The Seventh Seal

Revelation chapter eight begins with the opening of the seventh seal.


¹ When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
 ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
 ³ Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

The Trumpets

 ⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. ⁷ The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
 ⁸ The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
 ¹⁰ The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— ¹¹ the name of the star is Wormwood.^[a] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
 ¹² The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
 ¹³ As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”


When the seventh seal is opened, there is silence in heaven for half and hour. The breaking of the seventh seal ushers in the seven trumpet judgments. After the seal is broken, seven angels appear before the throne of God; They are given seven trumpets. Then an eighth angel appears with a golden censer (a vessel made for burning incense), he is given a lot of incense to burn before God's throne. The incense along with the prayers of God's people went up before God. The angel then fills his censer with fire and burning coals and throws it to the earth. The result is thunder and lightning and an earthquake. This all precedes the angels blowing their trumpets, perhaps to usher these judgments in. 


Now the first four angels sound their trumpets. 
The first trumpet is sounded...hail and fire mixed with blood is thrown down to the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees are burned up and all the grass is burned up. There are many ways that God can accomplish this, a nuclear accident, an asteroid hitting earth...we don't know how God will play out this judgment, but it will happen. This is God's judgment on the land.


The second trumpet is sounded...something like a blazing mountain is thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turns to blood, a third of the sea creatures are killed and a third of the ships are destroyed. This judgment can be caused by an enormous volcanic eruption, or a meteor crashing into the sea...once more, we don't know the mechanism God will use to carry out this judgment. This is God's judgment on the sea.


The third trumpet is sounded...A great burning star falls on the rivers and streams. This star is called Wormwood, because it poisons the waters. This contaminates a third of the world's fresh water. This is God's judgment on the fresh waters. 


The fourth trumpet is sounded...A third of the sun, moon and stars was darkened. This could be from atmospheric conditions blocking the light, or God could destroy them as easily as He created them. This is the judgment on the sky. 


Then an eagle flies by saying woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because the other three trumpets will soon sound.