Daily Devotional Thursday 21st November 2024
by William MoodyRevelation 8
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings,1 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
The Seven Trumpets
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.2 A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
Footnotes
[1] 8:5
Or voices, or sounds
[2] 8:11Wormwood is the name of a plant and of the bitter-tasting extract derived from it (ESV)
In Revelation we have similar visions called the seven seals (chapter 6), seven trumpets (ch. 8-9) and seven bowls (ch. 16). These visions gave a picture of what’s happening in the world from different angles, a bit like action replays. They teach important principles to explain what’s happening in the world.
Here is wonderful truth (v2-5). It is the prayers of the saints mixed with the smoke of the incense that leads to fire being thrown down to earth and the beginning of the blowing of the trumpets.
The incense mixed with the prayers of God’s people speaks of how Jesus the great High Priest presents the prayers of His people along with His own prayers to God the Father. In response God’s purposes are accomplished.
The first four trumpets begin attacks on the physical world. What accompanies these trumpets parallels the plagues delivered through Moses on Egypt. These trumpet blasts are to warn people of God’s judgement.
Trumpet 1 (v7) – 1/3 of the earth was burned.
Trumpet 2 (v8-9) – 1/3 of sea became blood and 1/3 of sea creatures die.
Trumpet 3 (v10-11) – 1/3 of rivers and freshwater become bitter.
Trumpet 4 (v12) – 1/3 of the sun, moon and stars was struck.
These four trumpets speak of how this world is cursed because of the fall of Adam (Genesis 3 v17). Only in Christ is hope to be found.
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