First Four Trumpets of Judgement

Revelation 8:7-13

7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning 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. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

12 Then the fourth angel sounded: 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 were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

The first four of seven trumpets are sounded by four of the seven angels of the churches.  The first brings fire, hail, and blood to burn up the grass and trees.  The second drops a burning mountain sized rock (possibly a meteor) into the ocean, which kills a third of the sea life and ships sailing in the seas, again with blood.  The third brings another celestial object down, this time poisoning the water supply (could be a comet or another meteor).  The fourth angel sounds and the light of the sun, moon, and stars dims by a third, bringing an eerie darkness to all the earth’s inhabitants.  After all these terrible events, another angel flies about heaven proclaiming that the greater woes are still to come with the remaining three soundings of judgement on those left in the earth.  These first four are inconceivable in themselves; how much worse are the ones to come?  These all are told ahead of time as warnings to us before the judgement of God rains down, and are meant to both sober some and harden others further.  God will execute His final judgement, and we must be sober in proclaiming the good news which reconciles others to the Father through the Lamb who alone is worthy and righteous.  The time is always short because we don’t know when He will come back, so we are to be about our Father’s business with the gospel of peace through repentance (Luke 24:47, Acts 20:21) and faith.  The Lamb of God is the only righteous one who takes away our sin, and only through faith in Him and His work for us we are saved from this wrath of judgement which is certain to come.  This is real hope!