Summary of Revelation 8-9
Revelation 8
Jesus opens the 7th seal. There was silence in heaven. 7 angels came with 7 trumpets. An angel carrying incense with the prayers of God’s people arrived. The angel hurled fire on Earth, along with thunder, rumblings, lightning, and an earthquake.
The first 4 trumpets were sounded:
- Hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down on earth, destroying a third of the earth
- Something like a huge mountain on fire was thrown into the sea, killing a third of all sea life and ships
- A star on fire fell from the sky, turning a third of the river waters bitter
- A third of the sun, moon, and stars turned dark
An eagle called out to beware of the next 3 trumpets about to be sounded.
Revelation 9
The 5th angel unleashes a star (this is a person with many believing it is Satan) that falls to the earth. Smoke rose from the Abyss. Locusts were released and harmed those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were tortured for 5 months.
The 6th angel released the 4 angels who were bound at the Euphrates. They killed a third of mankind.
Those who were not killed did not repent of their evil deeds.
BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 14, Day 5: Revelation 8-9
12a) The Plague of Blood is Exodus 7:14 is similar to the 2nd trumpet judgment in that water is turned to blood. The 3rd trumpet judgment is the reverse of the time Moses made the water sweet rather than bitter. The plague of Locusts is similar to the 5th trumpet judgment where locusts harmed unbelievers but did not kill them. The 1st trumpet judgment is similar to Exodus 9:13-25 where hail and fire fell upon the Egyptians. The 4th trumpet judgment can be compared to the Plague of Darkness (Exodus 10:21).
One main difference is that the plagues of Exodus solely target the Egyptians; whereas, the trumpet judgments target the entire planet.
b) The people who were spared from the trumpet judgments in Revelation continued their sinful ways and did not repent. Similarly, Pharaoh continued to disobey God by not releasing the Israelites until he did, but then he changed his mind anyway, letting the Egyptian people continue to face God’s wrath. God’s purpose is to bring all to Him. In the Exodus plagues, he specifically targeted the Pharaoh. In Revelation, God is targeting the entire world.
13) The study of Revelation has made me more in awe of God and His ways, more compassionate and urgent toward unbelievers, and more grateful for the saved life I lead in Him.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 14, Day 5: Revelation 8-9
I love spending multiple days on the same passage. I get so much more from these lessons when we do so.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 14, Day 5: Revelation 8-9
Revelation 8
The 7 trumpets are God’s announcement of the judgments.
The prayers of God’s people are pleasing to God, like the smell of incense. They come before Him.
It’s important to remember that the 7 judgments may not be chronological. It’s hard to pin down though with certainty.
The blood could be the color of the hail and fire or what emerges afterward.
Many believe that the “mountain-like object” will be a meteor.
The sea reference is to the Mediterranean Sea. Remember, this was before the discovery of America, and man’s knowledge of the vastness of the earth was limited.
The star could be a meteor as well.
Wormwood is an herb that is bitter.
The 4th trumpet will result in darkness.
The eagle’s announcement should be heeded because 1/3 of humanity is about to die.
Note that each judgment only destroys 1/3 of the earth.
Here, God is showing His power and His mercy. God is destroying man’s subsistence (food, water, shelter, light).
God is warning all to repent before it is too late.
Are you heeding His warning?
Revelation 9
Who is the star in the 5th judgment? We are not told, but some argue it’s Satan, a different fallen angel, God’s Word, or even Jesus. We just don’t know.
The bottomless pit/Abyss here is hell or Hades. This lends doubt to the fact of the star being Satan since Satan is not in charge of anything.
What we do know is that all of this is God’s plan.
The Abyss might not be an actual location.
The locusts should be considered demon creatures, as you could probably tell by the description of these beings. They are tortured in the hopes they will repent. The locusts are instruments of God’s judgment (Exodus 10:4-14, Deuteronomy 28:38, 1 Kings 8:37, 2 Chronicles 7:13, Joel 1:4, and Amos 4:9.)
Notice that John describes the creatures using “like.” This shows that the creatures are not what is being described.
The King of the locusts is Satan. The given name means “destruction” or “torment” in Hebrew.
It is very interesting how the prayers of God’s people play into the End Times.
The 4 angels in the 6th trumpet judgment are standing at the 4 corners of the altar.
Do note we do not know if these are the same angels in Revelation 7:1.
The Euphrates River, remember, is the Cradle of Civilization. It’s where mankind first settled down to farm. It is where many events happen in the Bible, from the first sin (Genesis 2:10-14) to revolt (Genesis 11:1-9) and war (Genesis 14:1). Abram came from here (Ur) and it is where God’s people abide. (Genesis 15:17-21).
The horsemen number may or may not be literal. The army may be demons, based on their description.
Despite the army against them, those remaining did not repent. He continued in his worship of idols and demons. Man’s memory is short. People move on very quickly.
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