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Revelation 8
28 April 2020
Finally the lamb breaks the last seal so that the scroll is now
fully open for reading; the result is silence for
half an hour, and then the cycle repeats with the seven angels
we named in chapter 5 being given seven
trumpets. The whole cycle of six plus one, with an interlude, is
repeated. Chapter 8 deals with the first four
trumpets, which have parallels with the four horsemen of the
apocalypse, but there are some differences in
this cycle as we’ll discover.
Previous Extra Homework
(Chapter 7 Verse 15) Why do the elders and angels say “Praise
and glory and wisdom and thanks and
honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever”
when God already has and has always
had all of these attributes?
Well it’s not for God’s benefit then, so it must be for our
benefit. The heavenly hosts are reminding us again
and again who’s in control and, reassuringly, what His
attributes are.
Reading Revelation 8
(V1) – Revision: where, in Revelation, did we first meet the
Hebrew ‘six plus one’ poetic device of Proverbs
6:16?
The seven-fold attributes of the Holy Spirit of Revelation 4:5
(see Isaiah 11:1-3).
(V1) – Why do you think there was silence in heaven for half and
hour?
David Pawson notes that silence is often the prelude to a great
storm. It can also be the only proper
response in the immediate aftermath of something terrible (as in
Lamentations 2:10 & 3:28). However for
me silence indicates that the time for talking is finished.
Throughout history God has been speaking, calling
to the people of earth and Jesus has been reaching out to the
nations (Matthew 11:16-17). Now however,
as in a prelude to divorce, silence speaks and it says ‘enough
is enough’. Often times when a married
couple in trouble reach the end of the line, a false peace falls
and the arguing stops. This however is only a
prelude to one of them leaving. The bond is broken and there is
nothing more to say; further pleading is
pointless, a decision to divorce has been made.
(V2) – Who are the seven angels?
Gabriel, Michael, Raphael and their buddies.
(V3-4) – What is the significance of prayers of the saints being
mixed with incense (Exodus 30:7-8)?
Incense has been used in the worship of God since ancient times.
In Exodus 30:7-8 the burning of incense
before God day and night was a perpetual ordinance. Here in
Revelation that perpetual ordinance has the
daily prayers of God’s people added to it. This speaks of the
importance of our prayers to God. They are
listened to every day and every night and they have a very
really impact on the way His righteous
judgements are executed (James 2:13).
(V5) – What is the significance of the incense burner being
filled with fire from the altar (Ezekiel 10:1-2)?
The fire represents God’s coming judgement - that is the
destruction of the earth - just as it was used to
bring destruction to Jerusalem in Ezekiel 10. This use of the
incense bowl means that God has first
carefully listened to the prayers of the saints before executing
His judgement.
(V5) – What is the significance of the theophanies as the fire
strikes earth?
They remind us that God is doing this. Theophanies are always a
sign of God meeting with man in power.
(V6) – What is the significance of the seven angels being give
trumpets (2 Chronicles 13:13-15)?
Trumpets were and still are used for military signalling. In the
reading from 2 Chronicles they are being
used by the priest to rally Judah following an ambush by Israel.
God heard Judah’s prayers and Israel’s
ambush failed.
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(V6) – Compare the trumpets here with the seals in chapter 6 –
how many intermediaries are there
between God and the object of His judgements?
Chapter 6: God-Cherubim-Horsemen-warriors-victims = 3
intermediaries.
Chapter 8: God-angels-cosmic_forces-victims = 2
intermediaries.
God’s judgements are getting more direct, more comprehensive and
reaching more targets. We’ll see this
get even more direct with the seven-bowls judgements of
revelation 15.
(V7) – Compare V9 with Revelation 6:8 – are the torments
increasing or decreasing?
Increasing: from affecting one forth of humanity to affecting
one third of all the earth.
(V8-9) – What plague does the sea turning to blood remind you
of?
The first of the ten plagues on Egypt in Exodus 7.
(V10-11) – The first three trumpets have sounded, what have they
affected?
They have affected the earth (dry ground), sea and rivers. One
third of sea, earth and its rivers have been
destroyed or polluted. They are no longer useful for
agriculture. People have also died as a result of these
judgements.
(V7-11) What parallels can we draw between these judgements on
land and sea and the damage to the
environment, land, sea and rivers of our own time?
We are polluting the sea, ravaging fish stocks, damaging the
land and rivers with fertilisers and pesticides
in a manner strikingly reminiscent of these three trumpets.
People have died and are dying as a result of
this pollution of land see and air. When John wrote the
revelation such widespread damage by mankind
was inconceivable; now we see it coming to pass (see the
‘Wormwood’ pictures below).
(V12) – What is the significance of the sun, moon and stars
being darkened by this judgement?
Large scale volcanic activity or even a major meteor strike
could cause the same effect of making the sky
go dark blocking out sun, moon and stars. Even manmade air
pollution can have a similar affect. Electric
light pollution makes everything but the brightest stars vanish
from the sky. The effect of this judgement on
agriculture is similar to the other three judgements: it reduces
the earth’s ability to feed its peoples. We
understand these things, but to those of John’s generation they
would have been inconceivable on the
scale we now see them. We will see this combination of God
authored theophanies with the destructive
unintended consequences of man’s civilisation again in
Revelation.
(V13) – Why has an eagle been dispatched to give this
message?
The message is a warning to the ungodly, but a comfort to the
godly. We know that we are signed, sealed
and delivered by our God (Revelation 7). The eagle’s message
tells us that the end, and therefore our
redemption draws near (Luke 21:28). In Jesus’ little apocalypse
(Matthew 24:29) the darkening of sun,
moon and stars is foretold as immediately preceding the trumpet
call that announces the rapture of God’s
elect (Matthew 24:31).
NOTE: God doesn’t sit about planning the evil that mankind
suffers like some maniacal, malevolent despot. No these
judgements are only those that man chose by default when Adam
and Eve gave control to Satan; the same
consequences that we deserve as befit our sins. All God has to
do is relax his restraining grip on Satan for these
things to happen. We should consider God’s mercifulness that He
hasn’t given Satan full reign from the day Eve
sinned, but has instead chosen to restrain the devil and bless
mankind for the many thousands of years that He has
done.
Extra Homework:
Why is the star falling from heaven and making one third of the
rivers bitter called Wormwood? Compare
with Deuteronomy 29:18 (see AKJV or NKJV because other
translations remove the name Wormwood)
does this reading give us an insight into the reason for this
third-trumpet judgement?
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Wormwood
The Aral sea in Kazakhstan was once a thriving inland
fresh-water sea. Now it is a toxic dustbowl since its
waters have been diverted for growing cotton in Uzbekistan.
1989 2014
Aral Sea from space 1997
Trawlers at anchor in harbour - Aral sea
Toxic dust storm
The Salton Sea in California was once a beautiful fresh-water
lake and resort. Now it’s a toxic soup of salt and pesticides. Much
of it has evaporated leaving toxic dust that makes the remaining
local residents sick.
Early sixties postcard
The resort today
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Salton Sea is now toxic for fish
Pesticide and chemical residues flowing in
The vast natural wetlands of the everglades in
Florida now dead due to drainage for agriculture
A freshwater lake ?
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River Ganges is India’s sacred river and it’s a killer
Ritual bathing in the Ganges
Dead body in the Ganges
Further Research Links:
https://bettypoonfreshissueandconflictlearningblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/irrigation-and-agriculture-
management-case-study-aral-sea/
https://youtu.be/5N-_69cWyKo
https://listaka.com/top-12-most-polluted-rivers-in-the-world/
