“Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 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… 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. 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!” (Revelation 8:6-7, 12-13 ESV)
Note: I’ve left out the text of trumpets 2 & 3 in the quote above only for brevity’s sake. I hope you will click the link and go read the entire passage.
Last week, I tried to share with you how the trial, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus are related to the judgments we see in Revelation. In case you missed it, these trumpet judgments are necessary because so many have rejected and continue to reject God’s redemptive gift through the suffering and death of His Son. God’s offers the gift of redemption for those who love Him fully and who follow His Son, but He pours out His wrath and justice on those who deny His authority, reject His love, and scorn His mercy and forgiveness.
These first four trumpets are tied together in the same way the first four seals were tied together. These trumpets are also very reminiscent of the Exodus plagues that Moses and Aaron unleashed on the unrepentant and unyielding Pharaoh. But I believe there’s one more event they’re even more reminiscent of, the Genesis creation story. Wait, why would judgment and destruction be reminiscent of creation? Read the focal passage, I believe you’ll see it. What we’re seeing as a result of these trumpets is the deconstruction or de-creation of God’s world. God took chaos and created order, and man has now taken God’s good gift and through our sin and rebellion, we are destroying His order and restoring it to chaos.
These seven angels are not acting of their own accord; they’re acting in obedience to the will and word of God. The trumpets are “given” to them by the divine hand of God’s judgment. Are these angels powerful and fearsome beings? Absolutely, but the power and authority they wield is not their own; it is God’s! They are given the trumpets to blow, but it is God who is acting and carrying out vengeance, and it is His absolute divine right to do so. Absolutely nobody except God has the power, authority, and insight to carry out perfect justice. This is not revenge; this is righteous judgment. Those are very different things. We often seek revenge, but only God can carry out truly righteous judgment.
Notice that the first trumpet unleashes a literal firestorm of fire, hail, and blood upon the earth. The results are that a third of the earth is burned up, a third of the trees are burned up, and all the green grass is burned up. While it isn’t explicitly stated, I think it is safe to assume that this destruction of one-third of the earth, trees, and all the green grass would include any livestock and wildlife who made their homes there. It would appear that God’s judgment and destruction is working in the reverse order of His creative process. Don’t see it yet? Read our focal passage and then go read Genesis 1. I think you’ll notice the similarities as He creates and then as He destroys.
Next, the second trumpet is blown, and a huge, blazing mountain is thrown into the sea. Again, a third of the sea is turned to blood, a third of the sea creatures die, and a third of the seafaring ships are destroyed. If you listen to John’s description and then read an account of Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD, I think you’ll get an idea of what John was seeing. Remember, these judgments are symbolic, but they may reference actual events both past, present, or future. With a third of the sea becoming blood is certainly reminiscent of the Exodus plague on the Nile River. I still believe this is more about the deconstruction of God’s good creation. We’re moving backwards in His creation timeline as He pours out His wrath on our sin and rebellion as we move back towards chaos.
The third trumpet is blown, and God’s judgment falls on the rivers and springs as a star called wormwood renders a third of the fresh water sources as bitter and poisonous. Though the previous two trumpets did not explicitly indicate any human deaths, this one does: “many people die.” We’ve now moved beyond just destruction of nature and wildlife and into specific references of human suffering and death as a part of God’s judgment through these trumpets. Up to this point, no human deaths have been directly attributed to the trumpet judgments, but that’s no longer true. Just how far will this go?
I really think that’s the point here. Just how far is this going to go? It has been clear that these trumpet judgments have been limited to a third of the earth, a third of the trees, all the green grass, a third of the sea, a third of the sea life, and a third of the ships. Significant? Certainly! But it is limited destruction, judgment, or deconstruction. We may be taken aback by this destruction, but we’re still alive, right? But now, the fresh waters are struck, and a third of them are turned bitter and poisonous with “many people” dying from them. Suddenly, this moves from an inconvenient natural disaster to a crisis that may be impacting my survival and the survival of my people.
But what is God doing? Has He simply run out of patience and is now lashing out in anger? I believe, at least on one level, God is simply giving us what so many of us want: a world without Him. Many people think that science and Christian belief are antithetical or in opposition to each other. Nothing could be further from the truth. Science and scientific discovery aren’t even possible unless God exists. Scripture says that God took the chaos and created order and good from it. If our world is not ordered, consistent, and based on recurring principles and consistent natural laws (or really supranatural laws, in my opinion), then it would be impossible for us to discover, investigate, understand, and even expand on the good things God has made available and possible in this universe.
For example, our discovery of DNA, its instruction coding, and double-helix structure has given us enormous insight into how and why we have all the various features and quirks that make us the people we are. Along with these “coded” instructions on how you and I might look or function, we also know that our environmental factors interact with and result in the various personality and character traits that make each of us unique. Without an ordered universe governed and guided by the laws God put in place, none of this would be even possible. Can you imagine what it would be like trying to understand, make sense of, and live in a universe that is completely random and chaotic?
So, that brings me to the fourth trumpet and the woes that follow. Stick with me and let me pull all this together. The fourth trumpet is blown, and the sun, moon, and stars are struck so that a third of their light is gone. They’re not just dimmer, but a full third of the day and night are now without any light. Maybe you haven’t picked up on it yet, but the very things that not only make life possible on this planet but also make it pleasant are now partially destroyed. The trees, the green grass, the oceans, the fresh water, and now the sun, moon, and stars are all diminished by a third. If you think that’s bad, just wait! Things are about to get much, much worse. Another angel flies overhead and cries out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining three trumpet blasts that are about to be sounded!”
God created this world and then made man in His own image and then made him the one who would subdue, manage, and bring this world under God’s rule. That idea might surprise you, but you should go read the various parables regarding a vineyard, its owner, and the responsibilities of the stewards appointed over it. The allusions in those parables are not just about spiritual things and worship; they’re about living life and doing things according to the way the “owner” wants, expects, and demands them to be done. God deserves our love and worship, but He also demands that we live in obedience to His law and His word. Why? Because when we disobey God and His word, then we effectively destroy the good things He created, this world, and all those who live in it. Our lives and life choices impact not just us but also those around us and beyond us.
So why all this deconstruction and judgment? The judgment we see in these four trumpets is constrained and limited. Only a third of these life-essential elements are impacted by God’s wrath. God is showing what happens when He gives us what WE want – life begins to break down and fall apart. However, we become more interested in and attuned to God when life gets challenging. Come on, be honest. When life is going our way, most of us couldn’t care less about God or His will. We’re only interested in what life can offer us and then enjoying it without limitations. We don’t want to make our world better and we sure don’t want to do it under God’s rule. In reality, we want to be entertained and consume everything our world can give us.
One of the things that being a husband and father has taught me is that life isn’t all about me, my needs, and my enjoyment. Our world tends to believe that love is about our personal needs and desires. Love is not about getting what you want, it’s about giving yourself in such a way as to make it possible for others to be loved, become loving, and to be lovely. In America, we have this notion of giving our children better lives than we had. When it comes down to it, that usually means we want our kids to be wealthier than we were.
Over the last few hours, my wife has been watching a TV show about a man and wife doing home renovations. In the show’s intro, the husband makes the statement: “My wife and I want our kids to be good people.” I don’t want my kids to be “good” people, I want my kids to be godly people. Isn’t that the same thing? I don’t think so. Good people are the very kind of people Jesus targeted in His Sermon on the Mount monologue. Good people love those who love them, but He wants us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate and persecute us. Ultimately, God doesn’t want us to be like everyone else, He wants us to be like His Son. If we aren’t living like Jesus, then He’s going to do everything He can to get us there, including deconstructing our lives.
Judgment isn’t focused on destruction, it’s focused on reconstruction. Like the TV show I mentioned above, God wants to take our lives that have been ravaged by time, the elements, and termites (our poor life choices), and He wants to rip out all the rotten stuff and rebuild it with quality materials that will last…
‘If anyone builds on that foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious, for the day (the day of Christ’s judgment of believers) will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, it will be lost, but he will be saved; yet it will be like an escape through fire.’ (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)
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