Revelation 8
The Seventh Seal
8:1 Now when (Καὶ ὅταν) the Lamb opened (ἤνοιξεν) the seventh seal (τὴν σφραγῖδα τὴν ἑβδόμην) there was silence (ἐγένετο σιγὴ) in heaven (ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ) for about half an hour (ὡς ἡμιώριον).
Daniel was told to seal up the book. Now, the time has arrived for the seals to be opened. Six seals will be unleashed upon the earth. Instead of running to God, the unbelievers will turn away from God and hide in caves. The seventh seal will be opened by the Lamb of God during the first half of the Great Tribulation. There will be silence in heaven for thirty minutes. The saints are quietly awaiting to hear the verdict of the Lord Jesus Christ. The silence may be the last chance for earth to change their rebellious and stubborn minds about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Silence can be deafening. Silence gives one the time to meditate upon the glory of God. Satan does not like silence for this reason. This is why all of the restaurants, businesses, and entertainment events pipe in music. The purpose of noise in the satanic world system is to keep people from meditating upon the Word of God.
This divine silence is the calm before the storm. Just as Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, the opening of the seventh seal calmed all of the living beings in heaven. They were all awaiting to see what type of punishment which the Lord Jesus Christ would send upon the unbelieving world. The Lord Jesus Christ waits thirty minutes before bringing this final judgment upon mankind. Everyone in the world has thirty minutes to believe on Christ before the final judgment is delivered.
8:2 Then (καὶ) I saw (εἶδον) the seven angels (τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλους) who stand before God (οἳ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑστήκασιν), and (καὶ) seven trumpets were given to them (ἐδόθησαν αὐτοῖς ἑπτὰ σάλπιγγες).
There will be seven angels who will stand before God. They will break the divine silence by blowing the seven trumpets. The seventh seal will contain seven trumpet judgments. The seventh trumpet judgment will contain seven bowl judgments. Therefore, the seventh seal consists of thirteen different judgments.
Trumpets were used in Israel to disassemble the camp and march toward the Promised Land. This is what Israel will be doing in the Book of Revelation. They will be moving toward the Promised Land that was prophesied to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Trumpets will also be used for war. The God of the heavens will be declaring war against the satanic world system that is threatening the existence of Israel. Israel is the divorced wife of Jehovah, so God will redeem her and bring her back into His house. He will also stand up and fight for her.
8:3 Another angel (Καὶ ἄλλος ἄγγελος) holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar (ἦλθεν καὶ ἐστάθη ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἔχων λιβανωτὸν χρυσοῦν). A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up (καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ θυμιάματα πολλὰ), with the prayers of all the saints (ἵνα δώσει ταῖς προσευχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων), on the golden altar ( ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον) that is before the throne (τὸ χρυσοῦν τὸ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου).
Verses 3-5 deal with the activities in heaven before the trumpet judgments are unleashed upon the earth. The Greek word for “another” is ἄλλος (allos), meaning another angel of the same kind.
This holy angel will be holding a golden censor, very similar to the censor of Israel's High Priest. A censor was a shovel which removed the burnt ashes of the holy sacrifice.
This angel will be stationed at an altar which will be in the heavens. He will be given a large amount of incense, which is like a smoky perfume. He will offer up the incense. The prayers of the saints will be offered to God along with the incense. The prayers of the saints is like perfume which smells good to God. It will be offered upon the golden altar. The golden altar will be before the throne of God.
In preceding chapters, one of the earlier questions asked by the martyrs to God was, "how long before you avenge us". These prayers will be answered by the trumpet judgments. The trumpets announced God’s war upon the satanic world system.
The Hebrew word for “saints” is ἁγίων (hagion), meaning the holy ones. Everyone who is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is a ἁγίων (hagion), or saint.
Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that saints are elected into this position five years after their death by Catholic bishops. Mother Theresa taught that people can get to God by many different religions. She taught that everyone should become the best Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or pantheist that they can be. This is works salvation. This is blasphemy. This is not the speech of a saint. A saint will teach that “there is no other name under heaven given by men by which a person can be saved.” The only name of salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ.
8:4 The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand (καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ καπνὸς τῶν θυμιαμάτων) (ταῖς προσευχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων), (ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ ἀγγέλου) (ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ).
God made smoke lighter than air, so it always ascends upwards towards heaven. The sweet smelling smoke from the incense ascends to heaven, just as the prayers of the saints ascend upwards to heaven. Both are sweet smelling to the nostrils of God.
The Greek word for “saints” is τῶν ἁγίων (ton hagion), meaning the specific holy ones. The holy ones are not the saints who are elected by Catholic bishops. Saints are those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
Does Jesus pray for unbelievers? According to John 17:9, the answer is “no.” “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.”
8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. (καὶ εἴληφεν ὁ ἄγγελος τὸν λιβανωτόν, καὶ ἐγέμισεν αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ ἔβαλεν εἰς τὴν γῆν· καὶ ἐγένοντο βρονταὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ ἀστραπαὶ καὶ σεισμός.)
The angel will take the censors. He will fill the censors with fire from the altar. He will throw the censor upon the earth. When the censor hits the earth, there will be great noises that will accompany it. There will be crashes of thunder upon the earth. There will be a loud roaring noise which will be heard upon the earth. There will be flashings of lightning in the sky. There will an earthquake on the earth. All of these divine judgments will precede the blowing of the trumpets. The tribulation society is about to go through some divine judgments whose terror will be upon the highest level.
This judgment will affect the fishing industry. The stench of the dead fish will be tremendous. The liberal media will have a difficult time explaining this new climate change.
8:6 Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The angels will prepare to blow their trumpets. Trumpets were used by Israel for assembly, departure, and for war. A message will be sent to the world. The message will be that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is assembling His wife and will be moving her to the promised land. Jehovah the husband will be declaring war upon the satanic world system that wishes to destroy her. The first trumpet will represent God's first judgment, or attack. When the trumpet blows, the angel will begin his attack upon the tribulation world. It is important to note that these divine attacks from God will come against those who are loyal to the Antichrist. They are so loyal to the Antichrist that they disobeyed the warning of the angels and accepted the mark of the Beast. They chose the devil over the Lord Jesus Christ.
8:7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The first trumpet will be blown. The first attack of the angels will begin. The angel will throw a large divine meteorite-like substance made of hail and fire upon the earth. When the meteorite hits the earth, it will be mixed with the blood of its victims. One third of the land will be destroyed. This means that the remainder of the earth's population that survives will have to live on just 2/3 of the earth's remaining surface. This judgment will be similar to the hail and fire that fell upon Egypt during the seventh plague judgment. The climate change and global warming leaders will have no answer for this kind of natural judgment.
8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, (Καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισε, καὶ ὡς ὄρος μέγα πυρὶ καιόμενον ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ ἐγένετο τὸ τρίτον τῆς θαλάσσης, αἷμα·)
The second angel will blow his trumpet, announcing the second attack. The second angel will physically throw a large divine meteorite-like substance to hit earth. It will hit the salt water seas and turn them to blood. One third of the earth's oceans will now be unusable. Those who survive will have to move their shipping industries to the other 2/3 of the oceans.
8:9 and a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed.
One third of all sea creatures will die. One third of the ships will be destroyed. Many of these ships will most likely be cargo ships controlled by the commerce of the Antichrist.
8:10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; it landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
The Greek word for "huge star" is ἀστὴρ μέγας (aster metas), meaning stars of huge size. If taken literally, then a literal mega-star will fall from heaven and poison one third of the rivers on earth.
The third angel will blow his trumpet. A literal huge star will fall from the sky. A star is a luminous sphere of plasma which is held together by its own gravity. It releases thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium. As it falls to earth, the star must break free from its gravitational restraint and become a falling star. The fragmented pieces of the falling star will fall to earth and poison the fresh waters of the earth. During the famine of the Great Tribulation, one third of the water supply will disappear from the earth. In order to survive, the populations of the cities will have to relocate to two thirds of the earth's geography.
It is important to note that the first four trumpets affect the elements of nature. One third of the salt waters and one third of the fresh drinking water will cause tremendous survival pressures upon the global government of the Antichrist.
8:11 (Now the name of the star is Wormwood.) So a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.
The name of the fallen angel will be Wormwood. The Greek word for "wormwood" is Ἄψινθος (apsinthos), meaning a bitter plant which produces a deadly drug which can cause death. In Exodus 15:23-25, the Jews during the Exodus were not allowed to drink the wormwood water in the wilderness because it was poisonous. Many people will die from drinking these poisoned waters. Only 2/3 of the fresh water will now be available for the surviving population.
8:12 Then 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 them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day and for a third of the night likewise. (Καὶ ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν· καὶ ἐπλήγη τὸ τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα μὴ φαίνῃ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῆς καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὁμοίως)
A fourth angel will blow his trumpet. One third of the sun, moon, and stars will be darkened. One third of the day and night will be lost. Now, all surviving humans will experience a 16 hour cycle of day and night.
This darkness will be very similar to that of the ninth plague of the Exodus. The darkness of the Exodus brought great fear to Egypt because it could be felt. Continual darkness brings fear, depression, and insanity. This darkness will affect the weather, the vegetation, and the tide of the ocean. Intense winter storms will increase upon the earth. The earth will be a very dark and cold place to live.
In review, the first four plagues will affect nature. The trees, grass, marine life, animal life, saltwater, freshwater, economics, solar light, heat, agriculture, and food supplies will all be devastated.
8:13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying directly overhead, proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!” (Καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἀγγέλου πετωμένου ἐν μεσουρανήματι λέγοντος φωνῇ μεγάλῃ Οὐαὶ οὐαὶ οὐαὶ τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐκ τῶν λοιπῶν φωνῶν τῆς σάλπιγγος τῶν τριῶν ἀγγέλων τῶν μελλόντων σαλπίζειν)
After the fourth judgment, an eagle will fly over the entire earth. It will pronounce three "woes." The "woes' will be warnings to the people who will be living on the earth during the Great Tribulation. These three woes will be that there are three trumpet judgments remaining. They will be much worse than the four trumpet judgments that will precede them.
The Hebrew for “directly overhead” is ἐν μεσουρανήματι (en meso-ouranamati), meaning in the middle of heaven.
The Greek word for “woe” is Οὐαὶ (ouai), meaning a terrible judgment coming from God. The Greek word Οὐαὶ (ouai) is used to introduce a terrible prophetic judgment which will come upon the world. Sometimes, if the judgment is extremely severe, then a double Οὐαὶ (ouai) will be used. The double Οὐαὶ (ouai) is emphatic. In this verse, a triple Οὐαὶ (ouai) is used to introduce the terrible judgments to come. The last three judgments will not affect nature. They will affect mankind.