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Text File | 1992-08-13 | 10KB | 210 lines

               THE BOOK OF REVELATION

CHAPTER.8.

SILENCE IN HEAVEN - OPENING OF THE SEVENTH SEAL.
Rev 8:1

The usual sound pattern of heaven, as we have seen in
chapters 4 and 5, is one of great joy and worship.  John
heard ` a voice as of a trumpet speaking,' thunder, celestial
beings crying out continually, "HOLY HOLY HOLY, LORD GOD,
ALMIGHTY," and the twenty-four elders crying out, "Thou art
worthy, O Lord."  He heard over a billion angels join in
songs of praise to the "Lamb of God," the Lord Jesus Christ,
saying, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory,
and blessing." (5:8)  Suddenly, amid all this crescendo of sound,
there comes universal silence.

Those in heaven have received a panoramic view of what is
coming and the half-hour silence is silence of suspense.
Revelation 6 warns us:  `For the great day of his wrath is
come; and who shall be able to stand?' (v17).  In Revelation
8 there is a revealing of God's wrath and when all of heaven
gets a glimpse of what is coming, there is a hush before the
storm.  This marks a transition from the grace of God to the
judgment of God.  God has no pleasure in the death of the
wicked (Ezek 18:32).  But He has no other alternative for
those who deliberately continue to rebel - even as man has
proven himself rebellious for more than 6 000 years.

The silence in heaven for about a half hour does not seem
very long at first thought.  However, when it is compared
with the great period of adoration and jubilation of the
heavenly host (5:8-14), this time of silence is long and
awesome.  When we are listening to our radios and have a
silence of only five seconds we wonder what has happened or
what is going to come next.  But here we have about a half
hour of awe-striking, fear-producing absolute silence.

The Seven Trumpet Angels and the Priestly Angel:
Rev 8:2-6.

This passage is parenthetical explanation pertaining to the
preparatory scene for the sounding of the seven trumpets.

THE SEVEN ANGELS INTRODUCED:

As the seventh seal is broken, the seven angels receive
trumpets.  Since the covenant between the Antichrist and
Israel will start the Tribulation and the first seal is the
Antichrist, the first six seals cover the first twenty- one
months of the Tribulation.  The breaking of the seventh seal
may very well occur at the close of the twenty-one months as
it introduces the second quarter, or the seven trumpets.

"And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to
them were given seven trumpets" (Rev 8:2).  The reading of
this text indicates that the opening of the seventh seal does
not make the seven angels stand before God.  Apparently they
are always there, awaiting a special assignment from their
Creator.  The opening of the seal results in each one being
given a trumpet that will be blown in proper sequence,
introducing a future form of judgment.

The Priestly Angel:

Continuing his description of the Heavenly scene, John says,
"And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a
golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon
the golden altar which was before the throne.  And the smoke
of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints,
ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." (Rev 8:3-4)
Here we see another angel who is special angel of authority.
Some have interpreted the angel of Revelation 8:3-4 to be
Christ Himself.  It is true that in the Old Testament Christ
is often referred to as an angel, particularly `the angel of
the Lord.'  But at this time in Revelation 8 Christ is on His
throne holding the seven-sealed book.  He is not on the
throne with the Father interceding, but rather is on His own
throne when these events take place.

The special angel of Revelation 8:2-5 may very likely be the
angel Gabriel.  Whatever his identity is, the angel here is
seen acting in behalf of Christ.

For over 6 000 years God has sent forth His message of
compassion and love.  But now we have the preparation for His
wrath to be poured out on the earth against those who have
refused His grace.

THE SEVEN TRUMPET JUDGMENTS:

Are The Trumpet Judgments Literal Judgments?

The best way to decide whether the  trumpet judgments are
literal or symbolic is to study them in connection with the
plagues of Egypt, as found in Exodus 1-11.  There we see
Moses performing the symbolic act of waving his rod over the
waters of Egypt, which physically turn to blood,  Here we see
an angel performing the symbolic act of blowing a trumpet.
Why should the result on earth be less physical than the
event in Moses' day?  Likewise, Aaron put out his rod and
smote the dust of the ground, as a result of that symbolic
act, physical lice appeared.  Why should it be different when
these angels perform their symbolic act of blowing the
trumpet?  Note also that five of the plagues of Egypt are
repeated in the book of Revelation.  No one suggests that
what happened in Egypt was not literal in its form of
judgment on the rebellious Egyptians; so we can conclude that
the same thing applies during the Tribulation Period and that
the trumpet judgments introduce physical judgment upon the
earth.  The only exception are those trumpets that introduce
events beyond human understanding, and even they affect men
physically.

THE FIRST TRUMPET:  HAIL, FIRE, AND BLOOD!
Rev 8:7

The hail and fire are literal judgments that fall upon one-
third of the earth's surface, burning up all the vegetation
they light upon.  It should not strike us as strange that
this is a literal cataclysm, for such things have happened
before.  God rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodom and
Gomorrah (Gen 19), and as we have already seen, Egypt's water
turned to blood.  In fact, just such a disaster was predicted
for the earth just before the `day of the Lord', "And I will
show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; blood, and fire
and pillars of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible
day of the Lord come."  (Joel 2:30-31)

THE SECOND TRUMPET:  A BURNING MOUNTAIN!
Rev 8:8-9.

A Biblical allusion to the `sea' usually has reference to the
sea that was prominent to the land of Palestine, the
Mediterranean Sea.  What appeared to John as `a great
mountain' is probably a giant burning meteorite which falls
into the Mediterranean Sea, killing one-third of the living
creatures and destroying one-third of the ships.  The result
of the death and the chemical composition of the meteorite
turn the water to blood.

There certainly would be an ample supply of ships in the
Mediterranean sea, since that is the permanent home of the
U.S. Sixth Fleet, plus representative fleets from many other
countries of the world.  Since Revelation 18 indicates that
Babylon will be rebuilt and become the commercial centre of
the world, there will no doubt be several hundred ships on
the `sea' when the meteorite falls, adding further
devastation details to the time of Tribulation.

THE THIRD TRUMPET:  A STAR CALLED WORMWOOD!
Rev 8:10-11.

As the third angel sounds his trumpet, judgment falls in the
form of a star from heaven burning `as it were a lamp'.  No
doubt this is another meteor whose gaseous vapours will be
absorbed by one-third of the waters of the rivers and
foundations, and probably this will also be in the
Mediterranean area.  The waters will become bitter as
wormwood and cause many men to die.  Wormwood is a very
bitter herb, used in the manufacture of absinthe.

THE FOURTH TRUMPET:  THE SUN, MOON AND STARS AFFECTED!
Rev 8:12.

The fourth trumpet deals with the luminous bodies as they
affect this earth.  It is rather interesting that on the
fourth day of creation God said, "Let there be light, and
there was light."  The same God that created light in the
first place is able to diminish it to one-third.  Actually,
day and night will seem to be reversed, for there will be
sixteen hours of darkness, and eight hours of daylight.  This
corresponds to the ninth plague of Egypt as seen in Exodus 10
and the prediction of our Lord in Luke 21:25-26: "And there
shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, with perplexity;
the sea and the waxes roaring; men's hearts failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on
the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."

These events will be difficult to describe and most
terrifying to the people existing at the time.
AN  ANNOUNCEMENT: Rev 8:13.

Here is another parenthetical explanation inserted to
announce the three woes which will come under the fifth,
sixth and seventh trumpets.  This angel literally flies
through the heavens and with a loud voice warns the
inhabitants of the earth of the woes which are to come as the
trumpets are sounded.

The warning of verse 13, sounded by a special angel,
threatens that worse things are yet to come.  The three woes
of the Tribulation Period are actually the fifth, sixth and
seventh judgments.  The seventh trumpet introduces the last
half of the Tribulation, or the bowl judgments.  The seventh
trumpet and the third woe, then, are synonymous.  The first
woe or fifth trumpet (for they are the same) covers five
months.  The second woe or sixth trumpet may cover a similar
period.  Even a casual reading of the fifth, sixth and
seventh trumpet judgments will acquaint the reader with the
fact that they are distinguished from the previous judgments
since they predict such an increase in the destructive powers
to be unleashed upon men.  Someone has aptly described this
period as `hell let loose on earth.'