The Wicked Tormented – The Trumpet Judgments of Revelation 8:6 – 9:21
(Revelation chapter 8)
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
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.
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;
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.
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;
11 And the name of the star is call Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
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.
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!
(Revelation chapter 9)
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and a jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in the mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Let’s begin this article by recalling that John the apostle has watched as the Lamb opened the seventh seal and that with the breaking of each seal unique content has been shown to him (and to us). The breaking of the first six seals exposed tremendous events and conditions for John and us to consider, but none had unleashed anything like the judgments to come with the opening of the seventh seal. The seventh seal ushered forth seven trumpets, seven vials and three woes, and all these would bring judgments upon the wicked. Jude, in verses 14 and 15 wrote, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
The opening of the seventh seal revealed seven trumpets and seven vials. The seven vials will be discussed a little later on as we consider chapter 16. Here seven trumpets were given to seven angels, messengers of God, who sounded their trumpets announcing the events of judgment; the vials revealed the conditions of judgment.
While the seven seals are unique, similarities exist between the trumpets and the vials of chapter 16. As you study you may wish to make a chart aligning the trumpets and vials to compare the similarities for yourself. Some Bible students conclude that the trumpets and vials describe different events while others recognize these similarities as referring to the same basic events of the latter part of the seven-year Tribulation, the trumpets as announcing the events of judgment and the vials revealing the condition of judgment.
The First Trumpet (Revelation 8:6,7)
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
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.
Angels Prepare
Seven angels prepare to sound seven trumpets. The sounding of the trumpets, as well as the pouring of the vials of chapter 16, answer the prayers of the saints who have prayed for the judgment of the Lord as we’ve already considered in Revelation 6:10 and 8:3-5. The angels who sound the trumpets are among those who chose not to follow Lucifer in his rebellion, instead willfully choosing to remain faithful to their Creator. Here God uses them as instruments of His righteous judgment on the work of Lucifer. These are mighty angels empowered by God with the authority of the Almighty to sound the trumpets and nothing will prevent them in the performance of their duty.
Hail and Fire Mingled With Blood
The first angel sounded the first trumpet and hail and fire mingled with blood were cast upon the earth. John described what he saw in the way these elements appeared to him, most likely representing natural elements from the creation rather than newly-created elements. God has often used natural elements, those which He himself created, in supernatural ways to bring judgment, such as in the case of the flood recorded in Genesis chapter 7. The extreme elements John saw became part of the atmosphere to be cast to the earth. Some suggest volcanic activity as the means of their insertion into the atmosphere, but regardless of any explanation men may use for the existence and presence of these elements, the messenger of God sounds the trumpet that unleashes them upon the earth. God is now and will always be in control, and He will trigger these events.
Trees and Grass
One third of the trees and all the grass on the earth will burn, and the described destruction of plant life will seriously affect not only the world’s economy and food supply but its environment as well. In today’s world even a localized drought or adverse weather event can affect global markets and large wild-land fires pollute the atmosphere many miles downwind. In the day of the trumpets the devastation will be wide-spread and no portion of the earth or segment of humanity will be exempt from the effects of such a great catastrophe.
One-third Destruction
God limits the destruction of His judgments in the earth at this time to one third. This mathematical limitation applies to all the judgments of the first four trumpets. We may note that while God destroys one third, He also shows His mercy to two thirds. God, in the flood of Noah’s day, was merciful to save eight souls from the destruction He sent upon the earth; He likewise directs the judgments of the trumpets toward the repentance of men rather than the annihilation of mankind. Whether or not men repent will be their choice.
The Second Trumpet (Revelation 8:8,9)
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;
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.
A Great Mountain
John saw something that resembled a great mountain burning with fire as it was cast into the sea. Whatever this object was, it was apparently large enough for John to associate it with a mountain. Some have suggested that this object represents a physical mountain and that the event is a natural one coinciding with earthquakes and volcanic activity; others that it is a mega-meteorite. A few, however, suggest that the mountain might be a man-made object of war or other technology such as a satellite, a space station or some other implement of destruction. It might be considered, however, that as technology advances such objects usually become smaller and more compact rather than larger and bulkier. While we cannot be sure of future advancements in technology we might discern much by keeping the sciences and products of human hands in proper context. It may also be prudent to consider that while He at times uses men to accomplish His will, these are God’s judgments; apart from disobedience Mankind will not be its own ultimate destroyer.
The Sea Became Blood
Having received the falling mountain, the appearance of the sea is drastically changed, and John describes the new appearance as that of blood. He often used this term to describe elements in his visions, as in Revelation 6:12; 8:7; 16:3, 4. John’s description most likely refers to the appearance of the element rather than to physical blood from a living being. Again, as with the other judgments, the mount affected only one third of the sea.
Sea Creatures Died
The change of the sea’s appearance also brings about a change in its chemistry, and the sea becomes poisonous to the creatures living within it. There is no mention of plant life within the sea so we may infer that it is unaffected, at least at first. One third of the sea creatures died from the poison. It may be speculated further that this is a triggering event and that a portion of the described poisoning is a result of the process of decomposition, but an any case one third of all sea creatures will perish.
Ships Destroyed
Since the time of these judgments is prior to the Battle of Armageddon about which we will read later, the destruction of these ships is unlikely due to a battle. Two possibilities are then suggested: first, that the plunging of this great mountain into the sea causes a wave which in turn destroys the ships; second, that the same element that poisons the sea, be it man-made or natural, also affects the ships in some negative way.
The Third Trumpet (Revelation 8:10,11)
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;
11 And the name of the star is call Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
A Great Star
John saw a star fall from heaven. The heaven mentioned here is the atmosphere in contrast to the earth, a reference that also appears in 2 Peter 3:5, which says, “…the heavens were of old, and the earth…” and 2 Peter 3:7 which states, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now…” and in Revelation 21:1, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”
John wrote that the name of the star was Wormwood. The word wormwood (here the Greek apsinthion,) comes from a plant that produces bitter poison, as is noted in Deuteronomy 29:18 (in Hebrew u-lone). It is unusual that a star would have a proper name, and possessing such a name implies that it is well-known by that name. If this is a natural star then astronomers will be well aware of its existence. If it is as some suggest a man-made object then its potentially destructive qualities will also be well-known.
Bitter Waters
Wormwood falls on and affects one third of the rivers and fountains, representing the fresh water rivers and the underground water supply of earth that is required to sustain human life. The waters will become “bitter” or poisonous because of the toxic quality of Wormwood and “many men” will die as a result of consuming the foul waters.
The Fourth Trumpet (Revelation 8:12,13)
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.
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!
Darkness
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet and the third part of the sun, moon and stars were covered with darkness. The sun was covered for one third of the day and the moon and the stars were covered for one third of the night. This type of phenomena will surely perplex the astronomers and intellectuals of that day, as in the past when “…the sun stood still…” as is recorded in Joshua 10:13, or when “…the sun returned ten degrees…” (Isaiah 38:8). A lack of light from these luminaries will unquestionably have serious biological and ecological effects as well, and natural ‘rhythms’ will be disrupted.
Three Woes
Four trumpets have broken the silence in Heaven thus far, unleashing judgments on the wicked of the earth. Another angel now appears in the heavenly scene. He does not have a trumpet, yet his announcement is of such importance that the sounding of trumpets momentarily ceases and he, for a moment, takes center stage in the heavenly vision. As though the previous trumpets were somehow less tormenting than those to come, the angel announces woes on the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the three trumpets yet to be sounded. He cries, even laments, “…Woe, woe, woe…” The word woe here is an expression of grief toward what is about to come upon the earth with the sounding of the last three trumpets and they correspond to the fifth, sixth and seventh trumpets. The number three is associated with divine perfection, and these last three woeful trumpets will complete the perfect will of God in judging the wicked inhabitants of the earth.
A note on woes might be in order here. A woe is an interjection of sorrow. These three woes are pronounced on the inhabitants of the earth when an angel flies through the midst of Heaven. {1} The first woe is pronounced on those who are tormented on earth by the locusts, as a result of the “star” that fell from heaven opening the bottomless pit of Revelation 9:1. Out of this pit arises a smoke, and the locusts come forth out of this smoke (9:2, 3) to inflict punishment upon those who “…have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (verse 4). They are empowered to torment them for five months (verse 5) but not to kill them. {2} The second woe is pronounced on the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem. A “…great earthquake…” destroys one-tenth of the city and results in the deaths of seven thousand men (Revelation 11:13). {3} The third woe is pronounced upon those who inhabit the earth and the sea. The devil exerts “…great wrath…” upon them, knowing that his time on the earth is short (Revelation 12:12).
The Fifth Trumpet (Revelation 9:1-12)
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
The Fallen Star
John watched as another star fell from Heaven. This star, however, was very different from the star that fell at the sounding of the fourth trumpet. He did not describe the second star as “great,” and it was not burning with fire. Unlike the star “Wormwood,” John referred to this star with the pronoun “him” and thus identified the star as a person rather than an astrological star. This star is the same person as the king of the locusts spoken of in verse 11, Lucifer, the devil. God created Lucifer, one of the three leading angels among the angels of God. The other two leading angels – or archangels – are Gabriel and Michael (Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Jude 9). We find in Ezekiel 28:11-28 that God assigned Lucifer the duty of caring for the physical creation, surely a position of great importance. Lucifer, however, rebelled against God and sought to usurp His throne. Opposed by Michael, Lucifer was cast out of Heaven to the earth, and after falling to earth Lucifer – or Satan – wrought destruction of the surface of the earth and within material creation, as can be learned by careful study of Genesis 1:2. The Bible refers to the fall of Lucifer several times. Consider Ezekiel 28:11-28, Isaiah 14:12 or Revelation 12:7-9. Jesus also referred to his fall in Luke 10:18 where it is recorded, “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven.” In this passage we also see that a key was given to Satan, representing granted authority that will unlock further torment on the wicked of the earth.
The Bottomless Pit
The fallen star, Satan, uses the key given him to open the bottomless pit or the abyss. This pit is hades, the present abode of the souls of the unsaved, the devil, and the fallen angels or demon-slave-spirits in eternal bondage to Satan. They are released to torment earth’s inhabitants, but they are not allowed to kill them.
Smoke and Locust
John saw smoke rise from the bottomless pit and darken the sun (compare to Revelation 6:12; 8:7, 12) and creatures, referred to analogously as locusts, come out of the pit. These creatures are actually demon spirits rather than natural locusts, and disperse misery upon the unsealed population. Whereas natural locusts come through the ordinary reproductive channels of nature just as do all other living things the “locusts” of this text are not natural at all, having instead come directly out of the pit of the abyss, or hades.
The term locusts and the description of the locusts in verses 3-10 are symbolic of their character and their work but not necessarily their physical appearance. They may torment but not kill anyone who does not have the seal of God in their foreheads (recall Revelation 7). Although the resurrection and rapture of the saved have already occurred by the time of the locusts’ appearance, and just as Adam and Abraham were saved before the Law or the church ages, people will be saved during the seven years of Tribulation as Paul readily attests in Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Salvation has always been and will always be a matter of individual choice.
The abyss is a place without any end in sight and seems to be the dwelling place of the demons of all ages, in their worst possible forms. Nothing good reposes there, nor will anything good ever issue forth from it.
The locusts torment the wicked (those who refuse to call upon Christ for their eternal salvation) for a period of five months, possibly the last five months of the seven-year Tribulation. They wear crowns and have faces like men, showing their authority over the wicked men of the earth. They appear in gender as males and have long hair, which for males is a sight against nature pointed out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:14. Their teeth are like the teeth of a lion, designed to tear flesh and inflict pain and in their tails they have stingers like the tails of scorpions with which they torment men. Their leader, the fallen star of verse 1, bears the names of Abaddon and Apollyon, and he is the devil. Although men suffer and wish to die, they neither can nor will. Compare this to Revelation 6:15-17.
The Sixth Trumpet (Revelation 9:13-21)
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and a jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in the mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
The Voice from the Altar
Immediately a voice spoke from the four horns of the golden altar which is before the throne of God, the same altar described in Exodus 27. This voice represents the justice of God on those who have rejected Christ, the divine Lamb who died on the altar of sacrifice.
The Four Angels
The voice from the four horns commands the sixth angel to loose the four angels (the angels of judgment upon the earth from Revelation 7:1-3). These four angels hold a defensive position at the river Euphrates, a dividing line between kingdoms of the East and West. They will be removed so that a vast army from the east can cross and come to the Battle of Armageddon just as the Babylonians came from the east across the river Euphrates to capture Judah. The four angels were released so that the judgment prepared for a specific time – hour, day, month and year – would come.
The Army
Because it is specified, it is likely that this is a literal view of the number of this army, some 200,000,000 strong. John saw a vision of horses and their riders in the eastern army, the riders wearing breastplates of fire, jacinth (dusky red like a mixture of fire and smoke) and brimstone. The horses’ heads appeared as lions, thus representing authority and power, and fire, smoke and brimstone issued from their mouths. Two thirds of the earth’s population had survived the various plagues to date, yet they failed to repent and turn to God.
China, particularly in league with Japan, India and other eastern nations, could possibly mount and supply an army of such stupendous size as this number of men represents, and the great populations of the earth today are in the East. The soldiers in this army are presented as being on horseback. In the early days of America, cavalry troopers – men riding horses – were effectively used in many battles. Later, the mechanized weapons with which we are now familiar such as motorized guns, tanks, airplanes and missiles were devised so that ingenuity and technological progress have produced weapons of warfare far beyond anything John could have imagined, some of which are so frightful to mankind that the United States and the former Soviet states have been willing to negotiate foregoing use of these destructive means against each other. Could such agreements possibly result in soldiers once more literally riding upon horses? It is currently reported that there are more horses in Russia than in any other nation but of course the time frame for this army’s mobilization is in the future, so our conclusions are of necessity somewhat speculative at this point.
What is not speculative is the continued rebellion of humanity against God; their hearts are hardened and they do not repent. Idolatry, murders, sorcery in various forms, fornication and thefts are all sins that God condemns throughout His Word. The list is expanded by Paul in Galatians 5:19-21.
Summary (Revelation 8:6-9:21)
The final verses of the text under consideration, 9:20 and 21, seem to refer to all the plagues of the first six trumpets. The results of these plagues left much destruction of the plant life on earth and caused catastrophes in the sea. Wormwood poisoned the fresh drinking waters in the earth so that many died. The shining of the sun, moon and stars is hindered. An angel announced woes on the inhabitants of the earth as the fifth trumpet was about to sound. Locusts came from the bottomless pit and tormented men, and a great army prepared for the world’s most terrible battle.
Although the sounding of the trumpets unleashes torment on the wicked they do not repent toward God as idolatry continues, murders increase, sorcery abounds, fornication and sexual perversions run rampant and thefts become a means to survive. All these will continue to be manifested and, lest we forget, punished.
A terrible future and a more terrible eternal end awaits anyone and everyone who refuses to call upon the name of Jesus. We want to understand the events of the Revelation the better to warn those who desperately need the Gospel of Jesus, but we need be mindful that with our increased understanding comes an increased responsibility to share the Good News while we have the chance.
In the next article we will take up a study of the second woe. Until then be blessed, be bold in sharing the message and steadfast in living it as a witness before men.
Tom