In response to the believing prayer of the saints God now judges her persecutors and enemies. In this message we seek to find some Old Testament information related to the trumpet judgments. As we do so, the vision and its meaning become clearer.
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The Sounding Of The First Four Trumpets
Revelation 8:7-13
In Revelation 8 we see a vision of the Lamb slitting the seventh seal, which ushers in complete silence in heaven for about half an hour. This is the calm before the storm, the anxious anticipation of God’s judgment. Then seven angels are given seven trumpets. But before they blow those trumpets, we see another vision. It is of another angel at the golden altar of incense holding a golden censer which was used to carry burning coals from the bronze altar to the golden altar. Much incense was given to him. He cast the incense on the burning coals, and now the prayers of all the saints ascended to God.
Last time we discussed this vision. My conclusion is that the prayers of the saints are only able to ascend to God and be pleasing in His sight because they are perfumed by the perfect work of Jesus Christ. The prayers of the saints are primarily prayers for justice on those who seek to oppose the work of God and the advancement of His kingdom, like the prayers of the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-11. I have come to that conclusion because as soon as these prayers ascend to God, the angel takes the same censer that enabled the prayers to ascend to God and uses it to cast fire to the earth, resulting in thunder, lightning and an earthquake. The obvious implication is that the judgments that follow are God’s answer to His persecuted people.
This morning we are going to look at the first four trumpets and the judgments of God that proceed from them. And let me just say that there are places in the book of Revelation where I can speak with a great deal of certainty as to the correct meaning. However, there are other places, like this chapter and chapter 9, where I will have to speak with less certainty. As I have reviewed what various commentators have written on this chapter, I have discovered that there are a great many different interpretations. The difficulties in interpretation are great. Are the things described in this chapter to be taken literally or symbolically? If they are to be taken symbolically, what do they symbolize? And when do these trumpet judgments take place? The Preterist believes they took place in the first century, the Idealist believes they take place all throughout history in many different ways, and the Futurist believes they will take place at the end of earth’s history.
My approach this morning is to look at the judgment that unfolds as a result of the sounding of each trumpet, and then step back and see if we can make any connections with other portions of Scripture.
1. The Sounding of the First Trumpet 8:7
The Judgment. Hail and fire mixed with blood are thrown to the earth.
The Result. A third of the earth and trees are burned up, and all the green grass is burned up.
2. The Sounding of the Second Trumpet 8:8-9
The Judgment. Something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea.
The Result. A third of the sea became blood, a third of the creatures which were in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Biblical Connections. Now, let’s pause to ask ourselves the question, “Is there any other place in the Bible where we see something similar to these two judgments taking place?” Is there any place in the Bible where we read of hail, and fire thrown to the earth? Is there any other place where we read of water being turned to blood?
Exodus 9:18-26. Now, notice several things from this passage. God rains down from heaven hail and fire, just as we saw in the first trumpet. The result was the destruction of the trees and the fields, just as we saw in the first trumpet. The Israelites were exempt from this judgment. It did not fall in the land of Goshen where they lived, but came upon all the rest of the land of Egypt. Similarly, in Revelation 7 we read of four angels holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on the earth or sea or tree, until God’s people were sealed. In other words, the judgments that proceed from the sounding of the first two trumpets do not harm God’s people, but only “those who dwell on the earth” (which is a code name for those in rebellion to God).
Exodus 7:17-18. Here we find God turning the water in the Nile river to blood, so that the fish in the Nile died, and the people would be unable to drink it. That’s what we find in Revelation 8 in the sounding of the second trumpet. When this burning mountain is thrown into the sea, a third of the sea becomes blood, and the sea creatures die.
What we have in the first two trumpets is a return of the plagues upon Egypt! God took notice of the suffering and groaning of His people in bondage in Egypt, and decided that He would deliver him. The Egyptians would not willingly let God’s people go free, so God had to persuade them by sending various plagues. So, God is doing two things here simultaneously. He is judging the Egyptians who persecuted His people, and He is delivering the Israelites. It seems to me that we should draw the same conclusions in Revelation 8.
There is something else here that we need to notice. It is this burning mountain which is cast into the sea. Sometimes mountains are symbolic of kingdoms or governments. We find that to be the case in Jeremiah 51:24-25. In that Scripture, Babylon is likened to a burnt out mountain.
Now, take a look at Jesus’ teaching in Mark 11. In verses 12-14, we read that Jesus was hungry and so went over to a fig tree to see if there was any fruit on it. When he got close to the tree He discovered that it had no fruit, but just leaves. In response He said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” In Mark 11:20-21 we find that the next day the disciples noticed that the fig tree that Jesus had cursed had withered. Most Bible scholars agree that the fig tree is a symbol for Israel that was unfruitful. God had given Israel opportunity after opportunity to bring forth fruit, but they were barren.
Notice how Jesus responds to the withering of the fig tree in Mark 11:22-24, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Now, I am not aware of anyone in the last 2,000 years who has been able to cast a literal mountain into the sea through prayer. What was Jesus talking about? In the immediate context He is talking about unfruitful Israel being cursed, and coming under the judgment of God. Then He refers to “this mountain” being cast into the sea. And notice how the mountain would be cast into the sea – through faith and prayer.
In Revelation 8, these trumpet judgments are God’s response to the prayers of the saints! Therefore, it seems likely to me that when Jesus taught His disciples that they could cast a mountain into the sea through believing prayer, He was intending them to understand that if an ungodly kingdom or nation would rise up to persecute them, they could pray and God would respond with judgment.
In the book of Acts, who brought about the persecution of the Christians? It was the Jews. It was the Jewish leaders that ordered Stephen to be stoned. It was the Jews that hounded Paul from city to city, started riots, stoned him, and tried to kill him on multiple occasions.
For all of those reasons I wonder if this great mountain burning with fire is intended to symbolize unbelieving Israel that persecuted God’s people in the first century. The sea in Revelation 17:15 stands for “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues” – the Gentile nations. Thus the mountain being thrown into the sea would mean that Israel would be judged, and dispersed throughout the gentile nations, which did take place in 70 A.D.
In Exodus, it was the Egyptians that God judged. It appears that in Revelation 8, it is Israel that is under God’s judgment.” And God did judge Israel. The Romans laid siege to Jerusalem, and in 70 A.D. destroyed the city and the temple. The priesthood and the temple were no more.
In Matthew 23:29-39, Jesus brings woes upon the scribes and Pharisees because they are going to scourge, persecute, and kill the righteous ones He will send in His name. The guilt of all the righteous blood that was shed would fall on that generation. Their house would be left to them desolate. Then Jesus goes right on in Matthew 24 to describe the signs leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
So, my conclusion from these trumpet judgments is that they appear to teach God is going to answer the prayers of the early Christians who were being persecuted by the Jewish leaders.
God’s plagues are falling, but this time not on Egypt, but on the Jews who had crucified their Messiah and were persecuting and killing those who were sent out with the gospel.
3. The Sounding of the Third Trumpet 8:10-11
The Judgment. “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. The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters become wormwood
The Result. “and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.”
Wormwood was a bitter herb that if put in water would contaminate it and make it poisonous. It is used metaphorically in the Scripture to speak of bitter suffering.
Biblical Connections. Now, is there anything in Scripture that speaks of bitter water? As a matter of fact there is. Let’s take a look at Exodus 15:22-26. Immediately after being delivered from the Egyptians and passing through the Red Sea, Israel went for three days with no water. The people by this time were in grave need of fresh water. Finally, they came to a place of water, but when the drank it, they had to spit it out, because it was bitter. The people grumbled against Moses, so Moses prayed to the Lord. The Lord answered by showing him a tree that he needed to throw into the waters. When he did, the waters became sweet. Then God told them that if they obeyed His covenant, He would not put on them any of the diseases which He put on the Egyptians.
Well, what do we see in Revelation 8? We see the reversal of what God did for the Israelites in Exodus 15. Instead of a tree being thrown into the waters to make them sweet, a burning star fell on the waters and made them bitter. Now people who drink this water get sick and die. It is the opposite of what God did initially for Israel.
Why the difference? God’s promise not to put the diseases which He put on the Egyptians on the Israelites was conditional. The Israelites had to obey God and keep His covenant. They did not. They broke it again and again and gave themselves to idolatry. They were unfaithful to the covenant. Thus, we see a reversal. The sweet waters become bitter.
Just as God turned the waters into blood as a judgment against Egypt, so now it appears that He is doing the same as a judgment against Israel. And that should not surprise us because, in Revelation 11:8, Jerusalem is called Sodom and Egypt. Israel has now taken places with Egypt and has come under God’s judgment.
Folks, resist the urge to take these things literally. Remember, that these are visions given to John in apocalyptic style to teach lessons through the use of symbols. And in many cases the symbols have already been used in other places of Scripture.
4. The Sounding of the Fourth Angel 8:12
The Judgment. A third of the sun and moon and stars were struck
The Result. So that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.
Biblical Connections. Remember, that at the end of chapter 6 the sun became black, the moon became like blood and the stars fell to the earth. That appears to describe the second coming of Christ and the destruction of the heavens and the earth. But here in Revelation 8 only a third of the light of the sun moon and stars is affected.
Do we read anywhere else in the Bible of the sun being darkened, the stars falling from the sky and the moon turning to blood? Absolutely. In fact, this imagery occurs many places in Scripture. Let’s look at just a few.
Isaiah 13:10 “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light.” This prophecy was concerning the fall of Babylon. Isaiah prophesied that Babylon was about to fall. He describes it with imagery of the sun, moon and stars ceasing to shine.
Ezekiel 32:7-8, “And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you and will set darkness on your land” declares the Lord God. This prophecy was concerning Egypt. God was announcing the fall and destruction of Egypt. Now, did the stars, sun and moon literally stop giving forth light? No, I don’t think so. This is figurative language. It is a symbolic way of saying, “You’re done. Game over. I’m putting out the lights. You are judged.”
Acts 2:16-21. Here we have Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost. He says that what they were experiencing on the day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32. The Spirit would be poured on all mankind. Prophecy, dreams and visions would take place. Not only that, but the sun would be turned into darkness, the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. Now, when would that be fulfilled. The rest of Joel 2:28-32 was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost and the years directly following. When would the sun and moon be darkened? When would they see blood, fire and vapor of smoke on the earth? Many believe these are prophecies of the end of the world, but it seems more likely to me that if Joel 2 was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, we should look for something much closer to that date for the fulfillment of these other prophecies. And we do have something that fulfills all of these details. It is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. There was blood, fire and vapor of smoke as the Romans burned the city to the ground. Just as the sun, moon and stars being darkened were symbols of God’s judgment upon a nation in the Old Testament, they occur here again for the destruction of His unbelieving Israelites in the first century.
All the way through this chapter we keep reading of 1/3. That’s interesting because in Revelation 6:8 the judgment affects ¼ of the earth. Now in chapter 8 the intensity of the judgment seems to be ratcheted up. When we get to Revelation 16 and the bowls of wrath, there are no restrictions. It is no longer ¼ or 1/3. Now it is everyone. I don’t think we should think in terms of strict percentages. A third is a large portion, but not the majority. That seems to indicate that the visions of judgment we find in Revelation get more and more intense the further we read. So when we read that a third of the sun, moon and stars cease to give light, it seems that we are to understand that a nation is under judgment, but just a nation, not the entire world. That will come later.
8:13. In verse 13 we receive a conclusion to this chapter. We see an eagle flying in midheaven. An eagle is a bird of prey that kills and eats its victims. What does this eagle say, “Woe, woe, woe.” Why does this eagle say “woe” three times? Because there are three more trumpet judgments to come. A woe is that which brings great sorrow or distress. Apparently, the final three trumpets bring greater distress and devastation than the first four.
Conclusion
In response to the believing prayers of God’s people who are persecuted and treated unjustly in this world, God responds in judgment.
Perhaps it is His judgment leveled against apostate Israel that killed the prophets and crucified Jesus Christ, and then hunted down His apostles.
Perhaps it is Him causing the fall of the great Roman empire, after the emperors had martyred so many faithful Christians.
It might be seen throughout history in what we call “acts of God” – tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. The world needs to learn to listen to the voice of God in these things and repent before it is too late to repent.
But all of these judgments are only 1/3. They are not the full and final judgment that is to come. They are partial judgments and a precursor to the Great White Throne Judgment where every person who has ever lived will be ushered into heaven or cast into hell.
If you are a Christian, you will have an Advocate, a Mediator at that Final Judgment. Jesus will take up your cause and plead your case. You will be like the Israelites that were delivered from their oppressors and led into the promised land.
If you are not a Christian, you will have no Advocate. You will stand alone before God and have to give an account of your life. And He will reveal your sin, guilt and shame and bring justice to pass at last. If you are not yet a Christian, bow your knee to Christ this morning, confess your sin, call on His name, and be saved from your sins!
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