Objective in Studying this Chapter:
1) To review the opening of the seventh seal, the angel with the golden censer and the sounding of the first four trumpets
2) To offer an explanation concerning the significance of these visions
A Brief Introduction
In Chapter 7, we saw two views of the people of God. One view, represented by the 144,000, is the church militant—the church on earth. The next view of that innumerable host, the number which could not be counted, is the church triumphant, standing before the throne of God, and before the Lamb. As we closed out chapter 7, we saw that the saved of all eternity, along with the heavenly host, were engaged in a great period of praise, of worship, and were reciting that seven-part doxology [Revelation 7:12: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”].
Now, we come to chapter 8. We are going to see the opening of the seventh and final seal of the scroll.
A Reading of Revelation, Chapter 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 to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
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 SEVENTH SEAL – SILENCE IN HEAVEN (VERSE 1)
The Lamb Opens the Seventh Seal (verse 1a)
“When He (the Lamb, Who was worthy) opened the seventh seal….”
There is Silence in Heaven for About Half an Hour (verse 1b)
“…there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”
Up to this point, as we have been sharing this view of the throne room of God, it has been something of a noisy place. There has been praising; there have been shouts. But now, it becomes quiet—quite because, perhaps, there is a great expectation about what is going to occur. You know, we see that sometimes, maybe as a crowd of people are around, and there is noise and confusion. Then, something takes place, or maybe, something is about to take place. You’ve see how a crowd can suddenly become silent in anticipation of what is about to happen. It would seem that, perhaps, that is what we’re seeing here. The elders, the four living creatures, the heavenly host, the assembled of all ages, all fall silent.
PREPARATION FOR THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVEN TRUMPETS (VERSES 2-6)
Seven Angels Prepared (verse 2)
“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.”
This dramatic scene includes seven angels with seven trumpets. The seven angels, sounding the seven trumpets, compose the contents of this seventh seal.
Notice the phrase, “…who stand before God….” That phrase, in the original language, actually represented that there was a particular position, which was being occupied. In other words, this wasn’t just random; this wasn’t just something that was arbitrary. Rather, these angels had a special place, a special position. Whether it was the position where they were physically standing, or whether it was the function that they had, what they were doing there—what they were about to do—was very special, very significant. It indicates that they had a service to perform.
If we look over in Luke, chapter 1, verse 19, the angel Gabriel appears to Zachariah. He identifies himself as one “who stands in the presence of God,” [“And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.’”].
In the Jewish apocrypha, there are a couple of things which are mentioned about “holy angels.” Of course, this is uninspired writing, but I think it’s interesting to share this with you. In the Book of Tobit, chapter 12, verse 15, we read, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present prayers of the saints, and go in before the glory of the Holy One.” Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it? Again, this is uninspired writing, but it is respected writing, nonetheless, and it is suggested here that this angel, named Raphael, is one of the seven holy angels.
In another apocryphal book, First Enoch [the First Book of Enoch], there are the names of seven archangels. They are Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, Uriel, Raguel, Saraqael and Remiel, Enoch 20, verses 1 through 8 [“1, 2 And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is 3) over the world and over Tartarus. Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men. 4,5) Raguel, one of the holy angels who takes vengeance on the world of the luminaries. Michael, one 6) of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos. Saraqael, 7) one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. Gabriel, one of the holy 8) angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.”]. Again, this is uninspired writing. We don’t accept this as part of the 39 books of the Old Testament, nor the 27 books of the New Testament.
Nevertheless, we do know that two of these names, Gabriel and Michael, appear in the New Testament. We already mentioned Gabriel, Luke 1:19. Michael is mentioned by Jude in Jude, verse 9 [“Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”].
Whether these seven angels in Revelation 8:2 are, indeed, the “archangels,” as we have mentioned, cannot be clearly determined. Also, there are some who would suggest that this number “seven” is not a literal number. Of course, we can accept that. We know that we have seen already, and we will continue to see, that many of the numbers that are associated with the book of Revelation are, in fact, symbolic in nature. And some suggest that this number “seven” and the statement of “…seven angels who stand before God…” only represents that of completeness or perfection. I would argue and say, “Yes, but they will be sounding seven trumpets.”
Concerning the trumpet: The trumpet had significance as well. The trumpet was seen any number of times in the Old Testament. It was used, typically, in the Old Testament in two capacities—one was to sound a warning; the other was used in association with a time of judgment. For example, Joel, chapter 2, verse 1 and following [Joel 2:1-11: “Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them Even for many successive generations.
3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. 5 With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. 7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. 8 They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. 9 They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. 11 The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His Word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?”].
The trumpet was also a sign, an indication, of God’s divine and miraculous intervention into the world—into world affairs. For example, Exodus, chapter 19, which records when Moses had led the children of Israel to Mount Sinai and they had stopped there. God was about to give the law. You’ll notice a couple of things. First of all, Mount Sinai was shrouded in clouds. There was noise and thunder and lightning, some of the things that we see associated here in Revelation 8:5 [“Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.”]. Moreover, there was a trumpet, which sounded. Exodus 19:19 says that the sound of the trumpet “became louder and louder” [“And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.”]. God was about to do something very spectacular. He was interjecting Himself at this point, in this way, into the affairs of the earth.
Can you think about something in the New Testament, where we read about a trumpet sounding? There will be a trumpet, which will sound and which will accompany the second coming of the Lord, Matthew 24:30-31 [“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”]; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 [“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”]; and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 [“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”].
So, a trumpet has significance in the Old Testament and, indeed, has significance even to this day. Someday, the trumpet will sound, as we sing in that old hymn, and the dead shall arise.
The seven trumpets that we are going to be looking at are trumpets of warning and of judgment.
The Angel With the Golden Censer (verses 3-6)
“Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”
Another angel appears on the scene. This angel comes and stands at the altar with his “golden censer.” And “He was given much incense.”
What was the purpose for this? The reason he was given “much incense” was “that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints” that go up before God out of the angel’s hand [verses 3 and 4].
The word, “altar,” is mentioned a numbers of times—about seven times in the book of Revelation. Here, again, we can make a connection between what is being stated here, in terms of this vision that John is having, and something that was significant from the Old Testament times.
You remember that there was a “golden altar,” which stood in the tabernacle. It stood just before the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. It was here, under the Law of Moses, when both morning and evening incense were offered to God from a golden censer filled with coals of fire from the brazen altar in the court, and with incense from the table of the show bread inside the tabernacle. The “golden altar” that’s described here, is described as standing before the throne of God in heaven [verse 3].
There is “much incense” mentioned here. Commentators that I have read suggests that this idea of “much incense” represents Christ’s intercession added to the prayers of the saints, because Jesus IS our Mediator [1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus….” Hebrews 8:6: “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.” Hebrews 9:15: “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Hebrews 12:22-24: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”]. Christ IS our Intercessor [Romans 8:34: “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, Who also makes intercession for us.” Hebrews 7:25: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”]. Christ IS our Advocate with the Father, 1 John 2:1 [“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”].
Let’s remember what has been represented here in previous chapters. The people of God are struggling; they are being afflicted; they are being persecuted by the authorities on the earth. That was the picture in the latter part of the 1st Century, and, in a very real sense, continues to be the picture even unto this day.
But we see there in chapter 8 that the saints, the people of God, the children of God, are lifting up their prayers. Those prayers are being accompanied by the sweet smell of incense. This represents Christ’s intercession, purging these prayers from the saints of everything that is selfish, of everything that might not be appropriate, so that their prayers come up acceptably before God.
In verse 5, when those prayers come up before God, His response is immediate. The censer was filled with fire from the altar and cast upon the earth [“Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.”]. The thunders, the voices, the flashes of lightning and an earthquake are all associated with the seventh trumpet that we’re going to see and read about when we get over to chapter 11. I know that you are reading ahead, and you are aware that following the seven trumpets there are seven bowls. These things are also associated with the seventh bowl, when we get to chapter 16.
The judgments on a wicked world are about to be given by God. Here, we have seen them—the opening of all seven seals. We will follow along and look individually at the sounding of the seven trumpets. And when we get over into chapter 16, we will look at the seven bowls.
SUMMARY OF THE SEVEN TRUMPETS
The seven trumpets are somewhat like the seven seals in that they are conveniently divided into two groups. In the first four of the trumpets, we’re going to see that there are similarities between them and the plagues of Egypt. Then, the last three trumpets will be more terrible, and will have a more unique aspect to them.
We’ll see that these seven trumpets represent the judgments of God upon the earth. But we must understand these judgments as being, first of all, NOT specific judgments, and secondly, as being only partial judgments. They DO NOT represent the last of God’s judgment, but they certainly do anticipate that last and final great judgment of God.
Like Egypt of old, the world today is in opposition to God. And, like Egypt of old, as the children of God, the people of God [the children of Israel], were held in slavery, were afflicted, were, in a sense, held in bondage, so it is that the people of God, at the time that John writes, and even today, are held, as well, in the bondage of this world. So, these warnings, that we’re about to look at, come to make men realize that God is the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, and wicked men need to seek His Will.
THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS (VERSES 7-12)
The First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck (verse 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.”
At the sounding of this first trumpet, there are some things which occur: “…hail and fire…” are cast upon the earth and the vegetation of the earth is affected. One third of the earth’s plant-life—its trees and grasses—is destroyed.
We’re looking, once again, at a fraction—1/3. This is not to be understood literally, so that we might, as some people do, be looking for some sort of a catastrophic event, and then take some measurement of what part of the earth has been affected, and what part has not been affected. No, rather, it is as the judgment which we read about in Zachariah, chapter 13, verses 8 and 9 [“‘And it shall come to pass in all the land,’ Says the LORD, ‘That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My Name, And I will answer them. I will say, “This is My people”; And each one will say, “The LORD is my God.”’”]. There is a fractional judgment which the Lord gives on that occasion.
We might also be reminded of the seventh plague of hail and of fire, Exodus, chapter 9, verse 24 [Exodus 9:22-26: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt — on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.’ 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.”]. This partial destruction gives men an opportunity for repentance and a turning to God.
The Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck (verses 8-9)
“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.”
“Something like a great mountain burning with fire….” Can you imagine what that might have appeared like? In the Old Testament, a mountain ablaze, a mountain being moved, represented great trouble, great commotion. There are a number of places we can look at in the Old Testament:
Psalm 46:2-3: “Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.”
Isaiah 54:10: “‘For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,’ Says the LORD, Who has mercy on you.”
Ezekiel 38:18-20: “‘And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘that My fury will show in My face. 19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: “Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.”’”
Nahum 1:5: “The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.”
With the sounding of this second trumpet, “…a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” This is like the Nile River in the long ago, which became blood in the very first plague, Exodus 7, verses 20 and 21 [“And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.”].
As the sounding of the first trumpet had affected vegetation on the earth, the second trumpet affects the sea and life in the sea. Someone observed concerning this warning in the sounding of the second trumpet that not even in the vast sea can man escape God’s warning judgments. Yet, we see that God does not completely destroy.
The Third Trumpet: The Rivers and Springs Struck (verses 10-11)
“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, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.”
As the second trumpet affected the waters of the sea, the waters of the ocean, here we see that this third trumpet affects the fresh water supply. John sees a star (we might think of a flaming meteor), blazing like a torch, fall from heaven upon the fresh water, upon the springs of the earth.
The symbolic name of this flaming star is “Wormwood.” Well, what does that mean? The term “Wormwood” is used several times in the Old Testament. When it is used, it is typically used as a symbol of suffering for evil-doing. Look at Jeremiah 9:15: [Jeremiah 9:13-16:] “And the LORD said, ‘Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,’ 15 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.’” And in Jeremiah, chapter 23, and verse 15: [Jeremiah 23:14-15:] “Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: ‘Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’”
Here, again, we see this Old Testament representation of “wormwood” representing, yes, something that was distasteful, something that was bitter, but moreover, it was a symbol for the suffering for the wrong-doing, for the evil-doing, of the people of God in these two examples in Jeremiah.
Some commentators thoughts: They say wormwood mixed with water does not kill, but it says in Revelation 8 and verse 11 that “A third of the waters became wormwood,” and men died, these commentators are suggesting, because of this change, this very drastic and troubling change, which was made.
We might also point out that we see something of a reversal here. Referring back to the children of Israel when they were being led from Egypt to Mount Sinai for the first time, they came to a place called Morah. They needed water, and that water was bitter. On that occasion God made the water sweet for them. [Exodus 15:22-25: “So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.”]
Remember that we are looking at symbolic things that are taking place on the earth, representing God’s warning, God’s judgment. Vegetation will be affected; the sea will be affected; the fresh-water supply will be affected. This is not done specifically, but shows God’s control over all of these things.
The Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck (verse 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.”
Here we see that God’s effect affects (pardon the use of the term there) the stars, the moon and the sun. There is this visitation upon the heavenly bodies, following the judgments upon the earth and all the things that we have seen.
The heavenly bodies have a great effect upon men. Yes, there’s a great effect when these things on the earth are disturbed. But, also, when the heavenly bodies are disturbed, the earth is affected as well.
There is a resemblance to one of the plagues which preceded the exodus of the Old Testament—the ninth plague, the plague of darkness. [Exodus 10:21-23: “Then the LORD said to Moses ,’Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.’ 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”]
THREE-FOLD WOE ANNOUNCED (VERSE 13)
Beginning with verse 13, there’s a break, a division, between the sounding of the first four trumpets and the last three trumpets. The first four trumpets have some resemblance to the plagues in Egypt, and then come the final three, with this break in between.
An Angel (Eagle?) Flying Through Heaven (verse 13a)
In verse 13 John writes and says, “And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven….”
John sees and hears, in this translation (the New King James Version), “an angel.” Other newer translations say, “an eagle.” In fact, if you go back and look at the original language, the correct translation is “eagle.” There is some debate, some discussion, about that, but the Greek word that is used here is, indeed, “eagle.”
Pronouncing a Three-Fold Woe (verse 13b)
“…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!’”
Of course, the eagle is the strongest of birds, and John hears and sees an eagle “flying through the midst of heaven,” saying, “Woe, woe, woe” to those who dwell on the earth—the rebellious world. That’s what is represented here—the rebellious, the unbelieving, the sinful world. We use this expression sometimes when we speak about “the world.” We’re not talking about the globe itself; we’re talking about the ungodly inhabitants of the earth.
These woes come because of the nature of the fifth, sixth and seventh trumpets, which the remaining three angels will sound. It’s sort of like saying, “You haven’t seen anything yet! You think the first four trumpets were significant? You think the things that were associated with those trumpets were dramatic? Wait until you see what is about to happen!”
The pronouncement of these “woes” reminds us of the Words of Jesus in Luke, chapter 6, verses 24 through 26. Jesus Himself was heard to pronounce “woes.” He says, “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
The word “woe” is a warning—warnings Jesus pronounced; warnings this eagle (or this “angel,” if you will) is pronouncing, which will come. God intends to arouse men to see their terrible condition (that being apart from, separated from, Him) and to place the responsibility for evil and the tragedy of the world upon the wickedness of men. That IS what we are about to see, beginning in Revelation, chapter 9,in the sounding of the fifth trumpet.