CHRIS' COMMENTARY NOTES FOR REVELATION CHAPTER 8
Revelation 8: Intro.
We pick back up with the 7 seals that we left off with in chapter 6. We'll see the 7th seal be broken down in 7 trumpets, 4 of which are in this chapter.
We pick back up with the 7 seals that we left off with in chapter 6. We'll see the 7th seal be broken down in 7 trumpets, 4 of which are in this chapter.
Notes on Revelation 8:1-13
8:1. There was silence in heaven for about half an hour. There’s a joke that goes: how do you know that there are no women in heaven? Because it says there was silence in heaven. Haha. But really this portion confused me. What does it mean? McGee says this is "a lull in judgment activity." He quotes Godet: "'this silence is a pause of action.'" But the silence is weird, why does it happen? McGee thinks that it's because there has been a lot of judgment (the first six seals) but God always gives an opportunity for repentance. McGee says, "God is reluctant to judge for He is slow to anger. Judgment is His strange work." He then quotes Isaiah 28:21. So "this silence marks the transition from grace to judgment" (Source 1, p. 83). McGee reminds the reader that even now God is waiting for people to come to him.
8:2. Seven angels. This is a separate and elite group of angels. McGee believes that Gabriel is in this group, because in Luke 1:19 he says that he stands in the presence of God. McGee notes that although the seraphim are also identified as standing before God (in Isaiah 6:1-2) they have a different "mission and service" (Source 1, p. 84).
Trumpets. McGee says that these seven trumpets are like the two trumpets from Numbers. In Numbers 10:2 they were used to start the procession into the promised land. He says here, the seven trumpets will be used to move "Israel into the land of Palestine" (Source 1, p. 86). McGee notes that he doesn't believe that the current inhabitation of Israel into its land is a fulfillment of prophecy. "Rather, it will be fulfilled in the great tribulation with the blowing of the seven trumpets as they were on the wilderness march" (Source 1, p. 86). Also note that there were 7 trumpets used at the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6).
8:3. Another angel. Some try and make this Jesus. But it's not. McGee says "Jesus Christ is no longer in the position of intercessor for the church. We saw in chapters 4 - 5 that He moved away from that position and was given the seven seal book. He's in charge... not moving is one of the actors down on Earth's stage; He is in heaven with the church" (Source 1, p. 87).
Censer. MacArthur describes this as "a golden pan, suspended on a rope or chain, that was used to transport fiery coals from the brazen altar to the altar of incense, in order to ignite the incense, symbolizing the prayers of the people (5:8; Ex. 27:3; cf. Luke 1:8,9)" (Source 2).
Prayers of all the saints. See notes on Rev. 5:8 titled, “Golden bowls of incense” and Rev. 6:9 titled, “Under the alter.”
Stood at the altar. See note on Rev. 6:9 titled, “Under the alter.”
8:5. Filled it with fire from the altar. For more on “altar”, see notes on Rev. 6:9 titled, “Under the alter” and Rev. 8:3 titled, “Stood at the altar.”
Threw it to the earth. McGee says "the high priest of Israel took a sensor with him as he carried the blood into the Holy of Holy's. Here the ritual is reversed, because out of heaven the sensor is hurled upon the earth. In other words, the prayers ascended as incense, and now we have the answer coming down" (Source 1, p. 88).
Thundering, lightnings, and an earthquake. Christ opened, now the angels take over.
8:6. Prepared themselves to sound. This ends the half hour of silence (Rev. 8:1).
Revelation 8:7. The First Trumpet. It is important to note that following chapter 7 with this verse then the 144,000 must be sealed.
Hail and fire. MacArthur thinks that a volcano has erupted from the earthquake in v. 5 (see note on and the “steam and water thrown into the sky by such an eruption could easily condense into hail and fall to earth along with the fiery lava” (Source 2, p. 2003)
Mingled with blood. The word “blood” here in the Greek is haima (G129) meaning “blood: of animals, blood shed.” To be fair it can also mean “to resemble blood [as in] grape juice” (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G129&t=KJV). My OPINION is that this is real blood. Just like the plague on Pharoah God’s “spiritualnatural” ways confound science but are nevertheless true. MacArthur thinks that a volcano has erupted from the earthquake in v. 5 (see note there titled, “Thundering, lightnings, and an earthquake”) and that the “dust and gases may so contaminate falling liquid water that appears blood red” (Source 2, p. 2003). Interestingly when blood is mentioned in Rev. 8:8 (see note there titled, “sea became blood”) MacArthur thinks it really is blood.
And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. See note on Rev 7:1 titled, “The wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.” McGee says that vegetation was the first thing created (Gen. 1:11) and it will be the first thing destroyed. He also compares the seventh plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, and that it was literal (Ex. 9:18-26) (Source 1, p. 90).
Revelation 8:8-9. The Second Trumpet.
8:8. Something like a great mountain burning with fire. Notice this is something like a mountain. McGee says, “This careful distinction in the use of language should be noted, especially since it is the common practice to lump together everything in Revelation and call it symbolic...the mountain represents something as literal and tangible as that we have in Jeremiah 51:25…” (Source 1, p. 91). McGee says it is a “great mass, a force” but has no idea what it can be (Source 1, p. 92).
sea became blood. As mentioned in the notes on Rev. 8:6 (titled, “Mingled with blood”) it is my OPINION that this is literal blood. The same word for blood (haima [G129]) is used here. McGee agrees with me that this is literal blood (Source 1, p. 92).
8:9. Third of the living creatures. Obviously these deaths are caused by the giant, mountain-like thing that crashed into the sea from Rev 8:8 (see note titled, “Something like a great mountain burning with fire”).
Third of the ships. Again, this is caused by the giant, mountain-like thing that crashed into the sea from Rev 8:8 (see note titled, “Something like a great mountain burning with fire”). So could this be that tsunami waves sunk all these ships?
Revelation 8:10-11. The Third Trumpet. There are an incredible amount of theories about “Wormwood.”
8:10. A great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch. In my OPINION this is a literal star. I know there are tons of theories about this. Some say it is a demon but there is no reason to not take it literally. We name all of the stars and planets we discover so just because it has a name doesn’t mean it is a living being. McGee agrees with me saying this is “a meteor, a star out of heaven” (Source 1, p. 93).
Third of the rivers and on the springs of water. This star poisons 1/3 of drinkable water on earth (see note on Rev. 8:11 titled, “A third of the waters became wormwood”).
8:11. Name of the star is Wormwood. The word “Wormwood” is apsinthion (G894) simply meaning “wormwood” (Source 3). Interestingly according to www.webmd.com another name for wormwood is Absinth (compare to original Greek above). The plant and the oil are used in several medicines but also “as an insecticide.” It is used in some alcoholic beverages including absinthe. Interestingly “it is now banned in many countries, including the U.S. But it is still allowed in European Union countries as long as the thujone content is less than 35 mg/kg. Thujone is a potentially poisonous chemical found in wormwood. Distilling wormwood in alcohol increases the thujone concentration.” So what does wormwood do? “Wormwood oil contains the chemical thujone, which excites the central nervous system. However, it can also cause seizures and other adverse effects” (Source 4).
Apparently the word Chernobyl in Ukrainian means "wormwood." (Source 5). Some websites (like http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/chernobyl_wormwood.htm for instance) claim that the nuclear meltdown on April 26, 1986 was in fact this star. They say that the nuclear fallout poisoned the water, especially due to rain bringing the particles down. The biggest issue is that we haven't entered the Tribulation and even if we had this theory blatantly disregards that it must be "a star [falling] from heaven." And although the meltdown did affect water supplies it by no means poisoned 1/3 of the worlds water.
A third of the waters became wormwood. The word “wormwood” here is the same as the name from above.
Many men died because it was made bitter. So the star hits the earth poisoning the water and people die because of it. McGee compares the water of Marah when Moses was told to throw the wood into the water to make the water that was bitter into sweet water (Source 1, p. 93). This, of course, was a picture of Christ who took the wood (cross) throwing it at man’s sin and making their lives sweet.
Revelation 8:12. The Fourth Trumpet.
8:12. A third of the sun was struck. The word for "struck" is plesso (G#4141) meaning "
to strike, smite" and is only used here in the Bible (BLB app). In my OPINION this is the literal sun that is hit and 1/3 of it blacks out. John isn't told what hits them (the sun, moon and stars), but whatever it is it must be massive or powerful. That means as the world turns when the earth lines up with the dark spot on the sun then "a third of the day [will] not shine" and likewise the moon will not reflect when it's dark third is in view.
A third of the moon, and a third of the stars. It is my OPINION that this is the literal moon and the literal stars in our galaxy. As mentioned in the note directly above, although John doesn't tell us what hits, whatever it is must be massive. Or maybe just very powerful.
Revelation 8:13. This is parenthetical. It serves to introduce us to the “three woes” which are the last three trumpets. For more on the “three woes” see note titled, “Revelation 9:3-20:3.”
References:
Source 1: J. Vernon McGee, Revelation: Chapter 6-13.
Source 2: John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, p. 2003.
Source 3: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G894&t=KJV
Source 4: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-729-WORMWOOD.aspx?activeIngredientId=729&activeIngredientName=WORMWOODSource 5: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormwood_(Bible), Reference # 13
8:1. There was silence in heaven for about half an hour. There’s a joke that goes: how do you know that there are no women in heaven? Because it says there was silence in heaven. Haha. But really this portion confused me. What does it mean? McGee says this is "a lull in judgment activity." He quotes Godet: "'this silence is a pause of action.'" But the silence is weird, why does it happen? McGee thinks that it's because there has been a lot of judgment (the first six seals) but God always gives an opportunity for repentance. McGee says, "God is reluctant to judge for He is slow to anger. Judgment is His strange work." He then quotes Isaiah 28:21. So "this silence marks the transition from grace to judgment" (Source 1, p. 83). McGee reminds the reader that even now God is waiting for people to come to him.
8:2. Seven angels. This is a separate and elite group of angels. McGee believes that Gabriel is in this group, because in Luke 1:19 he says that he stands in the presence of God. McGee notes that although the seraphim are also identified as standing before God (in Isaiah 6:1-2) they have a different "mission and service" (Source 1, p. 84).
Trumpets. McGee says that these seven trumpets are like the two trumpets from Numbers. In Numbers 10:2 they were used to start the procession into the promised land. He says here, the seven trumpets will be used to move "Israel into the land of Palestine" (Source 1, p. 86). McGee notes that he doesn't believe that the current inhabitation of Israel into its land is a fulfillment of prophecy. "Rather, it will be fulfilled in the great tribulation with the blowing of the seven trumpets as they were on the wilderness march" (Source 1, p. 86). Also note that there were 7 trumpets used at the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6).
8:3. Another angel. Some try and make this Jesus. But it's not. McGee says "Jesus Christ is no longer in the position of intercessor for the church. We saw in chapters 4 - 5 that He moved away from that position and was given the seven seal book. He's in charge... not moving is one of the actors down on Earth's stage; He is in heaven with the church" (Source 1, p. 87).
Censer. MacArthur describes this as "a golden pan, suspended on a rope or chain, that was used to transport fiery coals from the brazen altar to the altar of incense, in order to ignite the incense, symbolizing the prayers of the people (5:8; Ex. 27:3; cf. Luke 1:8,9)" (Source 2).
Prayers of all the saints. See notes on Rev. 5:8 titled, “Golden bowls of incense” and Rev. 6:9 titled, “Under the alter.”
Stood at the altar. See note on Rev. 6:9 titled, “Under the alter.”
8:5. Filled it with fire from the altar. For more on “altar”, see notes on Rev. 6:9 titled, “Under the alter” and Rev. 8:3 titled, “Stood at the altar.”
Threw it to the earth. McGee says "the high priest of Israel took a sensor with him as he carried the blood into the Holy of Holy's. Here the ritual is reversed, because out of heaven the sensor is hurled upon the earth. In other words, the prayers ascended as incense, and now we have the answer coming down" (Source 1, p. 88).
Thundering, lightnings, and an earthquake. Christ opened, now the angels take over.
8:6. Prepared themselves to sound. This ends the half hour of silence (Rev. 8:1).
Revelation 8:7. The First Trumpet. It is important to note that following chapter 7 with this verse then the 144,000 must be sealed.
Hail and fire. MacArthur thinks that a volcano has erupted from the earthquake in v. 5 (see note on and the “steam and water thrown into the sky by such an eruption could easily condense into hail and fall to earth along with the fiery lava” (Source 2, p. 2003)
Mingled with blood. The word “blood” here in the Greek is haima (G129) meaning “blood: of animals, blood shed.” To be fair it can also mean “to resemble blood [as in] grape juice” (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G129&t=KJV). My OPINION is that this is real blood. Just like the plague on Pharoah God’s “spiritualnatural” ways confound science but are nevertheless true. MacArthur thinks that a volcano has erupted from the earthquake in v. 5 (see note there titled, “Thundering, lightnings, and an earthquake”) and that the “dust and gases may so contaminate falling liquid water that appears blood red” (Source 2, p. 2003). Interestingly when blood is mentioned in Rev. 8:8 (see note there titled, “sea became blood”) MacArthur thinks it really is blood.
And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. See note on Rev 7:1 titled, “The wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.” McGee says that vegetation was the first thing created (Gen. 1:11) and it will be the first thing destroyed. He also compares the seventh plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, and that it was literal (Ex. 9:18-26) (Source 1, p. 90).
Revelation 8:8-9. The Second Trumpet.
8:8. Something like a great mountain burning with fire. Notice this is something like a mountain. McGee says, “This careful distinction in the use of language should be noted, especially since it is the common practice to lump together everything in Revelation and call it symbolic...the mountain represents something as literal and tangible as that we have in Jeremiah 51:25…” (Source 1, p. 91). McGee says it is a “great mass, a force” but has no idea what it can be (Source 1, p. 92).
sea became blood. As mentioned in the notes on Rev. 8:6 (titled, “Mingled with blood”) it is my OPINION that this is literal blood. The same word for blood (haima [G129]) is used here. McGee agrees with me that this is literal blood (Source 1, p. 92).
8:9. Third of the living creatures. Obviously these deaths are caused by the giant, mountain-like thing that crashed into the sea from Rev 8:8 (see note titled, “Something like a great mountain burning with fire”).
Third of the ships. Again, this is caused by the giant, mountain-like thing that crashed into the sea from Rev 8:8 (see note titled, “Something like a great mountain burning with fire”). So could this be that tsunami waves sunk all these ships?
Revelation 8:10-11. The Third Trumpet. There are an incredible amount of theories about “Wormwood.”
8:10. A great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch. In my OPINION this is a literal star. I know there are tons of theories about this. Some say it is a demon but there is no reason to not take it literally. We name all of the stars and planets we discover so just because it has a name doesn’t mean it is a living being. McGee agrees with me saying this is “a meteor, a star out of heaven” (Source 1, p. 93).
Third of the rivers and on the springs of water. This star poisons 1/3 of drinkable water on earth (see note on Rev. 8:11 titled, “A third of the waters became wormwood”).
8:11. Name of the star is Wormwood. The word “Wormwood” is apsinthion (G894) simply meaning “wormwood” (Source 3). Interestingly according to www.webmd.com another name for wormwood is Absinth (compare to original Greek above). The plant and the oil are used in several medicines but also “as an insecticide.” It is used in some alcoholic beverages including absinthe. Interestingly “it is now banned in many countries, including the U.S. But it is still allowed in European Union countries as long as the thujone content is less than 35 mg/kg. Thujone is a potentially poisonous chemical found in wormwood. Distilling wormwood in alcohol increases the thujone concentration.” So what does wormwood do? “Wormwood oil contains the chemical thujone, which excites the central nervous system. However, it can also cause seizures and other adverse effects” (Source 4).
Apparently the word Chernobyl in Ukrainian means "wormwood." (Source 5). Some websites (like http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/chernobyl_wormwood.htm for instance) claim that the nuclear meltdown on April 26, 1986 was in fact this star. They say that the nuclear fallout poisoned the water, especially due to rain bringing the particles down. The biggest issue is that we haven't entered the Tribulation and even if we had this theory blatantly disregards that it must be "a star [falling] from heaven." And although the meltdown did affect water supplies it by no means poisoned 1/3 of the worlds water.
A third of the waters became wormwood. The word “wormwood” here is the same as the name from above.
Many men died because it was made bitter. So the star hits the earth poisoning the water and people die because of it. McGee compares the water of Marah when Moses was told to throw the wood into the water to make the water that was bitter into sweet water (Source 1, p. 93). This, of course, was a picture of Christ who took the wood (cross) throwing it at man’s sin and making their lives sweet.
Revelation 8:12. The Fourth Trumpet.
8:12. A third of the sun was struck. The word for "struck" is plesso (G#4141) meaning "
to strike, smite" and is only used here in the Bible (BLB app). In my OPINION this is the literal sun that is hit and 1/3 of it blacks out. John isn't told what hits them (the sun, moon and stars), but whatever it is it must be massive or powerful. That means as the world turns when the earth lines up with the dark spot on the sun then "a third of the day [will] not shine" and likewise the moon will not reflect when it's dark third is in view.
A third of the moon, and a third of the stars. It is my OPINION that this is the literal moon and the literal stars in our galaxy. As mentioned in the note directly above, although John doesn't tell us what hits, whatever it is must be massive. Or maybe just very powerful.
Revelation 8:13. This is parenthetical. It serves to introduce us to the “three woes” which are the last three trumpets. For more on the “three woes” see note titled, “Revelation 9:3-20:3.”
References:
Source 1: J. Vernon McGee, Revelation: Chapter 6-13.
Source 2: John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, p. 2003.
Source 3: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G894&t=KJV
Source 4: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-729-WORMWOOD.aspx?activeIngredientId=729&activeIngredientName=WORMWOODSource 5: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormwood_(Bible), Reference # 13