“The Seals are the unveiling of the judgments, the trumpets are the announcements, and the bowls are the final pouring out or “emptying” of the judgments.”[i]
Here’s where we are.
Six seals have been opened. Those six seals have brought the antichrist, deception, war, famine, pestilence, death, cries for judgment, earthquake, blacked sun, blood red moon, falling stars, and mountains and islands have been moved.
And then there was a break. A revival in Heaven. The seventh seal is about to be opened.
In his guide for those left behind after the Rapture, Dr. David Jeremiah writes, “As bad as these first six seals are, and they are very bad, Jesus said, ‘All these are the beginning of sorrows’ (Matthew 24:8 KJV). These are just the beginning of birth pains. This is just the first phase of the Tribulation period.”
“By the time the seventh seal is broken, all the accumulated horrors of the entire Tribulation period have been unleashed because in the seventh seal, we see the release of the seven trumpet judgments, and in the seventh trumpet judgment we see the unfolding of the seven bowl judgments. Each seal, each trumpet, and each bowl inflict one terrible disaster after another with unrelenting regularity and intensity.”[ii]
This is much like watching dominoes fall. The wraths are strategically positioned so that one falling causes the next one to fall. But an interesting occurrence happens when the seventh seal is opened.
Revelation 8:1 NIV “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”
Very unusual for there to be silence in Heaven. So far, John has written about many activities, including worship and praise. And while half of an hour doesn’t seem like very long, consider the context. If we were to stop our discussion, even for one minute, it most likely would seem much longer than that. We aren’t used to silence. Why do you think it was silent?
There are several thoughts and I believe there is validity in all of them.
I’ve not found anything to support my first thought, but I’ll share it anyway. I immediately thought this was symbolic of the 7th day of creation when God rested. As it appears God is undoing His creation in His wrath, it seems poignant that He would recognize the period of rest.
Others, however, who are much more knowledgeable have other opinions.
One is the idea of showing respect towards the Judge of all of the earth. It’s likened to the respect shown to a judge entering a courtroom. Certainly, with what we will be witnessing, we will be overcome with awe and worship towards Him. Sometimes the greatest, most heartfelt worship is simply being quiet and still.
Another thought is that the half-hour of silence is a time of sorrow because of what the first six seals have revealed. We will fully see God’s righteousness as opposed to the unrighteousness on Earth. As that seventh seal is broken, God’s plan is fully revealed for the first time. Much like Job who experienced God’s almighty presence, “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth” (Job 40:4).”
It is also possible that those in Heaven are silent, anticipating the horrific judgments that are about to take place. I think of children being eerily quiet when they see their mom or dad have had enough, so the children won’t speak or move. They just remain still and silent. Jesus said in Mark 13: 19 HCSB “ 19 For those will be days of tribulation, the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning of the world, which God created, until now and never will be again.”
“In a way, the silence in heaven could be seen as the calm before the storm—the storm of final judgment coming upon the earth. The silence emphasizes the importance and impressiveness of the seventh and final seal. With the opening of the seventh seal comes a climax in the Day of the Lord. Evil has had its day; now the Lord will have His.”[iii]
Revelation 8:2 CEB “2 Then 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, and he held a gold bowl for burning incense. He was given a large amount of incense, in order to offer it on behalf of the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense offered for the prayers of the saints rose up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the incense container and filled it with fire from the altar. He threw it down to the earth, and there were thunder, voices, lightning, and an earthquake.
6 Then the seven angels who held the seven trumpets got ready to blow them.”
John sees seven angels who are given seven trumpets. Trumpets in the Bible “can signify an alarm of war, a call to assemble, or a command to march.”[iv]
An additional angel enters and stands at the altar holding a gold bowl used for burning incense. Incense, symbolically, represents prayers ascending to the throne.
This additional angel is given a large amount of incense to offer to God. This is similar to what the High Priest would have done on the Day of Atonement. In the Old Testament, Israel’s High Priest would take hot coals used in the burnt sacrifice, place them in a bowl, and add incense. Then he would take the burning incense to the altar inside so that the smoke would ascend and cover the Mercy Seat located behind the veil. This symbolized the prayers of those who were gathered on the outside. What we see here in Revelation is not very different. In fact, Hebrews 8:5 ICB tells us, “ 5 The work that they do as priests is only a dim copy of what is in heaven.”
Here in Revelation the angel fills the bowl (or censer) with fire from the altar and throws it down to Earth.
But note that it wasn’t just incense being offered at the altar, but also prayers of the saints. Warren W. Wiersbe said this, “Like it or not, the prayers of God’s people are involved in the judgment that He sends. The throne and the altar are related. The purpose of prayer, it has often been said, is not to get man’s will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done on earth- even if that will involve judgment. True prayer is serious business, so we had better not move the altar too far from the throne!”[v]
As prayers go up, the judgments go down.
When the fire is thrown to Earth, there is also thunder, lightning, voices, and a second earthquake. This is the last thing to take place before the trumpets are sounded.
Revelation 8:7 HCSB “7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.”
The first trumpet is sounded, and as a result, we are told hail and fire mixed with blood are thrown to Earth. Is this literal or is this symbolic? Lehman Strauss, in his commentary on Revelation says, “Take the language as you find it. There is nothing in this verse to indicate symbolism.”[vi]
One of the main reasons we can believe this is to be taken literally is simply because it happened before. Remember the ten plagues that God sent to Egypt?
Exodus 19:22 HCSB “22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals and; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.”
Whereas Egypt was the target in Exodus, the whole Earth is the target in Revelation. Its destruction is so vast that one-third of the entire planet, one-third of the trees, and all of the green grass will be consumed by fire. Let’s put aside the ramifications of the destruction of the planet. Just the destruction of 1/3 of the trees on planet Earth will have severe consequences on the ecosystem. This is an outline of the dangers of just simply cutting down a large amount of trees. Animal habitats are lost. Air quality and water ways are compromised. Trees and plants create oxygen as well as absorb greenhouse gasses. Loss of trees contribute to global warming, acidity in the ocean, as well as other natural disasters. [vii] Trees are responsible for producing 28% of our oxygen.[viii] So I’m sure there will be many scientists during the time of Tribulation that see that loss, and think there’s no real danger of running out of oxygen.
But, what about cattle and other animals who graze on grass for their nutrition? All of the earth’s grass is destroyed. And that’s just the first trumpet.
Revelation 8:8 NIV “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.”
John says “something like a huge mountain” which invites theories as to what it may actually be. Many scholars think this could be an extremely large meteorite or something similar. I have wondered if it’s not a smaller planet such as Mercury or Mars. Mars is red in color, like blood. Mercury is approximately 1/3 the size of planet Earth. This just goes to show there are many possibilities here. What we do know is the results are catastrophic. One-third of the sea turns to blood, a third of sea creatures perish, and a third of ships are destroyed.
This too is reminiscent of one of the Egyptian plagues.
Exodus 7:20 GNT “20 Then Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the presence of the king and his officers, Aaron raised his stick and struck the surface of the river, and all the water in it was turned into blood. 21 The fish in the river died, and it smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink from it. There was blood everywhere in Egypt.”
Again, there’s no reason to not take this literally. It happened before so we know it’s possible. “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense.” Dr. David L. Cooper
The ramifications would be disastrous. Oceans occupy nearly ¾ of the Earth’s surface.[ix] Remember how we talked about oxygen with the first trumpet and how trees are responsible for producing 28% of our oxygen? The other 72% comes from plant life in the ocean.[x]
This is what we’re looking at so far, just from the trumpet judgments. 1/3 of the planet is destroyed by hail & fire mixed with blood. 1/3 of the trees are destroyed. All of the green grass is gone. Oxygen levels diminished. Animal habitation & food are affected. 1/3 of oceans are filled with blood killing 1/3 of living creatures. The oxygen production is significantly impaired at this point. Commerce is impacted because of exports and imports. The stench of blood as well as the death that occurs will be putrid. No wonder Jesus warns “There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning of the world. And nothing as bad as that will ever happen again.” (Matthew 24:21b ICB)
The Tribulation will be the worst time in history ever. We’re still in the first half of the Tribulation, by the way.
Revelation 8:10 NIV “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] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.”
With the third trumpet, 1/3 of fresh water is contaminated when a great star named Wormwood crashes into the Earth. Wormwood is a bitter plant. This is the only time it’s mentioned in the New Testament, but the word “wormwood” is sprinkled throughout the Old Testament, each time referencing bitter, death, and poison. “Moses warned that idolatry would bring sorrow to Israel, like a root producing wormwood (Deut. 29:18). Solomon warned that immorality might seem pleasant, but in the end, it produces bitterness like wormwood (Prov 5:4).”v
Wormwood is destructive and deadly. Revelation’s wormwood is no exception. John informs us that 1/3 of the fresh water becomes bitter and people will die from drinking it.
Here’s a bit of interesting trivia.
News reports in late April of 1986 were filled with the same story. A nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union.
At least two workers were killed in the explosion. Over the next few months, 28 more people would die from acute radiation exposure.[xi] Many more would suffer and die due to the radioactive elements that were transported by wind, even as far as France and Italy.
Millions of acres of farmland and forests were contaminated. For years, animals were born with deformities attributed to the disaster. [xii] Just a week ago, an article titled “ Radioactive Chernobyl is a wildlife haven after 38 years of nuclear disaster” was released. In the article, the author writes, “The explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant 38 years ago today marked a terrible tragedy in human history. The toxic clouds that spread over Soviet territory exposed approximately 8.4 million people to nuclear radiation.
Over 250,000 people developed cancer, and approximately 100,000 cases ended up being fatal.”[xiii]
Most of us remember Chernobyl. We remember hearing the horror stories and seeing the disastrous pictures. Even today, the word “Chernobyl” conjures up images of radioactive, nuclear, and devastation. Interestingly enough, it is said that the Ukrainian word for “Chernobyl” is wormwood.[xiv] Quite possibly, Chernobyl was just a tiny glimpse of what’s ahead.
Revelation 8:12 NIV “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.”
Land, including trees and grass, have been affected. Saltwater affected. Freshwater affected. Living creatures are affected. And now, the skies. The day and night cycle is disrupted. The darkness here is similar to the ninth plague that struck Egypt. This too will have an adverse effect on the ecosystem as well as the temperature of the Earth. Colder temperatures and less oxygen are not a good mix.
Warren Wiersbe makes this observation. “It is possible that this particular judgment is temporary, for the fourth bowl judgment will reverse it, and the sun’s power will be intensified (Rev. 16:8-9). Then, at the close of the tribulation, the sun and moon will be darkened again to announce the Savior’s return (Matt. 24:29-30; see also Luke 21:25-28).v
“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!” (Revelation 8:13)
Some translations will read an “angel” rather than an eagle. Possibly this means that one of the four living creatures (the one with the face of an eagle) is who is referenced here. Maybe not. It may be an eagle or it may be an angel. Either way, the loud cries will not go unnoticed. Three times, the eagle says, “woe”. There are three more trumpets to be sounded. “It is as though the messenger cried, ‘If you think this has been terrible, just wait! The worst is yet to come!’”
The message is directed to the “inhabitants of the earth” which has a different meaning than we might suspect. “It means much more than ‘people who live on the earth,’ for that is where all living people reside. Instead, it refers to a kind of people: those who live for the earth and the things of the earth. These are just the opposite of people who have their citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:18-21). John described this worldly sort well in his first epistle (1 John 2:15-17), and later in this prophecy he again makes it clear that “earth-dwellers” are not born again. (Rev. 13:8).”v Because we will see that there will be many, despite the judgments and disasters all around, who will not repent.
All of this is terrifying. It’s like reading a movie script, but because we are reading God’s Word, we know it’s real. We know for certain that these things will happen. But I don’t want any of us to miss the obvious.
God is still our Heavenly Father and His desire is that none should perish.
God is sovereign. He is in control despite the chaos and calamity.
God is thorough. He sees to it that His plans are completed.
God is just. His original creation was, in His words, “very good” and He is reclaiming that.
God is patient. He could have unleashed His wrath a long time ago, but He didn’t.
God is merciful. The destruction of the land, oceans, fresh waters, sun, moon, and stars are just 1/3. He doesn’t even destroy half of His own creations.
And God is loving. He gave these visions to John many, many years ago and told him to write them down so that we would be warned and could be saved.
“The God Who has the whole world in His hands has grace for the whole world in His heart.” Lewis B. Smedes
[i] apocalyptic – Are the 6th and 7th seals, and the trumpet and bowl judgements in Revelation different events or do they describe the same event from multiple angles? – Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange
[ii] After the Rapture by Dr. David Jeremiah
[iii] Why is there silence in heaven for half an hour in Revelation 8:1? | GotQuestions.org
[iv] What the Bible says about Symbolism of Trumpets (bibletools.org)
[v] Be Victorious by Warren W. Wiersbe
[vi] Revelation by Lehman Strauss
[vii] The Effects of Cutting Down Trees on the Ecosystem | Sciencing
[viii] You May Be Surprised Where Most of Earth’s Oxygen Comes From (thomasnet.com)
[ix] Oceans – Statistics & Facts | Statista
[x] You May Be Surprised Where Most of Earth’s Oxygen Comes From (thomasnet.com)
[xi] Chernobyl: Disaster, Response & Fallout | HISTORY
[xii] Chernobyl disaster | Causes, Effects, Deaths, Videos, Location, & Facts | Britannica
[xiii] Radioactive Chernobyl is a wildlife haven after 38 years of nuclear disaster (msn.com)
[xiv] notes on ‘Chernobyl’: biblical prophecy | cultural disaster – word histories
Beacons of Light 