CHAPTER 8
1. And when he opened the seventh seal, in heaven it became silent for half an hour.
2. and I saw the seven angels, who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3. and another angel came and stood on at the altar, having an gold incense altar, and a lot of incense was given him, in order to offer for all the saints on the gold altar before the throne.
4. and the smoke of the incense went up before God, from the hand of the angel, with the prayers of the saints.
5. and the angel took the incense altar and filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth, and there were thunders and voices (sounds), and lightening, and an earthquake.
6. And the seven angels, those having the seven trumpets, prepared themselves to play the trumpets.
7. and the first sounded the trumpet, and there was hale, and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth was in flames, and a third of the trees were consumed with fire, and all the green grass was burned.
v 2 As the seventh seal is opened the trumpet judgments come. The ancient book 1 Enoch lists the names of seven “Arch” angels, including Michael, Gabriel, and t other angels. We don’t know which angles are referred to here in Rev. Trumpets have already been discussed in 1:10; 4:1; , also see 8:4, 13; and 9:14.
v 3 The word for incense is frankincense. Note the gold and frankincense in the same scene. As mentioned before, incense relates to prayers (5:8; 6:9-10).
v 5 Voices are discussed in 6:12. See also 11:19; and 16:18.
v 7 Hail speaks of God’s judgment (Exo. 7:19-21; Eze. 32:6. For a third see Eze 5:2, 12.
Revelation 8
v. 8 and the second angel played the trumpet, and something like a huge mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea become blood
v. 9 and a third of the creatures having life in the sea died, and a third of the boats were demolished
v. 10 and the third angel played the trumpet, and a huge star fell from the sky, burning like a lamp, and it fell on a third of the rivers, and the springs of water
11. and the name of the star is called Wormwood, and a third of the warts became wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because they became bitter.
12 and the fourth angle played the trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that they became dark, and would not shine a third of the day, and likewise, the night.
13. and I saw, and I heard an eagle flying in the midst of the sky, saying with a loud voice “Woe (uai!), woe, woe to those living on the earth, because of the remaining soundings of the trumpet of the three angels that are about to play!
v 8 the sea becoming Blood is another plague on Egypt (Exo 7:19-21); Eze 32:6. For a review of the Trumpet sound please see comments above on Revelation 1:10.
v 10 The ancient Greek language only has one word, star, for planet, star, comet, asteroid and meteor. We have all of these words, and each is distinct. This is, obviously, not describing a star, but a light from the sky which comes into our atmosphere-a meteor, possibly a comet broken into several pieces.
v 11 Wormwood means bitter. The Russian word for Wormwood is Chernobyl. Because of the nuclear power plant melt down in 1986 and the radioactive fallout that resulted throughout much of Europe (cows’ milk had unsafe levels of radiation because the wind carried radiation West, which fell in rain, which radiated grass, which cows ate). For this reason some modern commentators have seen nuclear conflagration here. The destruction described here, of a 1/3 of the seas and rivers, etc. seems much larger than a bomb could possibly create. If this is describing nuclear fallout it is from an all-out nuclear war. But it seems more likely to be describing a natural disaster than a human-made one.
v 12 Darken means obscure. So this is not describing some physical change on the moon or the sun or the stars, but that their view is obscured from the perspective of a viewer from earth.
v 13 The word for eagle is translated angel in some translations, but here the word is not angelos, but the Greek word for eagle (Eze 1:10; 10:4).
Judgment
Judgment is an uncomfortable issue for many Christians. We’ve already discussed this issue at some length in comments on Chapter 6. We’ve seen that God’s judgment has always been redemptive and protective. Some people paint biblical judgment as But much of the rest of the Revelation describes destruction on a scale that to take the world beyond any possible redemption. This is the end of human history on earth. The new beginning is only for those who are among the redeemed in heaven.
The Prayers of Saints
All followers of Jesus pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven . . .” But what happens when His kingdom is not established and His will not done on earth? The Trumpet judgments seem associated with the prayers of the saints. Is it possible that when we pray that God’s will be done, we insure His judgment will eventually come as well? I think maybe so. Yet, here we can retreat into the certainties and beauties of the Psalms.
The psalmists often pray that God will judge evil. They do not ask for strength to bring judgment themselves. They leave it to God. This is a repeated theme of Scripture. God calls us to love, to be right, to be good. He commands us to “turn the other cheek”, to bless those who persecute us and despitefully abuse us (Matthew 5) to bless and not to curse (Romans 12). I think we can only feel free to live lives so unfettered by bitterness and revenge because we hand judgment over to God. We are to work for justice, yet to leave judgment to Him. So the Saints on earth and those in heaven call out to God to execute judgment. As He said “Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the LORD” (Deuteronomy 32:25; Romans 12). I think Abraham Lincoln may have understood this in his day. In his second inaugural address said this:
The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
To illustrate this point, let’s think about just one such scourge of our age, abortion. Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the US, and legalized abortion spread from there throughout the world, there have been roughly 50,000,000 abortions each year. 50 million times 40 years is more than two billion abortions. Today one in every four pregnancies ends in abortion. The most dangerous place in the world for a human being is inside a mother’s womb. What if, until every drop of blood drawn from babies’ bodies by the abortionist’s tools, God will demand a drop of blood for the adults who live? Would God be wrong for bringing judgment for the genocide we have perpetrated on the past generation? What would be the heavenly evaluation of the innocent lives of two billion babies brought to an untimely end? What other atrocities might we mention? Syria? N. Korea? The current famines in NE Africa? The persecutions of people of various faiths around the world? It seems to me for all the good our species has accomplished in the past generation there is a long list of injustices. The litany of crimes mounts. God will not remain unmoved forever. His wrath must come in time.
Prayer for Today
Father,
Have mercy on us, o Lord! Have mercy.
And in your mercy, remember justice. Knowing the fearfulness of Your justice, still we pray, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We ask you to use us as emissaries of your love and gentleness.
We leave judgment to You, in Your time. Let us not lose the softness of heart that enables us to grieve for the sins of this world. Keep our consciences supple.
In the name of the One who brings us forgiveness and peace, Jesus,
Amen.
