|
| Chapter 8 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
|
1 ¶ And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 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. 4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it unto the earth; and there were voices and thunderings and lightnings, and an earthquake. 6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 7 ¶ The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and a third part of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. 8 And the second angel sounded, and, as it were, a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and a third part of the sea became blood; 9 and a third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died, and a third part of the ships were destroyed. 10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as if it were a lamp, and it fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters; 11 and the name of the star is called Wormwood. And a third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter. 12 And the fourth angel sounded, and a third part of the sun was smitten, and a third part of the moon and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of them was darkened; and a third of the day shone not, and the night likewise. 13 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, because of the other voices of the trumpets of the three other angels, which are yet to sound!" |
v1 As the seventh seal is opened we have silence in heaven for half an hour, for a short period nothing appears to happen, was this another period of grace by God, to allow men to turn to Him? Or perhaps those in heaven saw what was about to happen to the earth and were in shock? We are not told why the silence. v2-4 Seven angels prepare to sound the next events but first John sees another angel come to the altar, his golden censer (a vessel in which incense is burnt often during a religious procession or ceremony.) Prayers of the saints are mixed with the incense and the smoke rises up before the throne of God. Prayers of the saints for the men of the world are offered up, possibly those who had been their persecutors,torturers, even killers but their time is up. v5-6 The angel now takes this censer and fills it from the fire on the altar, now are these who rejected Christ about to see the real fury of a just and perfect God, He had permitted the evil of men and the Christ rejecting men go unpunished until now. Romans 12:19b The Trumpets. Again they are arranged into groups of four and three, the first group showing similarities to the plagues of Egypt. Physical effects to the earth, the second group involves the release of various creatures. v7 The First Trumpet Judgement now occurs covering the whole world with Hail and Fire, Exodus 9:22-25 a third of the trees and grass are destroyed. In Rev 9:4 The locust are instructed to not harm the trees and grass so this confirms only part was destroyed. v8 The Second Trumpet Was this a real mountain, like a very large volcano? Volcanoes have been known to cause terrible damage, but a third of the sea creatures and a third part of the ships with crews and passengers are destroyed. Exodus 7:20,21 Some Bible scholars think it refers to some sort of world ruler ship or business being destroyed, the sea being the humanity of the earth. The text taken literally suggests the first but it is not obvious what is happening. v10 The Third Trumpet A ’star’ or possibly a meteor (a rock or body of matter coming down to the earth from space, becoming white hot as a result of friction with the earth’s atmosphere.) Scientists have become very concerned recently of the danger to earth of large meteors, though there main concern of it hitting the earth. Meteors also burn up as they enter and could affect the atmosphere, the dust coming down in the rain. We are told that a third of the water is affected. The star is called Wormwood. Wormwood has a bitter taste which makes you want to be sick, in large quantities it can cause convulsions, paralysis and death. With a third of the sea polluted with blood,v8 and now the rivers, there will be a great water shortage. v12 The Fourth Trumpet The fourth trumpet affects the light from the sun, moon and stars. As the stars are also affected it may be that something has happened to the atmosphere of the earth, darkness in the day and night has become longer. This will create a great change in light and temperature affecting the growing plants. Animals who feed on plants will not have food and die, famine will result. Exodus 10:21-23 v13 The final trumpets are going to be so bad that God sends this angel to announce three ’Woes’ (Woe means affliction; bitter grief; distress; calamities; troubles; problems) are about to hit the earth and mankind. |
Easy English Translation
| Back to previous page | Return to Home Page |
| Revelation |
