Revelation Verse by Verse

Revelation 8.6-7 

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(8.6)    And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 

1.   “This is a solemn moment. The half-hour of silence is over. The prayers of the saints have been heard. The order is issued to prepare to blow. The angels come to attention. At the blowing of the trumpets, divine wrath is visited upon rebellious men. The blowing of the trumpets does not introduce symbols or secrets – the plagues are literal.”^[1] 

2.   Sometimes, we read the Word of God and miss something. Other times we study and can be too close to the topic to see the forest for the trees. So, let us take a step back and remind ourselves of the deliberate way in which this drama unfolds: 

a.   First, the four angels will hold back the winds, in Revelation 7.1: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” 

b.   Then, there will be silence for a half an hour, in Revelation 8.1: “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” 

c.   Now, the seven angels prepare themselves to sound. There will be no chaos at that time, except in the minds of men. However, from God’s perspective, all will be done in a methodical and orderly fashion, executing His wrath on a gainsaying and Christ-rejecting world. 

3.   Albert Barnes commented on this verse: “The way is now prepared for the sounding of the trumpets, and for the fearful commotions and changes which would be indicated by that. The last seal is opened; heaven stands in suspense to know what is to be disclosed; the saints, filled with solicitude, have offered their prayers; the censer of coals has been cast to the earth, as if these judgments could be no longer stayed by prayer; and the angels prepare to sound the trumpets indicative of what is to occur.”^[2] 

(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. 

1.   As mentioned before, some people think that these things mentioned are symbolic. Let me ask you a question. When God sent the plagues upon Egypt, were they symbolic? Were the lice symbols? Were the frogs symbols? Was the water turned to blood a symbol, or was the water turned to real blood? Why, then, do “Bible believers” insist that the things mentioned here are symbols? Simple. They do not believe the Bible. 

2.   Only two differences exist between what is written in Exodus and what is written here: Exodus is past and Revelation is future, and Exodus dealt with one nation while this deals with the whole world. 

3.   Think about what is going to happen, people. Hail and fire, mingled with blood, symbols of slaughter and ruin, coming out of the sky. Moreover, apparently, it will burn up one out of every three trees on the planet and every bit of the green grass. Imagine what devastation will result, what buildings will be burned up, what people will be killed, when this happens! 

4.   How could these things happen? “This may describe volcanic eruptions that could certainly result from the earthquake in v. 5. The steam and water thrown into the sky by such eruptions could easily condense into hail and fall to earth along with the fiery lava (cf. Ex. 9:13-25). Dust and gases may so contaminate falling liquid water that it appears blood red.” ^[3] 

5.   What about the burning up of the trees? “The lava storm will create a blazing fire that devastates one-third of the earth’s forests.”^[4] 

6.   Why the ecological devastation against the plant life, the trees and the grass? Plant life was the first to be created, and it is first to be destroyed (see Genesis 1:11, 12).”^[5] I wonder if this portion of God’s judgment is His righteous vengeance toward those who have made an idol of the environment, ripping from those who have worshiped the creation more than the Creator their beloved ecology, taking away the nature they love so much more than the God Who created and sustained what is commonly called nature. 

7.   To be sure, mankind should exercise good stewardship over the environment. However, this earth and its resources were given to us by God to use, not to sit back and watch. The oil in the ground was placed there by God to be pumped out and processed to advance the well-being and condition of mankind. Likewise the precious metals and coal, to make stoves and furnaces and fuel to warm our homes in the cold. 

8.   But what do the eco-freaks do? They love the environment while denying the existence of the One Who created and sustains all things. Even worse, they have transformed God’s creation into a god that they call Gaia, Mother Earth, and they seek to deny the proper use of the world’s resources for man’s benefit. They are guilty of idolatry, and their idol will be the first to suffer God’s wrath when the first trumpet sounds. 

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