& & & Teaching Notes Book of Revelation - Chapter 8 & & & Quarantine Day 61. Wednesday. This needs to end.
Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia & & & Revelation 8 New International Version The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer 8 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. The Trumpets 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 on 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, 9 a 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] 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!” Footnotes Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is a bitter substance. & & &
Bible Project Revelation 1-11 & & & The Seventh Seal Verse 1 1And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Commentary: The seventh seal is the last of the seals that keep the content of the scroll hidden. After this seal is broken, the entire content of the scroll is visible. Like the previous three seals, it has to do with the wrath of God. This seal is about the wrath of God in the form of seven trumpet judgments. It is important that silence, which is not the usual sound pattern, does take place in heaven because it means that the angels and adorers of heaven are in continuous praise and worship of God's glory. In the course of history the only event that could cause the silence of heaven is the wrath of God. This wrath has been promised since the fall of man in the garden with Adam and Eve. The story is starting to get exciting...it is just beginning. This silence is something to take note of. One explanation of the silence is that it is something like a devotional time, in which the heavenly multitude is in silent contemplation of the Divine presence. The length of silent time (1/2 an hour) may also be interpreted as a pregnant pause staged for dramatic effect, presumably to contrast the forthcoming sound of the trumpets. The great events about to be ushered in during the "final acts" of this masterful performance may have brought forth the silence. Again, it's important to note that these attempted explanations are speculative statements. Verse 2 2And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Commentary: This begins the second set of judgments. Like the judgments released by the seals, the judgments of this set number seven, each revealed by and angel blowing a trumpet. The trumpet is an instrument used to announce the presence of God and was also used it battle. It the follow verses, the trumpet blasts are to announce a coming judgment, and that the wrath of God was present. With this in mind, it is difficult to say whether or not the judgments of the seven trumpets are in addition to those of the seven seals, or if they are merely more detailed descriptions of the same judgments. It is possible to read images like those of the four angels, bound by the Euphrates as separate or analogous figures to those of the four horsemen described in the judgments of the seals. Also like the judgments of the seals, the judgments of the trumpets are not example of personal, punitive, or vengeful judgments, instead they are depicted as just occurrences designed to cause the rest of humanity to repent. The first four judgments, which appear in chapter eight, are of a somewhat natural nature. In these judgments both the church and non believers are affected. In the final three of the seven judgments which are to come, believers, those who bear the mark of God, are set aside and spared those judgments The first four angels sound their trumpets releasing the plagues Verses 3-4 3And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. Commentary: According to Witheringon III, this vision seems to harken back to the image of the priest in the Temple of Jerusalem. The priest would take hot coals from the sacrifice alter and light incense with them. The angel behaves in a similar manner. The smoke of the incense is used as a metaphor for the prayers of God's people. The prayers were mixed with the incense and offered unto God. As incense is pleasing to the senses, so the prayers are pleasing to God. The alter of incense is before the Throne of God showing that the prayers are given directly to God. The prayers are cries of relief,vengeance, and retribution from the saints, and they lead to the final judgement, the seven Trumpets. It can be inferred from the text that these prayers are for. Verses 5-6 5And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth, and there were voices, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. 6And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared to sound. Commentary: The same censer which carried the prayers of the faithful to the throne of God is now used to bring a reply. The prayers of the saints, which have risen to heaven with the incense smoke lit at the time of prayer, and then mixed with the smoke of the prayers of the angels, is then answered by casting coals from the heavenly fire onto the earth. These manifest in thunder, lightening, and quakes. These prayers, then, are prayers for vengeance. Regardless of which view one accepts on the chronology of this next set of judgments (after the seventh seal, a further description of the seventh seal, a repetition of the seals, etc.), this set of judgments teaches us more about John’s understanding of God’s justice. First of all, here the church is not specifically judged; rather it is the whole earth. However, and possibly most importantly, the church is not exempt from the first four judgments.The first four trumpets sound attacks upon earth's nature and also the cosmos. The following three blasts are directed toward the people on earth. This clearly negates some modern ideas that believers will be “raptured” (taken up into Heaven), thereby bypassing any suffering. Christians are rewarded for faithfully enduring suffering, not for avoiding it. Another point worth mentioning is that unlike the plagues of Egypt described in Exodus, there is no known possible natural explanation for these acts of judgment; they are undeniably supernatural/divine.[1] It is also important to not that what is important here is not knowing the exact chronological order of how this events may happen. It seems that John is more to present grotesque and terrifying images to the people into reading to turn away from idolatry and repent (Fiorenze, Revelation, 1991). Even more, the chronology is not the point and the series events described by John is an attempt to paint a picture of how grand and dramatic divine judgement will be. The First Four Trumpets Verse 7 7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth, and the third part of the trees was burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. Commentary: The plagues are said to be controlled by the Two Witnesses to be used to defeat the Antichrist through the latter part of the Tribulation. The hail and fire may be an ancient vision of modern weapons, with the blood symbolizing the associated loss of life. The hail calls to mind an Egyptian plague from the days of Moses, but God ups the ante on this one with blood mixed in the ice. Witherington suggests it is impossible to associate this plague with any natural phenomena, but that it is a godly brimstone. One should also note that one third is probably not literal. Like other numbers in this book, it simply means a lot, specially more than the destruction caused by the seals. One third also illustrates that the whole earth is not destroyed in this first round of judgments, more is to come. [2] Verses 8-9 8And the second angel sounded and, as it were, a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, 9and a third of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. Commentary: The great mountain is most likely a Volcanic Eruption where the top of the mountain is blown off into the sea. This brings back images from Mt. Vesuvius in Italy which erupted near the coast causing a tidal wave which destroyed many boats. The reference to the sea becoming blood is more-so a metaphor for the large amount of death and blood loss because of it. However, this could also be a possible reference back to Exodus of the Red Sea which Moses crossed escaping Egypt. "A third of the sea became blood" The destruction is focused solely on one-third of the salt water of the earth. Salt water becomes blood. This text can be taken literally if the story of Moses and the Nile becoming blood is taken literally as well. As the Nile became blood for Moses, one-third of salt water will do the for this event. This naturally results in death for those creatures needing oxygen. Blood is the only element of a dead body which cannot be harvested.
& & & Teaching Notes Book of Revelation - Chapter 7 &&& Quarantine Day 58. Monday, there is no physical church. [How can that be? US Const. 1A, 18 USC 242]
Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia & & & Revelation 7 New International Version 144,000 Sealed
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. 5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. The Great Multitude in White Robes 9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” 13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’[a] nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b] ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c]” Footnotes Revelation 7:16 Isaiah 49:10 Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 49:10 Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 25:8