
When you think about it, the end of the world is a little bit like death: We all know it’s going to come eventually, and as we get older, we feel we see the signs more and more distinctly.
John Hodgman
You do realise don’t you, that signs and wonders are not always positive. Sometimes God has to scare you into the Kingdom.
Ian