Trumpets Two and Three.
“Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, 9 one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.” – REV 8:8-9NLT.
There is a strong link between the plagues of Egypt, the 7 trumpets and the 7 last plagues. The fact that water turns into blood here is a strong reminder of the first plague of the Exodus (Exodus 7:19-21). Turning the Nile into blood would destroy Egypt’s economy and comforts in an instance. The lifeblood of Egypt was and still is the water from the Nile. Jesus alluded to this event when He performed His first miracle by turning water into wine. In this He was announcing that He was the prophet that Moses said would come and be like him – a deliverer. Jesus first miracle pointed back to Egypt and would have reminded them of the prophecy of Moses, that the Messiah would be a prophet like him (Moses).
There is also a second clear allusion in this text, a reminder of God’s judgment on ancient Babylon. “I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.” – Jer. 51:25, NIV. In Jeremiah 51 God pronounces judgment on Babylon because she has been oppressing the people of God. So, the second trumpet blends elements of the Old Testament judgments on both Egypt and Babylon. What is interesting is that both countries were and are flat, dry, and dependant on the great rivers that pass through them.
But if ancient Babylon was located in a flat river valley, why does this text speak of a mountain? It is a symbolic reference. In Daniel 2 it is God’s kingdom that is described in terms of a great mountain. So, Jeremiah’s description suggests Babylon is a great counterfeit of God’s true kingdom. This trumpet promises that God will destroy that counterfeit in the waters of her own “sea.”
The symbolic judgments represented in the second trumpet may well reflect the collapse of the Roman Empire, an event still future at the time the Book of Revelation was written.
From the point of view of the first readers, the Empire may have seemed invincible. But John is assured through this vision that God marks the activities of oppressors on this earth, and He acts at the proper time.
“Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star was Bitterness. (wormwood) It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water. Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.” – Revelation 8: 10-12 NLT
The trumpets are running the days of creation backward as this world moves to de-creation. The plagues of Egypt are also alluded to. We need to keep reminding ourselves that Revelation is talking about literal things in a symbolic, metaphorical, and conceptual way. The third and fourth trumpets portray heaven’s judgment against the apostasy of the Christian church in the Medieval period. But it was not God who “zapped” them from heaven, it was their apostasy that brought judgments upon themselves as God withdrew His protection, just as He did in the Old Testament with Israel.
The 9th plague to strike Egypt was darkness (Ex 10:21). Their greatest god Ra was seen as a never-failing power. As the apostasy of the “dark Ages” increases so does the spiritual darkness. As mankind gets further from God the darkness of satan obscures the light.
The text here speaks about partial darkness, one that affects some people more than others, one that affects some parts of the day more than others. This is a good description of life as we experience it. The darkness of sin affects some people more than others.
Have you ever heard the saying, “In the land of the blind, one eye is king!” Well in the darkness of night a blind man has distinct advantages over a sighted person. When the darkness of sin comes over the world, those who follow God will have a great advantage, they will see with spiritual eyesight (cf. John 9:39-41).
Thanks Pastor Ross for explaining the trumpets. The further we go away from God the harder it becomes to find our way back to light. I am encouraged to this promise on Matthew 7:7 when we seek God with all our heart we shall find Him. Be blessed.
Thank you Thok