(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for verse-by-verse study or meditation. To focus each
verse we have also added in italic a description of what is happening)
To
go to Ch.9 CLICK HERE
FRAMEWORKS:
Revelation 8
v.1-5
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
v.6-13
The First Four Trumpets
v.1-5
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
v.1
(the last seal
reveals a period of silence) When
he opened the seventh seal , there was silence
in heaven for about half an hour.
v.2
(and seven angels
with trumpets) And I saw the
seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given
to them.
v.3
(but before
the seven can blow, another angel offers incense, a sign of worship,
mixed with the prayers of the saints) Another
angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He
was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's
people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.
v.4
(the smell &
the prayers wafted up before God) The
smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people,
went up before God from the angel's hand.
v.5
(the angle then
throws fire on the earth) Then
the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar,
and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings,
flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
[Comment:
Following the opening of the last seal the picture
is of all the prayers of believers being wafted up before God,
as if to remind Him of their presence, the fruit of the work of
His Son, that contrast the evil on the earth committed by unbelievers,
as if to confirm the rightness of the justice that is about to
be imposed on the unbelievers on the earth. There is an implication
that believers are still on the earth]
v.6-13
The First Four Trumpets – a third of the world destroyed
v.6
(the seven prepare)
Then the seven angels who
had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
v.7
(a third of
the world burned up) The first
angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail
and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on
the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third
of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned
up.
v.8,9
(a third of
sea creatures & ships destroyed) The
second angel sounded his trumpet, and something
like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third
of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures
in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
v.10,11
(a third of
the earth's drinking water polluted) The
third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great
star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the
rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood.[
meaning
bitter] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died
from the waters that had become bitter.
v.12
(a third of
the sky turns black) The fourth
angel sounded his trumpet, 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 turned dark. A third of the day was without light,
and also a third of the night.
v.13
(the final 3
trumpets will bring greater woes) As
I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out
in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth,
because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other
three angels!”
[Comment:
the first four trumpets blown herald the judgments that
follow. Destruction by fire comes on a third of the earth, a third
of the sea and a third of the drinking water and a third of the
sky. Observe, rather like the plagues brought on Pharaoh in Exodus,
these judgments are gradual seeking to bring mankind to their
senses with two-thirds of the earth remaining unaffected]
FRAMEWORKS:
Revelation 9
v.1-12
The Fifth Trumpet: The First Woe: evil creatures released to
torture unbelievers
v.13-21
The Sixth Trumpet: The Second Woe: death to a third of mankind
[
Note : a study of the Judgments of God in the
Bible suggests that there are two sorts of judgment: 1. Disciplinary
– that are designed to give people the opportunity to repent,
2. Terminal – that are also 'judgments of the last resort' – death
because God sees there is no other option. Sometimes in the latter
case where only a percentage of the population dies, it may also
be considered ‘disciplinary' for the survivors, i.e. giving them
yet further time to repent. The torture seen in verses 1-12 can
be seen as disciplinary judgment while the death coming in verses
13-21 are primarily terminal but as only a third are killed, it
should be seen as disciplinary for the remaining two thirds.]
v.1-12
The Fifth Trumpet: The First Woe: evil creatures released to torture
unbelievers
v.1
(a senior demonic
being given power) The fifth
angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had
fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to
the shaft of the Abyss.
v.2
(he opens the
underworld) When he opened the
Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.
The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
v.3
(locust-scorpions
released on the earth) And out
of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power
like that of scorpions of the earth.
v.4
(they are allowed
to attack only unbelievers) They
were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,
but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their
foreheads.
v.5
(they torture
them) They were not allowed
to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the
agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when
it strikes.
v.6
(people will
long for death) During those
days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long
to die, but death will elude them.
v.7-10
(these demonic
spirits look evil and have the power to torment) The
locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads
they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled
human faces. Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth
were like lions' teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates
of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering
of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails
with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power
to torment people for five months.
v.11
(Satan, the
Destroyer is over them) They
had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew
is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).
v.12
(that's 1 of
3 sorts of woes) The first woe
is past; two other woes are yet to come.
[Comment:
However we understand this – possibly an outpouring
of demonic spirits under Satan's charge – it is a time of great
pain, infection(?) or even plague (?). Whereas the judgments before
had impacted the physical earth, these demonic beings are allowed
to attack the bodies of people. Again it is a case of gradual
increasing of the judgments to bring mankind to its senses.]
v.13-21
The Sixth Trumpet: The Second Woe: death to a third of mankind
v.13
(a further voice
comes) The sixth angel
sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from
the four horns of the golden altar that is before God.
v.14
(it commands
four destroying angels be released) It
said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four
angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
v.15
(they are to
kill a third of mankind) And
the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and
day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.
v.16,17
(they appear
to command a terrible army) The
number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten
thousand. I heard their number. The horses and riders I saw in
my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red,
dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled
the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and
sulfur.
v.18
(they bring
plagues, and fire and a third die) A
third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke
and sulfur that came out of their mouths.
v.19
(they appear
to sting to bring death) The
power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for
their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict
injury.
v.20,21
(the unbelieving
survivors refuse to repent) The
rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still
did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop
worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver,
bronze, stone and wood— idols that cannot see
or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders,
their magic arts , their sexual immorality
or their thefts.
[Comment:
The fact that the four angels had been previously bound,
suggests they were fallen angels, demonic authorities who are
now released to extend the judgment of pain to the judgement of
death for a third of mankind. Almost unbelievably, mankind still
do not repent and the list of their sins remains clear.]