8 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Heaven is suddenly silent for 30 minutes. The seals have all been removed. This profound silence is really a breath of clarity in this very real and potent situation. Have you ever tried to sit in a room with other people and be silent for a half hour? It is very difficult. But this cleansing silence is important for what is to come.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Trumpets, in the ancient world, were used to gather people for announcements or signal war. In the story of Gideon (Judges 6-8), Gideon’s attack on the Midianites is preempted with Gideon and his 300 soldiers blowing their trumpets. In the same way, the angels are announcing a great battle to come, a new host of plagues on the unrepentant left on earth.
3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Another angel stands at the altar. This additional angel is carrying a censer (incense burner), which is an object used to dispense incense. All of the prayers of God’s followers are contained in it, and placed on the altar. The smoke, the prayers of the people, intermingled with the incense, goes up to God.
Once the censer is emptied of the prayers, the prayers that were offered to God the angel fills the censer with fire and throws it down to the earth. This is God’s judgment on the earth (fire). Things in this world will not be completely resolved until final judgment comes. We will not have a full closure of things, we will not be fulfilled completely until the time of judgment.
Understanding the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls
This is particularly a confusing part of Revelation. Many people want to look at the dispersal of these three items as a sequential series of events. Others want look at them selectively, saying they could happen at any time during the timeline of the end times. Breaking them down individually will give a a better insight on how to view these three separate, yet interconnected concepts.
The first four seals are judgments directly against the earth (Tyranny, war, famine and death) • The Seals operate as a “summary” of events The last three seals focus on Heaven (cry of the Martyrs, cosmic destruction and the Angel with the censer) ••• The first four trumpets are judgments that bring ecological destruction (Destruction of trees and grass, sea creatures, drinking water and the sky) • The Trumpets represent a “specific” series of events The last three trumpets focus on Hell and of Judgment (Locusts, four bound angels, and the coming Kingdom of the Lord) The Bowls are specific events dealing with “God’s wrath” in the final stages of the Great Tribulation Specifically for the unrepentant
The Trumpets 6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. 7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
This is the first of the trumpet sounds. Unlike the first wave of judgment levied against the world (The first 4 seas), the first 4 trumpets are specific ecological disasters. This first one burns up a 1/3 of the world’s vegetation. This hail mixed with fire is something unknown to mankind, something very strange indeed, and as we saw in Rev. 6:16-17, when the people took to caves to escape the onslaught of an environment falling apart, they knew this to be God’s wrath.
8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
“Something” like a great mountain was thrown into the sea. Much has been made of this throughout history. In our modern culture, we could see this as an asteroid or meteor crossing to earth. Some believe it could be the eruption of volcanoes spilling ash into the sky and lava into the sea. There are many theories for what this could be, but the end effect is that 1/3 of sea creatures die and 1/3 of ships are destroyed. This is a somewhat localized event that has global implications. Can the world continue if 1/3 of the saline is gone and 1/3 of the marine economy, in some regard, is affected?
10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky 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 turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
This again is a localized event that has global implications. Something happen to the water supply. 1/3 of the rivers and springs (drinking water) is destroyed. Wormwood is a very bitter substance; it would make water undrinkable. Salt water is sometimes referred to bitter water, when the salt is mixed with fresh water it becomes unusable. Compare this to Rev 7:17. But still, if 1/3 of the water is affected, then that still means that 2/3 is unaffected. Can life continue in this scenario?
12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
The very things that the world counts on, the unmovable things we have grown to count on, is suddenly gone. 1/3 of the day is plunged into darkness. (Matt. 24:29). Atmosphere that is polluted will restrict the natural light. But we would still have daylight. Our time would be affected, our crops would be affected, but it wouldn’t be the end yet.
13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
This final warning, the three woes, are what the next angels bring. The inhabitants of the earth, the unrepentant, must now make a choice. You see, the world can hobble along through these four trumpet blasts. But this is in line with God’s graciousness. It gives people time to make the choice for Him. As God reveals Himself to those who will not listen, he is gaining those who repent as the calamities come. The first four trumpets reveal the severity of God’s Judgment
All ordinary means of survival are attacked Vegetation • Sea Creatures • Drinking Water • Light
The very concept of nature’s reliability is disrupted
The first four trumpets reveal God’s Mercy Striking 1/3 gives people one time to repent