Revelation 8:1-12 Lesson 478

Revelation 8:1-12 Lesson 478

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

A thirty minute hush falls over heaven as the seventh seal is opened.

Four trumpets, four ecological disasters.

The trumpet of judgment.

Study Tip:

The Book of Revelation is complex and controversial, so it helps to study more than one translation. Whenever you encounter a difficult passage scroll back and forth between the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation" below.

Also, read the "Margin Notes" in blue and click on the links.

The Revelation of Saint John the Divine

The King James Bible

Revelation 8:1-12
The seventh seal is opened

1And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

2And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

3And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

4And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

5And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

6And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

8And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

9And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

10And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

11And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

12And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Margin notes:

"When he had opened the seventh seal." (8:1) - "When Jesus opened the seventh seal."

"Trumpets." (8:2) - In the Old Testament trumpets were used to warn of God's coming judgment (Joel 2:1). In the New Testament, Paul prophesized that on judgment day Christ "shall descend from heaven with a shout.....and with the trump of God" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

"Censer." (8:3) - A metal pan or container filled with coal and used for burning incense. God instructed Jews to burn incense (Exodus 30:1; 30:7-8) as part of their worship. As shown in verse 8:4, Jews believed that the rising smoke would carry their prayers to God.

"The angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar." - (8:5) - Just as was done in the Old Testament (Leviticus 16:12).

"Cast it into the earth." (8:5) - "Cast it upon the earth."

"The seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound." (8:6) - The trumpet judgments are meant as only a partial punishment and to announce Jesus' Second Coming. The final disasters will come later with the vial (bowl) judgments (16:1-21).

"The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood." (8:7) - The Preterist believe this chapter predicted the disasters and years of war that befell Judaism soon after Revelation was written. To quell a revolt, the Roman army slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jewish men, women, and children in AD 114.  Nineteen years later, in AD 133, a new revolt led to another two years of war that left an estimated one thousand Jewish cities and villages utterly destroyed.  Jewish crops ("trees" and "grass") were destroyed leading to famine and disease.  The well established Jewish social structure that took generations to build was gone and chaos followed. Futurists disagree, they believe this passage is a prediction of future events leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. Others believe this passage predicts both the end of the Jewish way of life in the first century and the events leading up to the Second Coming. Interesting note; many believers find similarities between this verse and the ninth plague God laid on Egypt (Exodus 9:23-24).

"The third part of trees was burnt up." (8:7) - Only a third indicates this is a limited judgment from God and there will still be time to repent.

"A great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea." (8:8) - Some believe the mountain represents the leaders of those who persecuted Christian while others feel it symbolizes the defeat of Rome at the hands of the barbarian Goths and Vandals.

"The third part of the sea became blood." (8:8) - Later, all the sea will turn to blood and everything in it will die (Revelation 16:3). Then, just as God punished the Egyptians in Exodus 7:20 the rivers will be turned to blood (16:4-6).

"And there fell a great star from heaven." (8:10) - Preterist's believe that this (and not the fallen mountain in verse 8:8) refers to the barbarians that destroyed the Roman empire.  Others believe the fallen star refers to a powerful leader who corrupts Christianity with a false doctrine.

"Wormwood." (8:11) - A plant that yields a strong bitter (Proverbs 5:4) extract used to flavor absinthe. It was once prescribed to rid patients of intestinal worms. Here, John uses it to symbolize God's bitter judgment.

"The third part of the sun was smitten." (8:12) - "A third of the sun went dark."

New Living Translation

Revelation 8:1-12
The Lamb Breaks the Seventh Seal

1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. 2 I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.

3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God's holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. 5 Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

The First Four Trumpets

6 Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.

7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.

8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, 9 one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.

10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.

12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Feel free to forward these lessons to family and friends.

Application thought for the day:

What does this segment teach about God's judgment?
How does this apply to your life?

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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