The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was
hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned
up, and all the green grass was burned up. – Revelation 8:7
The events of the previous section, the Seven Seals, were events caused by human
activity and natural, earthly disasters. This next series brings what might be called supernatural
judgments. The first three appear to be the result of asteroids, meteors or comets. These are also
natural, but in the sense that they are divinely directed judgments on the earth, they have a
supernatural element. There seems to be a progression of disasters from space: first hail and fire
mixed with blood, then what seemed like a large mountain, and later, a “star.”
It should be noted that these trumpet judgments could be caused by a nuclear war just as
well. Hal Lindsey thinks it is more likely that the events of this chapter are the result of nuclear
activity than supernatural activity; that they are the result of man’s evil actions once the
restraining hand of God is removed.130 As mentioned before, some scholars expect the war of
Ezekiel 38 and 39 at the beginning of the Tribulation, and some expect it to occur at the end. In
any case, the language of these two chapters clearly describes God raining “fire” down from
heaven on Israel’s invaders from the North and also upon the “coastlands,” or the “remote
continents.”
The first catastrophe in this series could also be caused by a comet or by very severe
weather conditions. Comets are made of ice, which would provide the water for hail. It would
first vaporize, and then perhaps, depending on other weather conditions descend to earth as hail.
This sudden intrusion of a comet could cause extreme world-wide storms. The blood might be
caused by animals being sucked up by waterspouts and tornadoes. And the fire could be
extraordinary displays of lightning, which, in turn, could start forest fires in many places. All of
these events have happened before, but never to the extent of this plague, burning up one third of
the earth’s vegetation!
The Second Trumpet – Slaughter in the Sea
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was
thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9
a third of the living creatures in the sea
died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. – Revelation 8:8-9
This judgment could be caused by an asteroid plunging into the sea. Icarus, one of the
smaller asteroids known to us is about one mile in diameter and is sometimes described as a
small flying mountain. Other asteroids may be as large as Ceres, which is about 580 miles in
diameter. Even a small asteroid crashing into one of our oceans would cause utter devastation.
The fiery impact would burn and crush all life in a large portion of the ocean, and the resulting
tidal waves would be beyond comprehension. These waves could capsize ships in every direction
for hundreds of miles.
The Third Trumpet – Souring of the Water
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a
third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of
the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. –
Revelation 8:10-11
As we now know, a star is a large body of burning gases. Our own Sun is a comparatively
small star, though it is 860,000 miles in diameter, compared to the Earth’s diameter of 7,900
miles.
The largest known star was recently identified as R136a1 with 365 times the mass of our
own Sun and is said to be ten million times brighter than our Sun!131
This means, of course, that a star can not “fall” to the Earth, though the Earth could
presumably “fall” into the Sun. However, the Greek word for star is aster, from which we get our
word asteroid and the name “Esther.” Thus, it is not a star as we know it, but a large asteroid that
is in view here. As in the previous plague, the asteroid strikes earth, but, in this case, on land,
causing widespread destruction and poisoning of the waters in a large area.
A “Falling Star” can also describe one of the angels, as in Revelation 9:1. In this
judgment it seems more reasonable to expect an asteroid than an angel.
The Fourth Trumpet – Smiting of the Planets
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, 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 turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and
also a third of the night.
13As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe!
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other
three angels!” – Revelation 8:12-13
This judgment affects the entrance of light from space. The amount of light from the sun,
moon and stars is diminished by one third. This could be a description of what, in our generation,
has been called “nuclear winter.” One of the most serious side-effects of a nuclear war (or an
asteroid strike) would be the wide-spread burning of cities and forests and the resulting soot and
smoke reaching the stratosphere. This diminishing of the Sun’s radiation could cause the average
temperature of the Earth to cool between 18 and 36 degrees, resulting in crop failures and great
ecological damage.
Alternatively, we cannot rule out that the actual light and heat output from the sun might
be diminished by God during this judgment of mankind.
The eagle flying through the heavens with a message of woe is most likely a symbolic
image of an angelic being. The three-fold repetition of “woe” is a biblical way of intensifying the
terrible nature of the impending doom soon to follow.
In Revelation 4:7 one of the faces of the Four Living Creatures was the face of an eagle.
The message is a warning of the dreadful nature of the next three trumpet judgments.
