The First Four Trumpets
Now let’s begin
with examining the first trumpet.
Revelation 8: 6-7
Καὶ οἱ ἑπτὰ ἄγγελοι οἱ ἔχοντες τὰς ἑπτὰ σάλπιγγας
ἡτοίμασαν ἑαυτοὺς ἵνα σαλπίσωσι.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven
trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Καὶ ὁ πρῶτος ἐσάλπισε· καὶ ἐγένετο χάλαζα καὶ
πῦρ μεμιγμένα ἐν αἵματι, καὶ
ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν γῆν· καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῆς γῆς κατεκάη, καὶ
τὸ τρίτον τῶν δένδρων κατεκάη, καὶ πᾶς χόρτος χλωρὸς
κατεκάη.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed
hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the
third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
These symbols
were used with both God’s judgment on the wicked and the first destruction of
Jerusalem. Therefore, it makes sense to
see them again when Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed a second time.
Exodus 9:23-24
ויט משׁה את־מטהו על־השׁמים
ויהוה נתן קלת וברד ותהלך אשׁ ארצה וימטר יהוה ברד על־ארץ מצרים
23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward
heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the
ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
ויהי ברד ואשׁ מתלקחת בתוך
הברד כבד מאד אשׁר לא־היה כמהו בכל־ארץ מצרים מאז היתה לגוי
24 So there was
hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none
like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Ezekiel 13:10-16
יען וביען הטעו את־עמי לאמר
שׁלום ואין שׁלום והוא בנה חיץ והנם טחים אתו תפל
10 Because, even because they have seduced my
people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo,
others daubed it with untempered morter:
אמר אל־טחי תפל ויפל היה גשׁם
שׁוטף ואתנה אבני אלגבישׁ תפלנה ורוח סערות תבקע
11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered
morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O
great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
והנה נפל הקיר הלוא יאמר אליכם
איה הטיח אשׁר טחתם
12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be
said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
לכן כה אמר אדני יהוה ובקעתי
רוח־סערות בחמתי וגשׁם שׁטף באפי יהיה ואבני אלגבישׁ בחמה לכלה
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will
even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing
shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
והרסתי את־הקיר אשׁר־טחתם
תפל והגעתיהו אל־הארץ ונגלה יסדו ונפלה וכליתם בתוכה וידעתם כי־אני יהוה
14 So will I break down the wall that ye have
daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the
foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be
consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
וכליתי את־חמתי בקיר ובטחים
אתו תפל ואמר לכם אין הקיר ואין הטחים אתו
15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the
wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say
unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;
נביאי ישׂראל הנבאים אל־ירושׁלם
והחזים לה חזון שׁלם ואין שׁלם נאם אדני יהוה
16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy
concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no
peace, saith the Lord GOD.
Jeremiah 22:6,
7,9,29,
כי־כה אמר יהוה על־בית מלך
יהודה גלעד אתה לי ראשׁ הלבנון אם־לא אשׁיתך מדבר ערים לא נושׁבה
וקדשׁתי עליך משׁחתים אישׁ
וכליו וכרתו מבחר ארזיך והפילו על־האשׁ
ואמרו על אשׁר עזבו את־ברית
יהוה אלהיהם וישׁתחוו לאלהים אחרים ויעבדום
ארץ ארץ ארץ שׁמעי דבר־יהוה
"For thus
saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah... I will prepare destroyers
against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice
cedars, and cast them into the fire...Because they have forsaken the covenant
of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods,...O earth, earth, earth, hear
the word of the LORD."
2 Kings 19:26,
וישׁביהן קצרי־יד חתו ויבשׁו
היו עשׂב שׂדה וירק דשׁא חציר גגות ושׁדפה לפני קמה
"Therefore
their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they
were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the
housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up."
Now, the second
trumpet.
Revelation 8: 8-9
Καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισε· καὶ ὡς ὄρος μέγα πυρὶ καιόμενον ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ ἐγένετο τὸ τρίτον τῆς θαλάσσης αἷμα,
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were
a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of
the sea became blood;
καὶ ἀπέθανε τὸ τρίτον τῶν κτισμάτων τῶν ἐν τῇ
θαλάσσῃ, τὰ ἔχοντα ψυχάς, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων διεφθάρη.
9 And the third part of the creatures which
were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were
destroyed.
The first part
would seem to represent the destruction of Rome as a great, burning mountain,
sinking into the sea. This was was used
to symbolize the destruction of Babylon after it destroyed Jerusalem the first
time.
Jeremiah
51:24-25, 42, 49, 55, 64
ושׁלמתי לבבל ולכל יושׁבי
כשׂדים את כל־רעתם אשׁר־עשׂו בציון לעיניכם נאם יהוה
24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the
inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your
sight, saith the LORD.
הנני אליך הר המשׁחית נאם־יהוה
המשׁחית את־כל־הארץ ונטיתי את־ידי עליך וגלגלתיך מן־הסלעים ונתתיך להר שׂרפה
25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying
mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch
out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee
a burnt mountain.
עלה על־בבל הים בהמון גליו
נכסתה
42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is
covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
גם־בבל לנפל חללי ישׂראל גם־לבבל
נפלו חללי כל־הארץ
49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to
fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
כי־שׁדד יהוה את־בבל ואבד
ממנה קול גדול והמו גליהם כמים רבים נתן שׁאון קולם
55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed
out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise
of their voice is uttered:
ואמרת ככה תשׁקע בבל ולא־תקום
מפני הרעה אשׁר אנכי מביא עליה ויעפו עד־הנה דברי ירמיהו
64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink,
and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be
weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
This verse uses
the phrase, “third part”, several times.
As the Roman Empire broke up, there were three main parts. The Latin west, the Greek east and North
Africa. The western regions fell to
Germanic invaders who generally resisted Islamic invasion. Germanic invaders conquered North
Africa. These were, in turn conquered by
the Islamic invaders. But, the Greek
(Byzantine) Eastern Empire held out against the invading tribes, and the
initial Islamic expansion. This did not
change until the Muslims were united under a single political force that would
become the Ottoman Empire. The first
four trumpets seem to be focused on the Latin West.
The destruction
of the ships seems to symbolize the destruction of their wealth and
commerce. One of the tribes to deal a
deadly blow to the Roman Empire was the Vandals. They conquered North Africa. Then they engaged in many sea battles with
the Romans, finally sacking Rome itself.
Ezekiel 27:25-27
אניות תרשׁישׁ שׁרותיך מערבך
ותמלאי ותכבדי מאד בלב ימים
25 The ships of
Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made
very glorious in the midst of the seas.
במים רבים הביאוך השׁטים אתך
רוח הקדים שׁברך בלב ימים
26 Thy rowers
have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the
midst of the seas.
הונך ועזבוניך מערבך מלחיך
וחבליך מחזיקי בדקך וערבי מערבך וכל־אנשׁי מלחמתך אשׁר־בך ובכל־קהלך אשׁר בתוכך יפלו
בלב ימים ביום מפלתך
27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise,
thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy
merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company
which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day
of thy ruin.
Now, the third
trumpet.
Revelation 8:
10-11
Καὶ ὁ τρίτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισε, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀστὴρ μέγας καιόμενος ὡς
λαμπάς, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν ποταμῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς
πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων·
10 And the third
angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a
lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of
waters;
καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἀστέρος λέγεται ὁ ῎Αψινθος· καὶ ἐγένετο τὸ τρίτον τῶν ὑδάτων εἰς ἄψινθον. καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων
ἀπέθανον ἐκ τῶν ὑδάτων, ὅτι ἐπικράνθησαν.
11 And the name
of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became
wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
A lamp
symbolizes the word of God.
Proverbs 6:23,
כי נר מצוה ותורה אור ודרך
חיים תוכחות מוסר
"For the
commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are
the way of life."
Psalm 119:105,
נר־לרגלי דברך ואור לנתיבתי
"NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path."
However, the
description of the lamp is preceded by the phrase, “as it were.” This would seem to indicate that it has the
appearance of the Word of God, but is not the true Word of God.
The true gospel
message produces rivers of water.
John 7:37-38,
᾿Εν δὲ τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ
τῇ μεγάλῃ τῆς ἑορτῆς εἱστήκει ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς καὶ ἔκραξε λέγων· ἐάν τις διψᾷ, ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ
πινέτω.
ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ, καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας
αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος.
"In the last
day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man
thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water."
However, this
star falls on the gospel truth. It turns
the truth to wormwood.
Jeremiah 9:13-15,
ויאמר יהוה על־עזבם את־תורתי
אשׁר נתתי לפניהם ולא־שׁמעו בקולי ולא־הלכו בה
וילכו אחרי שׁררות לבם ואחרי
הבעלים אשׁר למדום אבותם
לכן כה־אמר יהוה צבאות אלהי
ישׂראל הנני מאכילם את־העם הזה לענה והשׁקיתים מי־ראשׁ
"And the
LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have
not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after
Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I
will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to
drink."
Amos 5:7,
ההפכים ללענה משׁפט וצדקה
לארץ הניחו
"Ye who turn
judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth."
We saw in the
prophecy in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 that, after the breakup of the Western
Roman Empire, the Medieval Christian Church would become a major political
power. Remember, this is how the Bible describes
the Church, symbolized by the little horn in Daniel and the beast in Revelation.
Daniel 7:21, 25
21 I
beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
…………………………………………………………….
25 And
he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints
of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given
into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Revelation
13:4-8, 18
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and
they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to
make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and
blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his
name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to
overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are
not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.
……………………………………………………………..
18 Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for
it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation
14:9-11
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or
in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the
presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and
they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and
whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
The Medieval
Christian Church taught a religion based on tradition, rather than the Word of
God. Their teachings sounded like they
were based on the Word of God, but they led people away from the truth. Jesus’s true teachings gave life, which Jesus
described as living water. But the
Church’s false teachings turned that water to wormwood. The Church blasphemed against God and persecuted
the saints who were worshiping God as Jesus taught.
Revelation 8:
12-13
Καὶ ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισε, καὶ ἐπλήγη τὸ
τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων, ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τὸ τρίτον
αὐτῶν, καὶ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῆς μὴ φάνῃ ἡ ἡμέρα, καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὁμοίως.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third
part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part
of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not
for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Καὶ εἶδον, καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἀετοῦ πετομένου ἐν μεσουρανήματι, λέγοντος
φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· οὐαὶ, οὐαὶ, οὐαὶ
τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐκ τῶν λοιπῶν φωνῶν τῆς σάλπιγγος τῶν
τριῶν ἀγγέλων τῶν μελλόντων σαλπίζειν.
13 And I beheld,
and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud
voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other
voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
After the truth
of the gospel was turned into wormwood, the light of truth faded across Western
Europe (one of the three major parts of the Roman Empire). God’s truth brings light to the world.
Malachi 4:2,
וזרחה לכם יראי שׁמי שׁמשׁ
צדקה ומרפא בכנפיה ויצאתם ופשׁתם כעגלי מרבק
"But unto
you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his
wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."
2 Corinthians
4:6,
ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ὁ εἰπών ἐκ
σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, ὃς ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν πρὸς φωτισμὸν τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης
τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
"For God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ."
Matthew 4:16,
ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει εἶδε φῶς μέγα, καὶ τοῖς καθημένοις
ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς.
"The people
which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and
shadow of death light is sprung up."
John 12:44-46,
᾿Ιησοῦς δὲ ἔκραξε καὶ εἶπεν· ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ πιστεύει εἰς ἐμὲ, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τὸν πέμψαντά με,
καὶ ὁ θεωρῶν ἐμὲ θεωρεῖ τὸν πέμψαντά με.
ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ μὴ μείνῃ.
"Jesus cried
and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent
me. And he that seeth me seeth him that
sent me. I am come a light into the
world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."
The
false teachings of the church plunged Europe into spiritual darkness.
According
to prophecy, the corrupt church would reign from 538 to 1798. Muhammad was born around 570; three decades
after the corrupt church’s reign began.
