My previous message ends with the prayers of the saints concerning avenging the martyred saints answered. Now God reveals to John the destruction of the earth and its inhabitants. This comes with the seven trumpets sound of seven angels.
The Trumpet of the First Angel (Rev. 8:7)
"The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up" (Rev. 8:7, emphasis added).
When the seventh seal is opened, the first angel sounds the first trumpet. The scene will unfold in the first half the Great Tribulation. The above description of the destruction of the earth is almost unimaginable in John's time.
However, we can now speculate that in all probability John was describing the effects of a nuclear bomb. Today, such a weapon can devastate a wide area, burning all the trees and grass in its way. When an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945, there was a sudden downpour of hail. That happened because the air heated by the explosion went up with the vapor, and as it was cooled in the high altitude of the atmosphere, it turned into hail and fell to the earth. To John, the explosion of numerous nuclear bombs might well have looked like "hail and fire mingled with blood."
I conclude, therefore, that this Verse shows that a devastating nuclear war will occur during the first half of the Great Tribulation. God will judge this world through human hands. At present, the United States, Russia, France, China, India and others are all manufacturing and stockpiling nuclear weapons. The day will come when they will use them. We must remember that since human history began, mankind has never made a weapon it did not use. Enough nuclear bombs have already been made to destroy the earth several times.
The buring of one-third of the earth's vegetation will also cause food shortages. Moreover, the destruction of the third part of the trees will greatly damage air quality, since trees purify air by turning cardon dioxide into oxygen.
Air pollution is already a major problem in the world today. How much more of a problem will it be then?
The Trumpet of the Second Angel (Rev. 8:8, 9)
"Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third to the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed" (Rev. 8:8, 9, emphasis added).
The trumpet will signal judgment upon the sea. It reminds us of the first plague on the Egypt in the days of Moses, which turned the waters into blood.
Pay close attention to the wording in this verse. It does not say a burning mountain will be thrown into the sea. It says, "Something like a great mountain burning with fire will be thrown into the sea." Some think it will be a nuclear missile. Others think it will be a burning meteor. Whatever it is, it will be a big, blazing, and cause the sea to turn into blood. It will kill one-third of sea life and destroy one-third of the ships. Those who depend upon the sea for jobs, food, defense, or cargo transport will suffer. As a result of the "mountain" hitting the sea, it is likely that everything close to the sea will probably be damgaed by the great tidal wave.
The Trumpet of the Third Angel (Rev. 8:10, 11)
"Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter" (Rev. 8:10, 11, emphasis added).
According to John, the great blazing object that fell from heaven was a great star named Wormwood. Wormwood is an aromatic but poisonous plant or herb which yields bitter, dark green oil. It will contaminate one-third of earth's fresh water supply, causing many people to die from drinking the tainted water.
My guess is that the "great star" was a biological bomb, because the water was polluted, and everyone who drank the water died. This also will happen in the first half of the Great Tribulation, when the Arab nations, backed by Russia, war against Israel and the league of European nations.
The Trumpet of the Fourth Angel (Rev. 8:12)
"Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night" (Rev. 8:12).
When the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, a third of the sun, moon and stars turned dark. A third of the day and night were without light. How could this happen?
It is possible that a nuclear war breaks out, burning up a third of all the trees in the world and destroying one-third of all ships, the dust arising from the nuclear explosions would sweep over the earth, and the earth would become darkened.
I believe it is not conincidence that Pagan religions worship these objects - sun, moon and stars. Astrologers, fortune tellers, and witches rely on them to predict the future. Surely these people are ripe for the judgment of God! Thus, the focus of Revelation 8 is on the destruction of the natural environment by the first four angels.
The warning of an angel (Rev. 8:13)
"And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, 'Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!'" (Rev. 8:13, emphasis added).
Before the fifth angel sounded the trumpet, another angel appeared and crying out with a loud voice in order to give warning about the remaining three dreadful judgments. Who or what is the angel we are not told. But we are told that this angel will fly through the air pronouncing three woes upon the inhabitants of the earth. These three woes correspond to the last three trumpets. Some even call them the "trumpet woes." It is hard to imagine, but these woes will be worse than any judgment previously mentioned.
The Trumpet of the Fifth Angel (Rev. 9:1 - 11)
1. A star fallen from heaven to earth (Rev. 9:1, 2)
"Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit" (Rev. 9:1, 2 emphasis added).
This is not a literal star. This is not even a star that will fall, but one that has already fallen - Lucifer or Satan. Rev. 9:2 refers to this star as "he."
Isaiah said, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground" (Isaiah 14:12)?
Satan will be cast down indeed. He will be given the key to the bottomless pit - a place of torment where the worst of his demonic spirits are held and from where the Antichrist will come forth. Satan will descend and open the bottomless pit. When he does, a thick black smoke will ruch out, covering the earth in darkness. The sky will be blackened, and the sun will be obscured.
2. Locusts will come (Rev. 9:3, 4)
"Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the sorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads" (Rev. 9:3, 4).
Locusts will come out of the smoke, but not locusts as we know them. They will not be short-horned grasshoppers that have plagued people around the world. Instead, they will have horrible features - part animal and part human (Rev. 9:7, 8). They are intelligent and totally under God's control. They will harm only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads - only the 144,000 Jews have the seal of God.
3. Locust's deadly torment (Rev. 9:5, 6)
"And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment ws like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire the die, and death will flee from them" (Rev. 9:5, 6).
These locusts will not kill but only torture for a period not to exceed five months. They will be the masters of suffering by inflicting pain similar to a scorpion's sting. God could let them kill, but He somethimes uses suffering to bring people to salvation through Jesus. God could let the torture last for more than five months, but His grace will restrain it.
During these five months of the Great Tribulation period, people will hurt so much they will want to die. Because of this torture, many will try to commit suicide, but God will not let them find death to end their suffering.
4. Demon-possessed locusts - a form of evil spirit (Rev. 9:7 - 10)
"The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the face of men. They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. And they had breastplates like brestplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their powere was to hurt men five months" (Rev. 9:7 - 10).
The appearance of evil spirits symbolized as locusts is so ghastly that it surpasses our imagination!
5. The army of demons (Rev. 9:11, 12)
"And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things" (Rev. 9:11, 12).
This army of demonic locust will be under the direction of a satanic angelic king, possibly one of Satan's powerful henchmen. His Hebrew name will be Abaddon, meaning "destruction," and his Greek name Apollyon, meaning "destroyer." Since his name is given in both Hebrew and Greek, he will probably be permitted to attack both Jews and Gentiles alike. His name is given twice, so it is a double warning of his destructive power.
Rev. 9:12 is further proof that Revelation is sequence-oriented. The trumpet woes will not overlap. They will come in sequence. It is obvious why the angel called them woes - tormented people, losing their minds and begging to die.
The Trumpet of the Sixth Angel (Rev. 9:12 - 21)
When the sixth angel sounded the trumpet, John heard a voice saying, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." (Rev. 9:14, emphasis added).
The Euphrates divided the east from the west. This river basin has been a land of rebellion from the beginning of time. This river is a branch of the river originating in the Garden of Eden, where Adam sinned (read Gen. 2:14).
The first rebellion against God took place there, and it was also the place where Cain, the first murderer, killed his brother, Abel. Moreover, the tower of Babel, that prominent symbol of human rebellion against God, was also built in a place near this river. Idolatrous Babylon was situated along this river. Thus, the valley of the Euphrates has been a place of wicked rebellion against God since the beginning of the world.
Who are these four angels? The fact that they are bound indicates that they are four more fallen angels. Why they fell and are bound we are not told, but they appeared to be powerful cohorts of Satan who may have had a part in the many sins committed along the Euphrates.
God bound these four angels at the Euphrates at some point. When they are loosed during the first half of the Great Tribulation, they are to kill one-third of the world population (read Rev. 9:15). When the fourth seal is opened, one-forth of the world population (about 1:7 billion people) will die. When one-third of that remaining population is killed, another 1.5 billion will die. Therefore, during the short period of three and one-half years, more that half (about 3.4 billion) the population of the world will die. Imagine how severe the Great Tribulation will be! Blessed are the saints who are caught up into heaven before such a Great Tribulation starts!
Those four angels cannot kill at any time they choose, however. The hour, the day, the month and the year have already fixed (read 9:15).
An army of two hundred million
"Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone" (Rev. 9:16, 17).
The only country in the world that can mobilize so great an army is China. Rev. 9:17 is a description of modern warfare. That sounds today like tanks firing their guns, flame-throwers hurling flames, and nuclear bombs being dropped from the air. By these weapons a third of the earth's people are killed (Rev. 9:18). Nevertheless people do not repent of their sins (read Rev. 9:20, 21). Why does the Bible mention this? I believe it is to show that God is still waiting for their repentance and conversions. If God thought them hopeless, there would be no need to mention it.
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