The Earth As it Was Revelation 8:1-13ASB
1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.
7 The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel sounded, and 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. 11 The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 The fourth angel sounded, and 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.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
The silence in heaven was because of the awe and anticipation at the grim reality of the judgements God is about to release.
The seventh seal includes not only an earthquake but the 7 trumpet judgement, and the 7 bowl judgement, with the bowl judgements flowing out of the seventh trumpet and coming in rapid succession just before Christ’s return.
Revelation 8:1NLT When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour.
One man said, the silence in heaven means there will be no women in heaven.
No, but really I believe this 30 mins. brings a transition from grace to judgement.
Remember, the trumpet brought men to war, anointed kings, and people to Moses was given the Law at Mt. Sinai. (However this trumpet will bring judgement.)
Notice who broke the seal. The Lamb. Christ is the only ‘One’ found worthy to open the little scroll- remember, this is the title deed to the universe.
Revelation 8:2NLT I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.
Just as these 7 angels had this opportunity to work for God, we in return will also.
These trumpets primarily announce impending judgements. These trumpets are of a greater intensity than the seals, but not as destructive as the final bowl- judgements will be. They occur during the final 3 1/2 years, but the time of each is indefinite, except the effects of the fifth trumpet judgement, which will last 5 months (Rev.9,10).
The first 4 announce the divine destruction of earth’s ecology, (vs.6-12) while the final 3 involve demonic devastation of earth’s inhabitants.
Revelation 8:3NLT Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.
This gold incense burner was used to transport fiery coals from the brazen altar to the incense in order to ignite the incense, symbolizing the prayers of the people.
According to Exodus and Luke, this occurred twice daily- once in the morning, and once in the evening.
Revelation 8: 4-5NLT The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. 5 Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.
This earthquake will bring equal or greater intensity than the one described in the sixth seal. (Earthquakes cause other devastations.)
Listen again to Revelation 6:12-13NLT I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. 13 Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind.
Revelation 8:6-7NLT Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.
One-third- when pertaining to the world’s population this would be 2.7 billion people out of 7 billion as of March 2012.
One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third trees, and one-third grass.
Revelation 8:8NLT Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood,
This great mountain of fire most likely will be a meteor or asteroid surrounded by gases. It’s impact will cause tidal waves along with terrible ship wrecks.
The sea became blood- this will be caused by billions of of dead micro-organisms poisoning the water. This event is called the ‘Red Tides.’ (Are of course, it maybe pure blood cause by God.)
Again listen to Revelation 8:9NLT one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.
Revelation 8:10-11NLT Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.
This is possibly a comet- it will disintegrate as it nears the earth, scattering over the globe.
This comet will be called Wormwood- a bitter poisonous substance, derived from a root that causes drunkenness and eventually death.
Jeremiah 9:15ASB Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink. (The rebellious will suffer!)
Revelation 8:12NLT Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.
God will supernaturally reduce the intensity of the celestial bodies by one-third. The loss will cause a radical temperature drop, producing severe changes on the earth.
Luke 21:25NLT “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.
This will only be temporary.
Revelation 21:13NLT Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”
Although these four trumpet blast seemed to be unimaginable, these last three will be off the charts with terror.
You see, the first 4 of the 7 trumpet judgments were aimed at ecology, the earth itself, but the last 3 trumpet judgments are directed at man, himself. During these 3 final trumpets, hell has a party for around 5 months.
Benediction.
