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The Book of Revelation 

Revelation 8:1 "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."

This first verse of chapter 8 is the only recorded time in heaven where there will be complete silence for any length of time.  At all other times, there is praise being given continually.

At the opening of the 7th seal, we begin to see some terrible things to come and it is here we first learn of the 7 trumpets to come (verse 2). 

In verses 3-4 we have an interesting scene concerning the prayers of the saints.  Actually, the Word says the prayers of ALL saints.  Some have said this "angel" is the Lord Jesus Christ, but I wholeheartedly dispute that teaching.  There is nowhere in the Word of God where Jesus is EVER called an angel and there is nowhere anyone ever saw Jesus in heaven and thought he was an angel.  I cannot accept the theory that this angel is Jesus and there is no biblical scripture to support such a notion.

Verse 5 is so very powerful:

Revelation 8:5  "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake."

Did you catch that?   "...filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth...".  What a tremendous response to the prayers of the saints!  Do you think your prayer goes unanswered?  Rest assured, dear one, God STILL hears AND answers prayer!

Allow me to present the next few verses here for you:

Revelation 8:7-12 "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. 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; 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. 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; 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. 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."

It is difficult to imagine what is happening here and it is likewise difficult to understand whether the events of these trumpets refer to actual "hail and fire", stars, or what.  There isn't another place in the Word of God to describe these events.  Considering them, however, I can give my own personal explanation and opinion.  NOTE:  Even if my explanation makes sense to you, you must understand that it is ONLY my opinion and there is no way to prove it or to find other scriptures in the Word of God to support MY explanation.

Let me again state:  This is what I believe COULD be a sensible, logical, rational explanation for the events of these trumpets. 

Bear in mind, these events could just as likely be LITERAL ACTUAL accounts.  It could be stars that fall.....something that looks like a mountain....etc.  With God, ALL THINGS are possible.

When the first trumpet sounds, John gives a description of "hail and fire mingled with blood" (Revelation 8:7) and they were "cast upon the earth".  When you consider the result, it sounds to me like this could possibly be a conventional type of warfare with missiles, bombs, etc.  After all, we are in the time called "Jacob's trouble" and it is a time that has never been nor will ever be again on the face of the earth.  Since the 2nd Horseman of Revelation took "Peace" from the earth, this is very likely a time of war!  We read that a THIRD part of the trees and green grass burnt up.  This is certainly the result of modern weaponry!  It could just as likely be nuclear warfare considering the next few trumpets.  It is not likely that a war would start with nuclear weapons being deployed immediately, but it COULD be nuclear weapons even in this first trumpet.

In the 8th verse, many scholars have said they believed this was a meteor and it could very well be.  From personal military experience, this could be something more sinister.  It could be a nuclear device exploded in the sea.  Look at the description:

Revelation 8:8-9  "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; 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."

It certainly sounds as if the "ships" during a time of war could have been a target, doesn't it?  Wouldn't it take something as powerful as a nuclear warhead to destroy a third part of the ships AND a third part of the creatures which were in the sea?  When we consider the next two trumpets, it looks to me more and more like nuclear weapons are in play.

Revelation 8:10-11 "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; 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."

Here we see, not the sea (or salt water), but rivers and fountains of waters, that are under attack.  Why?  Considering the world in which we live, this could be a deliberate attack on freshwater drinking sources OR it could be a nuclear attack on the Golan Heights!

Many people do not know and do not understand that Israel's main source of water is located in the Golan Heights.  Israel has 3 main water sources: The Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) catchment basin, which is the only surface source, and two underground reservoirs - The Mountain Aquifer and the Coastal Aquifer

Did you know that the Lake Kinneret basis provides one-third of Israel's annual supply of water?  This is a shocking, awakening fact, especially considering the bible says:  "...the third part of the waters became wormwood..."

Did you know the word "wormwood" means "something harsh or embittering"?  Another interesting fact is that a Russian Ambassador the the United Nations:  Mr. Kravchanka (Byelorussian SSR ), spoke concerning the Chernobyl disaster and stated that the Byelorussian word for Chernobyl was "Wormwood".  You may read the paper directly from the United Nations website:  http://www.un.org/spanish/ha/chernobyl/documentos/45pv32.htm.

Many Christians and prophecy teachers jumped on that bandwagon proclaiming that the 3rd trumpet of Revelation had already sounded. 

I have two problems with that theory: 

1.  The 3rd trumpet could not have sounded until the first two! 

2.  The trumpets are concerned with the Middle East, not with Russia!

I'm glad the world's attention was drawn to Chernobyl and I'm glad the world understands the word means Wormwood.  Coincidence?  Perhaps. But it could be that God was trying to show the world in advance what could come.

With this in mind, it is quite possible and quite likely that this "Wormwood"  which falls upon the third part of the rivers and the "fountains of waters" in chapter 8 is a nuclear device.  If that occured, what would happen to the waters?  Right!  They would become "bitter" (by radioactive poisoning).  The bible says  "...the third part of the waters became wormwood...".  Of course, with the waters poisoned by radiation what naturally follows?  "...many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter". Death would come due to radiation poisoning of the fresh water supply.

Once again, when we get to the 4th trumpet, we have a natural progression that IF the first 3 trumpets were indicative of a limited nuclear exchange, the 4th would be the natural result.

Revelation 8:12 "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."

If a third part of the trees were burning, a third part of the grass and a third part of the ships were burning we would have such a thick cloud of smoke over the area that it is quite possible that the sun, moon and stars would be blocked out for a THIRD part of the day and a THIRD part of the night.  If we take it literally as 12 daylight hours and 12 night hours, this amounts to about 8 hours where A THIRD PART OF the sun, moon and stars would not be visible.  Please note:  This does not say that the sun, moon, and stars would not shine at all!   It says "...the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars...".  Once more, if we take this literally, the it is possible the smoke from the burning would cover the area for 8 hours or so (mid afternoon to mid evening perhaps).  Anyone who remembers the First Gulf War will likely remember when Sadaam Hussein set the oil fields on fire and how the clouds literally blocked the sun!

Now, are these things going to happen in this manner?   Is this a limited nuclear war?  I don't really know and my theory cannot be proven (unless this time actually comes), but the ideas I've presented are as reasonable as any other, especially considering the madmen of Iran and North Korea, both of whom have a deep rooted hatred of Israel and who have both threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

It could be that the descriptions given in Revelation 8 are going to be exactly what they claim to be:  literal stars, a literal burning mountain (meteor, comet?) and literal hail.

The bottom line is:  It remains to be seen.

Revelation 8 ends with an angel declaring WOE, WOE, WOE to the inhabiters of the earth!  You see, even though these first 4 trumpets were horrible, the next 3 are worse!


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