“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake. Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts. The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned. Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed. Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water. Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night. Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.””
Revelation 8:1-13 NLT
It is significant that the summation of the earth begins with the unraveling of the earth’s creation narrative. As the creation narrative starts, it begins with light, moving onto the division between land and water and then eventually to the plants. Here we see the judgment in opposite order. Whereas many have predicted that the end of mankind will come as a man made disaster, and indeed it might, it is clear that the origin of such an event is an ordained event. There should be no hubris about man’s ability to destroy himself. Indeed, he might, but only at the appointed time and hour and for the right spiritual reason. In this case, it will be his judgment as he has failed to heed the warnings to trust and obey. Instead he has completed his Tower of Babel, and the complexity of his deception. Instead of hiding behind fig leaves in a garden, he hides in mountains as wrath pours out. Even the earth fully bends to his deceptions. At this time, all that God given must be taken away. All the blessings must be stripped from men so that their true nature stands naked, as it once did, before the glory of God. It will be an answer to the prayer of the martyrs and a disorienting time, but it should not be a confusing one.
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