Last 5 Days
God Judges
1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing 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 people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
The first six trumpets form a literary unit similar to the first six seals. When we do a simple comparison, we see that they are separated from the seventh (trumpet / seal) by an interlude. The first four trumpets form one unit, like the first four horsemen, while the final three form another unit. In terms of arrangement, that the seven trumpets were written after the seven seals does not reflect a chronological sequence of human or church history, but a progression of John’s vision to see the different power and influence, difficulties, pain and suffering. Further, we see in the vision of the seven seals that a quarter of the earth suffered (Revelation 6:8), while in the vision of the seven trumpets, a third of the earth suffered, further reinforcing the idea that the sufferings that humans face only become more serious and more pain is experienced.
Verses 1 to 5 detailed the seventh seal during which a silence fell. While there are several interpretations to the silence, a specifically eschatological interpretation seems most likely. The silence may show the solemnity and seriousness of what may happen. It may also refer to the world’s awe before God at the Day of Judgement. Prayers for vindication as well as other prayers (verse 3) were described as incense that were offered. These prayers sent judgement into motion, where the suffering of God’s people brought about his intervention. In our suffering and tribulation, we need to get on our knees and pray. God is not distant, He listens to our prayers, He responds to us.
From verse 6 onwards, John reported the first four trumpets, a unit that corresponded with the four seals as mentioned earlier, also a unit that bore similarities with the ten plagues that we read in Exodus. Just as God sent the plagues on Egypt, in this set of verses, what the earth was experiencing was similar to what Egypt experienced then. The point of alluding to the plagues in Exodus is to indicate that God is sovereign over these natural elements and sends judgements on matters throughout history. We see God’s justice, when sins are judged and destroyed. Often, we do not like to think of God as a God who judges, because it often feels like He is just being cruel. Instead, we prefer to think that He is love. However, God is Holy and He will not accept sin, and will have to judge sin. He is not just a distant God of the future, He is the Lord of today and the Lord of history even now. H. Richard Niebuhr says, “A God without wrath brought me without sin into a kingdom without judgement through the ministrations of a Christ without the cross”. If God does not judge sin, then there was no need for Christ to be on the Cross.
Hence, God is not just a God of justice, but also a God of mercy. Through the vision given to John, we know of the judgement that will be given to sin. But through the vision, we also know that God’s people are saved by the blood of the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Dear brothers and sisters, our Lord is holy and just, He desires for His righteous to be protected and to be preserved. But He is also merciful and love, and will forgive us of our sins. Search our own hearts to see if there is anything that we need to confess before God. Bring it to Him and ask God for His forgiveness. Dear brothers and sisters, we are in this world but not of this world. As we look towards God with the Hope of the coming of Christ again, let us not give up in our journey of sanctification. May we grow to be more and more like Jesus, the perfecter of our faith. May we continually share the gospel message, so that more may be called God’s children.
