Opening The Seventh Seal

Revelation 8:1-13

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 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.  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.  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.  And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” (Revelation 8:1-6)

When the Lord opened the seventh seal, the entire assembly was struck dumb by what they saw and took about a half hour to recover. 

Seven angels were given trumpets to sound, but before they do, another angel gathers the prayers of the believers and offers them to God.  He takes some of the fire from the altar to cast it to the earth, where it results in huge lightning storms and an earthquake, terrorizing the people on earth.

   

“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.” (Revelation 8:7)

When the first angel sounded his trumpet there was a huge hail accompanied by ground lightning similar to what we call St. Elmo’s fire running along the ground, setting fire to the forests and grasslands.  The hail kills many people and animals and the resulting fires burn all the grass and a third of the forests in the most devastating fire season ever.

“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; 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.” (Revelation 8:8-9)

When the second angel sounded, something like a huge flaming asteroid plunged into the ocean.   It polluted the ocean, making a third of the seawater red, almost like blood and killing one third of the sea life.  It also destroyed about a third of the world’s shipping fleets.

 “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; 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.” (Revelation 8:10-11)

The sound of the third trumpet released a meteor that fell into the fresh water contaminating a third of the planet’s fresh with a bitter poison called wormwood.  Thousands of people died as a result of drinking the contaminated water.

“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.” Revelation 8:12)

The sixth seal had already resulted in major changes in the paths of the stars and planets.  This fourth trumpet results in something reducing the light received by the earth by a third, blocking out some stars completely, and almost completely blocking the light for several hours every day.

“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!” (Revelation 8:13)

Another angel flew through heaven warning that things were going to get a lot worse when the other three angels sounded their trumpets.