Rev 8:2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
...now the first four trumpets bring in a barbarous people out of the north, the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, into the western part, who, by various incursions and wars, at last utterly destroy it; and the fifth and sixth trumpets bring in the Saracens under Mahomet, and the Turks into the eastern part, who took possession of that, and have kept it unto this day. (This was published in 1747, Ed.) - John Gill's commentary
I put in that chunk of Gill's commentary to highlight what uncharted waters I stand on. The early commentators were convinced that Revelation was all history, up to and including things like this...
....that by these "seven thunders" are meant seven kingdoms which have received the Reformation, and established it by law within their several dominions, whereby the doctrine and worship of the reformers are become the established religion there; and the laws by which it is established are "the voices" uttered by those supreme authorities; and they are these, 1. The German princes, making one republic. 2. The Swiss cantons. 3. Sweden. 4. Denmark, with Norway. 5. England and Ireland. 6. Scotland. 7. The United Provinces of the Netherlands... (also from Gill)
On the other side, I have more modern teachers like John McArthur, who seems to think that anything that the Apostle couldn't describe in words clear to him were demonic. I tend to give to demons only what they've earned, so McArthur is helpful, though not necessarily how I see it- with the caveat that McArthur has spent a lot more time a lot closer to Christ than I. That said, I hope to be more than 'entertainment value', God willing, in going through the oft-otherworldly realm of the seven trumpets and the following bowls.
First, we have to set the stage. The silence of the seventh seal has just lifted; and an angel takes the stage....
Rev 8:3 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,
Rev 8:4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
You'll note three boldened parts here, which were crucial for me to see exactly what was going on. And what was going on was progression. God was progressively pealing mercy from the world, like layers of an onion. The key here, in the second bold type, is the word, "with". The original word in Greek was not with- it was "TO". Why does that matter? Because of the other two parts. The angel first stood "at the altar"- the altar of sacrifice- beneath which the martyrs waited, who prayed, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
(Rev 6:10). He then was given incense- this is important because the Angel was but a helper, and could not take it of his own; Christ is the priest- and WENT to the Golden Altar, where all of OUR prayers- for mercy, for healing, etc- go. These two sets of prayers were then MIXED-
Exo 30:36 You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you.
Exo 30:37 And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the LORD.
Exo 30:38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people."
-by God's own formula, the only one that was acceptable. And then...
Rev 8:5 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.
This was the warning to pagan earth what the combining of the prayers before, the prayers to come, and the judgment (fire) of God were ABOUT to do to the Earth. As much as I said about McArthur earlier, this was the sign to them that things that they could explain easily, if incorrectly, were now ending. But not ended YET.
Rev 8:6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
Rev 8:7 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.
Before we start, two key words here- "prepared" and "Trumpets". Among the uses for the trumpet blast in ancient days was to gather an assembly, call it to alert. These first four trumpets seem to be the result of some enormous meteor shower- which are prepared by the angels, and summoned into ranks- and released by each trumpet in order. The first salvo seems to be a scatter-shot striking of the land, general enough to take out a third of the earth's surface. Note that it was "mixed with blood"- I'm going to speculate here. There are two kinds of asteroids/meteors. One is stony; the other is iron, as in hematite, as in what is in our blood. Iron meteorites don't completely burn up in the atmosphere as the stony ones mostly do; they HIT the earth. This is NOT going to be a light show.
Rev 8:8 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.
Rev 8:9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
This one is a singular, huge event. Looking at the percentages of water in each ocean, the Atlantic with 23.3% of the water by volume is the likely landing spot. If there is a United States after WWIII ( the second seal), this will effectively cut off communication with it.
Rev 8:10 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.
Rev 8:11 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.
Another singular strike, and catastrophic enough on it's own to earn a name. Note that the size is increasing- the first trumpet brought 'hailstones', the second 'something like a mountain', and this one a blazing 'star'. Again, we have a chance to guess what one place would affect a third of the fresh water. And while there are three areas that COULD fit the bill, here's a little AI research for you...
Asia
Has 28% of the world's fresh water, but is the world's most water-stressed continent because it has 65% of the world's population but only 47% of the global average of fresh water per person
So maximum effect tells us this one hits in Asia.
Rev 8:12 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.
This only makes sense; scientists for years have been telling us a scenario like this would be an extinction level event- but it ISN'T, not yet. And we'll see the reason for that in what comes next. But first, God is yet again going to show there is yet mercy:
Rev 8:13 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!"
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An interesting read
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