We take a moment here at the beginning of this chapter to note again John's use of repeating cycles in this Apocalypse. The judgments of God against sin in the Seven Seals are repeated in the Seven Trumpets from a different perspective. We also notice how the sevens in both cases are broken into 4+2+1. The first four judgments are upon the earth, for which the number four is a symbol. And so it goes, as John uses repeating cycles to emphasize the point. This cycle centers on trumpets, which were used in any number of ways to notify the people of something important happening: a marshalling of troops, the command to stand down from battle, a coronation, or a call to assemble for worship.
At the beginning of the chapter, we see the standard Temple prayer service, but this time in the Real Temple in Heaven, of which the earthly Temple was a shadow. In the daily prayer service, the worshipers gathered in the Temple courts. They await in silence the completion of the ritual, but this one is a bit longer than usual -- a half hour. The trumpets are passed to the Seven Spirits, as they prepare to signal the great events in God's judgment. Rather than the standard silver censor, the angel brings for the golden censor of the Day of Atonement. The High Priest normally would take fire from the Altar of Burnt Offering (covered in bronze) into that golden censer, receive incense from another priest. He would swing the censer to kindle the fire under the incense as he strode in before the Altar of Incense (covered in gold), and pour it out. We note the angel does not bring the prayers, but the smoke of incense which signals such prayers, which rises alongside the smoke.
These were prayers for God to reveal His wrath against sin. As noted before, we rightly pray, "Maranatha!" The meaning of "Come Lord Jesus" includes His judgment against sin. While it may affect us, too, we discount our losses in this world for the pressing necessity of bringing about full redemption of Creation. Thus, such prayers bring about the angel scooping coals from the Altar of Sacrifice a second time, and tossing it to the earth. The fire of God's wrath has been kindled, and we tumult of voices, thunder, lightening and earthquakes sound a warning to all mankind. What follows bears no accidental resemblance to the Plagues on Egypt, but these are not meant quite so literally.
The first trumpet brings a fiery hail with blood. Blood spilled on the ground is defiling, in this case destroying trees (rulers) and grass (peasants). We note here "a third" in Jewish culture symbolizes a very large amount, but something less than a majority. With the second trumpet, John recalls the recent explosion of Mount Vesuvius, just a decade or so before -- a mountain thrown into the sea. Mountains were a symbol for kingdoms, and this one represent all human government coming apart in cataclysm. As usual, the sea means the mass of humanity, and a great number died, "turned to blood." Even those who preyed on them (sea creatures) and traded in human souls (ships) were destroyed. The very source of humanity (streams flowing to the sea) was stricken by a falling star called "Wormwood" -- a bitter poison which killed slowly and painfully. Piling it on, John relates yet another symbol of dramatic change in the world order: destructive portents in the sky. We often see rulers, both earthly and spiritual, stylized as heavenly luminaries, and many of these are destroyed.
In short, John has shown us God intends to set the politics of the world ablaze with instability. Gone are the days when an empire or nation could stand for centuries. Again, we see echoes of Daniel 2 and 7, where ancient kingdoms were glorious after their fashion, but not so with latter regimes and states during the Last Days -- a term for the period of time between Christ's Ascension and His Return. We note historically, the lifespan of most earthly governments has steadily shrunk. Further, the likelihood of violent conflict within and between governments has grown. Thus, we see a clear fulfillment of John's symbolic prophecies: Nations and states arise quickly, do hideous things, and crumble violently. While John's focus would have been Imperial Rome, it's obvious this applies to every government built on the same dehumanizing principles -- virtually every government since Rome. This will continue to worsen until it reaches a fever pitch just before His Return. How quickly Christians in every generation forget the ephemeral nature of human politics!
Meanwhile, we are warned by a flying messanger: We haven't seen anything yet.
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Ed Hurst
03 September 2007
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