Judgment mixed with Mercy Even Then
Here we go to the next level of judgment as we look a bit closer at the 4 Trumpets about to blow. We are looking at Revelation 8:6-13
6So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8Then 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. 9And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10Then 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 water. 11The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.
12Then the fourth angel sounded: 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 were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. 13And I looked, and I 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 remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
These are frightening words here. Many take these words symbolically, but we will take at face value as we have been doing all along. It makes perfect sense to do so.
John knew the OT well. Here it sounds exactly like the plagues of Egypt. The plagues back then were not symbolic. Hail happens. It happens literally. These events will occur , as they did in Egypt, at the end of time when the bondage to sin, death and suffering will be broken.
We see standing ready these angels each with their trumpets prepared to sound. This would begin when the Lord says blow. Only then will they sound their trumpets.
We see hail, fire and blood mentioned. Some believe the word for fire is lightening. We know the word is the same (Pur) which can be either "fire" or specifically, literally lightening.
Thirteen times John uses "1/3 gone." This speaks of God's mercy and love. Why? Because God is not destroying the earth in one fell swoop as he's fully capable of doing. He's giving them a chance, even then, as he destroys the earth by only a third.
Notice the vegetation goes first. Imagine the severity of this judgment. Imagine 1/3 of the trees gone up in flames. It looks like Exodus 9:22-24 is a small foreshadow of end times.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
After the first the second trumpet now is blown. Notice he says, "something like." John knows what hail, lightening, and fire looks like but here he doesn't quite know what this is. He's describing it as he sees it. Is it a meteor? An astroid? Does this seem far fetched today? 2,000 years ago, I'm sure this made no sense as it does today.
God is using the natural elements to destroy the earth. This "looks" like a mountain falling into the sea and will affect even the ships. We can now imagine tusami or tidal waves that will follow this burning thing that goes into the sea. This will be a global event and much chaos will follow. Interestingly Oceanfront property won't be such a hot comodity when this all comes down.
We now come to the third trumpet and we see a fallen star seeming to affect the fresh water now. Notice this star is named and has the appearance of a torch. Could John be describing what we know today as Halley's Comet? Could this burning torch like star have a tail? So we see this star has a special name; Wormwood. This star is reserved for a special future use.
Wormwood means bitter and is named after a poisonous plant which is even outlawed in some countries. We see here men will die because of this. The fresh water supply will be affected. Jeremiah uses the name Wormwood several times. We see this in Jer 9:13-16. He used this term in his Lamantations for himself because he had bitterness in soul.
Christ was given gall to drink. The Son of God was given bitterness to drink instead of fresh cool water. The one which flowed out of Him living waters wasn't even given a simple cup of water as he lanquished for all mankind.
So this brings us to the 4th trumpet. Here we see the lights turned down. Dimmed down. What is going to happen as a result of this dimness to the ecological system? Plants will struggle, their health will wane as their growing season has now been cut by a third.
We see in V12 John again repeats the 1/3. If you look close enough you'll see God's Mercy highlighted. God is God. He didn't have to do this in stages. He could have just as easily wiped out the world and left the inhabitants in total darkness if He so chose to do so.
By seeing the earth, sun and moon dimmed down, toned down, we have to acknowledge that all the earth will be affected. This is global. Darkness is a sign of God's judgment. Has He got your attention yet? Even then they still won't believe. As we read this, we should have a burden to speak. Jeremiah carried that burden. He tried not to speak but had no choice. It weighed so heavy on him he was compelled to shout out the judgments of God that were to come. Even then, none would hear him until it was too late.
We then are alerted to an angel or an eagle with a woe to all. A woe is a prelude to a funeral or calamity. We see it's repeated three times, usually done for emphasis, and seems as tho John has highlighted these words for his readers. But the message should not be missed. The next three trumpets will be worse.
Notice something here. This eagle is in the middle of things for a reason. It's as tho the entire planet is being notified of what is to come. All will hear this and will be with no excuse. The judgment will increase. So far all has had a natural element to it but the next three trumpets will directly affect man directly. These first four trumpet judgments have affected men indirectly.
This is a slow warning. It's like the pot is slowing being heated. The stove is slowly being turned up. This warning is directed at the inhabitants of the earth also known as dwellers of the earth. The earth is their home. For a Christian this earth is not their home. They are strangers waiting to go to their true home when the time is right. Christians know that this earth is a temporary place.
Today we hear slogans like, "Take Care of Mother Earth," or "Save the Planet." And of course we have Earth Day every year. As for Christians, our concern is not of the earth but is people. We want to "Save the People." We know as Christians that this planet is gone. It's groaning now with sin. This planet has a finate life and will not last.
Ezekiel 14:19-20 says:
Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20“even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
What this is saying is they can "deliver only themselves." Even Daniel and Job could only save themselves. We can't save our kids, nor anyone else. It's between you and God.
Even with all this coming down God will reach down and save some. Joel 2:30-32
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.31The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.32 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. "
None will be able to say, I didn't hear you. Hebrews 3:7-8 says:
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,"
If you hear the voice of God calling you out of this world, don't hesitate. Run to Him and you will find He's been there waiting all along for you to come.