GETTING THE MESSAGE/God’s people distinct from the world

In Revelation 8:6-12, we see the first four trumpet judgments fall out upon the earth. These judgments carry important similarities to the plagues the Lord brought upon Egypt when God sent Moses to bring the Israelites out of bondage. Both show a distinct difference between God’s people and the world, which neither honors nor knows the Lord.

The Lord told Moses that he would redeem Israel with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and that they would know the Lord God is their God. The trumpet judgments in Revelation conveys the same thing.  There are spiritual truths to be learned in these judgments. 

The first trumpet judgment in Revelation 8:7 affects the earth; hail and fire, mixed with blood is poured out. A third of the earth is burned up, and all the green grass is burned. This is symbolic language pointing to distress on earth from literal hardships that imply famine and scarcity. This temporal judgment portends the impending final judgment.

The green grass reminds us of the original creation when God gave man all the green plants for food. Man was blessed in both soul and body; there was blessed communion with God and the enjoyment of God’s creation. The judgment poured out shows that physical scarcity is not the main problem of sinful man. The main problem is he has no life with the living God. 

Those in Christ have been forgiven their sins and restored to life with God. They are to endure the tribulations on earth through faith. Christ, the good Shepherd, leads them to green pastures. Like the Lord Jesus, they have bread to eat the world knows not of. They know the Lord. He brings them through this world of tribulation. His rod and his staff comfort his people.

The second trumpet sounds, and “something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea and a third of the sea becomes blood.” Ships are destroyed and living creatures in the sea die. The symbolism points to the negative effects the fall of an empire can have on men.

Kingdoms, both good and bad, are often depicted as mountains in Scripture. Fire is a symbol of judgment, and the sea is a source of food and prosperity. When the Nile River was turned to blood, the fish died. Egypt was a mighty kingdom, but what is it when the Lord’s hand is against it? In Jeremiah 51, the Lord says to great Babylon, “I am against you O Babylon. I will make you a flaming mountain.” The fall of kingdoms and the hardships that ensue, are alarms to seek the Lord’s kingdom above all else.

This trumpet also reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ spreads his kingdom by the gospel despite mountains of opposition. Jesus said of the opposition the church would face from Jerusalem, “If you have faith you can say to this mountain, be thrown into the sea.” Rome and many other kingdoms have opposed Christ and his church. The prophecy in Daniel 2 declared that Christ’s kingdom, “would break in pieces all other kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

The third trumpet sounds, and a great star named Wormwood falls into the fresh water on earth, making a third of it bitter. The language of poisonous water was used by the prophet Jeremiah as a judgment against Judah for their gross idolatry.  The trumpets sound out the desperate condition we are in. We have need to enter the kingdom of grace.

We sense the horror of having no clean water to drink, but this points us to a greater need. Jesus told us that our thirst pointed to the need of living water. We are thirsty, dry, and barren land. Left to ourselves, we would wither and die. When Israel was dying of thirst and came to Marah, the water was bitter. But Moses threw a tree into the water and made it fresh. Jesus told sinners he would give them water that wells up to eternal life. If you’re a sinner, ask him for this water.

The fourth trumpet judgment affects the light that the sun, stars, and moon put out. Again, you can imagine the distress to be in physical darkness, but this points us to our need of the light of Christ. A total eclipse of the sun does not destroy the sun’s natural beauty, light, and glory. Christ may be hidden from the world, but he is a glorious Savior to all who have the eyes to see.