Studies in the Book of Revelation
Jay Wegter
Revelation Chapter Eight
The seventh seal, 8:1-5.
The sixth seal was opened as far back as chapter 6, verse 12. There's been quite an interval between the breaking of the seals. At the opening of the seventh there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour. Clearly thi was a solemn and impressive moment. Certain plagues were held back until the servants of God were sealed. The saints appear insignificant to men at large, but in the sight of God, they truly matter. Even great cosmic cataclysm are held back on account of the saints. So, this silence is a result of a sense o awe at the presence of God and the severity of the plagues which are coming In verse 2, There are angels that are given seven trumpet trumpets. Verse 3, before the angels blow their trumpets, the prayers of the saints are offered. This is not an unrelated parenthesis. John means us to see that the prayers of God's people are supremely important. Even the cataclysmic judgments which would follow are held up until these prayers have been offered. Indeed, in a sense it is these prayers that set the judgments in motio The use of a golden censer and of the altar of like material point to the value the prayers. Their thought is that the prayers of men are imperfect, but when they have been censed, that is with the incense of a censor, they ascend to God. Discussion; why must these judgments by plagues, seals, trumpets, and bowls, occur before Christ’s visible reign?
Henry M. Morris notes that according to verses 2 and 3, it's reasonable to see in this scene the gathering of all the unanswered prayers of God's suffering saints in all ages. Before God, these prayers, offered in faith and praise to God, even though in suffering, have been an od of a sweet smell, a sacrifice, acceptable, well pleasing to God (Phil 4:18). When Noah offered sacrifices on the first altar after the awful judgment of th flood, the Lord smelled a sweet savor (Gen 8:21). It was all this that the altar of incense in Israel was intended to portray. Aaron was the High Priest; he wa to burn incense upon the altar, a perpetual incense before the Lord, throughout your generations (Ex 30:8). And King David cried, "Let my prayer set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting of my hands, as the evening sacrifice (Ps 141:2).
In verse 4, notice that the prayers went up out of the angel's hand. This is probably a way of saying that heaven and earth are one in this matter. Praye not the lonely venture it so often feels. Discuss Job 33:23-25. There's a heavenly assistance in our prayers to reach God and in composing the prayers, and in praying what we truly need (Rom 8:26-27). But we are not to think of the angel as a mediator. Christ alone has that role (1 Tim 2:5).
Henry Morris makes these helpful points regarding the work of ou Savior. It was no accident that in God's providence, the descent of His Son from heaven was acknowledged by a special offering of frankincense (Mt 2:11). For He was Himself to become the sacrifice burned on the altar, then t ascend up to heaven on our behalf. He is both altar and incense, both sacrifice and priest. “Seeing that we have such a great high priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we do not have a High Priest, which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but one who is tempted like us as we are, yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may find mercy and find grace to help and time of need” (Heb 4:14-16). So, because He is the one sacrifice for sins forever, our daily sacrifices of praise and intercession are acceptable to a holy God. The smoke from the fiery alta of his awful suffering becomes the sweet incense, which carries our prayers all the way to the heavenly throne. And the hand of our great High Priest, wounded with the nails of our transgressions, are held aloft so that our cries confession and petition, God hears and answers.
In verse 5, "He filled it with fire from the altar and cast it on to the earth. Th result was voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake.” The fir comes from the very altar on which the prayers of the saints have been offered. This surely means that the prayers of God's people play a necessary part in ushering in the judgments of God. Who are the real master powers behind the world and its deeper secrets of destiny? Here's the astonishing answer, the prayer of the saints, and the fire of God. This means that the prayers of the saints are more powerful and potent than all the dark and mighty powers set loose in the world.
Henry Morris offers this sobering assessment concerning the impenitent. Those who are offended at the cross become themselves a offending plague, which must finally be purged with fire. “The Son of ma came to send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 13:41-42).
The Seven Trumpets, 8:6-11:19
A triple woe on account of the plagues is following, underlined by the announcement of the eagle flying in mid heaven. The trumpet judgments do not concern the church as such. They are judgments on the world. John is emphasizing that God is really in control, and He does what He wills. We mus bear in mind further that the seals drew our attention to judgment as followin more or less inevitably on the sins of men, the trumpets rather direct our attention to the divine activity. God moves against sin, but bear in mind thes are not the final judgments, in each case a third is only affected. This serves as a warning.
The First Trumpet, 8:6-7
Verses 6 and 7, the first trumpet was the signal for widespread destruction brought about by hail and fire. There's electrical phenomenon accompanying a thunderstorm, such as constant lightning and fireball, mingled with blood. John speaks of widespread devastation among trees and grass. One third pa stands for a significant portion, but not the majority. The whole earth is not destroyed, but enough of it is destroyed to give serious warning. Throughout this section, John is concerned with plagues, which affect one third. He is meaning here that all the grass in one third of the earth has burned up. In th second instance, it is a great mistake to read this fiery, passionate poetic spirit, as though John were composing a pedantic piece of scientific prose. No, John is painting vivid pictures, and it does not matter in the slightest of th details that it does not always harmonize readily. What matters is that God sends plagues on evil men [descriptions of which are reminiscent of video freeze frames]. This is true throughout the ages; it'll be also true at the end.
Henry Morris with his extensive background in the earth sciences offers the following remarks. The angelic hosts have far greater understanding of nature's systems and processes than the most advanced scientists on Earth. These angels are able to exercise much control over thei times and places, and over their rates of operation in response to God's commands (Ps 103:19-21). The archangels, signaling as it were, a great military advance by the armies of heaven when the trumpets blow will thereb trigger the most tremendous physical upheavals. Upheavals of a magnitude not experienced by the Earth since the great flood.
The Second Trumpet, 8:8-9
Verses 8 and 9, something like a burning mountain. As with the previous phenomenon, it was not said, who cast it into the sea. But it's rather, what it does when it deals with the sea, a third part of the sea became blood. This is perhaps to remind us of the plague of Exodus 7:20. Indeed, the plagues of Egypt are recalled by a few expressions in this section of the book.
The throwing down of the mountains is indeed a terror to the wicked, but God's people have nothing to fear from God's judgments on the godless. “Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride” (Ps 46:2-3).
Verse 9, one third of the marine life perishes because of this asteroid or meteor, or comet.
Morris states, the text depicts a mighty mass of rock hurling towa the earth. It was like a great mountain, likely surrounded by combustible gases which ignite as they enter the atmosphere. It was steered earthward b the angelic host of heaven. The above seems the most likely explanation accessible to us at this time. Maybe a giant meteorite or asteroid or even a satellite of gas and rock orbiting one of the other planets could conceivably b propelled earthward by angels, or by cosmic forces of which we have little knowledge as yet.
The Third Trumpet, 8:10-11
Verses 10 and 11, Now from the waters of the sea, attention is switched to the waters on the land. The third trumpet brought about a fall from heaven o great star, like a blazing torch. A third part of the rivers and fountains of the waters are polluted by this falling star. The name wormwood describes a ver bitter substance. One third of the waters had become wormwood with the result that many men died. Wormwood, as we know, it is not poisonous in small amounts, but in large amounts, it is deadly. There was a drink called absinthe made from wormwood that was consumed in the 19th century in saloons of Europe (see the painting, ‘Absinthe’ by Degas).
The Fourth Trumpet, 8:12
Verse 12, the sounding of the fourth trumpet was followed by effects in the heavenly luminaries. The ninth plague in Egypt was concerned with darkness sun, moon, and stars were all smitten. The proportion of one third is retained in John's description. The first part of these verses appears to mean one third of the light given by all three failed, sun moon, and stars. So, one third less light at any time. The latter part seems to mean that one third of the time th was no light, but perhaps John’s wording is not greatly concerned with consistency, he's making the point vigorously that one third of all light was gone. In any case, we must insist that difficulty in harmonizing details should never worry us in this book. The reason why is, as previously mentioned, tha John is painting pictures so to speak, he's not writing scientific prose.
The Eagle, 8:13
Verse 13, marks an interlude in the sequence of trumpets. There is an eagle that John heard and saw. This eagle, this solitary bird of prey is often a sign o disaster; see Matthew 24:28. The eagle was in full flight in the midst of the heavens an expression which indicates the highest point of heaven—the plac the sun reaches its meridian. From this advantage point, the eagle proclaims a threefold woe to the inhabitants of the earth. The triple woe is connected with the trumpets which are yet to sound. The first woe is proclaimed. as pas and now the second is about to take place (9:12). Then the second woe is past and the third woe is coming quickly (11:14). But the third is not specifically mentioned, it may be the descent of Satan in chap 12 verse 12. The solemn words of the eagle show that the plagues to come are worse tha those already experienced. Thus, there is a deepening intensity.
Comments not attributed to Henry M. Morris are by Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John