The Revelation of Jesus Christ
“Silence Before the Storm”
Rev 8-9
Review
I. PROLOGUE 1:1-20 (Things you have seen)
II. Messages to the Seven churches 2-3 (Things with are)
III. Last Days 4-22 (Things which are about to take place)
A. Heavenly worship around the throne 4-5
1. Worship the Creator sitting on the Throne 4
2. Worship the Redeemer before the Throne 5
B. The Seven seals 6:1-8:1
1. First Six seals 6
2. Interlude 7:1-17
a. The spoiling angels 7:1
b. The Sealing angel 7:2-3
c. The sealed Jews 7:4-8
d. The slain multitude 7:9-17
3. Seventh seal of silence 8:1
1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
This is the silence before the storm
This is the calm before the chaos
This is the pause before the pounding
Picture this dramatic pause, this sudden move from enthusiastic singing to absolute silence.
The four angelic beings, the 24 elders, a vast multitude of angelic beings, people from every tribe language people and nation, all creation raising their voices to the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb and then dead silence for 30 minutes. Heaven takes a brief “Sabbath rest” before the final stinging retribution. All the creatures before the throne stand in absolute silence to see what will happen the Lamb unrolls the scroll of final judgments to be poured out on the inhabitants of the earth.
DAY OF THE LORD
The seventh seal signals the beginning of the Day of the Lord. This is a day of final judgment.
Many prophecies link cosmic disturbance with the Day of the Lord.
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. 8 "Then it will come about on the day of the LORD'S sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king's sons and all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. 9 "And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit. 10 "On that day," declares the LORD, "There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. 11 "Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. 12 "It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good or evil!' 13 "Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine." 14 Near is the great day of the LORD, near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. 15 A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. 17 I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them On the day of the LORD'S wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth. Zephaniah 1:7-18
This signals the next seven trumpet judgments and the final seven bowl judgment about to descend on the earth and its remaining inhabitants and governments as well as Satan’s entire army.
C. The Seven Trumpets 8-9
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Revelation 8:2
We are not told who these angels will be. They appear to be high ranking angels of some sort.
Some identify them as the seven archangels of Jewish Tradition but Revelation gives no clues.
Angels play a significant role in the events of the last days. Matt. 13:39–41, 49–50; 16:27; 25:31).
Trumpets were used extensively by the Hebrews.
Trumpet. The trumpet is mentioned several times in the Bible. This instrument was used by the priests during services of sacrifice, especially to signal the DAY OF ATONEMENT “Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month” (Lev. 25:9). The trumpet was also used to rally troops on the battlefield (Josh. 6:4).
Made of metal or bones, the trumpet featured a sounding air column not quite two feet long. This short length gave this instrument a high, shrill sound. The tone of the trumpet apparently could be regulated (2 Chr. 5:12). Some trumpets were probably made from the horn of an animal; the word “horn” is used for this instrument in some English translations (1 Chr. 25:5, KJV). Other words used for trumpet include cornet (Ps. 98:6, KJV), and bugle (1 Cor. 14:8, NASB, NRSV).
One distinctive type of trumpet or horn used by the Hebrew people was the ram’s horn, also known by its Hebrew name, the shophar (Hos. 5:8). The shophar was the greatest of the Jewish ritual instruments. Eventually the horn of a mountain goat was used for this instrument, rather than the horn of a ram. The shophar was basically a signaling instrument, used to assemble the army (Judg. 3:27; 1 Sam. 13:3), to sound an attack (Job 39:24–25), and to sound an alarm (Jer. 6:1; Amos 3:6).
The ram’s horn signaled war and peace, the new moon, the beginning of the Sabbath, approaching danger, and the death of a dignitary. Some even believed the shophar had power to drive out evil spirits and to heal by magic. The sound of the shophar could be heard from a great distance (Ex. 19:16, 19). It can produce only the first two tones of the musical scale and those not very accurately. The ram’s horn is rarely mentioned with other musical instruments. Its main function apparently was to make noise.
Some feel this verse refers to the last trumpet. It is not necessary to equate the last trump with the seventh trumpet. It could be a reference to the last series of trumpet sounds.
Just as many battles comprise a war. The last days will include seven trumpets signaling seven end time catastrophes.
Some postulate that the first trumpet signals both the rapture and the initiation of the end time outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth. This is called either mid-tribulation rapture or pre-wrath rapture of the church. The trumpets constitute a warning to those on the earth.
Failure to heed the waning and repent will initiate the final judgments which will then unfold fast and furious.
1. Earth Shaking Prayer 8:3-5
Before the first trumpet sounds, the silence is broken up by a dramatic heavenly scene.
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. Revelation 8:3-5
The golden censer is a visual from temple practice when the priest would carry a golden bowl filled with coals to the altar in order to burn incense. Incense represented prayers rising up to God’s throne. John referenced the prayers of the saints earlier in Revelation. Here, more prayers are added to the former collection. The point now is that these prayers are about to be answered. Our present prayers have a significant end time effect. We don’t know the content of their prayers. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done!” Perhaps they were prayers for renewal, purification, justice, retribution. God honors those prayers and applies them at the right time in history symbolized by thunder and lightning and an earthquake. Talk about earth shaking prayer. Jesus talked about a fire of judgment to come.
49 "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! Luke 12:49
Our prayers do count. Keep it up, our present prayers affect the events of the end of the age.
2. First six trumpets
6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. Revelation 8:6
There is remarkable similarity between the trumpets and the bowls.
Seven Trumpets Seven Bowls
1 earth (8:7)
2 sea (8:8–9)
3 rivers, springs (8:10–11)
4 sun, moon, stars (8:12)
5 pit of the Abyss (9:1)
6 river Euphrates (9:13–14)
7 lightning, hail (11:15, 19) 1 earth (16:2)
2 sea (16:3)
3 rivers, springs (16:4–5)
4 sun (16:8)
5 throne of the beast (16:10)
6 river Euphrates (16:12)
7 lightning, hail (16:17, 21
Perhaps this is a final intensification of judgment affecting what was not affect the first time.
The first 4 judgments focus on the ecology of the earth; the last three on the amenity on the earth. All the time and effort and expense to “save the planet” will be wiped out in a short time.
? Trumpet 1 signals destruction of earth, trees and grass 8:7
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.
There are parallels to the plagues upon Egypt. Several of the prophets make such a comparison to Egyptian plagues and end time events. The blood may be a reference to the pounding fire and hail striking men and animals. One question arises; how all the grass gets destroyed here and appears again in 9:4. Grass is difficult to completely destroy. It is very resilient. Most likely it comes back in the passing of time.
? Trumpet 2 signals destruction of sea, sea life and ships 8:8-9
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.
Most likely this was a meteor of some sort or a flaming volcanic chunk of rock hurled into the ocean that causes pollution that kills one third of the sea life and ships. The most recent (2007) accounting of registered ships numbers 50,525 not including military. A number of 60,000 would not be unreasonable. Can you imagine the impact of 20,000 ships and their cargo lost at sea at one time? Look at the devastation one oil tanker had on sea life in Alaska. What would happen with multiple such oil spills catching on fire?
? Trumpet 3 signals pollution of water supply 8:10-11
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.
This is also most likely a flaming meter big enough to poison a third of the fresh water. God even names this one wormwood which means bitter. The waters become bitter and most likely the people affected by it.
? Trumpet 4 signals darkening of sun, moon and stars 8:12-13
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.
The fourth trumpet affects global climate. This angel somehow affects the intensity and brightness of the sun, moon and stars causing one third less light and heat to be emitted.
This would probably result in a considerable drop in global temperature which would trigger all kinds of climatic phenomenon. Forget global warming; that comes later. For now, devastating global cooling occurs.
John next heard an ominous angelic announcement of the last three trumpet judgments.
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!"
? Trumpet 5 signals unleashing of tormenting demons from bottomless pit 9:1-12
1 Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them. 7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. 11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. 12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
John found himself having to use “as” and “like” often as he struggled to describe the scene.
An angel opens the maximum security prison that held the worst of the worst fallen angels to escape and wreck havoc on humanity. John observed the release of a horde of scorpion-like locusts. Most likely he described an army of demons commissioned to inflict pain on the human race. Luke (10:19) uses the figure of scorpions to describe demonic entities.
The angel allowed to open the pit was himself an angel who “had fallen”. Most likely a reference to Satan or one of the angels who were cast to the earth (Luke 12.9)
Locusts generally symbolized judgment. They attacked all those not sealed beforehand by God. (144,000). It seems reasonable to assume that Christians are gone by this time. They inflict pain for five months but will not be allowed to kill their victims. The pain is so intense that people want to die, but can’t.
Trying to connect what John saw with modern day possibilities is an exercise in futility.
Better to look for the basic idea of the characteristics of this event. They are mobile and strong. They are victorious warriors. They take on some sort of human appearance. They are wild and ferocious. They seem invincible. The sound they make in their attacks strikes panic and fear. They cause intense throbbing pain. They are directed by a high ranking fallen angel who goes by the name destroyer.
An elect angel next announces two more trumpets to come.
? Trumpet 6 signals the release of 4 death angels to kill 1/3 of mankind 9:13-21
13 Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.
In addition to the army of demons from the pit, God releases four destroying angels that had been bound up till this specific time. They are released to lead an army of 200,000 demons to kill another third of the earth’s population totaling a little over half (7/12) the population at the beginning of the tribulation. This will be the greatest disaster in human history. I always thought this would be a human army. Many consider this to be the 200,000 Chinese army.
The context leans more toward a demonic force. It is most likely demonic forces given permission by God to bring destruction.
They perpetuate three destructive plagues – fire, smoke, brimstone. Brimstone is a combustible mineral found near volcanic sites that burns with a foul odor. You would think that people would fall down and repent at such a calamity. Not so.
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.
This is only the first part of the Day of the Lord. It will be a time of unimaginable devastation.
APPLICATION
There are a couple other New Testament descriptions of that frightening day.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians.
1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
It will be sudden and unexpected.
It will be devastating.
There will be no escape.
He made some clear implications and application for the followers of Christ.
? Be alert to your environment and the times, looking for the return of Jesus.
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do,
? Be sober, clear headed.
but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.
? Keep protected by faith in Christ and love for one another and a clear understanding your blessed hope.
8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
? Keep encouraging one another.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11
Peter also wrote concerning the last days.
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
Fire, judgment, destruction of the ungodly.
Sudden, devastating
Peter made very clear and pointed applications regarding this truth for us to consider.
? Pay attention to your walk.
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 2 Peter 3:7-12
13 According to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
We of all people should live in a perpetual state of gratitude in light of what God has saved us from and what God has qualified us to inherit. It should affect our every day behavior. We influence people to consider Christ by the way we live. We also influence people to reject Christ by the way we live. We are God’s kingdom brochures.
? Consider God’s delay as more opportunity for others to embrace Christ.
15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; …
Rather than complain about how terrible things are becoming and keep wishing He would hurry up, rejoice that He is providing opportunity for more to escape the wrath of God through Christ.
? Keep steadfast in spite of the corruption around us by continuing to grow in Christ.
17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:13-18
