This chapter opens the seventh seal which contains seven trumpets.  Four of them are blown in this chapter, and when they are each  triggers certain events preceding and leading up to the great and terrible day of the Lord.  The sounding of these seven trumpets are fulfillment of one of God's high sabbath holy days that were given to Israel shortly after they left Egypt 3,500 years ago.  In this chapter I will call it the Day of Trumpets, or the Feast of Trumpets, but today it is better known by its Jewish name     Rosh Hashanah.  That particular holiday will be discussed in this chapter as well as the one it leads into, the Day of Atonement, which the Jews call Yom Kippur.  God's natural solar calendar is also presented.

The last seal is finally opened but for a while there is nothing going on that John can see or hear.  Why the silence?  It is not explained, nor do we know if the half an hour mentioned is literal or figurative.  To John it seemed to be about half an hour.  Perhaps it is the time mentioned in chapter 7 when the four winds are being held back while the servants of God are being sealed.

Rev. 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

When the trumpets were blown in Israel on the Feast of Trumpets it was a warning, as it were, that the Day of Atonement was at hand.  That is still true today.  As each of these seven trumpets sound here in Revelation it still is a warning that the Day of Atonement is at hand.  When the seventh, and last, trumpet sounds it signals and ushers in the second appearance of the true Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.  Unfortunately, it also signals the thing that comes with Him     the destruction of the cosmos and this world age as we know it.  That last trumpet will sound at the time of the great and terrible day of the Lord and the tribulation that comes with Him.

In the Old Testament the great prophets of old talked of that time when the seventh trump is sounding.  Isaiah 24 for example.  Go read it and you will see that it is a day not to be desired.  A day of awful things, unthinkable things.  An excellent Old Testament type for the seven trumps and the day of the Lord is the story of the battle of Jericho.  It is found in the sixth chapter of the book of Joshua.  Also, please see my article Jericho, Rahab, And The Return Of Christ at ourfathersword.org which goes through these things in detail.

In the New Testament Paul talked of that day and time.

1 Cor. 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

2 Pet. 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Pet. 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

2 Pet. 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

When did God tell Israel to keep the holiday called the Feast of Trumpets?  The festival was commanded to be observed on the first day of the seventh month.  Um-m-m-m, let's see.  That would be July 1st, right?  Well, not exactly, so let's digress a little and briefly discuss God's natural calendar.

This is not really a digression, because if you are serious about knowing and understanding God's Word then you need to learn many things including a lot about the Old Testament.  When we talk about God's holy days and feasts we need to know when they occur as well as what they mean.  Why?  Because they are a picture of God's plan of salvation for mankind and the time frame in which it will transpire.  I'm not telling you that you need to observe them as they were kept by Israel in the Old Testament, but you need to know something about them.  The seven high holy days picture the events, and in a way, the timeline for those events.  So they are important.

In passing, it should be mentioned that the world's economies were agrarian based in olden times and Israel was no exception.  That is probably the main reason that God's Holy days are centered around harvest time in the springtime and harvest time in the autumn.  Let's briefly take a look at them starting in the springtime.  I won't use the Hebrew names for the months because they aren't necessary in this case and I think they would be a little confusing.  Besides some of them have changed over time.  I will use the numerical designations for the months because that is what God did when talking to Moses.

To make it easy for us to know when they occur, God gave us the first day of spring, the vernal equinox, as a convenient starting point for each new year.  It is always the first day of each new year and occurs on or about March 21st on our western calendar.  Using it as a starting point you can easily calculate when the spring festivals occur.  The spring festivals are Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost.  From an Old Testament perspective, Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread were kept by ancient Israel as a memorial of their exodus from Egypt.  But to Christians the real intent of those holy days pointed to the death of the Messiah, and His sacrifice.  Pentecost signified the coming of the Holy Spirit as the story in the second chapter of the book of Acts plainly shows.

Passover falls on the 14th day of the first month, but actually begins on the eve of the 14th day.  That is, after sundown on the 13th day.  Confused?  Don't be.  Think of it this way, and answer the following question.  When is Christmas Eve, the night following Christmas Day or the night before?  Of course, the night before.  Likewise, days in the Bible begin at sundown, not at midnight.  Look at the first chapter of Genesis and you will see that clearly indicated when it says over and over that the evening and the morning were the first day, and the evening and the morning were the second day, and so on.  In other words, the evening began each new day and the morning, or daylight, followed.

The six Days of Unleavened Bread begin immediately following Passover day, in fact, in ancient times that whole week was called Passover, and still is today by some.  Pentecost means fifty basically and comes 50 days after Passover, counting from the first Day of Unleavened Bread, which is a high sabbath holy day.

Likewise, the proper dates for the autumn harvest festivals can be easily ascertained by anyone.  These are the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, as it is called by Jews.  The Day of Trumpets always falls on the first day of the seventh month which is always the autumnal equinox.  It occurs each year on or about September 21st.  Specific dates and times of the equinoxes and solstices for your particular area of the world are readily available on the Internet and in almanacs as well as other places.  The Day of Atonement occurs on the tenth day of the seventh month, and the Feast of Tabernacles begins on the 15th day of that month and continues for seven days.

Our Father intended for us to use His natural calendar which is perpetually found in the heavens and it is so-o-o-o simple to use.  Why?  Because it starts each new calendar quarter with either an equinox or a solstice so that the odd number of days in the year are not a problem.  Unfortunately, God's natural solar calendar is either ignored or rejected by those who are responsible for calculating when the holy days occur.  They prefer to use the unreliable lunar cycle as the basis for their calculations, and the primary reason is that it is traditional.  They ascribe to the traditions of men in this case, and as a result, for those who celebrate these holy days, they are usually observed on the wrong days and that is not a good and proper thing to do.

So, if you are interested in the festivals of God, don't depend on others to tell you when they occur because He made it easy for you to do it yourself.  But, when you supinely roll over like a dog and begin to depend on other men to set your agenda for spiritual things, they have you right where they want you.  You have, in effect, given the Nicolaitans control over you, whose practices God hates as we saw in chapter 2 of this same book of Revelation.  But you can be free of their influence and error by continuing in God's Word and begin to rely on Him yourself to lead you into all truth.

John 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

John 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Rev. 8:3  And 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.

The Temple sanctuary had had two rooms, an outer room (with respect to where the priests entered  and where the Ark with the Mercy Seat on top was located) called the Holy Place, and a second room called the Holy of Holies.  In the Holy Place there was a lamp stand with seven lamps (same as the candlesticks in Chapter 1), a table with bread and wine, and a golden incense altar that was in front of a veil that led into the inner sanctuary, or Holy of Holies.  In the Holy of Holies, there was the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat on top where God sat.  Two golden cherubim covered the Mercy Seat with their wings.

In the Holy Place, a priest would put live coals in the golden incense altar which stood before the veiled entrance to the Holy of Holies, and he would sprinkle incense on them.  This was done each morning and evening, day after day, all year long, but no common priest ever went behind the veil into the Holy of Holies.  Once each year, on the Day of Atonement, after the sacrifices were done the High Priest himself would put coals in the golden incense altar and sprinkle incense on them, and then he would go through the veil into the Holy of Holies and into the  presence of God upon the Mercy Seat and do some things.  In so doing, He was symbolically making an atonement for the sins of the people of Israel.  He, in essence, was a type of Christ.

This angel is standing before the same typical golden altar in the Temple in Heaven and essentially is doing what the High Priest did each year on the Day of Atonement.  How do I know that these things are related?  Let's continue and find out.

Rev. 8:4  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

Rev. 8:5  And 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.

Putting it all together now.  On the first day of the seventh month is Rosh Hashanah, the day of the blowing of trumpets, sometimes called the Feast, or Festival, of Trumpets, which is a type of the seven trumpets here in Revelation 8 and 9.  It is a day of warning to the world that the Day of Atonement is imminent and all that comes with it.  On the tenth day of the seventh month comes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is suggested by the angel at the golden incense altar.  It depicts the time that we finally become at-one-ment with God.  Five days after that on the fifthteenth day of the seventh month comes Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, sometimes called the Feast of Booths which pictures the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ and those raised in the first resurrection.  At the end of the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, there is another high holiday     sometimes called the last great day     which pictures what is to come after the Millennium is over.

I hope by now that you are beginning to understand the meaning of these two holy days and what they picture.  Trumpets - the warning, Atonement - the terrible day, and Tabernacles - the Millennial reign of the saints.  Did ancient Israel know what they meant?  Maybe, maybe not, but we desperately need to know because they may have their fulfillment in our time now.

Some things must be said here before we continue.  The things described as the seven trumpets are sounding seem to be very fanciful, and it is extremely hard to grasp the intended meanings in some of them.  The verbiage used smacks of superstition and of medieval storytelling, so there can be problems understanding the precise intent of the passages.  God uses rather curious symbology here and He had His reasons for doing so.  We just have to be patient and keep an open mind as we seek to understand what was meant.  We also have to take some liberty in departing from established thinking and the traditions of men that we have been taught all our lives.

We will need some help as we go through the first four trumpets, so I have included some verses from Luke 21 where Jesus gave us a synopsis of events leading up to the end of this age and His second appearance.  We will use His words as a guide as we go through the trumpets.  Let's go over them briefly now for some good background information before we begin the trumpets.

Luke 21:5  And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,

Luke 21:6  As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Luke 21:7  And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

Luke 21:8  And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying,  I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

What is the intended meaning of verse 8?  Jesus is saying here that a lot of people would come forth admitting that He was God, but notice that they also would say that the time draweth near.  That is what some preachers have always said     Christ is coming soon and it could be anytime.  Friends, that anytime doctrine is, in a way, a false gospel.  Don't believe me?  Look at the verse again.  Jesus said don't be deceived by them, and don't go after them.  Actually, they should be teaching the signs to look for that signal the end and the appearance of Jesus Christ instead of preaching their anytime doctrine.  In the following verses He gave us an overview of the things we should look for so that we wouldn't be misled by them.

Luke 21:9  But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

Luke 21:10  Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

Luke 21:11  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Luke 21:25  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Luke 21:26  Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Luke 21:27  And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Luke 21:28  And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Luke 21:29  And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

Luke 21:30  When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

Luke 21:31  So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

The Trumpets Begin Sounding

Rev. 8:6  And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Rev. 8:7  The 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.

No one knows the exact date when the children of Israel left Egypt, but it was about 3,500 years ago, +/- 200 years.  During that general time period there were two mighty vulcanian events that occurred in the region.  One, the eruption of a volcano located on the Greek island of Thera, or Santorini.  It has been rated as a colossal eruption which means that it was a VEI-6 eruption on the volcanic explosivity index scale of one to eight.  To put that in perspective, the colossal eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 was also a VEI-6.  During the same general time period (1.500 B.C., +/- 200 years) there was a paroxysmal eruption (VEI-5) by Etna, a famous Sicilian volcano.  The events in Egypt could have been very well related to one or the other of these eruptions depending on general weather and wind conditions at the time.

The question here in Revelation 8:7 is, is it literal?  In Luke 21:11 above earthquakes are mentioned, not ordinary ones either for these are said to be great.  The vulcanian events that were occurring just before the children of Israel left Egypt were also great, and the description is similar to what is stated here in Rev. 8:7.  This hail and fire mingled with blood could be fallout of a great vulcanian event, but there are also other possibilities.

Look at Luke 21:9-10 above.  Before great earthquakes are mentioned, war is mentioned.  Lots of war.  Today, we have weapons of mass destruction, conventional and nuclear, chemical and biological.  This is 2004 and the daily news is full of wars and rumors of wars.  Using a little imagination it is easy to see that both conventional and nuclear weapons can produce effects that are similar to what is described Rev. 8:7.  Look at what two low-yield atomic weapons did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.  Look at what conventional weapons did in two World Wars, in Korea, and in Viet Nam in the 20th century just past.  Look at the effects we saw every evening in the recent attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq.  So Rev. 8:7 could be referring to war.  But wait, it could also be something else.

Revelation is book of symbology.  The usage of hail, with fire, and with blood could be an exaggerated metaphor, or parable.  Let's take some liberty and play "what if" with this.  In this case, what if the symbols were really meant to mean fire and brimstone and blood?  Some preachers have preached a fire and brimstone gospel, and one about the atoning blood of Jesus.  What if the wording of Rev. 8:7 is a play toward a false gospel being preached upon the Earth.  The trees and green grass could be symbolic of people.  I know that I am going to take some flak for even mentioning such a thing, but go back and look at what Jesus said about it in Luke 21:8.  The whole subject at hand is deception.  He told his disciples "take heed that ye be not deceived".

So then, what does Rev. 8:7 really mean?  All the things I have mentioned are possible because they all were likewise mentioned by Jesus in the eschatological discourses of Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.  Because He said they would, all these things will be happening, and some already are.  If it specifically means a super vulcanian event, that is yet to happen, but the other two     war (on a large scale) and a false gospel being preached are already here.

Concerning gigantic eruptions with global effects, Yellowstone has blown before in an event that was rated at VEI-8, super colossal     the highest rating.  Vulcanologists now know that a huge caldera has once again built up under it for many kilometers in every direction, and there are other calderas around the globe.  So, everything is in place for a gigantic eruption on a scale that mankind has never seen before, but who really knows where or when it will happen?  Only God.

Rev. 8:8  And 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;

Rev. 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Could one call this a fearful sight?  Look back up at Luke 21:11.  Jesus said there would be fearful sights and this could certainly qualify if it were literal.  Is it literal?  It is certainly possible.  This could be a large flaming bolide impacting in the sea somewhere, or it could be something else which mankind has never seen and recorded before.  It could be a large chunk of the Earth's crust and/or mantle falling back after having been hurled up high into the atmosphere.  Who can say at this point.  It may be something geophysical, a natural disaster of biblical proportion, as we say, or it could be something entirely different.

The sea can represent people in prophetic language, and likewise a mountain can represent an authority, a government, or a ruling institution.  Playing "what if" again, what if this great mountain is a powerful political system that is thrown in the midst of the sea, or the people of the Earth.  This could be that system we have heard of that is the beast of Revelation 13, and the fourth beast of Daniel 7.  Friends, we the people really could be the sea mentioned here, and I can tell you without reservation that the beast system already exists on Earth today, that its power is enormous, and that it is global in scope even though it is firmly rooted in western civilization.

Rev. 8:10  And 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;

But what if it is not that at all, and maybe something entirely different?  Waters can represent people in prophetic language, but water also represents the knowledge and truth of God.  What if this great star is Satan, who doesn't just accidentally fall out of Heaven, but is cast out by Michael (Rev. 12:7)?  At some point in the near future, probably after a devastating military conflict which disrupts the world, he will step forward and reveal himself as a great hero and world leader.  He quickly works to assume control of the West, and with the support of Christian and Jewish leaders he will prevail and become powerful.  He will show his madness when he proclaims himself to be God, or Jesus.  That is the ultimate blasphemy for which he will pay dearly at the end of the Millennium.

Rev. 8:11  And 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.

Rev. 8:12  And 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.

Rev. 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Now, on to chapter 9 which continues these things, these trumpets.
 

God bless with understanding of His word.