Revelation 8-9 - The Seventh Seal and the Seven Trumpets

The Seventh Seal 8:1-5• Why would there be

silence in Heaven ?• Silence preceding

the first day of creation

• links worship with the unfolding drama

• literary device• anticipates plagues to be

introduced by trumpets

• Ps 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”

8:2• Seven angels

– angels of the presence-Isa 63:9

– Angels are given trumpets- this allowed to happen by God’s providence

• Trumpets signal something important is about to happen

7 trumpets

• In the OT trumpets announce God’s judgement Joel 2:1, Zeph 1:16, Isa 27:13

• In the NT - trumpets are used to signal the final judgement - Matt 24:31, 1Cor 15:52, 1 Thess 4:16

Trumpets• John’s commission(1:10) and ascent to Heaven (4:1) include a voice that sounds like a trumpet

• Now it seems to have an eschatological importance (Matt 24:31)

Trumpets in Scripture• In scripture, trumpets are used at the following occasions:

1- The Lord's voice, Rev 1:10, 4:5, 8:5, 11:13,19, 16:18.2- To announce disaster because of sin, Is.58:1, Jer.4:4-6, 6:1,16-19, 51:25-29, Ez.33:1-8, Hos.7:16, 8:1, Amos 3:6. 3- To announce the coming of God to Mt. Sinai, Ex.19:16 4- Calling the people together and having the camp move on, Num.10:2. 5- To announce the start of a battle, and feast days, Num.10:9-10. 6- When the Israelites entered Jericho, Josh.6:3-9 7- To announce the coronation of the king (Solomon), 1K.1:34.8- To announce the winning of a battle, 1Sam.13:3 9- Warning of the second coming, Joel 2:1 10- To announce the second coming, 1Thes.4:16, Zep.1:14-18, Mat.24:31, 1Cor.15:51-52.

8 :3-4 another angel• Is this the same

altar as 6:9 ? Unclear

• One of only two times in revelation that the verb pray or term prayer is used (also in 5:8)(Exodus:30:1, Lk:1:10-11)

• The prayers of the saints are offered to God

• Incense and prayers rise to God (Ps:141:2)

• Prayers of the saints are effective (v 4)

8:5• Angel now takes the

censor and fills it with fire (Lev 16:12) and throws it to Earth causing thunder lightning, earthquake (4:5)

• Not clear if this caused by the prayers reaching God

• Thunder, lightning and earthquake (4:5) remnicient of God at Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:16)

8:5• Thunder-

proclaiming the truth ?

• voices: evangelists, teachers ?

• Earthquake- sent by God to call for repentance ?

8:6-7

• Here we see movement from heaven down to earth

• judgement is now coming from heaven

• However, hope is offered by the message being delivered by John

8:6-7• Now we hear the

trumpets• modeled on the 7

plagues - the purpose of both was to bring about repentance

• The first trumpet brings hail and blood

• Parallels the activity when the ark is exposed in the new Jerusalem(11:19)

• Disaster comes to the world - opposite of the garden in the New Jerusalem (22:3)

• 1/3 of the earth destroyed (Ezek:5:12)

8:8-9• 2nd trumpet: Mountain is thrown into the sea - foreshadows the fall of Babylon- 18:21

• John may have been writing this after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius - 79 CE

8:10-11• Third trumpet - burning star crashes into rivers and springs - damages them

• opposite of the final vision in which the people are to be quenched by ‘living water’ -14:7

• He calls the star “wormwood” - as in Amos 5:6-7, 6:12

• justice is turned to wormwood

Wormwood

• bitter, undrinkable, poison

8:12-13

• The 4th trumpet - 1/3 of the sun moon and stars are struck - darkness falls

• see Amos 8:9• Joel: 3:15

• John sees and hears a voice

• see 5:11, 6:1

• the eagle may be better interpreted as a vulture

• Hos 8:1 - vulture precedes trumpet

• 3 “woe”’s- sign of the remaining trumpets

Trumpets vs. Plagues• 8:6-7- hail, fire,

blood: Exod 9:13-25( 7th plague)

• 8:8-9 sea of blood:Exod 7:14-25 (1st Plague)

• 8:10-11 - bitter water : Exod 7:14-25

• 8:12 - darkness : Exod 10:21-33

• 9:1-11 Locusts : Exod 10:12-20

• 9:13-21 Euphrates

9:1-4• 5th trumpet• the star could be

a fallen angel - perhaps Satan

• abyss - place of Satan and the fallen angels (9:11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:1) - one of them is allowed to unlock it

• The smoke that rises is not like incense

• The smoke pollutes and darkens

• Locusts are sent to torment the people not grass– they are not the

usual kind of locusts

9:5-6

• v5• The locusts can

‘torment”, but not kill• they are given 5 months• see 2:10 - 10 days of

torment from Satan

• V6• People will want to

die but will not be allowed

• see Job 3:21, Gen 4:13)

9:6-12• V6• description of

the locusts - see Joel 2:1-11

• like horses• crowns - symbol

that they cannot be destroyed

• human faces - the personal dimension of evil

• Their king is Abaddon

• means “destruction”

• synonym for Hades and Sheol

• see 6:8

• verse 12 - the first woe is done but there are two more

9:13• Two woes are yet to come• “Messianinc woes” are a

common feature of eschatological writing such as Revelation

• see Lk 6:24 - the woes follow the Great Discourse

• Tribulations of the Messianic age are foreshadowed in Mk 13:17 - after the Great Discourse and in Mt 24:19 concerning “the final test”

• The 6th trumpet sound in v 13

• a voice is heard from the altar(6:9,8:3)

• it appears to be coming from horns of the altar (Exod 30:1- description of the altar of incense)

• The voice is that of the saints, the horns refer to the corners of the altar (8:2-5)

9:14• Four angels are released (see 7:1)- instruments of God

• they were being held- another allusion to the fallen angels

• The Euphrates is the eastern border of the Roman empire - plays on the fear of Parthian threats

9:15

• The angels are released

• they had been held awaiting this specific time and moment

• they have been destined for this moment

• Here we see all happens in line with God’s plan – 12:6, 13:8, 17:8

• Everything happens to further God’s purpose

• 1/3 of humankind will be killed - not unlimited destruction

9:16-17• The number of the destroyers is 200,000,000- very large- but a set number - non infinite

• see Exod 10:14, Joel 2:2-1 for locust swarms

• Description of the soldier’s armor - fiery red, smoky blue, and sulfur - matches the fire, smoke and sulfur breathed by the horses see Job 41:19-21

9:18-19• 1/3 of humanity

was killed by these plagues see v 15 for the limit on their ability to kill

• v19 power of the horses- power is in moths and tails 1:16, 11:5, 9:10, 12:4)

• Some similarities between these creatures and leviathan in Job (41:10..)

9:20-21• Those who had

survived still did not repent

• see Zech 1:4, Wis 14:22-26

• lack of repentance - Isa 2:8, 17:8)

• We are brought into direct contact with what we have created and cannot escape it

• we have ignored the need for repentance

• Are those who survived unaware of what is going on around them?

Sources• Boring, M. Eugene Revelation: Interpretation; A Bible

Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Louisville:John Knox Press 1989

• Dominguez, J Third Great Vision of Revelation, avaiable on web at: http://www.biblia.com/bible/rev8.htm

• Harrington, Wilfred, J. Revelation: Sacra Pagina Series (vol 16), (ed. Daniel Harrington SJ) Collegeville:Liturgical Press 1993

• ,The New Interpreter's Bible : A Commentary in Twelve Volumes ( Book of Revelation) (Nashville:Abingdon , 2002)