Revelation 8:6–13

8:6–7 As a result of the prayers of the saints, the seven angels begin to blow their trumpets, signaling that God is about to judge his enemies. Some of the trumpet judgments echo the plagues poured out on Egypt. The first trumpet reminds us of the plague of hail (cf. Ex. 9:23–24). The fire accompanying it probably refers to lightning strikes, so that the picture is of a massive storm with hail and lightning (Ps. 18:13; Ezek. 38:22; Sir. 39:29). John signals that the language is symbolic and apocalyptic, for the lightning is mixed with blood (cf. Joel 2:30). This is not an ordinary lightning storm! In its wake, one-third of the earth and its trees are burned up (cf. Ezek. 5:2, 12) and green grass vanishes. If the language is literal, what is described must be future, for such a devastating judgment has not yet taken place. It is more plausible, however, to posit that John is describing with apocalyptic language the devastation marking life on earth during this present evil age. The desolations impacting the earth represent God’s judgment. The apocalyptic and exaggerated nature of the imagery is confirmed by Revelation 9:4, for the locusts are told not to harm the grass on earth, but this makes little sense if all the grass is already burned up! The message communicated is that living in this world has many benefits (two-thirds of the world is unaffected), but God’s judgments strike the world on account of sin.

8:8–9 The trumpet of the second angel sounds, and a great mountain burning like fire is thrown into the sea (cf. 1 En. 18:13; 21:3), picturing a volcanic eruption. We are reminded of how Babylon will be reduced by God to a “burnt mountain” (Jer. 51:25). Once again, the judgment is scarcely literal. The first trumpet describes the effect of God’s judgment on the earth, and here we see its effect on the seas and oceans. One-third of the sea turns to blood, just as the Nile turned to blood during the days of Moses (Ex. 7:20). The Nile turned to blood literally, but John takes this image and uses it apocalyptically to describe the effect on the seas and oceans. He says one-third of the creatures in the sea died and one-third of the boats were destroyed. The number one-third isn’t exact; the point is that God’s judgment is poured out on a world resisting him.

8:10–11 With the third trumpet sounded by the third angel, a star falls from heaven, burning with fire (cf. 9:1; Isa. 14:12; 1 En. 86:1). The burning star falls on rivers and springs and embitters them. One-third of the water is polluted, and many die upon drinking it. We see a similar judgment in Jeremiah: “I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink” (Jer. 9:15). Again, we should not interpret this literally; the poisoning of the waters signals the devastation poured out on the earth. The waters of the earth should be refreshing and invigorating, but life on earth is polluted because of human sin. God’s judgments affect life on land, oceans, and seas, and they also strike the water human beings need to live.

8:12 When the fourth angel blows his trumpet, the sun is darkened for one-third of the day and the moon and stars for one-third of the night. It is hard to imagine what these words could mean if they were interpreted literally, for life on earth wouldn’t continue if the sun didn’t shine for one-third of every day. We are reminded of the plague of darkness that engulfed Egypt (Ex. 10:21–23). Similarly, Isaiah describes the “day of the LORD” as a time when the stars do not shine and the sun and moon yield no light: “The stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light” (Isa. 13:10; cf. Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:31; 3:15). The celestial phenomena predicted at the coming of the day of Lord in the prophets did not take place literally. The language is used to depict God’s judgment on nations in history. Jesus also says that the same kinds of things will accompany his future coming (Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25). The four trumpets speak of God’s judgment on land, sea, rivers, and the skies. All of life in this present age is affected by human sin, and the temporal judgments of God in history point to and anticipate the final judgment.

8:13 Verse 13 functions as a literary device to highlight that the judgments of the last three trumpets will be worse than the first four. A flying eagle anticipates and heralds the three trumpets to come with a threefold woe (cf. Jer. 4:13; Hos. 8:1), warning of impending desolation and devastation. The desolation and devastation is limited, however, to those who dwell on earth. As we saw in Revelation 3:10, “earth dwellers” in Revelation always represent unbelievers. Those who believe in Jesus Christ have no reason to fear the last three trumpet judgments, but unbelievers should be filled with dread.