Chapter 8
Seventh Seal Opened
1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Returning to the narrative we read that Jesus opened the seventh seal and now that the scroll was fully opened, there is a period of silence before the contents are revealed. There are a number of interpretations as to why there will be silence, most agree that since the seventh seal reveals seven trumpets, and then the seventh trumpet reveals the seven bowls of wrath, which when considered together will the greatest devastation that had ever occurred, a moment of silence would set the stage for the ominous proceedings. Even though God is a just God and judgment must occur, doesn’t mean that God wants to destroy anyone (see 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9), this brief period of time seems to be an appropriate moment that reflects that love.
2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
John sees seven angels gather together before God, and each angel was given a trumpet in preparation for the seven trumpet judgments. Trumpets were frequently employed in the Old Testament, nearly every special occasion was preceded with the blowing of trumpets (see Exodus 19:16-19; Leviticus 23:24; 25:9; Numbers 10:2-20; Joel 2:1). But before the angels can proceed, special attention is given to the golden altar.
A Pause to Offer Smoke and Prayers
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
Another angel appears and stands at the altar with a golden censer and was given a large amount of incense to offer along with the prayers of all believers on the golden altar. Since this angel has the privilege of serving in the Holy Place (the location of the golden altar, on earth only priests were allowed in here) that is also before God, many believe that this angel is either a high ranking angel or possibly Jesus appearing as an Angel of God as seen in the Old Testament (see Genesis 16:7; Exodus 3:2; Numbers 22:22; Judges 2:1; 1 Kings 19:7; Psalm 34:7; Isaiah 37:6).
The prayers of all of the saints are not defined, note the emphasis on the totality of all believers. It is believed that these prayers include those from the saints in heaven offered as intercessory prayers for those that will soon be subjected to the Tribulation, praying that the unbelievers accept Jesus as their Savior. Which would be in addition to the prayers from believers on earth also praying for others and for themselves as they face the harshness of the Tribulation. The smoke of the incense combined with the prayers rise before God from the hand of the angel. Even though the text doesn’t say “all of the prayers of all the saints,” but it could be every prayer ever prayed, in either case, we get a glimpse of just how important prayer is to God.
5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
The censer associated with the golden altar in the Tabernacle, and then later in the Temple on earth, was used to bring fire from the bronze altar (outdoors) to the golden altar (inside). Here the censer is filled with fire from the golden altar and is thrown on the earth that triggers thunder, rumblings (Greek ‘phōnai’,[1] a sound made, found 139 times in the New Testament, 111 of those times it is translated ‘voice’),[2] lightning, and an earthquake, a prelude to the coming trumpet judgments.
The First Four Trumpets are Blown
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
With the smoke and prayer offerings complete, the angels that were given trumpets are prepared to blow them. These trumpet soundings should not be confused with the “last trumpet” (see 1 Corinthians 15:52), as that occasion when the dead has been raised and all living believers changed (during the rapture) has already occurred.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
The first trumpet is blown and immediately hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled upon the earth. In the Bible, the use or reference to hail is always found in conjunction with judgment. God asked Job, “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?” (Job 38:22-23) This first trumpet should remind us of the seventh plague that God sent to Egypt’s Pharaoh through Moses when heavy hail and continuous flashes of fire struck people, animals, and plants (see Exodus 9:13-34). Here one third of the planet was burned up, including a third of the trees and all the grass. Most commentators have no problem with a literal interpretation of the fire and ice, but often allegorize the mixed with blood portion of the text. Alternate ideas regarding the blood (and sometimes the hail and fire) include just being symbolic of the judgment to that of the blood being shed by the victims of the fire and hail.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
After the second trumpet is blown, John sees what looks like a large mountain that is on fire cast into the sea. A third of the sea became blood and a third of all the creatures living in the water died. Approximately three-quarters of earth is covered with water, having one-third of the ocean now unable to support life, combined with a third of all ships destroyed would have significant economic impact, let alone a major food shortage. Commercial ships around the world can number well over 40,000 operating at any given time, destroying one third would truly be a logistic nightmare. Many try to interpret this verse saying that the mountain represents human government, using verses like Isaiah 14:13-14 and Daniel 2:35 to justify their allegorization, but there is no need as a literal translation lines up well with other large objects being hurled to earth in this book.
The turning of water into blood should remind everyone of the first plague against the Pharaoh that God had Moses and Aaron perform. God turned the water in the Nile River into blood (see Exodus 7:14-25). Pharaoh was not impressed, as his ‘magicians’ were able to duplicate the phenomenon. Here, however, the amount of water turned into blood is significant and potentially very deadly.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
As a result of the third trumpet being blown, a large star fell from the sky, as bright as a flaming torch. The star impacts a third of the world’s source of fresh water, the rivers and springs. We are given the name of the star, it is “Wormwood,” in the Greek it is ‘ápsinthos’,[3] it’s derivation is unknown. It is believed to be a reference to a bitter herb that was used medicinally but in large doses fatal. In the Bible the word is often used as a metaphor for other things bitter, including situations, water, and even poison (like gall). Here it is likely referring to the coming judgment as being bitter and unpleasant (see Jeremiah 9:5; 23:15; Lamentations 3:15, 19), but also deadly. When the star struck the earth, a third of the waters became bitter and many died. Some believe that the star is either Satan (the use of stars to describe angels can be found in Scripture, see Isaiah 14:12-17; Revelation 9:1; 12:4) or the one that theologians call the ‘Antichrist’. There is no reason to allegorize as a large object striking the waters is in alignment with the events of this chapter. It is interesting to note that this is essentially the reverse of Moses throwing the log into a body of water in Marah which changed the bitter water into sweet water (see Exodus 15:23-25).
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
The fourth angel blows his trumpet and a third of the sun, moon, and stars were struck so that each lost a third of their light, both during the day and at night. These objects in the sky are the subjects of several prophecies (see Isaiah 13:10; 24:23; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15). In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus said, “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth.” (Luke 21:25a, see also Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24-25) Any change to these celestial objects will have a dramatic impact as there will be no doubt that these cataclysmic events are from God.
Jeremiah wrote that the sun and moon are representative of God’s faithfulness to the nation of Israel and uses them to symbolize His promises and blessings of their continued existence (see Jeremiah 31:35-36). These very symbols of blessing are partially affected by the fourth trumpet. John Walvoord writes, “So dramatic are the judgments and so unmistakably an evidence of the power and sovereignty of God that blaspheming men on earth can no longer ignore the fact that God is dealing with them."[4] Again, a sign is not a sign unless one recognizes the sign, in this scenario seeing a supernatural event that only God can perform can be a powerful sign!
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
John looks above him and sees an eagle (some translations state this was an angel), he hears the eagle cry out with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” Having a third of the land, oceans, plant life, and light was a warning to the inhabitants on earth, as there is still time to accept Jesus. Even though not in time to avoid the Tribulation, eternity in hell can be avoided. The eagle makes it clear that the next three trumpets will be much worse than the first four. Theologians appropriately call the next three trumpets the ‘three woes’ (see also Revelation 9:12; 11:14).
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[1] Strong’s Greek 5456.
[2] The counts are based on the number of times this word appears in the ESV, 2016 edition. According to their preface, the ESV New Testament Greek text is from the 2014 edition of the Greek New Testament (5th corrected ed.), published by the United Bible Societies (UBS), and Novum Testamentum Graece (28th ed., 2012), edited by Nestle and Aland.
[3] Strong’s Greek 894.
[4] Walvoord, J. F. (2008). The Revelation of Jesus Christ (p. 157). Galaxie Software.