Revelation 8 Explained: Trumpets of Judgment
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
Revelation 8 marks a pivotal point in John's apocalyptic vision, transitioning from the seal judgments to the more intense trumpet judgments. Understanding this chapter requires grasping its place within the broader narrative of Revelation and appreciating the symbolic language used to convey its message. This chapter reveals God's escalating warnings and judgments upon a world that has rejected Him, while also highlighting His enduring mercy and call to repentance.
Context: From Seals to Trumpets
In Revelation 7, we see an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals, offering a glimpse of God's grace amidst impending judgment. The sealing of the 144,000 and the vision of the great multitude emphasize God's preservation of His people. Revelation 8 then initiates a new series of judgments – the trumpet judgments – that are unleashed when Jesus, the Lamb, opens the seventh seal. It's important to see these trumpet judgments not as overlapping with the seal judgments, but as following them, intensifying the consequences of sin and rebellion.
Silence and Preparation (Revelation 8:1-6)
The opening of the seventh seal is followed by a striking silence in heaven for about half an hour. This pause is significant. Some interpret this as a moment of awe and anticipation before the unleashing of God's full wrath. Others believe it represents a merciful delay, providing a brief window for repentance before the next wave of judgment falls. This silence underscores God's patience and reluctance to punish, highlighting the urgent need to turn to Him while there is still time.
Following the silence, seven angels who stand in God's presence are given seven trumpets, instruments used to announce significant events or warnings. Another angel appears, offering incense mixed with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. In Scripture, incense symbolizes the prayers of God's people ascending to heaven. Tony Evans notes that these prayers likely include the petitions of the tribulation martyrs, who previously cried out for divine justice (Revelation 6:10-11). The fact that these prayers rise with sweet-smelling incense suggests that God finds pleasure in receiving the prayers of His people.
The angel then fills the censer with fire from the altar and hurls it to the earth, resulting in thunder, lightning, rumblings, and an earthquake. This dramatic event signifies that the prayers of the saints are not ignored. God’s delayed response does not mean He has forgotten their cries. On the contrary, these prayers prompt an immediate response of angelic fire being hurled to the earth, initiating the trumpet judgments.
The First Four Trumpets: A Third is Struck (Revelation 8:7-12)
The first four trumpets bring a series of devastating ecological disasters, each impacting a third of its target. This "one-third" motif suggests a significant, but not total, destruction, leaving room for repentance and restoration.
First Trumpet (Revelation 8:7): Hail, fire, and blood are thrown to the earth, burning up a third of the trees and all the green grass. This could represent a catastrophic firestorm, dwarfing even the largest modern wildfires. The immediate impact would be a loss of vegetation, affecting crops, food supplies, and livestock.
Second Trumpet (Revelation 8:8-9): Something like a great mountain, ablaze with fire, is thrown into the sea, destroying a third of the sea, killing a third of the sea creatures, and destroying a third of the ships. This could be a massive meteor or asteroid impact, causing widespread devastation to marine life and global shipping.
Third Trumpet (Revelation 8:10-11): A great star, named Wormwood (meaning "bitter"), falls from heaven, poisoning a third of the rivers and springs. This celestial object, possibly a meteor or asteroid, contaminates the fresh water supply, causing sickness and death to many.
Fourth Trumpet (Revelation 8:12): A third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck, causing a corresponding decrease in light. The normal cycles of daylight and darkness will be thrown off. This could be caused by atmospheric pollution resulting from the previous judgments. The impact would affect weather patterns, energy use, agriculture, and animal life.
A Warning of Worse to Come (Revelation 8:13)
As devastating as the first four trumpet judgments are, they are only a prelude to what is to come. An eagle (or vulture), flying in midheaven, cries out 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!" This warning serves a twofold purpose. First, it emphasizes the increased severity of the remaining judgments. Second, it underscores God's graciousness in offering humanity an opportunity to repent before judgment falls.
Understanding God's Judgment and Mercy
Revelation 8 reveals the severity of God's judgment on a world that has rejected Him. However, it also reveals His mercy and patience. The silence before the trumpets, the partial nature of the judgments (affecting only a third), and the warning cry of the eagle all point to God's desire for people to repent and turn to Him. Even in the midst of judgment, God offers opportunities for grace.
It's important to remember that God's judgment is not arbitrary or vindictive. It is a response to sin and rebellion, a necessary act to purify and reclaim the earth. As Romans 1 illustrates, God sometimes allows people to experience the consequences of their own choices, a form of passive wrath. However, the trumpet judgments represent a more active form of God's wrath, similar to the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.
Revelation 8 is a sobering reminder of the consequences of rejecting God and a call to repentance. It also offers hope, reminding us that even in the midst of judgment, God's mercy endures, and He desires all people to turn to Him and be saved.
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
Revelation 8 marks a pivotal point in John's apocalyptic vision, transitioning from the seal judgments to the more intense trumpet judgments. Understanding this chapter requires grasping its place within the broader narrative of Revelation and appreciating the symbolic language used to convey its message. This chapter reveals God's escalating warnings and judgments upon a world that has rejected Him, while also highlighting His enduring mercy and call to repentance.
Context: From Seals to Trumpets
In Revelation 7, we see an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals, offering a glimpse of God's grace amidst impending judgment. The sealing of the 144,000 and the vision of the great multitude emphasize God's preservation of His people. Revelation 8 then initiates a new series of judgments – the trumpet judgments – that are unleashed when Jesus, the Lamb, opens the seventh seal. It's important to see these trumpet judgments not as overlapping with the seal judgments, but as following them, intensifying the consequences of sin and rebellion.
Silence and Preparation (Revelation 8:1-6)
The opening of the seventh seal is followed by a striking silence in heaven for about half an hour. This pause is significant. Some interpret this as a moment of awe and anticipation before the unleashing of God's full wrath. Others believe it represents a merciful delay, providing a brief window for repentance before the next wave of judgment falls. This silence underscores God's patience and reluctance to punish, highlighting the urgent need to turn to Him while there is still time.
Following the silence, seven angels who stand in God's presence are given seven trumpets, instruments used to announce significant events or warnings. Another angel appears, offering incense mixed with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. In Scripture, incense symbolizes the prayers of God's people ascending to heaven. Tony Evans notes that these prayers likely include the petitions of the tribulation martyrs, who previously cried out for divine justice (Revelation 6:10-11). The fact that these prayers rise with sweet-smelling incense suggests that God finds pleasure in receiving the prayers of His people.
The angel then fills the censer with fire from the altar and hurls it to the earth, resulting in thunder, lightning, rumblings, and an earthquake. This dramatic event signifies that the prayers of the saints are not ignored. God’s delayed response does not mean He has forgotten their cries. On the contrary, these prayers prompt an immediate response of angelic fire being hurled to the earth, initiating the trumpet judgments.
The First Four Trumpets: A Third is Struck (Revelation 8:7-12)
The first four trumpets bring a series of devastating ecological disasters, each impacting a third of its target. This "one-third" motif suggests a significant, but not total, destruction, leaving room for repentance and restoration.
First Trumpet (Revelation 8:7): Hail, fire, and blood are thrown to the earth, burning up a third of the trees and all the green grass. This could represent a catastrophic firestorm, dwarfing even the largest modern wildfires. The immediate impact would be a loss of vegetation, affecting crops, food supplies, and livestock.
Second Trumpet (Revelation 8:8-9): Something like a great mountain, ablaze with fire, is thrown into the sea, destroying a third of the sea, killing a third of the sea creatures, and destroying a third of the ships. This could be a massive meteor or asteroid impact, causing widespread devastation to marine life and global shipping.
Third Trumpet (Revelation 8:10-11): A great star, named Wormwood (meaning "bitter"), falls from heaven, poisoning a third of the rivers and springs. This celestial object, possibly a meteor or asteroid, contaminates the fresh water supply, causing sickness and death to many.
Fourth Trumpet (Revelation 8:12): A third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck, causing a corresponding decrease in light. The normal cycles of daylight and darkness will be thrown off. This could be caused by atmospheric pollution resulting from the previous judgments. The impact would affect weather patterns, energy use, agriculture, and animal life.
A Warning of Worse to Come (Revelation 8:13)
As devastating as the first four trumpet judgments are, they are only a prelude to what is to come. An eagle (or vulture), flying in midheaven, cries out 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!" This warning serves a twofold purpose. First, it emphasizes the increased severity of the remaining judgments. Second, it underscores God's graciousness in offering humanity an opportunity to repent before judgment falls.
Understanding God's Judgment and Mercy
Revelation 8 reveals the severity of God's judgment on a world that has rejected Him. However, it also reveals His mercy and patience. The silence before the trumpets, the partial nature of the judgments (affecting only a third), and the warning cry of the eagle all point to God's desire for people to repent and turn to Him. Even in the midst of judgment, God offers opportunities for grace.
It's important to remember that God's judgment is not arbitrary or vindictive. It is a response to sin and rebellion, a necessary act to purify and reclaim the earth. As Romans 1 illustrates, God sometimes allows people to experience the consequences of their own choices, a form of passive wrath. However, the trumpet judgments represent a more active form of God's wrath, similar to the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.
Revelation 8 is a sobering reminder of the consequences of rejecting God and a call to repentance. It also offers hope, reminding us that even in the midst of judgment, God's mercy endures, and He desires all people to turn to Him and be saved.