I Am the Lord Your God

The trumpets mark the beginning of new series of judgments. The first four are judgments on the earth; the next two are judgments on the earth-dwellers. An extensive interlude (10:1-11:13) between the 6th & 7th trumpets. Seventh symbolizes the end. Resemble the seals but intensify them. The scroll is now open and its contents are being revealed.

These trumpets, and as we will see, also the bowls, replicate the Egyptian plagues. Through these plague judgment,s God makes known to the world that He is the Lord God Almighty. He shows that He alone rules over all as the sovereign Lord. He alone is God. Only in God is there true life. We should put our trust in and worship Him alone. These judgments serve to disprove the earthly gods, and to warn and punish the unbelievers for their idolatry. These limited judgments affect only a 3rd of the creation. This shows that thisis not the final end yet. It demonstrates also God’s mercy by giving the unbelievers a last chance to repent. But as we will see in chapter 9 they refuse to repent. These warnings have fallen on deaf ears.

1st Trumpet — God’s Judgment on the Land

Hail & fire mixed with blood appear in heaven & are thrown on earth. Builds on the 7th Egyptian plague (Ex 9:13-35) — worst storm & destroyed the vegetation (Ex 9:24-25). Following the storm scene in Rev 8:5 — emphasizes the sovereign, majestic God who is in charge.

Hail — OT — symbol of & used in judgement — In Josh. 10:11 God casts “huge hailstones” on the Amorite army, and in Job 38:22–23 God tells Job that he reserves “storehouses of hail” for his enemies. Several psalms celebrate God’s use of hail in the plagues and his control of “lightning and hail” (Ps. 78:47; 105:32–33; 148:8).

Blood & fire — symbols of judgement (Ezek 21:32; 38:22; Joel 2:30-31).  Third of earth & trees are burned up and all the green grass.Fruit-bearing trees & lumber reduced; arable & grazing land reduced; no grass, no feed for animals. God’s judgment on the earth & land reduces its fruit bearing capacity, fruitfulness & ability to feed animals & human beings — famine. Devastating fires — picture one-third of all the great forests of the world burned down. It is a natural disaster beyond imagination.

2nd Trumpet — God’s Judgment on the Oceans

Something like a big mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea & 3rd of the oceans became blood. Mountains appears many times in the OT — the mountains “quake” in God’s presence (Judg. 5:5; Jer. 4:24; Nah. 1:5). He breaks them in pieces (Ezek. 38:20 and Isa. 41:15). God devours them with fire (Deut. 32:22; Ps. 83:14). In Jer 51:25 God’s judgment turns Babylon into a burning mountain. In Rev 6:14 the mountains are “removed” and disappear altogether in 16:20.

Similar to the first Egyptian plague (Exod. 7:17–18, 20–21) the Nile was completely turned to blood and all the fish died. Devastating results — third of living creatures die & third of ships destroyed. Many peoples are dependent on the sea for food and commerce. Ability of the oceans to produce & sustain life is diminished. Fishing industries & sea trade, economic abilities and livelihood of humans reduced — economic hardships.

3rd Trumpet — God’s Judgment on the Fresh Waters

A great star from heaven burning like a torch falls on a third of rivers & springs of waters. Springs of water are used often in OT — source of life. Portrays God as spring of living water (Jer 2:13; 17:13; Is 35:7; 41:18; 48:11; Joel 3:18). In Rev 7:17 Lamb guides the saints to springs of living water. This judgment we see a reversal— water as life => water as death.

Wormwood — very bitter tasting herb (Artemisia absinthium) — absinthe, wormwood, aka mugwort. Bitter dark green oil is traditionally used to treat intestinal worms. Very potent — 1 ounce in 524 gal of water can still be tasted. OT — Symbol of bitter sorrow (Prov. 5:4, “bitter as wormwood”), of the “bitter poison” of idolatry (Deut. 29:18), and also of judgment and death (Jer. 9:15; 23:15; also Lam. 3:15, 19). Star called wormwood = symbol of death. Waters become bitter as wormwood and many people die — poisonous water is divine judgment for sin and rebellion. Reversal of the Marah miracle (Ex 15:23) — sweet water now turned bitter.

Judgment that would shatter societies —  the life-giving & life-sustaining capabilities of the fresh waters of the earth are reduced & limited. People actually die. Human beings dying implied in the previous trumpets but here stated explicitly. Cannot imagine a third of all the rivers and lakes turning poisonous. All the scares about polluted waters seem quite pallid next to this terrible disaster.

4th  Trumpet — God’s Judgment on the Light

The fourth trumpet draws on the ninth Egyptian plague, (Ex. 10:21–23) in which Yahweh sent darkness to cover Egypt for three days, a darkness so total that no one could travel anywhere. Third of sun, moon & stars are struck. Graphic language — strike (lightning strike/heavy blow) and plague same roots in Greek — God has virtually struck the heavenly bodies with a plague.

No eclipse, not merely a reduction or depletion of light. For a third of the day and the night, both day & night are without light — total darkness reigns (only 8 hours of light each). As He judges the world,  God partially reverses creation, leaving it in total darkness for a third of each day and night. Throughout the Scriptures, darkness serves as a symbol of divine judgment (e.g., Amos 5:18, 20; 8:9; Joel 2:2; Matt. 8:12; Mark 13:24–25; John 3:18– 21; 2 Cor. 6:14–15). Also symbol for the world of evil (Job 12:22; Jn 3:18-21). Yet God controls darkness and light because he created both (Isa. 45:7; Ps. 104:20; Jn 1:5) and He uses it for judgment on world. Think about the consequences of this.

5. Know That I AM the Lord God Almighty

Talk about climate change! These judgments bring about changes and destruction on earth — the environment & climate changed drastically. Why would God allow these apparently meaningless destructions? This is his creation. He made it and made it good. He loves it. Why destroy it?

Because we haven’t yet considered the seriousness of sin and evil. Even after so many centuries of war, terror, genocides, and injustices, we are still inclined to pretend that the world is okay; human beings are essentially good. They are able to save themselves and eradicate evil. In the Western world especially, the existence of evil and sin is denied. There is no place for a God that is holy and righteous, who cannot tolerate sin and must punish it. Only for a loving god that allows us to do whatever we want, or a god that serves our self-centered needs. Humans continue to strive relentlessly to be their own gods or gods themselves.

What we are seeing here is God’s drastic action to purify the world. His creation has become dangerously diseased. He must remove the deadly cancer so that the rest may be saved. He is radically upsetting creation and the human systems by which millions had been killed, enslaved, and degraded. A little modification will not be enough. Only major surgery will do to bring about his new creation and save his people.

And then, ultimately, these judgments are directed at the idolatry that is so prevalent in the world, then and today. With these judgments, God is telling the whole world & all humankind, “Know that I am the Lord God Almighty.” So that all will know that the Lord our God is One and He is God alone. There is no one like Him in all the earth. He is the Lord & Ruler of the universe, of his creation. This is why the 7 trumpets & 7 bowls and so much of Revelation are based on and echo the Exodus and the plagues of Egypt. These judgments serve a similar purpose:  (1) Prove the sovereign presence & power of the Lord; (2)  Show the powerlessness of human idols, earthly powers & securities; (3) Show the earth-dwellers that Satan cannot win; and (4) last chance for repentance

God alone is God and there is no other. He is pouring out his judgments on the earth and the earth-dwellers to punish them for their hardened hearts and idolatry. He takes away their earthly securities, the worldly things they have trusted, placed their hope in, and worshipped, their idols. This is a warning to all the unbelievers.

Know that I am the Lord God Almighty — where does this leave us today? Like Israel, we experience tribulations and suffering. We live in a world ruled by Satan and his human agencies. But like Israel the Lord our God rules and is acting to deliver us, to bring us through the desert of tribulation into his promised new creation.

However, like Israel, like the early church in John’s time, and like the church through the ages, we are in danger of losing our way. We compromise with the surrounding culture. We stop living the kingdom life and being faithful witnesses to Christ. We worship all kinds of idols. Don’t say, “I don’t have idols.” We all have — we daily struggle with our idols. Brutal honesty with the help of the Holy Spirit we must identify our idols, repent & turn away from them. What is ruling your life? More important than the Lord? What is consuming your time, passions, and energy? If we don’t repent and if we keep on relying on and worshipping earthly things, God will destroy them and take them away as these trumpet judgments clearly show.

Like Israel, we stop trusting in God. We lose hope and we give in to fear. These days, fear has overwhelmed both unbelievers and believers. Our world, nation & society are changing and will change, not for the better but for the worse as Revelation tells us. We should not try to go back to the past — goes against God’s plan of history & we are then unfaithful to our calling. We will face tribulations and it is not going to be fun. But we will not fear because we know that the Lord our God is God alone and He rules. He gave us not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control (2 Tim 1:7). Here is another way of identifying our idols — What do you fear? What are you afraid of losing? That has become an idol. When we allow fear to overwhelm & rule us it is sin because we do not trust God but we place our safety & security in earthly things, idols. We set our minds and hearts on these, and not on Christ.

Close with a statement from the Heidelberg Catechism — that reminds us to put our hope in God alone, to trust Him, his providence, and care for us because He is God alone and He rules. He is the Lord our God Almighty.

Question 27 — What do you understand by the providence of God?

Providence is the almighty and ever-present power of God by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

Question 28 — How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us?

We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature will separate us from his love. For all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.

Know that He is the Lord God Almighty. He is God alone. He rules and He is coming soon. Come, Lord Jesus!