THE SEVENTH SEAL JUDGMENT; SILENCE IN HEAVEN (Rev 8:1)

Chapter 8 starts with a brief note about the seventh seal judgment. It just tells us that there will be silence in heaven for about one half hour as the seventh judgment starts. Using the typical day for a year that is so often used by God in setting his periods of punishment, that would be about one week. Why the silence? It would certainly be a period of great expectation, a period that the world had been anticipating for thousands of years. It might have also been a time for prayer and preparation. The Second Coming was also about to occur and the silence could have been associated with that. The silence could also have occurred because everyone in heaven had left heaven to go to earth with Christ. There would have been nobody there to make any noise. That could also apply to the rapture. As we have seen, the seal judgments are not judgments at all, but a description of the coming judgments. John has just heard a description of what the means for the judgments will be and the judgments themselves are about to start. The silence may therefore be associated with the rapture which comes just before the actual judgments begin. Again, it may be associated with the Second Coming.

THE SEVEN ANGELS WITH THE SEVEN TRUMPETS (Rev 8:2-6)

Seven angels appear before the throne of God and are given trumpets. They offer incense along with the prayers of the saints, just as the elders did in Rev 5:8. They then fill the container which had held the incense with fire from the alter in heaven and hurl it to the earth to begin the seven trumpet judgments. This is accompanied by an earthquake.

We will next take a quick look at the symbolism represented by incense. Incense made of sweet spices was offered or burned in the temple as part of the daily sacrifice (Ex 30:1-9). God said that he would accept Israel as sweet incense when he gathers her out of the nations (Ezek 20:41). God got seriously offended at the burning of incense when it became a part of the worship of idols and false gods. The Jews fell into this practice after Solomon brought so many foreign wives into Israel and they brought their false gods with them. It seems that incense is being burned in heaven in Rev 8:3-4. Rev 5:8 says that this incense is the prayers of the saints. Since incense is sweet smelling that means that the prayers of the saints are very pleasing to the senses of God. They make him very happy. This also says that the re-gathering of the Jewish people into their land makes God very happy.

The angel used the vessel which had contained the incense and prayers to put the fire from the alter into before throwing it to earth to start the judgment. The fact that the vessel was empty means that the prayers had already been presented to God and were being answered. It may also imply that the rapture has just occurred and there are no more believers left on earth. Thus there would be no prayers going up to God. The use of this vessel implies that the judgments are an answer to the prayers of the saints. We ask for that judgment to come every time we say the Lord’s Prayer, as we ask “Thy kingdom come.” Most don’t realize this so I ask, “Why would believers be asking for God’s judgment to come?”

THE FIRST TRUMPET JUDGMENT; NUCLEAR WAR (Rev 8:7)

We will begin our look at the first trumpet judgment by going back to the first seal judgment. We will do that because that judgment apparently describes the means for accomplishing the first trumpet judgment. The first seal judgment describes the means for judgment being “a conqueror with a bow.” This seems to imply that there will be a war and a peace treaty. Remember a bow is short for rainbow which represented God’s covenant with man insuring that he would never again destroy the earth with water. The war seems to be described in Ezek 38:1-39:16 and the peace treaty is the seven year treaty between the antichrist and Israel described in Dan 9:27. The first trumpet judgment description given in Rev 8:6-7 is a brief description of an apparent nuclear war and its effects. The peace treaty is implied in Rev 6:2.

This judgment is caused by “hail and fire, mixed with blood, hurled down upon the earth.” The result is described as one third of the earth, one third of the trees and one third of the green grass being burned up. This certainly sounds like a nuclear exchange. It would take quite a nuclear war to cause that kind of damage. The ensuing effects would be a large layer of clouds surrounding the earth with nuclear fallout causing all kinds of skin conditions and illnesses. The climate would be affected, the electrical grid would be out over a large area of the world, world trade would be disrupted, oil products could not be shipped to many places, food and supply distribution networks would be disrupted, there would be famine and plagues in many places, there would be anarchy in the world, etc. The effects would continue for years. We learn the following from Old Testament prophecies about what sounds like the first judgment.

It appears that God’s first judgment, which seems to be a devastating war involving nuclear weapons, will take place in large part in Babylon, current day Iraq. It seems that Iran (the Medes, Jer 51:11, 28) and countries from the far north (,Jer 51:48) are allied in attacking Iraq (Babylon). In Jer 51 there seem to be two destructions of Babylon in view, the first during the Babylonian captivity of the 6th century BC and the second in the tribulation. The overthrow of Babylon by the Persians and Medes in the 6th century BC was not accompanied by the destruction described in Jer 51, however. In fact, the city of Babylon fell to Cyrus and the Persians without a battle. Thus much of chapter 51 seems left to future fulfillment.

 In Ezek 38 we see that “in that day,” after Israel has been re-gathered from the nations, God will bring Gog (possibly ungodly nations from the far north, Rev 20:7-8) against Israel. There will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. This is likely describing a nuclear war. The impact of the nuclear weapons will be so great that it resounds all around the world. The fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the wild animals and people all around the world will feel the impact. God will execute judgment on the nations for this and the result will be heavy rain, hailstones, and burning sulfur (nuclear weapons) on the armies of the nations, Ezek 38:17-23. This sounds like a judgment aimed at Israel followed closely by a judgment aimed primarily at the nations who attacked Israel.

There is a counter attack on the nations of the far north. This seems to be in the form of nuclear weapons, Ezek 39:6. The towns of Israel will use the weapons that they capture as fuel for seven years. That would seem to indicate that it takes place very early in the tribulation period, since Israel is under the control of the antichrist for the last three and one half years of the seven year tribulation period. There are so many soldiers from Gog killed in the valley where the battle takes place that even with people from all of Israel helping to bury the dead, it takes seven months. The description in Zech 14:12-15 is clearly the effects of a neutron bomb, although this nuclear war is likely in the sixth and seventh judgments.

See further descriptions of each judgment in the section titled Summaries of the end times and the Revelation.

THE SECOND TRUMPET JUDGMENT; AN ASTEROID HITS AN OCEAN (Rev 8:8-9)

We will begin our look at the second trumpet judgment by going back to the second seal judgment. The second seal judgment describes the means for judgment being “something that makes people want to kill each other, take peace from the earth, and the sword.

This judgment seems to be caused by an asteroid hitting one of the earth’s oceans. Rev 8:8 says that a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. The reason that I expect that this is a comet or an asteroid is because of the discussion by Jesus in Luke 21:25-28 and Matt 24:29 (also see Jer 51:45). It says that there will be great fear and anxiety because of what is coming on the world, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. If man knows that the earth is about to be hit by an asteroid there would certainly be great fear and anxiety.

The effects attributed to this in Rev 8:8-9 are a third of the sea was turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died and a third of the ships were destroyed. That is what you might expect if a comet or asteroid hits an ocean. The shock itself could kill everything for many miles. The tidal wave might be several hundred feet high and would go out in all directions. It would wipe everything out for many miles inland along any coast affected, depending upon the terrain. There would be millions and possibly over a billion people killed. The long term effects would be similar to the nuclear exchange without the radiation. Let me repeat them. The ensuing effects would be a large layer of clouds surrounding the earth. The climate would be affected, the electrical grid would be out over large areas of the world, world trade would be disrupted, oil products could not be shipped to many places, food, medical and supply distribution networks would be disrupted, there would be famine and plagues over large areas of the world, there would be anarchy in the world, etc. The effects would continue for years. Remember the effects of the nuclear war and asteroid hit would be additive or multiplicative. It seems that these events occur within a couple of years of each other in the first half of the tribulation period. It will be one huge mess all over the earth with rampant anarchy, Matt 24:29.

Rev 8:8 says that one third of the sea turns to blood. What is that all about? From Gen 9:4, blood is that which gives life to a living being. We see in the second trumpet judgment that one third of the sea turned to blood and one third of the living creatures died. We see how this happens from Rev 16:3 where we see that the blood was like that of a dead man. That means that the sea had lost its ability to sustain life. Apparently the asteroid hit caused the ocean to lose its ability to sustain life and initially one third of all of the living creatures died. Just as the blood of a dead man is blood without oxygen and cannot support life, so too do I suspect that the waters will be like the blood a dead man in that they will have their oxygen depleted and therefore cannot support life.

I suspect that the Indian Ocean is the ocean which will be hit by the asteroid. There are a couple of Old Testament prophecies that lead me to this conclusion. Jer 51:42 says that a great flood will sweep over Babylon (Iraq) and leave it desolate, like a desert where nobody lives. These flood waters apparently are so extensive that they spread into Israel and sweep completely over her, up to neck high, Isa 8:7-8. The mechanism for such a flood is hard to imagine. The second judgment of the tribulation seems to be an asteroid hitting one of the world’s oceans. If it hits the Indian Ocean that type of flood could easily result. An asteroid hitting this area would severely destroy much of the Muslim world, Indonesia, India, Eastern Africa, etc.

How does this relate to the means for judgment described in the second seal judgment? Well, the asteroid hit and the effects that we described would certainly make people want to kill each other as they fight over the basic essentials needed for survival. There would be no peace as neighbor was killing neighbor.

For a much more complete description of the mechanism and effects of an asteroid hitting the earth see Tribulation events – first 3 ½ years, second judgment in the section titled Summaries of the end times and the revelation.

THE THIRD TRUMPET JUDGMENT; SATAN IS THROWN DOWN TO EARTH (Rev 8:10-11)

We will begin our look at the third trumpet judgment by going back to the third seal judgment. The third seal judgment seems to be describing the means for judgment being a worldwide shortage of food as we see food being bartered for or rationed, as well as concern for oil and wine.

The third trumpet judgment is described as a great “star” that is thrown down to earth. What is a star? We know it could not be what we commonly call a star, because our sun is a star, and that would completely obliterate the earth. Stars are often symbolic language used for angels in the Bible. Examples are in Isa 14:12 where Satan is referred to as the morning star; Isa 14:13 where Satan indicated that he was going to assume a place in heaven above the other angels, which are referred to as stars; Job 38:7 where the angels (Hebrew word meaning “sons of God” here) were called morning stars and were described as being present and singing for joy as God was creating the universe; Rev 2:28 which says that Jesus will deliver the morning star, meaning Satan, over to God the Father for judgment, after the Second Coming, and Rev 8:10 and 9:1 where a star, referring to Satan, is thrown out of heaven and down to earth. Stars are also used symbolically for the sons of Judah or Israel in Gen 37:9-10.

In the fifth judgment (Rev 9:1-2) we find out that this star that is thrown down to earth is really Satan. The star is referred to as “he” in Rev 9:2 and he is given the key to the Abyss. We saw in Rev 1:18 that Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades, so it is Jesus who gives Satan the key to the Abyss.

We see a further description of the fall of Satan in Rev 12:1-12, which indeed confirms that Satan is kicked out of heaven during the tribulation period, along with his evil angels. Here he is called the dragon, the enormous red dragon, the great dragon, Satan and the devil. Verse 5 says that his tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to earth. In verse 9 we see that these stars were Satan’s angels. We see in verses 7-8 that there is a war in heaven involving the Archangel Michael and his angels against Satan and his angels. Michael and his angels prevailed and threw Satan and his angels to earth. Verse 10 makes the timeframe of this war and Satan’s exile to earth very clear. We see that Satan being hurled to earth paved the way for Jesus to come to earth and claim his kingdom (Rev 11:15). This clearly takes place in the tribulation period and as we saw above Satan’s exile occurs in the third judgment, near the end of the first half of the tribulation period. Rev 9:12 says “woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you.” This likely ties into Rev 8:13, which describes the three judgments in the second half of the tribulation period as the “woe” judgments. In fact it says “Woe! Woe! Woe! to the inhabitants of the earth;” three woe judgments with Satan himself and his angels participating in the terrible wrath being inflicted upon the earth and its inhabitants. Rev 12:12 further says that Satan is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short. The fourth trumpet judgment description in Rev 8:12 may possibly be symbolically referring to the fall of Satan’s angels when it says that one third of the stars turned dark.

Further evidence that this “star” is Satan comes from the language in Rev 9:1-11 and 12:4, 13. Verse 11 says his name is Wormwood, which means bitterness. He is given that name here because by some means he causes one third of the fresh waters to turn bitter. The poison water kills many people.

It seems that Satan himself is the agent for poisoning one third of all of the fresh waters on earth. In the ensuing bowl judgment we see that this effect continues as the fresh waters turn to blood, meaning that they can no longer sustain life. As we have seen, the causative agent for the first judgment seems to be a nuclear war. By the third judgment we have clouds encircling the earth containing radioactive material, and nitric and nitrous acids from the nuclear exchange which has taken place plus the material thrown into the upper atmosphere by the asteroid hit (nitric and nitrous acids again). The clouds that encircle the earth could easily cover a band of one third of the earth. The fallout from the poisonous clouds would poison the fresh water and the effect would be cumulative over time. The longer the time that has expired since the agent was first introduced, the more poisonous the waters would become. Thus the third judgment may simply be a continuing effect from the second judgment or it may be something new and unknown released upon the fresh waters by Satanic influence. Both may be true and I suspect that is the case.

How does this relate to the means for judgment described in the third seal judgment? We know from the descriptions of seal judgments that the continuing effects of the nuclear war and asteroid hit are causing severe shortages of food, both from the supply chain being disrupted and the famine resulting from the lack of sunshine and rain. The supply of oil would also be severely disrupted which would further disrupt the supply chain. The concern for wine may be a concern for one of the basic essentials for maintaining life, something safe to drink.

THE FOURTH TRUMPET JUDGMENT; DARKNESS (Rev 8:12)

We will begin our look at the fourth trumpet judgment by going back to the fourth seal judgment. The fourth seal judgment seems to be describing the means for judgment being “death by the sword, hunger, and the beasts of the earth. As we have already seen beasts often represent empires on the earth so it appears that the empires of the earth are in war with each other and causing additional death.

The fourth trumpet judgment causes one third of the earth to be without the light of the sun, moon and stars. We are not told what causes this to happen, but we already know that this will be a gradual effect of the nuclear war and the asteroid hit. This will further cause climatic changes and all sorts of problems. We do know that Old Testament prophecies predicted and Jesus confirmed that “on the day of the Lord” the sun and moon would appear darker, the stars and constellations would not be visible and the earth would be shaken from its place, Isa 5:30, 13:9-13, 34:4, Matt 24:29, Joel 2:1-2, 10, 30-31, 3:15. In fact Isa 5:30 and Joel 2:1-2 tell us that the darkness in the tribulation will be caused by a cloud cover.

How does this relate to the means for judgment described in the fourth seal judgment? We are not told but we know by simple logic, science, experience and the laws of nature that the effects of nuclear war and a asteroid hit will cause darkness. The darkness would further amplify and complicate the famine, distribution network, etc. Disease would be out of control all over the world by this time. It appears that war is increasing, people are still killing each other, people are starving to death, there is very little that is safe to eat or to drink, plagues are multiplying, etc. Don’t want to be there!!

It may also be possible that when Rev 8:12 tells us that one third of the sun, moon and stars turned dark it may be referring to the fall of Satan and his evil angels to earth. Satan may be thrown to earth in the third judgment and his angels in the fourth judgment. These dark stars would then no longer be in the heavens, so to speak. See Dan 8:10 which may also deal with this.

We also see something else that is very interesting in the fourth judgment and may have some very critical information hidden within it. Rev 8:12 says that the sun was struck. Rev 16:8 says that the fourth bowl was poured out on the sun and the sun was given the power to scorch people with fire. The sun itself is apparently affected in this judgment. The sun goes through cycles and it may just be going through a cycle or there may be a period of intense solar flares. There may also be a huge electrical discharge from the sun which affects the earth’s magnetic poles and magnetic structure. The sun may be building up to a huge discharge which takes place in the sixth or seventh judgment. It may be possible for this to cause a reversal of the earth’s magnetic poles with unknown consequences.

AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE COMING THREE WOE JUDGMENTS (Rev 8:13)

We are told that an eagle flying in midair shouts out: Woe! Woe! Woe! to the inhabitants of earth. An eagle is sometimes used in the Bible to represent a world military power. The first four judgments seemed to occur before the midpoint of the tribulation period and were administered by four of God’s angels as we saw earlier. The last three judgments, the Woe judgments, will be administered by the agents of Satan but are still under God’s control. These take place in the second half of the tribulation period.