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Revelation
Chapter Eight
I.
Content of the Chapter
Opening the Seventh Seal
II. The first angel sounded (v.7)
III. The second angel sounded (v.8-9)
IV. The third angel sounded (v.10-11)
V. The fourth angel sounded (v.12-13)
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Rev. 8:1 “When He opened the
seventh seal
there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”
YLT: “And when he openeth
the seventh seal
there came silence in the heaven about half-an-hour
”
Meaning of Words: “silence”: quiet;
“half an hour”: thirty minutes.
Literal Meaning: “When He opened the seventh seal
” “the seventh seal” is different from the
other six seals (See 6) because it brought in the vision of the seven trumpets
(See v.2
6).
“There
was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” “There was silence in heaven” means that great
event is going to happen on the earth.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) How can men on the earth regard the thing that
is waited and seen in the heavenly state common? Wish all men of God treat it
serious.
2) The calm before the coming of wind and storm
shows that the wind and storm is preparing. For when they say
“Peace and
safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them
as labor pains upon a
pregnant woman. And they shall not escape (1Thess. 5:3).
Rev. 8:2 “And I saw the seven
angels who stand before God
and to them were given seven trumpets.”
YLT: “and I saw the seven
messengers who before God have stood
and there were given to them seven
trumpets
”
Meaning of Words: “given”: provided
(the passive voice).
Literal Meaning: “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God
” “who stand” shows that they have stood
there to await orders.
“And
to them were given seven trumpets.”
“Seven trumpets” the seven seals are secret and the seven trumpets are open.
Sounding trumpets refers to publicly declaring the things which shall be
carried out.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The opening of the seventh seal (See v.1) brings
in and accompanies the sounding of the seven trumpets. The seventh seal won’t
be fully opened until all the seven trumpets have been sounded and therefore
the contents in the sealed scroll (See 5:1) cannot be accomplished completely.
2) In the age of the Old Testament
trumpets were
always used in the war (See Num. 10:1-10; 31:6; Hos. 5:8) and it shows that the
spiritual and carnal
the supernatural and practical wars shall be carried out
one by one with the sounding of the trumpets and the whole earth shall fall
into the great disaster and disorder.
Rev. 8:3 “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.”
YLT: “and another
messenger did come
and he stood at the altar
having a golden censer
and
there was given to him much perfume
that he may give to the prayers of all the
saints upon the golden altar that before the throne
”
Meaning of Words: “offer”: add
give.
Literal Meaning: “Then another angel
having a golden censer
came
and stood at the altar.” “Another angel”
refers to Christ who is the high priest in heaven (See Heb. 8:1). “A golden
censer” is the vessel which carries the prayers of all the saints (See 5:8).
The heavenly high priest makes intercession for us on one hand (See Heb. 7:25)
and on the other
passes on and offers the prayers of all the saints. “The
altar” refers to the altar of the burnt offering (See Exod. 27:1-8) which
typifies the cross of Christ and the achievements of the cross make the prayers
of all the saints be acceptable to God.
“He
was given much incense
” “much incense” the
incense itself is not the prayers of all the saints but the ingredient of death
and resurrection which is added to the prayers (See the note in 5:8).
“That
he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar
which was before the throne.” “The prayers of all the
saints” have been put in
the golden censer previously. “The golden altar” refers to an altar to burn incense upon (See Exod. 30:1-9).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Nobody can offer prayer by himself unless he
relies on the achievements of Christ’s cross. Our prayers won’t be acceptable
to God unless the sweet savor of Christ is added to our prayers (See 2Cor.
2:15).
2) If the fire on the altar is not burnt
the
prayers of all the Saints are the strange fire (See Lev. 10:1-2). There is not
prayer without the cross.
3) The prayers of all the Saints must be presented
to God with another angel
the golden censer
the altar
incense and the golden
altar. The prayers of believers shall be burnt before God through the high
priest
with the one mind of all the saints
by the achievements of the cross and
with the ingredient of death and resurrection.
Rev. 8:4 “And the smoke of the
incense
with the prayers of the saints
ascended before God from the angel's
hand.”
YLT: “and go up did the
smoke of the perfumes to the prayers of the saints out of the hand of the
messenger
before God;”
Meaning of Words: “ascend”: go up.
Literal Meaning: “And the smoke of the incense
with the prayers of
the saints
” “the smoke of the
incense” refers to the smoke with the sweet savor when incense is burnt and it
shows that the sweet savor of Christ has been added to the prayers (See 2Cor.
2:15).
“Ascended
before God from the angel's hand.”
“The angel’s hand” refers to through Christ who is the high priest. It refers
to the smoke of the incense and the prayers of the saints.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Christ has loved us and given Himself for us
an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma (Eph. 5:2).
2) The prayers of the saints must be presented
before the seven trumpets were sounded. Without prayers
there won’t be the
sounding of the trumpets. Prayers pave the way for God’s actions on the earth.
Everything in heaven is ready and waiting for the cooperation of the prayers of
the church on the earth.
Rev. 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.”
YLT: “and the messenger
took the censer
and did fill it out of the fire of the altar
and did cast to
the earth
and there came voices
and thunders
and lightnings
and an
earthquake.”
Meaning of Words: “fill”: be full;
“throw”: cast.
Spiritual Meaning:
“Then the
angel took the censer
filled it with fire from the altar
and threw it to the
earth.” It shows that the
prayers of all the saints have been answered and God’s judgment shall be
executed on the earth.
“And
there were noises
thunderings
lightnings
and an earthquake.” They typify God’s judgment of wrath.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The contents of the prayers of all the saints
can be known from God’s answer to the prayers----they ask God to execute the
judgment on the earth as soon as possible to avenge them (See 6:9-10; Luke.
18:7-8).
2) Actually
the real intention of believers’
prayers is not asking God to avenge them selfishly but pushing for the early
coming of the kingdom of God
that the will of God shall be done in earth
as
it is in heaven (See Matt. 6:10). It is the responsibility which God has
entrusted to the church.
Rev. 8:6 “So the seven angels who
had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”
YLT: “And the seven
messengers who are having the seven trumpets did prepare themselves that they
may sound;”
Meaning of Words: “prepare”: make
ready; “sound”: sound a trumpet.
Literal Meaning: “prepared themselves to sound” refers to waiting for the word of
command.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Believers’ prayers on the earth are inquired to
carry out of the will of God in heaven.
2) The host of heaven is ready
have the saints on
the earth prepared?
Rev. 8:7 “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.”
YLT: “and the first
messenger did sound
and there came hail and fire
mingled with blood
and it
was cast to the land
and the third of the trees was burnt up
and all the
green grass was burnt up.”
Meaning of Words: “mingle”: mix; “were
burned up”: be burned utterly; “green”: dark green.
Literal Meaning: “The first angel sounded: And hail and fire
followed
mingled with blood
and they were thrown to the earth.” “Hail and fire” is similar to the seventh
disaster that God brought to the Egyptians (See Exod. 9:22-26). “Mingled with
blood” is like the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:31; Acts. 2:19).
“And
a third of the trees were burned up
and all green grass was burned up.” The woes from the first to the fourth
began with the nature which was closely related to the life of men. Certainly
many people died because of them (See v.11)
however
men themselves were not
the main targets
showing that God still hoped men to repent.
“All
green grass” should refer to a third of the green grass on the earth (See 9:4).
Some Bible exegetes
according to their imagination
described the condition of the fist woe and here it was recorded for reference:
the living environment of the earth had great change which caused the unusual
reaction of the atmosphere----a third of the regions were unusually dry and hot
and the unprecedentedly horrible storms which were made in some deserts blew
sands into the sky. The sands became great hail when they cooled and they
dropped with the red-yellow color
like fire mingled with blood. Because of the
dry weather and thunder
the big fire was made and the fire burned a third of
the land and the trees and grass on it.
Rev. 8:8 “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.”
YLT: “And the second
messenger did sound
and as it were a great mountain with fire burning was cast
into the sea
and the third of the sea became blood
”
Meaning of Words: “burning”: fire
burning (the passive voice).
Literal Meaning: it is another kind
of unusual supernatural woe
according to the imagination of the Bible
exegetes
it probably is that: the large-scale volcanoes broke out in the
bottom of the sea or the land close to the sea and they spurted out the great
rock in the layer into the sky with lava which dropped down into the sea later
like a great mountain burning with fire. And it caused the damage of a third of
the sea and the ships in it and the dead creatures dyed the seawater red.
Rev. 8:9 “And a third of the living
creatures in the sea died
and a third of the ships were destroyed.”
YLT: “and die did the
third of the creatures that in the sea
those having life
and the third of the
ships were destroyed.”
Meaning of Words: “destroy”: damage
devastate.
Literal Meaning: this woe also
greatly influenced the existence of men.
Rev. 8:10 “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.”
YLT: “And the third
messenger did sound
and there fell out of the heaven a great star
burning as
a lamp
and it did fall upon the third of the rivers
and upon the fountains of
waters
”
Literal Meaning: this woe probably is
that: a heavenly body deviated from its orbit
exploded
broke down in the
outer space near the earth and lacerated the atmospheric layer encircling the
earth
like the burning torches. The great remainder dropped upon the regions
of mountains and springs
of water
that a third of
the rivers and the springs of water were damaged.
Rev. 8:11 “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.”
YLT: “and the name of the
star is called Wormwood
and the third of the waters doth become wormwood
and
many of the men did die of the waters
because they were made bitter.”
Meaning of Words: “wormwood”: bitter
wormwood; “made bitter”: be bitter (the passive voice).
Literal Meaning: the physical
elements of the star probably contain bitter poison which could make water
bitter and poison men to death.
Rev. 8:12 “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.”
YLT: “And the fourth
messenger did sound
and smitten was the third of the sun
and the third of the
moon
and the third of the stars
that darkened may be the third of them
and
that the day may not shine -- the third of it
and the night in like manner.”
Meaning of Words: “was struck”: smite
destroy (the passive voice).
Literal Meaning: the reasonable
speculation concerning this woe should be that: the atmospheric layer was
damaged greatly that the strong dust and smoke filled the air
the sun cannot
be seen during the day and the moon and stars cannot be seen at night in the
third of the ground.
However
since it is clearly mentioned
in the Bible that the heavenly bodies were struck
it is hard to imagine how
the right conditions are.
Rev. 8:13 “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!’”
YLT: “And I saw
and I
heard one messenger
flying in the mid-heaven
saying with a great voice
`Wo
wo
wo
to those dwelling upon the land from the rest of the voices of the
trumpet of the three messengers who are about to sound.'”
Meaning of Words: “are about to”: be
going to; “inhabitants”: dwell.
Literal Meaning: “And I looked
and I heard an angel flying through
the midst of heaven
” “angel” is “eagle”
in the Chinese Union Version and “eagle” in the Bible also represents the
judgment of God (See Matt. 24:28).
“Saying
with a loud voice…because of the remaining
blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’” it refers to the remaining fifth
sixth
and seventh trumpets.
“‘Woe
woe
woe to the inhabitants of the earth” It implies that the remaining three trumpets
shall directly bring woes towards men. In the previous four trumpets men
themselves were not the main targets of woes.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
God’s Will in the Previous Four Woes
II. God takes
actions according to the prayers of His people (v.5-6).
III. God still
faithfully keeps His promise that He won’t destroy the whole land by
flood----in the previous three times He judged by fire (v.7-11).
IV. God’s judgment
is still kind in severeness----He began to execute the judgment from men’s
living environment and it implies warming (v.7-12).
V. God implies that
through the precious four woes (v.7-12):
A. the world should not ignore the
salvation that the Son of God shed His “blood” and suffered “bitterness”.
B. believers should not ignore their
mission of being “light” on the earth.
VI. Before God
carried out the following three woes
He still warmed men and hoped them to be
willing to repent (v.13).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren