Friday, March 16, 2018

Day 16 of Revelation Study: Chapters 8 - 9


The Trumpet Judgments



Suffering and death summarize these two chapters well. Chapter eight begins with the breaking of the seventh seal which brings about severe weather (8:5). This then leads straight into the trumpet judgments as each angel, one by one, toots his horn. These continue throughout all of chapter nine. However, the final trumpet is not blown until chapter eleven.

Many scholars in the past have proposed that the breaking of the seventh seal is distinct from the others because, opposed to having a singular judgment, it looks like it comprises the seven trumpet judgments. However, upon closer examination you will find that the seventh seal really does have its own judgment (8:5). Yes, the trumpet judgments follow soon after, but it seems clear to me that they themselves make up their own set of plagues.


I Plead the Fifth


While many of the plagues are relatively easy to understand, there are those [like the 5th Trumpet] which have boggled the minds of scholars for two thousand years. Scores of men and women have attempted to relate these demonic beings with military weapons of a technologically advanced age. Others have chosen to simply read the text as saying that literal demons will sting people with their scorpion like tails. No matter the case, this is not a judgment that any of us want to face.

Although we may come away with different interpretations to the exact form this judgment takes, the 5th Trumpet should never result in us dividing. This is a hard book to understand. I plead the fifth because I am not sure, at least at this time, what exactly to do with the passage. Do I believe it? Absolutely! Do I fully understand it? Sadly, no.

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