Revelation Chapter 8  – The First Four Trumpets

                                  The 1/3^rd Judgments

      “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God;

                 and to them were given seven trumpets..”

                                                                 Rev 8:2

Note:  we read Rev 8:1 when we read the Seal Judgements - the 7th Seal.

V2 - 6 :  "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 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 Trumpet Judgments

Tradition tells us that Verse 1 of chapter 8 is a prelude to the trumpets, and that the trumpets and bowls are all a part of the seventh seal.  But the Chapter titles were only inserted a few hundred years ago, and are not inspired information.  We must often look back at the previous chapter to understand what the first verse of a new one is about.  In this case, including V1 in chapter 8, instead of the conclusion of Chapter 7, which started with a command to hold back the winds until the righteous were sealed, is misleading.  It is my opinion that V 8:1 is the conclusion of Chapter 7 – that once the 144,000 have been sealed, the seventh seal is opened.

Verse 2 moves to a new topic, the Trumpet Judgments, and the timing is not sequential, not occuring after the 6^th seal.  Chapter 6 dealt with the disasters brought upon mankind by mankind – wars, death, damage and the subsequent famine, pestilence, and wild beasts growing wilder as their habitat is destroyed.  The seals released these.  Along with the release of the Seal Judgments, the opening of the seals on the deed to the universe also authorized the rest of the judgments, the Trumpets and Bowls.  These are covered as a Topic by themselves in Chapters 8 and 9.  Note:  just as in the judgments upon Egypt, the Lord can and will distinguish between his people and those who hate and reject him. The patterns from the Old Testament apply here.  The Trumpet Judgments are aimed at non-believers.

We will see the Lord act just like a parent acts:  He is first nice to everyone [grace, mercy], then when that fails, punishment is next.  The earth has spurned God’s grace, and this is His reaction.

Chapter 8 takes us back to the throne of God, and the prayers of the saints.  These are offered once again to the Lord of Hosts, a reminder of all the promises he has made to deliver the earth from its usurper, the cursed lord of darkness.  But an unusual event happens here: after the Angel has offered prayers to God, he takes the censor, fills it with fire, and casts it down to the earth.  What does this mean???  The trumpet judgments come straight from heaven, and when God gets angry, he is far more capable of disrupting the earth than man is.  These are judgments that man has no ability to influence, and they are many, many times worse than what he can do to himself.

The Trumpet Judgments

When God intervened in the political affairs of men to get Pharaoh’s attention, he sent plagues.  These plagues were directed against the major Gods of Egypt to demonstrate God’s Supreme Deity, as follows,

Now God wants the attention of the rulers of this world, who have made the environment their god:  trees and grass, species of animals and fish that are becoming extinct, the environmental quality of the oceans and rivers and land – these have become modern man’s gods.  God wants to demonstrate graphically that He is Lord of them all and they are NOT gods.  The first four Trumpets then, deal a death-blow to the god of the modern world – the environment.

Exodus 8:22:  And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms [of flies] shall be there; to the end thou may know that I [am] the LORD in the midst of the earth.

 Remember that God knows how to differentiate between his people and those who reject Him.

The First Trumpet 

V 7:  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.

–  Hail and fire mixed with blood;  the blood may be from the size of the hailstones hitting or it may be hot liquid – like lava;  the result of the hail and fire mixed with blood is that 1/3^rd of the earth is burnt up, with 1/3^rd of the trees and ALL of the green grass;  this indicates that the effect of this trumpet judgment is world-wide on the weather, although the major damage is contained to 1/3^rd of the earth, so the worst damage is regional.  Some think this is the result of nuclear bombs, some think this is the result of asteroid strikes.  I suspect these are the result of small meteorites, coming in a continuous stream like they do every August when the Perseid meteor showers arrive, only these are one to three feet in diameter when they hit, and weigh between 4,000 and 15,000 pounds each.  They flame as they pass through the atmosphere – just like the space shuttles do from friction with the air.  The flaming impact is like a small bomb, and sets everything around it on fire.  The increased heat destroys all grasses and grains all over the earth, but only one third of trees burn – probably focused in Africa, Asia, Indonesia, Micronesia, and Australia.  North America will suffer greatly from the heat, but not as much. Famine will result from the destruction of all grains all over the earth.  The result of no grains is the death of all grazing animals, increasing the famine, except where the disasters have been foreseen and grain stored, like Joseph did in Egypt.  Joseph had a dream which gave him seven years of advanced notice, wherein he planned and stored grain for the following seven year famine.  We, who know what is coming, because we recognize the signs, can do likewise.

HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES.   Rev 2:7

My assumption that these are meteors is based on the second Trumpet, which appears to be a large meteor.  Also, if these are the fire cast from heaven to earth we saw in verse 5, then it is a heavenly judgment, not the direct result of man’s actions.

The Second Trumpet 

V8-9:  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.

– Something like a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea; this could be an asteroid, or part of a meteoric shower of very large dimensions. This could also be a huge volcanic eruption, the scope of which has never been seen on the earth.  However, I think the volcanic eruptions are a result of meteor strikes.  The damage will be the most intense in the Middle East/European region, since that is the source of rebellion, and everything centers on Israel.  One of the prophecies regarding Babylon says it will be inundated, so I think that the asteroid strikes the Indian Ocean, causing a massive tidal wave over the Arabian peninsula.  John’s description of ’something like a great mountain’ indicates he had never seen anything like it before.

The result of this judgment is that 1/3^rd of the seas [oceans] are turned to blood and 1/3^rd of the living creatures in the seas die, and 1/3^rd of the ships are destroyed.  This is most likely the Indian Ocean/Pacific Ocean region.

The Third Trumpet  

V10-11:  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.

–  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 1/3^rd of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters, because they were poisoned.  When a meteor skims the earth without hitting, like they have several times in the 20^th century, the resulting precipitation caused by the friction of the meteor's passing and the meteoric gasses is called hydrocyanatic acid, which precipitates like acid rain.  Note the root word is cyanide, one of the most deadly of poisons.  If this meteor passes close to earth, and precipitates by raining over the fresh water, the water in that region will be contaminated.  This phenomena actually does make the water bitter. The easiest place to reach 1/3^rd of the earth in one fell swoop is over Africa or Eurasia.  The result of the Wormwood star is that 1/3^rd of the fresh water is poisoned, from which many people die.  Imagine how CNN would report this incident – they would see the similarities and actually name this star Wormwood.

Another clue is that the Russian word Chernobyl, translates as Wormwood.  So the fallout from nuclear disaster could be the source of this plague, and a falling bomb could appear as a ‘star’.  However, fallout has no taste, so this scenario is less likely than the first one.  This is God’s judgment upon man, and man has no hand in it.

The Fourth Trumpet  

V12:  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.

–  A third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, 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.  This also indicates a heavenly catastrophe to match the earthly one; a meteor or asteroid that is large enough to impact 1/3^rd of the earth, but not large enough to destroy it, would cause debris and ash to explode into the air, causing this dimming effect.  If volcanic eruptions also result [this is very likely], not only would there be fires on the earth, but the smoke and debris that remained in the air would leave the sky darkened for weeks or months after.  Planes cannot fly through it without destroying the engines.  This impact is so great that 1/3^rd of the atmosphere is tainted by this plague. 

This could also be the result of an asteroid or meteor striking the moon.  This would explain the verse in Luke 21 below which describes the changes in the seas causing uproar.  The tides would be immensely affected, and without the moon there would be no tides, causing the death of all oceans.

Luke 21:25:  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

This is not the worst of it, as we see in the next verse.

The three Woes

V13:  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, Woe, Woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

The final three trumpets are here labeled the three Woes, and although the first four Trumpets were global disasters, they are nothing compared to the last three Trumpets which usher in the return of Yeshua to His kingdom.  They occur near the last part of the Tribulation, most likely within the last six months before the return of Yeshua for his people.    Now we move to Revelation 9, and the last three Trumpet Judgments.  This is the subject of Chapter 9.