Chapters 8-11

We now come to the first box in the flowchart that covers more than one chapter. The reason this box covers four chapters is because chapters 8-11 all go together, covering the seventh seal.

Referring to the flowchart again, notice that this box begins exactly where the Ch7 box begins, but ends where the Ch20:11-15 box ends, and is located directly underneath them. That simply means that the events described in this box occur at the same time as the events described in those two boxes above it.

The seven numbers in this box are the seven trumpets of the seventh seal. Notice that the first six are listed before the beginning of the Ch20:11-15 box, while the seventh is listed directly underneath it. That means that the first six trumpets occur before the second coming of Christ, while the seventh trumpet is another view of the final judgment.

As stated earlier, there are only two responses one can make to the gospel. As chapter seven showed all those who accepted it, so chapters 8-11 show all those who reject it.

The half-hour silence at 8:1 probably signifies nothing more than the idea that something serious is about to happen. The peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and the earthquake in v5 are all normal images of God's power.

As the first four seals went together, so also the first four trumpets go together, and should be considered as a whole.

There are a couple of common threads running throughout the first four trumpets. One, mankind is not directly inflicted with these judgments from God, and two, these judgments are partial in nature. Let's see how this is the case.

At the sound of the first trumpet the land is affected, and v7 shows that a third of the earth and trees were burned up, as well as all the green grass. Generally, we understand 'all the green grass' to mean all the green grass that was in the third of the earth that was burned up, although one can't be too dogmatic about that. In any event, the idea that only a third of the land was affected, instead of all of it, makes this a partial judgment. It really doesn't matter whether it was a third or a quarter. The idea is that it wasn't total.

The same is true for the second trumpet, this one affecting the sea and related items. This judgment is also partial, not total.

The third trumpet affects fresh water, turning it bitter. 'Wormwood' in v11 means bitterness. If one drank too much bitter water he would die.

The fourth trumpet affects the heavens, meaning, of course, the sun and stars and planets, not the heaven that is the home of God. Again, this is a partial judgment.

Clearly, none of this is to be taken literally. From a purely scientific standpoint, v12 would create serious problems. But figuratively, we can see these judgments as warnings from God to a rebellious mankind, showing him that without God he cannot but fail in all he does. These warnings contain mercy and grace in that they are partial, giving mankind time to repent, and in that they are not inflicted upon him directly.

But mankind apparently does not respond, and so chapter eight closes with a warning about the last three trumpets, which will be divided into two groups.

The next two trumpets do affect mankind in a direct way. The fifth one comprises the first eleven verses of chapter nine. The image of torture is what we should focus on.

The abyss of v1 is tartarus, not hell. Notice who the victims of this trumpet are. They are the ones who do not "have the seal of God on their foreheads," v4, so don't think that this trumpet is something that is going to happen to Christians.

It seems best to look at this as the result of sin. Many times sin brings with it its own temporal punishment. The alcoholic did not start out intending to become an alcoholic. Nor did the junkie intend to get hooked on drugs. The slide down was not anticipated when the sin first began to allure, and the one who suffers most is the one who succumbs. This trumpet graphically illustrates that those unforeseen aspects of sin can be devastating. And yet, since the sinner is still alive, v5, 6, even this judgment is partial, giving the sinner an opportunity to repent. If he does, he will join those in chapter seven. But looking at the flowchart once more, notice that there is no connecting line between the Ch7 box and the Ch8-11 box, as there was between the Ch2 and Ch3 boxes. That's because chapters eight through eleven will not show anyone repenting and therefore moving among the heavenly throng in the Ch7 box. In fact, the four boxes displayed underneath this one also have no connecting line with the Ch7 box, and so they don't portray anyone repenting, either. This is not to say that no one ever repents in this life. Of course they do, otherwise evangelism would be pointless. But the idea here is that the stories Revelation tells here and in the boxes below don't deal with people who repent, only with those that remain rebellious.

The sixth trumpet intensifies God's judgment against rebellious mankind, this time causing some to die. We can see that the results of sin become more and more serious. It seems improbable that the original readers would interpret v17-19 to refer to a specific future battle, as some commentators do. It seems best to understand it the same way v13-16 are understood, that is, figuratively.

It seems incredible, in view of the first six trumpets, that the survivors would not see the error of their ways and repent, but that's exactly what v20, 21 says. Up till now all these judgments have been partial, leaving room for repentance. But God will not wait forever. There will come a time when it will be too late, God's mercy and patience having finally run out, as we see in the seventh trumpet. But first there are a couple of things to notice.

There can be nothing but speculation over what the seven thunders said in 10:4. Since God told John to seal it up and not write it down, it must not be for us to know.

The idea in v9, 10 seems to be that God's word contains much that is sweet and much that is bitter. This little scroll and v11 seem to recommission John to continue prophesying both the Good News and the warnings against the rejection of it.

In 11:1-14 we have a picture of what the church is doing during the first six trumpets. This is the church-age, and while rebellious mankind goes his own way the church is still proclaiming the gospel amidst rejection. This is seen in the two witnesses, which recalls Jesus sending the disciples out two-by-two. Their resurrection at v11 seems to epitomize Matthew 16:25, where Jesus said, "...whoever loses his life for me will find it."

Finally, we arrive at the seventh trumpet. Remembering that the number seven represents completeness, it would appear that this trumpet would be the last judgment of God, and so it is. Referring to the flowchart again, we see that the 7 in the Ch8-11 box, representing the seventh trumpet in the seventh seal, is directly underneath the Ch20:11-15 box. In this case, that means that the seventh trumpet is another view of the final judgment. V18 seems to particularly nail this down. The time for mercy is over, and only fearful judgment awaits rebellious mankind.

This seventh trumpet only hints at what chapter 20:11-15 will describe more clearly.

Since the final judgment has not occurred yet but, according to Matthew 24:36, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, 2 Peter 3:10 and Revelation 16:15, could at any time, our current point in history is probably at 11:14, represented by the red line that passes through the Ch8-11 box.

We have now gone from the beginning of man, with his efforts without God, to the introduction of the gospel into the world, to all those that accepted it, to all those that rejected it, ending with the final punishment. But we are only half-way through the book of Revelation. What is left to cover? There are many events that for the sake of clarity weren't included in the seven seals, although they occurred during them. Earlier the idea of repetition was brought up, and now it is about to come into play.