“And when he opened the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven about the space of half an hour” (Rev 8:1). All creation is awed by what is about to happen. The Day of Yehovah [the Lord], the event angels and saints have anticipated for thousands of years, has finally arrived. Centuries of prayers from the saints are symbolically compared to the fragrance of burning incense ascending from the temple altar to the very presence of God in heaven (vs 3-5). The answer to those prayers is now imminent. Once the seventh seal is broken, the entire scroll is finally opened. Much of the remainder of the book of Revelation is subdivided into seven major parts, each signified by the blast of a trumpet. In the ancient world trumpets often were used to announce the approach or arrival of danger. They serve a similar purpose here; they announce the main phases of God’s judgment on this evil world—and on the devil, who has deceived it. Combined, the seven trumpets (chs 8-11) provide a summary of what will happen during this time. Revelation explains and describes the punishment each trumpet blast heralds. Most of the following chapters (12-20) fill in details concerning the Day of Yehovah, particularly about the persecuting worldly powers led and controlled by Satan and about Yeshua’s [Jesus] victory over those powers. Chapters 21-22 give us a brief glimpse of the saints’ eternal reward. The first four trumpets (Rev 8) herald cataclysmic devastation. The first is a rain of hail and fire (v 7), perhaps similar to one of the 10 plagues God sent on Egypt at the time of Moses (see Ex 9:13-35). This could be describing phenomena such as icy hail mixed with lightning, a rain of superheated volcanic material from a gigantic eruption, or a meteor storm from space. The second trumpet plague, a burning mountain thrown into the sea (vs 8-9), could also indicate a devastating super volcano or an asteroid impact. The third, a falling star burning like a torch (vs 10-11), also seems to refer to an asteroid or comet impact. Then, following the fourth trumpet, light from the sun, the moon and the stars is obscured (v 12)—possibly as a result of the atmospheric debris from the first three catastrophes. A plague of darkness, similar to another of the plagues of Egypt (see Ex 10:21-29), engulfs at least a third or possibly all of the earth. (An even greater darkness will later ensue during the seven last plagues.) The targets of the first four trumpets are “the earth and the sea” (Rev 7:2). Though many deaths will surely result from these plagues, they are primarily directed toward mankind’s earthly life-support system. They devastate earth’s environment. God, our Creator, will provide ample evidence to every human being that He has full control over our life-sustaining environment. Notice exactly what is affected by the first four trumpet plagues. First “a third of the trees” and “all green grass” are burned up. Next “a third of the sea” turns to blood. Then “a third of the rivers and... springs of waters” are poisoned, bringing many more deaths (Rev 8:7-12). Although these events are terrifying, God remains merciful. He always prefers to impose lesser punishments first to give people an opportunity to repent. As He told Ezekiel: “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says Yehovah GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Eze 33:11). Rarely have whole nations repented and changed because of God’s warning punishments. Most people tend to become bitter toward God rather than admitting their own callous behavior and evil thoughts. Though the first four trumpets may cause a few to abandon their evil ways, most of humanity will not repent, even when later afflicted by far greater punishments (Rev 9:20-21; 16:9-1 1). When mankind stubbornly refuses to repent, God increases the severity of His punishments. “And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!” (Rev 8:13). Specifying the next three trumpet blasts as woes aptly describes the punishments they represent. Now the targets are “the inhabitants of the earth.” The people themselves become the direct recipients of God’s punishments.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 06:23:28 +0000
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