Revelation 8:6-13 NIV
Seven Trumpets
The seven trumpets is the sound cycle of seven. The seven trumpets clearly announce God’s judgment.
Like the seven seals, the trumpets can be divided into two cycles. Like the first four seals, the first four trumpets are alike in nature. Similarly, the final three trumpets are alike as were the final three seals.
As the final three seals dealt with the Wrath of God, the final three trumpets will deal with an intensified expression of God’s Wrath (the three Woes).
Trumpets have a rich tradition in the Old Testament Scriptures. Predominantly, trumpets were used to;
(1) call God’s people together
(2) call to repentance
(3) announce judgment
(4) call to salvation
(5) call to the king’s coronation
(6) announce eschatological judgment.
The apostle Paul indicates that the trumpet of God will blow at the Parousia (Παρουσία , Arrival) of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:52). A teaching reflected in the teachings of Christ in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:30-31).
The Trumpets – First to Fourth
6 Then the seven angels
who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
7 The first angel sounded
his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was
hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the
trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel
sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was
thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9a third of
the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10
The third
angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell
from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—
11 the name of the star is
Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from
the waters that had become bitter.
12
The fourth
angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of
the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A
third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
13 As I watched, I heard
an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants
of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other
three angels!”
Seven Trumpets
The seven trumpets is the sound cycle of seven. The seven trumpets clearly announce God’s judgment.
Like the seven seals, the trumpets can be divided into two cycles. Like the first four seals, the first four trumpets are alike in nature. Similarly, the final three trumpets are alike as were the final three seals.
As the final three seals dealt with the Wrath of God, the final three trumpets will deal with an intensified expression of God’s Wrath (the three Woes).
Trumpets have a rich tradition in the Old Testament Scriptures. Predominantly, trumpets were used to;
(1) call God’s people together
(2) call to repentance
(3) announce judgment
(4) call to salvation
(5) call to the king’s coronation
(6) announce eschatological judgment.
The apostle Paul indicates that the trumpet of God will blow at the Parousia (Παρουσία , Arrival) of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:52). A teaching reflected in the teachings of Christ in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:30-31).
“Wormwood”
“The
name of the star is called Wormwood” is a unique phrase.
There is no historical evidence that a star by this name existed in the ancient
world. Wormwood is a medicinal herb of antiquity used to dispel worms from the
intestines. It is very bitter. “Many men died from the water” is
the natural result of fresh water made bitter. Wormwood is known for its bitterness;
however, death is not normally associated with this herb.
“Because
they were made bitter” indicates the reason for the death
of many people. Dehydration is not the cause of death, but drinking the water
kills people. Thus, the purpose of the third trumpet is to kill men with bitter
water.
Use
Wormwood is the
traditional color and flavor agent for green
“songpyeon”, a type of “dduk / tteok” (Korean rice cake), eaten during the
Korean thanksgiving festival of Chuseok
in the autumn. The juice from its fresh leaves provides the coloring and flavoring
ingredient in the dough prepared to make “green
songpyeon.”
The use of wormwood
as a stomachic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, febrifuge
and anthelmintic. Extracts of the plant have shown to exhibit strong
antimicrobial activity, especially against Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria. It
can repel insect larvae when planted on the edge of the cultivated area. It has
also been used to repel fleas and moths indoors.
Theories
One interesting
theory is that nuclear weaponry could be called ‘wormwood.’ For example: Ukrainian synonymy ‘wormwood’. They do poison the water where they are detonated, thus
explaining the correlation. Some even point to the Chernobyl disaster as a possible fulfillment of this prophecy, as
the name Chernobyl is said to translate to ‘wormwood.’
Various scientific
scenarios have been theorized on the effects of an asteroid or comet’s
collision with Earth. An applicable scenario theorizes a chemical change in the
atmosphere due to “heat shock” during entry and/or impact of a large asteroid
or comet, reacting oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere to produce nitric-acid
rain.
Acid rain from the heat shock of a large comet
or asteroid’s impact with Earth is believed by some to fit the Biblical
description of the bitterness produced by the Wormwood Star upon a third of the
Earth’s potable water.
However we
don’t believe either Chernobyl disaster contamination, asteroid’s collision or
falling of a single star could literally fall on a third of the fresh water
sources of the earth and make it bitter (poisonous). John just intends the reader to understand the
fact that the star affected one-third of the rivers and springs on the earth.
To properly understand the expression ‘wormwood’,
the name of the star, we will need to read Revelation 1:20;
“The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of
the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
From this, we can draw a logical formula;
(seven)
stars = (seven) angels or messengers
of churches.
i.e. Star = Angel or Messenger of church
I am cautiously saying this:
“This star named ‘wormwood’ might be a very
influential church leadership (a great star, blazing like a torch) whose teachings or doctrines are
misleading one-third of Christians into the spiritual death.”
Pure wormwood oil
is very poisonous and it can kill the herbivorous animals, such as sheep, goats
and cows if they graze on it. God’s people are portrayed as sheep in the Bible.