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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
June 1, 2025
◘The Seventh Seal: The Trumpet Judgments Begin
Revelation 8:1-13
Introduction
Turn to Revelation 8. We will be examining the opening of the seventh seal and the first four of the seven trumpet judgments that come from it. Let me again encourage those who have not heard or read the previous sermons on Revelation to go to the church website to do so as soon as you can. Revelation can be very confusing unless you understand the historical setting of the book, its purpose, the context within the book of the passage being examined, and its ties to the other Biblical books dealing with prophecy about the end times. (See: Sermons on Revelation)
◘This third section of the book of Revelation dealing with events that are still future began in chapter 4 when John was caught up in the Spirit to heaven to describe the throne room of God and the worship of God that takes place there. (See: The Throne Room of God, Part 1) ◘In chapter 5 his attention is drawn to the scroll with seven seals that is in the right hand of the Father. When the only one worthy to open the scroll is found, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb standing as if slain, Jesus Christ, praise and worship of the Lamb breaks out by the four living beings, the twenty-four elders, the angelic host and then all of creation. (See: The Throne Room of God, Part 2)
◘Revelation 6 describes the opening of the first six seals beginning with the sequence of four horsemen that go out to the earth. The white horse and rider conquer without bloodshed through treaties and bring a short-lived peace. They are followed by the red horse and rider that bring murder, civil strive and war that destroys the peace. Then black horse and rider go out and bring severe famine. The last horse is a pale green, ashen color being ridden by death and followed by Hades. They kill with the sword, famine, pestilence and wild animals. (See: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse)
◘With the breaking of the fifth seal, John’s attention returns to the scene in heaven where he sees the martyrs under the altar who are presenting God with an imprecatory prayer for Him to uphold His justice and truth to bring His vengeance on those that “dwell on the earth” that murdered them. God tells them to wait a little while longer for there will be more martyrs that will be joining them.
◘The sixth seal brings terror as heaven and earth are shaken causing the sun to be darkened and the moon to look like blood as meteors fall to earth like figs from a tree in a strong wind and the mountains and islands are moved. Men can no longer deny the supernatural nature of what is happening and that the wrath of God and the Lamb are upon them. In terror they seek to hide in caves and rocks in the mountains even asking them to fall on them, but there is no hiding from God. They pose a question that will be answered in chapter 7. Who is able to stand in the great day of the wrath of God and the Lamb? (See: The 5th & 6th Seals – Martyrs & Terror on the Earth)
◘Chapter seven is an interlude between the sixth seal and the opening of the seventh seal. The first group that will stand in the midst of God’s wrath are the 144,000 Jewish slaves of God. The four angels that control the winds are held back from the harm they will bring upon the earth until they seal these Jews to protect them. They are made up of 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel listed. It is amazing how much speculation is made concerning this text to identify the 144,000 as anything other than what the text states plainly. This is not 144,000 elite Jehovah Witnesses. It is not a reference to the church in any manner. This is another example in which the reader’s presupposed theological bias blinds them to what the text actually states to reach fictional interpretations. John could not be any more direct in stating that these are physical descendants of Israel. These 144,000 Jews will be protected from the wrath of God as they carry out His will in serving Him.
◘John’s attention is again directed to what is happening in heaven and he sees an innumerable multiethnic multitude of martyrs that have come from the tribulation standing around God’s throne. This is the second group described in chapter 8 that will stand as the wrath of God is poured out on “those that dwell on the earth.” These are individuals redeemed by the blood of the Lamb that will dwell with and serve God. They will not be on earth to experience God’s wrath that will come upon it, and the troubles of this life will be behind them. They will be no longer hunger or thirst or experience scorching sun or heat.
(See: The Sealed Slaves of God & The Innumerable Multitude)
◘The Seventh Seal – Revelation 8:1-2
Revelation 8 begins with the breaking of the seventh seal. 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.”
◘John continues to describe the scene in heaven as the Lamb breaks this seventh seal. The immediate result is “silence in heaven for about half an hour.” The visions John has been given have been moving in rapid sequence and now there is this dramatic pause for about a half hour that grabs John’s attention. It had been very loud in heaven as commands and petitions were shouted, praise was proclaimed and songs sung by innumerable choirs of angels, but now there is this stunning silence in reverence before God and in anticipation of His next actions. ◘Similar examples are found in the prophets. Habakkuk 2:20, “But Yahweh is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” Zechariah 2:13, “Be silent, all flesh, before Yahweh; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.” Zephaniah 1:7, “Be silent before Lord Yahweh! For the day of Yahweh is near . . .”
I will also point out here that while heaven is often conceived of as being outside the restrictions of time, this scene takes place before eternity begins and time is still being marked. John notes that this silence continues for about a half an hour.
◘Note as well that as with all the previous seals it is the Lamb that breaks the seal. The actions that take place with every seal begins with an action of Jesus which then reveals another aspect of God’s wrath that will come upon the earth. Even the martyrs in the 5th seal are part of God’s wrath as they petition Him for justice and vengeance on “those who dwell on the earth.” The wrath that will come with the trumpets and bowls are in answer to their prayer as we will see in a moment. It is important to stress that here when the Lamb breaks the seventh seal it brings the seven angels with their trumpets. The wrath revealed by the seventh seal is the seven trumpet judgments with the last trumpet telescoping into the seven bowls of wrath.
◘There are many schemes in trying to interpret Revelation that view what will happen when these seven angels blow their trumpets and later when the seven bowls are poured out as recapitulations of the seal judgments or those same judgments seen from a different perspective. I will point out the specifics when we go through them why that is not and cannot be true. While there is some overlap in the types of calamity that will come, the differences in the order and the specifics described are too great for them to be the same events.
John continues to describe the scene in heaven and he records two more events before the trumpets are sounded and his attention will again be drawn to what will be happening on earth.
◘The Golden Censor – Revelation 8:3-5
Revelation 8:3–5, 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having 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 went up with the prayers of the saints, out of the angel’s hand, before God. 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.
◘This is another angel of the same type as the seven in verse 2 who stand before God and which have now been given the seven trumpets. This angel is not Jesus for the Lamb is already present and in the center of the throne (Rev. 5:6-14; 7:17). We know that there are different types of angels and that they are organized and there are ranks among them. All that can be said definitively about these angels is that they are standing before God and have been for some time which demonstrates both their immediate availability to serve and status by their proximity to the throne. Those closer to the throne have a more favored position than those far away, though angels will come and go before God’s throne as they receive their orders and carry out His commands.
This eighth angel of the same type as the seven with the trumpets is standing at the altar, which context shows is an incense altar, and he has a golden censor, a fire-pan made of gold. Such censors are described in being used in the worship of God in both the Tabernacle and in Solomon’s temple. Fire would be taken from the altar of incense and put on the fire pan with incense then added to be taken to other places including inside the veil as an offering before the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:12-13).
◘John specifically states that much incense was given to this angel which was put on “the golden altar which was before the throne.” What is being done here is similar to the use of incense in the worship of God in both the Tabernacle and in Solomon’s temple. Incense was perpetually offered on the altar of incense as part of worship. David made a tie between incense and prayer in Psalm 141:1-2, 1 “O Yahweh, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! 2 May my prayer be established as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.” Here the smoke of the incense rises with the prayers of the saints before God. This same imagery was used in Revelation 5:8 regarding the twenty-four elders and the golden bowls of incense “which are the prayers of the saints.” The idea here is that the incense assists the prayers since it is holy to the Lord (Exod. 30:37). This is not the prayers of all saints from all time for the context here limits it to prayers of those in or who have come out of the tribulation as with the martyrs in the 5th seal. Their prayers are now coming before God and will be answered as the next verse reveals.
◘What happens next is not something John would have expected. The “angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar,” but instead of bringing it into the holy place before God as was done in worship in the temple, he “threw it to the earth.” Immediately there are “peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” The first three aspects of this are similar to the description of what was emanating from the throne of God in Rev. 4:5 which is referred to in some commentaries as a “storm theophany.” ◘God displays His power in the elements of a severe storm so as to serve as a warning not to transgress His holiness such as in Exodus 19 in preparation for Moses giving the people the Ten Commandments, or as an expression of His anger such as in Psalm 18, or as elements of His wrath such as in Exodus 9:18-35 which recounts the seventh plague upon Egypt. Both Exodus 19 and Psalm 18 include earthquakes. The display here is an expression of God’s anger and wrath which was about to come upon the earth.
◘Please note that though there may be symbolic meaning in these storm elements, this is not symbolism. This is no different than the events in Exodus 19. There is actual thunder, sounds, lightning and an earthquake on the earth as a result of the angel throwing down his censor upon the earth.
◘The Seven Angels & Trumpets – Revelation 8:6
This action by the eighth angel is the prompt for the other angels to get ready. “And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.” ◘Trumpets have been used throughout the history of Israel starting with the sound of a trumpet on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19 & 20 related to Moses receiving and declaring the Ten Commandments. They were used to call the people to assemble, as an alarm, and as part of the joy of appointed feasts (Numbers 10) as well as a musical instrument used in worship (Psalm 150). Trumpets were used in bringing down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6) and are part of military actions (Judges 7). They will be used to announce the coming of the Day of the Lord and parts within it (Joel 2:1; Zeph. 1:14-16; 1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52). That is how they are being used here. These are trumpets announcing elements of God’s wrath coming upon sinful and unrepentant men.
◘The First Trumpet – Revelation 8:7
“And 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.”
◘Though this is far worse that anything of a similar nature that has ever occurred before, it has precedent in earlier judgments by God and is predicted by the prophets. In the seventh plague on Egypt (Exodus 9), the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth in the land of Egypt, but not in the land of Goshen where the sons of Israel lived. The description of the fire in that plague is lightening with the hail shattering plants and trees and any animals or men who were out in the fields.
However, this is not just hail, it is also fire that burns up one third of the earth, trees and all the green grass. The text does not explain why it is all the green grass and not just one third of it, nor does it state precisely if the one thirds are all in one area or scattered around the earth to an aggregate of one third. It is John’s simple description of the devastation he sees happening on earth from his view from heaven. ◘In regards to the green grass, at no time of the year is all the grass in the world green for much of it goes dormant in dry seasons and winter in which cases it is brown, and unless the roots are killed, it will grow back even if the green tops are burned away. That is why there will still be grass when the fifth trumpet is blown.
◘This description has similarities to the fire and brimstone that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) or David’s description of the Lord’s deliverance in Psalm 18:12–13, 12 “From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire. 13 Yahweh also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High gave forth His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.” Those and similar ones are descriptions of things that really happened. Ezekiel 38:22 gives this description as part of the future judgment on Gog, “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone.”
◘My point here is simply that this is a real description of a real judgment that is coming that will do just what is described. The destructive power of hail is well known. The fire could be a reference to something supernatural, to intense lightening that causes fires, or volcanic activity. That it is “mixed with blood” is more difficult to determine because there is no precise reference to what this may be. Speculation in trying to give a “natural” explanation ranges from it being a description of the red glow of volcanic material to the blood of animals and men shattered by the hail that is sucked up by tornadic winds that would then fall in outer edges of the storm. But then, this is a supernatural event so it may well be blood from a supernatural source. Whatever the nature and source of this blood will be, it is described as something real by John. God is not limited by physics.
◘John’s description of this first trumpet judgment seems beyond reality to us only because it is beyond modern history and experience. Modern interpreters who use that as a baseline for truth usually regard ancient events of similar nature as mythical, and besides, those were small in scale compared to this one which affects one third of the earth. But then, the flood in the days of Noah destroyed the whole earth. Why then would it be hard to believe God will destroy a third of the earth, trees and all green grass in this manner? It is hard only for those that reject God’s, omnipotence, omniscience, sovereignty and veracity and therefore incapable of communicating to man either what He has actually done or will do in the future.
◘Those trying to give an allegorical interpretation of what happens with this first trumpet end up stuck in a sea of contradictions since whatever symbolic meaning is given here to the earth, grass and trees cannot have the same meaning in trumpets 3, 5 & 6 when these same objects are displayed alongside men. They also become hard pressed to explain how those to whom this book was written at the end of the first century could have understood these elements according to the symbolism given by their allegorical interpretations.
◘The Second Trumpet – Revelation 8:8-9
The catastrophe upon thirds that begins with the first trumpet continues with the second trumpet except this one is directed at the sea and what is related to it instead of the earth – land. 8 “And 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—those which had life—died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.”
◘The first thing to point out is that John does not state that this is an actual mountain but instead uses a simile stating it is something “like a great mountain burning with fire.” That description could easily fit a large meteor since it would begin to burn when it entered the earth’s atmosphere. That description is also a strike against allegorical interpretation since that would require a confusion of figures of speech in giving a metaphorical meaning to this mountain and then also describe it with a simile.
◘The sea here refers to the world’s oceans which are all interconnected. Trying to limit this to the Mediterranean Sea or the area of the sea around Patmos forgets that John is viewing this from heaven. When this large burning object is cast into the sea, a third of the sea becomes blood. Speculation yields many attempts to explain what John saw, but he does not use a simile here. ◘He states directly that “a third of the sea became blood.” This matches the first plague upon Egypt in Exodus 7 when all the surface water was turned to blood and became undrinkable. The effect of these waters becoming blood in killing a third of all sea life also shows this is not a visual appearance due to atmospheric conditions because that would not cause death. It is also beyond things such as a “red tide” caused by an algae bloom, especially of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, which is toxic to some marine life. Though a red tide can cover large surface areas, it is shallow and does not kill one third of the creatures in the sea which have life. That would take supernatural intervention.
◘Note as well that the catastrophe that comes after the blowing of the second trumpet includes the destruction of one third of the ships. The text does not state exactly how these ships are destroyed but only that their destruction is directly tied to this humongous burning object being thrown into the sea. Since that is described as a point of impact instead of scattered ones – it is an object thrown into the sea and not many objects thrown into many seas – the destruction caused by it is limited to that sea instead of spread around the world into different seas. That may have some implications on some of the other thirds described in these trumpet judgments.
◘Just for fun, I looked up the surface areas of the five oceans plus the Mediterranean Sea. The Pacific Ocean, depending on where you draw its boundaries, is about 44% of the world’s oceans. If the large islands and isthmuses in it protected portions of it from the effects of a large meteor hitting in the middle of it, it would be about one third of the world’s oceans and seas. ◘The Atlantic, depending on where you draw its boundaries, is about 26% of the world’s oceans, but if the portions of the Arctic and Southern ocean which connect directly to it are added, you also end up with about one third of the world’s oceans and seas. (1/3 of the world’s oceans ~ 49 million sq miles).
◘The Third Trumpet – Revelation 8:10-11
The third trumpet continues the destruction of thirds. 10 “And 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 And 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.”
As in the explanation of the stars falling with the opening of the sixth seal (Rev. 6:13), the term for star here can be used for any celestial object, ◘and the description here is that of either a meteor or comet. While a meteor usually stays together because it is made of metals and rock, they have been observed to break apart, especially the large ones, upon entering the earth’s atmosphere. Comets, which are made of a mixture of ice and rock, can easily break apart due to differential heating of the materials of which it is made. That could be an explanation for this star which burns like a torch affecting a third of the fresh water.
◘However, this star is given a specific name, Wormwood, which is the name of a bitter tasting herb, because it turns the waters it affects bitter and undrinkable. This is also similar to the first plague on Egypt in Exodus 7 because it made the fresh water undrinkable, though that was due to it becoming blood and this is due to it becoming bitter and poisonous. ◘Giving this star a specific name and it having this specific effect indicates a supernatural origin of it, its distribution in what it affects, and the effect itself since a normal meteor or comet will not poison the water into which it falls, and especially a river or spring since the fresh water above the site of contamination would both dilute the poisoned water and wash it downstream. ◘Dilution may be the part of the reason that though many men die from these waters, not everyone who drinks it dies. Death of men seems to be more incidental to these trumpet judgments which are primarily directed at specific aspects of nature.
◘The Fourth Trumpet – Revelation 8:12
The fourth trumpet affects celestial objects by thirds. 12 “And 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 angel blows his trumpet and another event occurs that is obviously supernatural. John does not give any description of what strikes a third of the sun, moon and stars, and there is no natural explanation for what he describes. It is even hard to comprehend what exactly he is describing. The verb used here translated as “struck” means to strike or hit an object as in delivering a physical blow to it.
◘Remember that John’s vantage point in seeing this is from heaven and not the earth, so this is not a description of these celestial objects as seen from the surface of the earth. In addition, it is the sun, moon and stars that are struck affecting each by thirds as described which further emphasizes that this is not something that is just the appearance of them from earth’s surface.
◘It also remains an unsolved puzzle of how the darkening of a third of the sun, a third of the moon and a third of the stars results in no light shining from them for a third of the day and night. Rotation of celestial objects cannot explain this. While the Sun does rotate, it does so at differential speeds moving slower as you go from its equator to its poles, and even at its fastest rotational speed at the equator, it takes 25 days relative to the earth for it to rotate. The moon also rotates, but it does so at the exact rate in which its revolving around the earth so that it presents the exact same surface area to the earth. Man had never seen the far side of the moon until 1959 when a space craft went around it and took pictures. This is a supernatural event defying physics.
◘John does not describe the results that this darkening by one third will have upon mankind, but it will be great. Just its effect upon weather and agriculture will have wide raging consequences to all of humanity. Consider that reducing sunlight by a third will plunge the world into winter weather and cause crops to fail.
◘When you remember that each of these judgments is meant to be a display of God’s wrath upon those that dwell on the earth, it makes sense that John’s description of their characteristics defies natural explanations. Much like the events of the sixth seal, they force men to recognize these are the actions of God. The results of this fourth trumpet defies all natural explanations, and the natural explanations suggested for the first three trumpet judgments still require supernatural intervention because of their effect on a third of the earth, trees, sea, marine life, ships, rivers and springs. Remember, while God established the laws of physics and certainly uses them to carry out His will, He is not limited to them as proven by the record of miracles in both the Old and New Testaments. Expect Him to continue to do the miraculous in the future.
◘I will add here that allegorical interpretations of these phenomena do the same thing as the speculation in natural causes of them. Both strive to give plausible human solutions to events that are meant to be supernatural displays of God’s wrath. The difference is that allegorical explanations can be even more fanciful since they do not have to be tied to either the text or reality. They are limited only by human imagination.
◘The Three Woes – Revelation 8:13
Things are extremely bad with these first four trumpets, in fact, much worse than seals because these affect thirds instead of just a fourth of the earth as with the fourth seal. Revelation 8 ends with a transition from the fourth trumpet to the fifth trumpet that is a warning that it is going to get a lot worse. 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!”
◘John hears a loud voice which changes his attention from the effects of the fourth trumpet on celestial objects to an announcement coming from an eagle in the mid-heaven of three woes that are about to come upon those who dwell upon the earth.
As a quick textual note, the old KJV uses the term “angel” instead of eagle because of following the Textus Receptus which relied on what was available at the time which was mostly late manuscripts. This case it is a curious and inferior variant and certainly not the “majority text” since it traces back to only a few Greek manuscripts, the earliest of which is the 9th Century Codex Porphyrianus (St. Petersburg), and is also found in the 12th Century Armenian translation, the late 3rd Century commentary of Victorinus, bishop of Pettau in Pannonia, and the 5th or 6th Century commentary of Andreas, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. All of the earlier and nearly all of the later manuscripts as well as the translations and commentaries have this as eagle. Even the NKJV footnotes that this in an eagle.
◘A woe is an interjection of grief, and here it is due to the intense hardship and distress that will come in three stages related to blasts of the three remaining trumpets. The first woe begins with the blowing of the fifth trumpet which we will examine next week.
◘Conclusions
The opening of the seventh seal brings forth the seven trumpet judgments. ◘The first four of these are directed specifically against elements of nature by thirds of the earth, trees, sea, marine life, sun, moon, stars, rivers and springs, all green grass and incidentally the destruction of a third of the ships and death of many men. Their purpose is to display the wrath of God which will either bring repentance or warning of greater wrath to come. ◘None of these can be explained by purely natural means and those against the sun, moon and stars are outside the bounds of known physics. ◘Allegorical interpretation is contrary to the plain meaning and purpose of the text and often borders on fantasy.
◘God’s wrath is coming, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. That fear should drive the non-Christian to repentance to get right with God, and it should drive the Christian to a greater walk in holiness. To paraphrase 1 John 3:2-3, everyone who has this hope of Christ’s return seeks to purify himself just as Jesus is pure. But as Romans 8:29 and Philippians 1:6 tell us, that is the very work that God is doing in the life of a believer, so rejoice even as you pursue the narrow way leading to eternal life (Matthew 7:14). 7th
Sermon Notes – 6/1/2025
The 7th Seal: The Trumpet Judgments Begin – Revelation 8:1-13
Introduction & Review
Revelation 4 – John describes the throne room in ___________and the worship of God taking place there
Revelation 5 – John describes the scroll & the worthy _______standing as if slain & the worship He receives
Revelation 6 – The breaking of the first ______on the scroll. 1) Conquering without bloodshed, a false ____
2) Peace destroyed, murder & ___ 3) _______ 4) A 1/4 of humanity dies by sword, famine, disease, animals
5) Imprecatory prayer of ______under the altar 6) A great shaking, celestial signs, _______of wrath of God
Revelation 7:1-8 – Angels / wind held back as 144,000 _________slaves of God are sealed
Revelation 7:9-17 – The innumerable multiethnic ____________of martyrs at peace in heaven
The Seventh Seal – Revelation 8:1-2
A ½ hour ___________in heaven – Earlier examples: Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13; Zephaniah 1:7
The Lamb breaks each seal which reveals another aspect of God’s ______upon those who dwell on the earth
Neither the trumpet nor the bowl judgments recapitulate the _________ judgments
The Golden Censor – Revelation 8:3-5
Another angel of the _______type as the seven with the trumpets stands at the altar of incense with a censor
The angel is given much incense which is put on the golden altar & its smoke mixes with the saint’s ______
The angels fills the censor with fire from the altar and the casts it to earth resulting in a “_______theophany”
__________“storm theophanies” occur in Exodus 19, Psalm 18 and elements of it in the 7th plague on Egypt
A storm theophany’s symbolic meaning comes from its __________thunder, sounds, lightning & earthquake
The Seven Angels & Trumpets – Revelation 8:6
The 7 angels with the 7 trumpets prepare themselves to blow their horns
Trumpets are used for many reasons in the Bible, these trumpets ___________elements of God’s wrath
The First Trumpet – Revelation 8:7
Far worse that anything previous of a similar nature, ___within it burns up a 1/3 of earth & trees, & all grass
The tops of the green grass is burned up, but it grows from its roots, so grass is ________by the fifth trumpet
The description has ____________to Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen. 19) & Psalm 18. It is predicted in Ezek. 38
This is a ______ description of a _____ event to come including the “blood” whatever its nature and source
John’s description is beyond reality for those who ________________God has done or will do what He says
Allegorical interpretation generates a sea of _____________contrary what the first readers would understand
The Second Trumpet – Revelation 8:8-9
This is a simile – it is “_____a mountain . . .” An allegorical interpretation will confuse the figure of speech
John views this from _________ , so it is not limited to the Mediterranean Sea, nor is the “blood” a simile
1/3 of sea becomes _______killing 1/3 of marine life – therefore not an optical phenomena nor a “red tide”
1/3 of ships destroyed due to this burning object going into the sea – a ________of impact, not scattered one
Due to protection by islands & isthmuses, a large meteor hitting the ______would impact ~ 1/3 of all oceans
Include the connected areas of the Arctic & Southern oceans to the ___________and it is ~ 1/3 of all oceans
The Third Trumpet – Revelation 8:10-11
The description fits either a _______or a comet, both of which can break apart after entering the atmosphere
This star is ______“Wormwood” because it turns the water’s it affects into wormwood – bitter / undrinkable
Its specific name & specific effects indicate a ______________ origin, distribution and effect
__________ may be a reason only “many men die” from these waters instead of all who drink it
The Fourth Trumpet – Revelation 8:12
John does not describe what strikes a 1/3 of the sun, moon & stars, nor is there any ______explanation for it
John is seeing this from _________& it is 1/3 of sun, moon & stars affected – it is not just a view from earth
1/3 of the sun, moon & stars darkened to limit their light to 1/3 of day & night is ________________
This ____________will have wide ranging effects for it will plunge the world into winter and crops will fail
All of these are displays of God’s wrath and so defy mere natural explanation – God is not bound by ______
Allegorical interpretation also strives to give plausible (fanciful) _________solutions to the events described
The Three Woes – Revelation 8:13
A loud voice calls John’s attention to the pronouncement of three ____to come with the remaining trumpets
A woe is an interjection of ________- here due to intense hardship & distress coming upon earth dwellers
Conclusions
The 7th seal reveals 7 angels & 7 trumpets which reveal further aspects of the ________of God
The first 4 trumpets display God’s wrath directed at elements of _______: earth, sea, water, celestial objects
_____of these can be explained by purely natural causes, & those on sun, moon & stars defy known physics
Allegorical interpretation is ___________to the plain meaning and purpose of the text – often fanciful
God wrath is coming, that should cause sinners to repent and Christians to pursue personal ____________
KIDS KORNER – Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the word “trumpet” is mentioned 2) Talk with your parents about the origin and purpose of the trumpet judgments
THINK ABOUT IT! Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Outline what occurs in Revelation 4-7. What is the significance of the silence when the 7th seal is opened? What is the purpose of the 8th angel with the censor & incense? What is a storm theophany? What is the significance of trumpets in general and these 7 trumpets in particular? What are the results of the first trumpet? What precedents and predictions are there for it? Why does it seem beyond reality? What are the results of the second trumpet? Are their natural explanations for the sea becoming blood? How large of an area would be 1/3 of the world’s oceans? What are the results of the third trumpet? Why must this be a supernatural event? What are the results of the fourth trumpet? How does this defy known physics? What is the purpose of each of these trumpet judgments? How does allegorical interpretation go against that purpose? What is a woe? Are you ready for Jesus’ return?
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