The last of the seven seals is broken in this chapter. This seal opens
up
the terrible judgments of the seven trumpets, 4 trumpets in this
chapter and
the remaining in succeeding chapters. These judgments primarily are
involved
with the physical earth. It, too, must go through a redemption process
(recall,
in the Old Testament, the redemption was for land). The sin curse has
been
on the earth ever since the fall of Adam, first man.
This is not a pleasant chapter to read about. Most of it is beyond
imagination as to the magnitude of the judgments. There is one bright
spot early in the
chapter which indicates how our prayers are handled in heaven.
Personally, I am thankful that "much incense" is mixed with my prayer
as it goes before the Father. Praise to the One with the "much
incense"!
1. And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in
heaven for about half an hour.
And when He broke the seventh seal,
This is the final seal on the scroll. When it is loosened, heaven can
begin to see inside and the scroll starts to unfurl. Let's take time
here to review
the seven seals as they give a hint of the scroll contents.
there was SILENCE IN HEAVEN for about half an hour.
Silence is NOT a normal state in heaven. When you read the previous
chapters (Revelation 4:8), you are struck
by all the praising, worshiping, and singing taking
place
in heaven. To have silence is unusual.
There are two views as to what causes the silence.
What heaven sees inside the scroll is so awful, it is stunned.
God wishes to listen to the prayers of the saints (Revelation
8:3) that He silences the heavens in order to hear them.
It is difficult to say from these two views, that either is the sole
cause of the silence. Since God is all knowing (hearing), it seems a
little restricting for Him to have silence to hear the prayers Himself.
Rather, it may be for
the benefit of the angels and saints already present.
As an aside observation, it is typical of the Revelation to have
everything explained in precision. That is, the silence is for about
half an hour ('not
about an hour' or 'some period of time'). This would indicate that what
follows
with the trumpets is NOT symbolic but EXACTLY what will happen to the
earth.
The 'thirds' which follow in the rest of this chapter are accurate. If
they
were symbolic, then they would be 'some' and 'lots' of whatever are
burned
or destroyed, and the precision of time is not needed in this verse.
This
is because time is of consequence to earthly things or more precisely,
due
to the rotation of the earth on its axis; God has no time restrictions!
2. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and seven
trumpets were given to them.
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God;
Again, John is very precise when he uses 'the seven angels'; these
seven angels are 'presence angels' and most likely are the same as the
archangels. We know of two of them in our scriptures, while Jewish
writings indicate the
remaining five as shown in the following table.
Before every woe, a warning is given by an angel blowing a trumpet.
Each
trumpet was unique and contained its own warning upon a specific part
of
the physical universe.
Trumpets also are associated with revelation particularly the giving
of
the Law (Exodus
19:16-20) and the prophesy (Amos
3:6-7). Jericho prevented Israel from taking the Promised Land; it
fell by
the
trumpet (Joshua
6:12-21
); so, too, the evil one prevents or tries to prevent Christ from
claiming
His true inheritance. This is associated with seal seven. Satan uses
the
Gentile nations to hold on to this earth and to fight the Jews, God's
Chosen.
See Zechariah
14:1-4 and Luke
21:20-24
.
3. And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a
golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it
to the prayers
of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And another angel came and stood at the ALTAR, holding a golden
censer;
Bible scholars are divided as to who this ANGEL is. Some believe that
he may be Christ Himself; others believe he is just another ministering
angel. There are several passages in the Bible which may lead one to
believe that Christ visited the earth as a messenger angel.
Hagar, Sarai's maid, sees an 'angel of the Lord' in
Genesis 16:9-13
, and ends up referring to the angel as "Thou art a God who sees".
The initial encounter of Gideon was with the angel of the Lord in
Judges 6:11-18
. Later, 'the Lord' said He would be with Gideon.
The background to Samson's birth announcement in
Judges 13:2-20
, Manoah's wife saw the angel of the Lord who brought her the message
of
her new baby to be a Nazirite. When Manoah entreated the Lord if this
true,
he went through a most fascinating dialogue. The angel of the Lord said
His
name was incomprehensible (usually an attribute of Christ's name).
Furthermore,
the 'angel of the Lord' ascended out of Manoah and his wife's sight in
the
smoke of the ALTAR they had built. This is curiously parallel to the
angel
standing at the alter in this verse.
The high priest, alone, carried the censer, fire pan full of coals,
as
a sin offering for himself, Leviticus
16:11-14
.
This mediating role is Christ's alone between God and man as Paul
describes in 1
Timothy 2:1-7
.
Interestingly, there never has been a reference to Christ ever
appearing back on earth as an angel after His ascension. However, Paul
indicates in
Hebrews
13:1-6 that we may have
entertained angels without knowing it. Was Christ one of
them?
and much incense was given to him,
The incense for the altar of incense (Exodus
30:1-6) was made of 4 spices: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and
frankincense (Exodus
30:34-38). Some scholars equate this to the four offices of Christ:
King,
Servant,
Son of Man, and Son of God. See Revelation 4:7
. Thus, the much incense may be the prayers of Jesus Christ Himself
before
the THRONE.
that he might add it to the PRAYERS of ALL the saints upon the
golden
ALTAR which was before the THRONE.
These prayers most likely are ones for revenge like those of the
martyrs under the altar (Revelation 6:9)
and the "cursive" psalms: Psalm
35:4-6
, Psalm
59:13-15
, Psalm
83:13-18
, and Psalm
109:6-20
. This type of prayer really does not have a place during the church
age,
but now with the seventh seal opened, it time for vengeance.
Incense also is very closely tied to Christ's name. Malachi, in
Malachi 1:6-14
, rebukes defiled offerings and the priests who permit them. He
indicates
that incense is offered to the greatness of His name.
As an observation, even the prayers coming from us are tainted with
the
sin curse. But the mixing of the much incense, Christ's prayers, covers
our
terrible sin curse odors with the sweet smelling fragrance of Christ's
mediations.
This parallels the blood of Christ making us spotless such that we can
be
presented before God, Revelation 7:9,14
.
4. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints,
went
up before God out of the angel's hand.
And the smoke of the incense,
This smoke is coming from the censer, and apparently the angel has
moved closer to God, inasmuch, the smoke is going up before God. Also
implied in
this is that heaven and the THRONE must be within the atmosphere.
Incense cannot burn without oxygen (or atmosphere). Symbolists would
argue otherwise. However, John is writing what he saw (Revelation 1:11).
with THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS went up before God out of the
angel's
hand.
5. And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire
of
the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of
thunder and
sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
And the ANGEL took the censer;
This is the censer that has the prayers of the saints purified and
filtered by the "much incense"
and he filled it with the FIRE of the ALTAR,
It is not clear if there is only one altar in heaven, the incense
altar. There is no need for a "sacrifices" alter because the supreme
sacrifice has
already taken place, Hebrews
12:28-29
. This altar is probably the one where the souls are seeking vengeance
in Revelation 6:9
. This implies the FIRE symbolizes God in His holy and pure judgmental
form.
We are about to see another side of a loving and caring God.
and threw it to the earth.
See the previous verse for some thoughts on where
heaven is. The lull in heaven in
verse 1 when the seventh seal was opened may also have been on the
earth. If so,
that lull is over!
and there followed
peals of thunder and
sounds and
flashes of lightning and
an earthquake.
This is much like God's visit to Mt. Sinai in
Exodus 19:16-20
. This is the tribulation saints vindication. Compare the consequences
in
Hebrews
10:26-31
, Luke
12:49-53
, and 2
Thessalonians 1:5-10
. Note, too, there is no indication that there is any rain. This
implies the
fire continues on for some time, perhaps for the duration of the seven
trumpets.
6. And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared
themselves to sound them.
And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared
themselves to sound them.
The sequencing of the seals, trumpets, and bowls are not necessarily
chronological, and neither totally parallel. The trumpets overlap or
are contained within the seventh seal. Likewise the seven bowls (the
third woe,
Revelation 11:14) overlap or are contained in the seventh trumpet
sounding.
Yet with God being beyond the constraints of time, John, who is time
limited
or constrained, probably had no other way of describing these
occurrences. One thing is certain, at the seventh bowl, the
proclamation is given, "It is done.", Revelation
16:17
. The vengeance, as horrible as it is, has been completed.
7. And the first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed
with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth
was burned
up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass
was
burned up.
And THE FIRST SOUNDED, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood,
and they were thrown to the earth;
There is one similar experience recorded in
Exodus 9:22-26 in one of the Egyptian plagues. However, this was
localized to Egypt specifically.
The first trumpet event is experienced by one third of the earth.
There are several theories how this could happen.
The earthquake in verse 5 causes massive
volcanic eruptions. Water (if undersea), lava, and such are
spewed into the air. The water is cooled in the upper atmosphere and
become
hail. Lava chunks become the fireballs when they splat and break open.
The earth passes through a comet or has a near miss with an
asteroid.
Comet tails are thought to be mostly ice with possibly some rock
pieces.
Upon entry into atmosphere, charge is picked up. This turns into
lightning
discharges at impact. This, in turn, starts many fires.
The "red as blood" coloration may be due to dust/mineral
contaminates, or the deep red color of cooled lava like predicted in
Joel 2:28-32
and
a third of the earth was burned up and
a third of the trees were burned up and
all the green grass was burned up.
Literally, trees are harder to start on fire than grass. However, note
the
comment in verse 5 that there is no rain mentioned.
What is clear is that fully a third of
the earth is affected. Again, the Revelation is using precise numbers.
Not
"some" or "a lot of" but 1/3 is used. Also consider that without
satellite
verification, there would be no way to know if 1/3 is the amount
affected.
Revelation waits until mankind has the technology to confirm the
scriptures.
Symbolically, the grass could mean masses of mankind and the trees
are prominent leaders and/or rulers. See Psalm
103:15-18
; Judges
9:7-15
; and Daniel
4:4-27
. Curiously, John does not record the political environment on the
earth
at the time of the Revelation. This is where interpretation of prophesy
and
cross references to other scripture becomes vital,
Ezekiel 38:21-23
.
What are some of the consequences of this FIRST TRUMPET? When grass
(grains)
are gone, food supply is diminished. Animals die. People die. Oxygen
production
will be reduced by a third also. It is unknown what affect this will
have
on the remaining life!
8. And 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;
And the second angel sounded, and SOMETHING like a great mountain
burning with fire was thrown into the sea;
This
is a difficult one for John to describe; what he sees is "something"
like a great mountain. This one is on fire, and clearly it lands in the
sea.
The literal view of
this is that it is a meteorite hit on the earth (ocean). In John's
time, the sea usually meant the Mediterranean Sea, but the
Atlantic, Pacific, or Indian Oceans, as we know those bodies of water,
are roughly a third of the earth's water. Hence, this burning meteorite
could have
hit any one of them. The consequences would be a tidal wave (estimated
between 1000-2000 feet high) would cause much destruction of coastal
property
and life.
The symbolic view would indicate a great
purging among godless
mankind. Isaiah
57:20 says the
wicked are like the tossing sea. The mountain could be a destroying
nation as in Jeremiah
51:24-26
. Or as in Daniel
2:31-35
, Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its interpretation,
Daniel 2:44-45
, the nation is indicated as the Jewish nation and the Lord's coming
empire.
and 1) a THIRD of the sea became BLOOD;
The literal view would be
that the meteorite caused a water heating
with a tremendous growth of red colored plankton, for example. Be aware
that this isn't BLOOD. Or it could
be a naval
battle with chemical warfare and actual BLOOD being spilled. Or, most
likely, a THIRD of the sea will be turned into BLOOD using an
undetermined method. Remember, this is God's judgment.
The symbolic view says this is a judgment of the spirit of
mankind.
The
water and blood are the same as the spirit as indicated in
1 John 5:6-12. So this trumpet blast affects the spirit of a third
of mankind.
9. and a third of the creatures, which were in the sea and had
life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
This is a continuation of the previous verse or the SECOND
trumpet.
and 2) a THIRD of the CREATURES, which were in
the
sea and had life, DIED;
This may be a partial
fulfillment of the prophesies in
Hosea 4:1-3 and Zephaniah
1:2-6. It is partial in that only a THIRD are removed with this
trumpet. How
this
will be done is a mystery. However, once it will be accomplished, the
stench
will be noticeable on the earth. Furthermore, we know so little about
the inhabitants of the sea, how will we know that a THIRD of them died.
We just have to take God at His Word.
A symbolic view would be that a THIRD of the "sea" of unbelievers
would die. This is plausible given that the FIRST trumpet destroyed so
much in the
way of trees and green grass (grains or sustenance). When this happens,
the shocker here will be how many religious people (aka church goers)
die.
and 3) a THIRD of the ships were destroyed.
The literal view says a meteorite impact would toss ships to and fro,
and obviously sinking some. Furthermore, the tidal wave would create
much damage to ships in port.
The symbolic view is that the ships are representative of vessels
of
war
and commerce. This implies that a THIRD of businesses would fail
because of
economic depression, and hence the business community is slowly
destroyed. A world in depression really does not have a need for war
ships. "The ships of Tarshish" and the "beautiful craft" are equated
with human pride. They are prophesied to "be humbled" in Isaiah
2:12-22
.
10. And 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;
And the THIRD ANGEL sounded, and a GREAT STAR fell from
heaven,
burning
like a torch,
The literal view of this is that this is something entering the earth's
atmosphere
from outside or above the clouds. Some scholars believe this may be a
nuclear
missile (like a torch) and use the next verse to
authenticate the nuclear warhead. Whatever this GREAT STAR is, it is
burning up in the atmosphere and pieces apparently are landing in
rivers and other bodies of water. It is not clear why the surrounding
land is not included in this verse.
The symbolic view is that there is a "high-level" purging of
demonic
forces
in heaven. It is possible that what is visibly shown here during the
THIRD
TRUMPET, is also what the rejoicing is over in
Revelation 12:12
, where the down casting of the devil is in the past tense, "has come
down".
The fact that the devil, a fallen angel, is equated to a great star is
supported
by the fact that the seven angels of the seven churches are also
refereed
to as stars in Revelation 1:20
.
and it fell on a THIRD of the rivers and on the SPRINGS of
waters.
The literal view is that if it is a nuclear explosion, the residue
radioactivity would run off in the rivers and seep into the ground
water (springs). This may be what this is, however, ground seepage to
cause springs to be radioactive is a longer process -- longer than the
seven years of tribulation.
The symbolic view would say that fully a THIRD of the spirit side
of
this
earth is affected. Recall that the serpent in
Revelation 12:15 tries to flood out the woman (Christianity) with a
great flood of water.
That this is an evil tide affecting a third of the people is confirmed
in Revelation 17:15
. Note that this verse does not say that the THIRD dies ... it just
fell
on them. The consequences would be a populace "hell bent" on evil and
crime.
It will not be fun to live during this period.
11. and the name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of
the waters became wormwood; and many men died from the waters, because
they were
made bitter.
and the name of the star is called WORMWOOD;
The plant, Artemisia absinthium, is known as wormwood. From it, a dark
green
oil, which is very bitter, is produced. It is lethal in water as the
rest
of the verse shows.
a THIRD of the waters became WORMWOOD; and many men died from
the
waters, because they were made bitter.
There are two literal possibilities:
There is an "explosion" of the wormwood plant on the earth
which,
when the previous two trumpets judgment is completed, has been
compressed
or crushed to release the wormwood oil into a THIRD of the waters.
Second, since this is a star, the chemical composition, on
impact,
is such as to pollute the THIRD of waters and make them bitter.
Consider
that the Russian word, Chernobyl means wormwood.
The symbolic view is that if this is the devil and his followers who
are being thrown from heaven, then he brings bitterness and death.
This trumpet is a direct judgment upon mankind because many men
died
from
the waters; the previous two trumpets were upon the earth itself with
man
involved as an innocent bystander.
12. And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a
third of the moon and a third of the stars were smitten, so that a
third of them might be darkened and the day might not shine for a third
of it, and the night
in the same way.
and the FOURTH ANGEL sounded, and
a THIRD of the SUN and
a THIRD of the MOON and
a THIRD of the STARS were smitten,
This trumpet alters the amount of light the earth receives to one third
less
than what is normal now. Since the earth revolves around the sun,
having
listed the SUN, MOON, and STARS in equal THIRDs indicates that they did
not
change their positions, but rather, something on earth changed just
that
we see this change to our surrounding cosmos.
so that a THIRD of them might be darkened and the DAY might
not
shine for a THIRD of it, and the NIGHT in the same way.
If the third trumpet was a cosmic impact with the
earth, the rotation of the earth could be sped
up such that the days and nights would be a third shorter than what
they
are now. That is, the earth would make a complete revolution on its
axis
every 16 hours instead of 24. It would be an interesting calculation to
determine
the size of the invading cosmic object which would cause the earth to
increase
its angular momentum by that much.
It is interesting that this is put into THIRDs. This keeps this verse
"season" neutral. That is, the DAYLIGHT and NIGHTTIME is a different
length depending whether it is winter or summer, for example. But using
THIRDs will work no matter what day of the year one is talking about.
Recall Jesus' words in Mark
13:32-37.
Let's look at the expression 'might be darkened'. There was
darkness
in
one the of plagues on Egypt in Exodus
10:21-23
. The darkness was so thick you could feel it, and, curiously, the
Israelis
light worked while the Egyptians didn't (implied). This
Egyptian
darkness was for three days and then, apparently, the normal day/night
cycle
returned. In this fourth TRUMPET, this appears to be a permanent effect
on
the earth's rotation.
At Christ's crucifixion, darkness fell upon the land for 3 hours
from noon
until 3 pm as given in Matthew
27:45
. This was a one time occurrence on that day.
From a symbolic view, darkening of the sky is connected with the
appearing of God's judgment.
Darkening the sky ... appearance of God's Judgment
13. And 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!"
And I looked, and I heard an EAGLE (angel, King James
Version) flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice,
The oldest manuscripts all translate to EAGLE. This may be one and the
same
as the fourth living creature in Revelation
4:6
,7
. This is a special message to earth that John both saw and heard.
In "midheaven" tends to indicate this eagle (angel) physically
flies
over
the earth visible to all below.
"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!"
It is not so unusual to have angels (eagle) make announcements to
earth. The birth of Christ was announced to shepherds in
Luke 2:8-11
. In Luke, that was a joyful announcement; in the
next
chapter
, the WOE, WOE, WOE here indicates evil, psychological mind games, and
mental
anguish will be played out. In this chapter, the TRUMPETS mainly did
physical
damage to the earth.
The prophesy of Deuteronomy
28:49-57
may finally be fulfilled in these three WOES. It is described as "an
eagle swoops down" meaning it will be carried out silently yet
powerfully.