Revelation 8
The Sky is Falling!
Scripture reading…
1Jo. 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jo. 2:16 For all that is in
the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
1Jo. 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Pray
Introduction
√ The 7th Seal
Chapter 8 records the breaking of the 7th and final seal of the scroll which Jesus is opening.
Following the breaking of the 7th seal are...
7 Trumpet judgements
7 Bowl judgements
...in which the judgements being poured out from heaven increase in their intensity.
Can be a little confusing; what we find is that the 7 Trumpet judgments actually constitute the breaking of the 7th seal; and the 7 Bowl judgements constitute the 7th Trumpet.
Also, there are some interesting parallels between the 7
Trumpet Judgements and the Plagues with which God struck
Which, when you think about it isn't that surprising!
The world at that time will be much like ancient
The mocking of Pharaoh sounds strangely familiar to the cry of the unrepentant people on the earth in the dark days of the Tribulation...
"Who is the Lord that we should serve Him?"
…to which God will reply by means of His judgments that He alone is the Lord to Whom all must bow!
√ Outline
Chapter 8 records the judgment brought by the first 4 Trumpets. It breaks down nicely into 2 sections…
vs. 1-6 Preparation for the judgement to come
vs. 7-13 Desolation from the judgments
…to the inhabitants of the earth it will seem that the “sky is falling!”
Preparation (vs. 1-6)
Rev 8:1a When He opened the seventh seal…
Jesus opens the 7th and final seal - note the response of heaven.
Rev. 8:1b ...there
was silence in heaven for about half an
hour.
Silence
When we left the heavenly scene in chapter 7 the host of heaven, angels, saints, the elders, - an innumerable multitude - were all praising God!
Now, with the breaking of the 7th and final seal everyone in heaven becomes silent!
Ex. Ever play the "silence game" when you were a kid, or with your kids? Remember how hard it was!
Try 30 minutes! Why the silence?
John doesn't tell us why.
Some have speculated that as the final seal is opened and the scroll unrolled and it's contents revealed - the multitudes in heaven become silent in awe of what God has planned in the remaining judgements.
Others have suggested that the saints are silent because of the overwhelming awe that they (themselves) are in heaven! (ala “Mercy Me” “Can you imagine”)
A third possibility is that it is symbolic of the "lull before the storm" that we've seen throughout the Revelation.
Whatever the reason, it is significant – yet God has chosen not to reveal to us His purpose.
√ Trumpets given (vs. 2)
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
During the time of silence 7 angels are given 7 trumpets.
Very significant to John - who understood the Jewish religion and the use of Trumpets as instructed by God in the book of Numbers.
Called the people together for a holy assembly
Announced war
Announced special times - feasts
Ex. Use of trumpets
in
Trumpet sounded at Sinai when the Law was given (Ex. 19)
Trumpets sounded when a new king was enthroned (I Ki 1:34)
Trumpets sounded at
7 priests, 7 trumpets, sounded 7 times to signal the
destruction of
Ex. In the N.T.
Jesus' voice sounded like a trumpet to John (Rev. 1:10)
John called to heaven by the same trumpet voice (Rev. 4:1)
The Church called to heaven at the Rapture (I Thess. 4:16)
John understands that these angels with their trumpets are about to sound....
Calling God's armies together
Announcing war to the inhabitants of the earth
Announcing a New King is ready to take possession of the earth
Ap. As the final
trumpet sounded the defeat of
√ But…
…before the trumpets are sounded a special angel is called to perform a special task.
Rev 8:3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. And 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.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.
Rev 8:5 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.
Rev 8:6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
In the Tabernacle and the
The priest would burn incense on the coals of the golden censer - a picture of the prayers of the saints rising to God (Psa. 141:2)
Ex. That's what Zacharias was doing when the angel told him about John the Baptist (Luke 1).
But of real interest
here is that the angel is not following the procedure of the priests!
OT - priest put incense on the coals and with the blood of
the sacrifice entered the
Here - the angel puts the incense on the censer, mixed with
fire, and casts it to the earth!
Its a symbol of Judgement! The time for atonement has come and gone, now there is only judgement!
Ex. Look back at Ez. 10:2
Eze 10:2 And He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, "Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in as I watched.
Chapter in which God departs from the
√ Interesting question is raised here - why are the prayers of the saints mentioned with the judgement of God?
The answer is that every time one of God's children, that includes us, prays....
"Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
...God acknowledges them and keeps them for the Day when He brings His perfect will upon the earth.
In this case, judgment upon those who made themselves enemies of God and His people.
Those who persecuted the saints.
Ap. Reminds us that true prayer is not to get Man's will done in heaven, but to get God's will done on earth.
The Trumpets (vs. 7-12)
√ The Trumpet Judgments
Note that the first 4 trumpets target nature - though the result is to effect man, while the last 3 are targeted directly at mankind.
Trumpet 1 -
desolation targets vegetation
Rev 8:7 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.
Remember the 7th plague that God sent against
Best to understand this judgment as literal.
What about the blood? It could actually be part of the judgement - or the result of the judgement. Since is a supernatural event - either is possible.
Either way - the desolation is massive - a third of the vegetation on the earth is destroyed!
Tree = fruit producing tree
Grass = feed, hay, straw etc.
Think of the impact on the world food production!
Ex. Drought in Africa - produced great famine.
Pictured symbolically in the 3rd horsemen of Revelation 6 – Famine!
Trumpet 2 -
desolation targets the seas
Rev 8:8 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;
Rev 8:9 and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The target of the 2nd Trumpet is the sea, or the saltwater of the earth and that which lives in the sea.
Literal or symbolic?
Note the clue that John give us…
"something like" vs. 8
…understood to be symbolic, or descriptive, not literal.
So, what is like a "burning mountain"?
Most likely John is describing a comet or meteor that strikes the earth landing in the ocean.
3 results...
3rd part of the saltwater turned to blood - like 1st plague in Egypt!
3rd of the sea creatures killed
3rd or the ships sunk
• 3/4 of the earth’s surface is covered with saltwater! If a 3rd of that water is polluted to the point that it is unfit for anything - the extent of the damage would be massive!
• There are aprox. 30,000 merchant ships in the world today - can you imagine if 10,000 were simply wiped out!
The effect on the economy as merchandise sank to the bottom of the sea.
• A third of the marine life killed!
Loss of food source - can you imagine the stink!
Trumpet 3 -
desolation targets the fresh water
Rev 8:10 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;
Rev 8:11 and the name of the star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood; and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.
God's judgement moves inland at this point with the target of this 3rd Trumpet being the fresh waters of the earth.
Notice that John identifies this judgement specifically as a star.
Some have interpreted this to be a man-made satellite - perhaps it's nuclear power reactor breaking up and contaminating the fresh water supply.
However, the desolation described is too wide spread to be accounted for by one satellite.
On the other hand, if it is a star as we know them it would certainly have to break up before it struck the earth else it would completely wipe out the planet.
As the star is scattered across the earth it contaminates a third of the earths rivers.
Ex. National Geographic reports about 100 principle, or major rivers in the world - from the 4,000 mile long Amazon to the Mississippi (3,710 miles.)
33 of those contaminated and made useless for drinking!
√ The star has a name!
"Wormwood". Now that may be unusual to us, however, while Adam was busy naming animals, Psalm 147:4 declares that God was naming all the stars!
There's one up there named Wormwood = bitterness…
…that is a third of the fresh water on the planet is made undrinkable!
Ex. Project Wormwood
“Studies in Planetary Defense and Space Debris”
…a cooperative project located at the Learmonth Solar Observatory in Australia!
Ex. We take fresh water for granted here in the US - it comes right out of our faucets!
I’ve had a day or two were city water was contaminated - had to boil it or drink only bottled water.
Can you imagine what it will be like in those days when a third of the fresh water supply is unsuitable for human consumption?
What about the fish that live in those rivers?
What about the vegetation along the banks?
It will be awful!
Trumpet 4 -
desolation targets the heavens
Rev 8:12 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; and a third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
His judgement now moves from the earth to space as God strikes the sun, moon and stars.
Parallels the 9th plague against Egypt.
Not told the mechanism, simply that a third of the light that reaches the earth is cut off!
Sun is a star; stars have life span - cycle in their output and then collapse at end of life.
Here God turns down the power by 33%!
The moon of course reflects the sun so it would be effected in the same proportion.
Think of the vast changes in temperature and climate! The effect on humans and animals, food production!!!
It's almost like God is communicating to man, so you like darkness? Have some!
Taken together, it looks like the first 4 Trumpet judgments would suggest some sort of radical change in our solar system that brings destruction upon the earth.
Uncle!
√ Uncle!
As bad as these first 4 trumpets are, they're nothing compared with what still lays ahead for the inhabitants of the earth!
Rev 8:13 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!"
God sends a heavenly messenger to communicate a warning to those that still live on the earth.
Interestingly - "angel" is replaced with "eagle" in many of the best preserved manuscripts.
Could it be the angelic creature we saw before the throne of God in Rev. 4:7-8 with an eagles face?
Please note to whom the message is directed;
"to the inhabitants of the earth,"
Found 12 times in the Revelation and means more than just …
"people who live on the earth"
…rather, it refers to those who live for the earth, and the things of the earth.
These folks are the complete opposite of God's saints who have their citizenship in heaven.
Ap. A warning.
Jam 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
The biggest trap for Christians in America is to be seduced by the comforts the World has to offer.
Our spiritual life then becomes choked by the desire for the things and pleasures of this world instead of the true treasures of God.
The pursuit of this world’s goods makes us weak as a individuals and ineffective as the Body of Christ.
The abundant life is found when you turn your heart toward heaven and desire His Kingdom and His treasures.
"...for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
Heb. 11:10
Close
√ The world will pass away!
Therefore, don’t put your hope in the world or what it has to offer! Trust in the Lord and invest yourself in those things which are eternal.