Commentary on Revelation
Chapter 8
The seventh seal: making ready the seven trumpets
So far we have seen Jesus' power and worthiness to judge, we have heard a demand for judgment from the martyrs, we have had a taste of the terror of an approaching judgment, and we have seen that God's people will be exempt from this judgment. The next scene's will be ones of tremendous action. Chapter 8 begins with a short period of awed and breathless silence and anticipation.
Rev. 8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
The seventh seal contains 7 trumpets which serve as a warning of impending judgment. As did the first 6 seals, the trumpets judge only a fraction of whatever they hit. The ungodly are encouraged to heed the trumpets' warnings and repent. The trumpets serve the same purpose that the plagues did against Egypt. The silence in Heaven for one half hour is a drum-roll. An "hour" is often used to indicate a time of critical importance or activity. Compare: John 12:23 - "The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified." John 12:27 - "And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour." I John 2:18 - "It is the last hour." A half-hour hence indicates a delay before a crisis. The crisis is near but has not yet come.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; 4 and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth; and there were peals of thunder, voices, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made ready to blow them.
The altar pictured in verse 3 depicts the golden altar of incense which stood before the curtain separating the holy place and the holy of holies. In a sense it also stood before the throne of God since God was pictured as sitting enthroned upon the cherubim which were on the ark. (See Exodus 25:17-22.) The altar in verse 5 depicts the brazen altar of burnt offering from which the coals were taken for the incense offering. The judges of Israel marched from this altar in Ez. 9:1-2. Incense is often used to represent prayers. Ps. 141:2 - "Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee." The book of Revelation is itself an answer to the prayers of the Saints. Why does the angel throw the contents of the censer on the earth? We see the same thing in Ezekiel 10:2 where it precedes an approaching judgment by God against Jerusalem. Here we have the same picture as before thunder, lightning, and earthquakes are used to depict the judgment of God.
The seven trumpets
The first trumpet: hail, fire, and blood
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth; and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Compare Exodus 9:24 which describes the plague of fire and hail against Egypt. The trumpets are intended to warn and hence only a third is affected. This is not a bowl in which, as we will see, God's final judgments will be poured out against Rome. The trumpets allow an opportunity for repentance.
Important Note: This book is an oil painting from God. It is meant to leave an emotional impression with its vivid striking language. It is not like Romans, for instance, which appeals to the intellect with logical arguments. The trumpets act together to depict partial judgments which warn of impending doom. We should not attach a specific chronology to them. They are part of an overall picture.
The second trumpet: the sea becomes blood
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea; 9 and a third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
A burning mountain is cast into the sea and commerce is affected. In Ex. 7:20-21, the Nile being turned to blood was a literal judgment which had a similar effect. Only God is able to topple mountains. Zech. 4:7 depicts God making a mountain into a plain. Ex. 19:18 depicts God descending upon Mt. Sinai with fire. Amos 4:13 depicts God as treading upon the high places (mountains) of the earth. Micah 1:4 says that the mountains will melt under God. We can only look at mountains; God can remove them. A mountain is often used to depict a kingdom. Jeremiah 51:25 depicts Babylon as a destroying mountain that God would turn into a burnt mountain. Isaiah 2:2 - "It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains." Where else do we find a mountain being thrown into the sea? Matthew 21:21 - "If you have faith and never doubt" you could say to a mountain "Be taken up and cast into the sea" and it will be done. The early Christians had the faith necessary to move mountains! The mountain of Rome was cast into the sea by God.
The third trumpet: the falling star
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the fountains of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of the water, because it was made bitter.
A great star falls and strikes the drinking water. Again, the plague against the Nile had the same effect in Egypt. A star is often used to indicate a divine visitation. Matt. 2:2 - "We have seen his star in the east." Matt. 24:29 - "the stars will fall from heaven" described God's visit to Jerusalem in A.D. 70. We have seen this before in Revelation. The sixth seal in 6:13 described stars falling to earth. A falling star depicts the judgment of God upon the earth. Wormwood? It was offered to by the prophets to the rebellious Israelites in Jer. 23:15. Wormwood is a plant whose juice is very bitter. Also called absinthium, it is used to make absinthe, a green liqueur.
The fourth trumpet: the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light was darkened; a third of the day was kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
The fourth trumpet, as did the sixth seal, effects the sun, moon, and stars. Such language is customarily used in prophetic speech to depict impending judgments. Isaiah 34:4,5 - used with respect to a judgment against Edom. Isaiah 13:10,13 - used with respect to the fall of Babylon. Joel 2:10 - used with respect to a judgment against Judah. Again that only a third is effected depicts a partial judgment which allows time for repentance. Remember, the trumpets are warnings of impending doom.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice, as it flew in midheaven, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets which the three angels are about to blow!"
"Those who dwell upon the earth" is used to depict the ungodly in contrast to the Saints who are seen as "dwelling in heaven." (See Rev. 12:12 and 13:6.) Dwelling on earth always carries an evil connotation in Revelation. (See 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 12:12; 13:8; 13:12; 13:14; 14:6; 17:8.) In this context, heaven and earth depict states rather than locations. James 1:27 says that pure religion consists in keeping oneself unstained by the world. Romans 8:5 speaks of those who set their minds on the flesh as opposed to those who set their minds on the spirit. Recall Col. 3:1-2 - "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." God's people "dwell in heaven" even while still on the earth.