Revelation 8:6-13 - Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. 8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter. 12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
There is a TV Show called Cops. I thought it was past tense, but I’ve learned it is in its 37th season. A Film Crew would follow police officers and film the pursuit and arrest of criminals. Imagine a film crew filming a Hostage rescue mission. The hostage is found, rescued, released, and is now safe.
Imagine a separate and different view of this same event. A film crew follows the authorities as they pursue, catch, convict, and punish the criminals. This is the picture we have before us today.
We have already looked at the seven seals; now we look at the seven Trumpets. These are two different views of the same event. The comparisons are too obvious to have any other conclusion. For instance, in Chapter Six of Revelation, the Four Horsemen bring plagues and devastation to the earth and mankind. In chapter Seven, we have the four angels sent to the four corners of the earth. Another angel comes and says, wait. Now in Chapter Eight, we have four angels with Four Trumpets. At each trumpet, we have plagues and devastation on the earth and mankind.
Here is the difference between the two views. As the first five seals focused on the trials through which believers must pass, the focus now shifts to the first six trumpets of judgment that unbelievers must endure. When we read about the Seals, we are to see how God preserves His blood-bought people—those who are sealed by the Holy Spirit. In contrast, the Trumpets view this same reality / same events, but from the point of view of the Unsealed, those who are not the people of God.
Although we are reading the Trumpets after the seals, they do not follow after the seals. The Trumpets are a recap of the Seals. Same events, different target, with a view on the different target.
As scholar George Ladd put it, “These plagues embody expressions of the full wrath of a holy God that will come upon a civilization which has chosen to give its allegiance to the Antichrist rather than to God’s Messiah, the lamblike Lion.”
The opening of the seals brings great comfort and hope to the people of God. They are sealed, secure, and safe from the wrath of God. The sounding of the Trumpets brings great fear and devastation upon those who are not the people of God, the unsaved. That is the picture of the Trumpets.
When you read the blowing of the first four Trumpets, what did you see? In a nutshell, we read that God unleashes four plagues on the earth—creation and on mankind. We have a picture of angels blowing trumpets as each plague is released on the earth.
There are two views of the purpose of these Trumpets and plagues. One view is that the trumpet judgments are intended primarily to warn unbelievers that they will suffer the final judgment if they do not repent. A second view of the purpose of these trumpets and plagues is to show those outside the kingdom of Christ a taste of the coming ultimate judgement. These ultimately demonstrate the power and glory of God against them, and that He means business.
I admit that the second view was a surprise to me. That is, until I read Revelation 9:20-21.
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (unlined added)
An unrepenting heart is brought back up later in Revelation. As the hearts of the people become so hard and callous, that even with biblical-size plagues that cannot be managed by man comes upon the earth and mankind? This is what we read. This is not new. In Exodus, Pharaoh hardened his heart against God even though Egypt was hit with biblical-sized plagues over and over. He only hardened his heart more, until the scripture says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. My point is, it could be that when these Trumpet plagues were released on the earth and mankind, man’s hearts were too hard to repent.
Whatever the state of the unbeliever’s heart, these judgments of God are towards the unbeliever—those who do not belong to Christ—whether they are attending a local church or not. A local church does not save us; only Jesus does.
As we walk through the four Trumpets, I want you to notice the repeated words, “a third”.
Revelation 8:6 - Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
8:7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
Much of the imagery is drawn from the Egyptian plagues when God told Pharaoh to let His people go. The description in Exodus 9:24-25 mirrors this description. It is also possible that this is taken from Ezek. 38:22, the overthrow of Gog’s invading army.[1] The first trumpet may be figurative of the famine depicted by the third horseman.
But here, the plague strikes not just one nation but the whole earth, yet destroys only a third of the earth’s surface. The first trumpet also includes blood, perhaps to show the loss of life involved.
Grant Osborne writes: “We are supposed to picture one-third of all the great forests of the world (the Amazon, the Congo, Yosemite, Yellowstone) burned down. It is a natural disaster beyond anything that can be imagined. Think of all the firefighters of the world trying to stem fires thousands of times greater than anything ever known.”
These judgments will be beyond what science, organization, and human willpower can manage. Greater than anything man has ever known.
8:8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The burning mountain turns a large portion of the sea to blood, leading to the death of a large portion of the creatures living in the sea and the destruction of many, many of the vessels on it. The order implies that the blood produced by the fiery mountain is not that of the sea creatures, for they die as a result of the transformation of the sea’s waters to blood.
Whether through sea battles or natural disasters, the seas will be bloodied, its commerce stopped, and its armadas of merchant ships crippled. This scene partially imitates the first plague on Egypt, in which the waters of the Nile were turned to blood, killing the fish in the river (Exod. 7:20–21). It also alludes to God’s word of judgment on Babylon, the “destroying mountain” that the Lord will make a “burnt out mountain” and submerge in the waves of the sea (Jer. 51:25, 42).[2]
First the vegetation of the world, now the seas.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
Jeremiah 9:15 helps us with this image. Wormwood, meaning “bitter”, is an emblem of poisoned water. Here we have another basic resource of which life depends-water, made undrinkable and lethal rather than refreshing and life-giving. Vegetation, the seas, and now fresh drinking water.
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
Verse 12 echoes the ninth Egyptian plague in Exodus 10:21-23. This fourth trumpet affects the sky, the source of light. One-third of the sun, moon, and stars is struck. Of course, this is not interpreted literally. I don’t think we can expect the 33% reduction in the size of the sun, moon, and the number of stars, or in their brightness. Nor expect fewer hours of daylight. It is possible that the judgment portrayed in this vision is in the blackening of the skies by the smoke of burning fields and smoldering cities, sacked and put to the torch of destruction of the empires of the wicked. One scholar interprets this, with a more spiritual emphasis, as meaning that this darkness is the removal of God’s blessing.
How do we summarize all of this? We see famine caused by a third of the world’s food supplies from grain and other vegetation gone. We see that a third of the ocean’s food source is gone, and sea merchants and warships are destroyed as well. Fresh water is now undrinkable, even lethal. Even light will be in short supply. All of this to signify God’s judgment on the nations that rise up in idolatry against Him and His Church.
Earlier, we noticed the repeated term, “a third.” With the first trumpet, a third of the earth and its trees are burned up (Rev. 8:7). The same is true for the other trumpets: a third of the sea, with its creatures and ships (8:8–9), a third of the rivers (8:10–11), and a third of the heavenly objects and their light (8:12) are used in God’s judgment towards this world that rejects Him and hates Him.
What does it mean, and is it significant? The phrase “a third” speaks of a large, significant portion. A notable and noticeable judgment. Is it significant? Yes! We see that God’s judgments are controlled, precise, limited, and exact. This is important. Remember the plague’s target. Not the Sealed of God, but the Unsealed. Not God’s people, the Church, but those who have aligned themselves with the Antichrist. Revelation 9:4, “only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”
This is not new. God’s judgments have always been controlled, precise, limited, and exact. We return to our Old Testament example of the plagues on Egypt. They were controlled, precise, limited, and exact. They affected the Egyptians but not the Israelites living among them. The plagues were targeted at Egypt and the Egyptians who worshipped and served false gods. They rejected the God of Israel. They held the Israelites hostage in slavery. We can see this clearly.
Exodus 8:22-23 - But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. Thus, I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’”
Exodus 9:4-7 - But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” 5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
Exodus 9:25-26 - The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
Exodus 11:6-7 - There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’
This means that while the Egyptians experienced blood-turned-to-water, frogs, lice, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness, the Israelite population dwelling among them remained untouched by these calamities. So it is with the Christian in these trumpet plagues. They may suffer under the hands of persecution from the unbelievers, but they will not be hit by the judgments of God. Just as the Israelites in Exodus were preserved for the Promised Land, we are preserved for the Promised Land.
The message to the believer in this picture is, God is Sovereign! His judgments and actions are not thrown out there and affect whoever is in the way. His actions are dealt out with precision. He controls every raindrop, every drought, every disease outbreak. He controls who is affected, where it is, and where it goes, as well as who is not affected. Our God is in control!
I began with an illustration of two views of the same event of judgment upon the earth and mankind. These two events were for two different audiences. Ephesians 1:13 tells us that those who hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe are eternally sealed by the Spirit of God. They are now His possession. Forever.
To the Unsealed, the judgment for your sins and mistreatment of His people—Christians, is inevitable. To those who are wavering about a commitment to Jesus Christ, a strong word to you, heed this message from the Bible. Christ is calling to you. Come to Me. Surrender to Me. I will be your refuge and rescuer. You do not need to perish in your sins.
Yes, there is hope and salvation in the kingdom of God. Heed this message. Cry out for mercy and salvation for your distant heart and sins towards God. There is salvation from the judgments of God for all who belong to Jesus Christ. Embrace Jesus Christ and live.
To those who are holding fast to the faith, Jesus’ words to His churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 speak to us today.
Revelation 2:3 (ESV) — 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
Revelation 3:10–11 (ESV) — 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
What else should we, as God’s People, draw from this picture? It is an important reminder to us as Christians to keep seeking the kingdom of God. Do not get distracted by the ungodly actions, plans, and agendas of this ungodly world. God has said, “Vengeance is mine.” It is as if He is reminding us, “I’ve got this. The ungodly and their plans will face my fierce wrath. You, my beloved children, seek the kingdom of God. You focus on obedience to what I have instructed in my word to you.”
We have a dark picture in these four Trumpet plagues. It only gets worse for those outside of the kingdom of Christ. While believers will be living through these plagues, God will be taking care of them. “I will never forsake you or leave you.”
Psalm 62:5–8 (ESV) — 5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
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