Revelation Chapters 8-9

The seventh seal is opened and the Millennium begins. These chapters contain the vision of destruction poured out during the seventh seal, or the period after the Millennium begins but preceding the second coming. Recall, however, that there will be still a final and total cleansing and destruction of evil before the period of peace and righteousness begins. The seven destroying angels announce with their trumpets in turn the final last touches of purging that will occur on the earth.

Actually, in Chapters 8 and 9, six out of seven angels sound their trumpets. In Chapter 10 the seventh angel proclaims the finished destruction.

#Revelation Chapter 8 Opening of the Seventh Seal ─ Seven Angels with Trumpets

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

verse 1 The interlude over, John resumes where chapter six left off. But once again, there is no clash of thunder, no outpouring of wrath. The Lamb breaks the seventh seal; the scroll of destiny lies open, but quiet prevails. God’s testament, his will for the nations, stands ready to be executed. The day of judgment has come. The world will now receive its inheritance and just reward. Six thousand years of indifference, of carelessness toward God, of transgression, of deliberate corruption of his ways, of willful rejection and sometimes slaughter of his prophets, of conscious rebellion and evil – all these will now receive their just compensation.

As the seventh seal is broken, there is “silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” A solemn moment intervenes before judgment commences. Nothing breaks the solitude, but tension builds as seven angels, as captains over a host, receive seven trumpets and prepare to give their commands. The image of the trumpets creates a feeling of foreboding, for soon their blast will shatter the world. But an interval is needed: a period of preparation, of devotion and worship, of readying before heaven executes God’s will, a moment of mourning for a world sick unto death.

The number seven signifies completion. During the seventh seal, we anticipate the completion of God’s work, as indicated by D&C 77:12: “In the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man. . . The sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years.”

The meaning of silence here is somewhat obscure. Several scriptural passages equate silence with God’s withholding his judgments upon the wicked. When there is silence in heaven, no judgments are sent upon the earth. God breaks the silence by sending his judgments. The psalmist prophesied: “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people” (Psalm 50:3-4). Also, “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. . . O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; so persecute them with thy tempest” (Psalm 83:1-2, 13-14; 35:22; Habakkuk 2:20-3:2). After listing many evils of the people, the Lord then promises through Isaiah, “I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom” (Isaiah 65:6). A latter-day revelation reveals, “For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven – which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned” (D&C 38:11-12). In Revelation silence is interrupted and followed with God’s judgments.

Silence in heaven may take place while the saints pray. The phrase “prayers of the saints” is mentioned in these verses twice, and the offering of incense (symbolizing the prayers, Luke 1:10) by an angel of God takes a central place in this scene. All of the creatures and exalted saints in heaven are silent as the mortal saints’ prayers are offered to God (Revelation 8:3). “Is it too fanciful to suppose, as some have suggested, that everything in heaven halts so that the prayers of the saints may be heard?” (Metzger, Breaking the Code, 62).

Doctrine and Covenants 88:95 also speaks of a half hour of silence associated with the last days. In this case, it follows the acts of judgment and immediately precedes the coming of the Lord. Though it is out of position with that of Revelation, it carries the same import: it signals a theophany, but this time of total victory.

“about the space of half an hour” It is uncertain if this time is to be taken literally. “The half hour, it has been speculated, may actually approach twenty-one years, based on the Lord’s time being 1,000 years to the day (see Abraham 3:4; 2 Peter 3:8). If such is correct, it will be a period when all will seem to be at rest, a return to the normal after the pounding taken during the sixth seal. The earth will cease to shake, the stars to fall, and the cosmos will return to a definite pattern. However, no matter what the duration, wickedness will not cease” (Draper, Opening the Seven Seals, 91).

2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

verse 2 “I saw the seven angels which stood before God” Probably during the “half hour” of silence, John notices the seven angels receive seven trumpets. In Revelation 8:6 he will see them prepare to blow their trumpets, and in the next verse the first angel blows his trumpet. The chief goal of these angels is to prepare for the second coming of Christ: “The sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of [God’s] work . .

. the preparing of the way before the time of [Christ’s] coming” (D&C 77:12). This will occur “in the beginning of the seventh thousand years” (D&C 77:12).

These seven angels are men who belong or have belonged to our earth (D&C 130:5). They may be the same seven angels who pour out the seven plagues upon the earth’s inhabitants, as identified in Revelation 15:1, 6-8; 16:1. The seven priests who blew the seven trumpets and walked with the Lord’s ark of the covenant in ancient Israel (Joshua 6:13) were shadows and types of these seven angels from heaven.

Apocryphal sources name the seven angels as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, and Remiel (1 Enoch 20:1-8). All of these names end in the particle el, which means “God.” One source states, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the Holy One” (Tobit 12:15). Luke 1:19 records, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God,” and we know of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael from modern-day revelation (D&C 128:21).

“seven trumpets” The seven trumpets will be blown after the opening of the seventh seal, or “in the beginning of the seventh thousand years;” their purpose is to prepare the way for the second coming (D&C 77:12). At the sounding of each trump, great destructions occur upon the earth. For instance, as the first angel sounds his trump, “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” (Revelation 8:7).

Trumpets were used in war in ancient Israel, which is in keeping with the context of their use here. Trumpets also played a prominent role in the Israelite temple and may have served as types of the trumpets that sound from the temple in heaven. Nehemiah 12:41 and 1 Chronicles 15:24, for example, indicate that “there were seven trumpets in the temple orchestra” (Ford, Revelation, 136). Trumpets were blown during times of peace and burnt offerings (Numbers 10:10; 2 29: 27-28), at certain feasts and at a new moon (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1), during solemn assemblies and fasting (Joel 2:15), on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:8-9), and at the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 5:12-14).

The scriptures inform us that the day of the Lord will be announced by the sounding of a trumpet (Joel 2:1; Zephaniah 1:14-16; Isaiah 27:13; Zechariah 9:14).

3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

verse 3 “another angel” This angel is not one of the seven identified in the previous verse.

“stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense” A censer is a utensil, perhaps similar to a large spoon or very small shovel, which was used for the incense rite. It was employed by the priestly officiant for carrying a few of the burning coals. The action of the angel recalls the activities of the priests in the Israelite temple system, in which the high priest took a “censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar” (Leviticus 16:12) and poured a handful of incense into the burning coals, creating a cloud of incense that ascended into the sky (Numbers 16:17-19). The burning incense symbolizes the prayers of the righteous, which ascend from the earth unto the throne of God.

“that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints” In the Mosaic temple system the priest offered up the incense inside the temple at the same time that the multitude outside offered their prayers (Luke 1:10). Similarly, in the temple in heaven the angelic minister offers incense simultaneous “with the prayers of all saints.” Thus, as Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained, “The saints on both sides of the veil join in worshipping the Lord” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:498).

“golden altar which was before the throne” The golden altar is the altar of incense, located before God’s throne in the temple in heaven. Similarly, the incense altar of the earthly temple was covered with gold and was situated before the mercy seat, or Jehovah’s throne (Exodus 30:1-6; 39:38). This altar may or may not be the same as that mentioned earlier in the verse; it is impossible to tell.

4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

verse 4 The moment of anguished calm is about to end. But the silence will not end until the heavenly priest, the mighty angel, performs at the altar a priesthood act – the judgment of the nations.

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.

verse 5 Finally the judgment commences. The angel, performing his priestly service, moves to the altar. He is not one of the seven, but a minister of authority. This angel may have already intervened twice at critical points. He could be the one called “a strong angel” (Revelation 5:2), “another angel (Revelation 7:2; 8:3; 14:15), and “another mighty angel” (Revelation 10:1). The term “another angel” seems to suggest someone other than the ones who have gone before. However, in each instance where the term is used, it distinguishes one angel from the others just mentioned. It may be that this is Michael or father Adam, the only angel named by John, who holds the keys over this earth.

This conjecture is based on Adam’s role as understood by Joseph Smith. Adam acts under Christ over this earth, holding the key of presidency. Angels are under his direction; he reveals the gospel; and he watches over the ordinances. In the Doctrine and Covenants, he is called the seventh angel, perhaps symbolic of the fact that he represents all the angels or that he directs them. He is the one who, in the end, will lead the forces against Satan (see D&C 88:112-13, 115).

“filled it with fire . . . and cast it into the earth” This rite copies, on a grander scale, a practice in ancient Israel in which the burning coals were cast near the sacrificial altar (Number 16:36-40). At another time, they were scattered throughout the city (Ezekiel 10:2- 7). The same angel who offered incense upon the golden altar now fills the censer with “fire of the altar” and casts it down to the earth. This action symbolizes the pouring out of God’s judgments upon earth and her inhabitants soon after the opening of the seventh seal. The burning coals recall the brimstone and fire that were cast down upon the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is interesting to note that the first three trumpet blasts bring fire upon the earth (Revelation 8:7-10).

“there were voices / thunderings / lightnings / earthquake” The sound of the voices and thunderings shatter the silence in heaven that endured for half an hour (see Revelation 8:1).

verse 6-13 The seven angels will blow their trumpets at the beginning of the seventh thousand-year period to prepare the earth’s inhabitants for the second coming (D&C 77:12).

The trumpets’ blasts bring calamities upon the earth, which warn its inhabitants of greater destructions that will accompany the pouring out of the seven bowls identified in Revelation 16. The calamities that accompany the blowing of the trumpets also encourage the earth’s inhabitants to repent (Revelation 9:20-21; 16:9,11).

There is a progression of the degree of destruction in the groups of the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls: the fourth horseman affected a fourth part of the earth (Revelation 6:8), the first four angels’ trumpets are directed to one-third of the earth (“third part” is used twelve times in this section and likely refers to those souls bound for the telestial kingdom), and the bowls complete the wrath of God (Revelation 16:17). The multiple mention of “third part” may have a historical precedent. Just as one-third of heaven’s hosts were cast out for rebellion, so will one-third of the earth be smitten for the wickedness of her inhabitants.

The judgments of the first four trumpets are directed to nature and the elements (land, trees, grass, sea, fresh waters) and to heavenly bodies (sun, moon, stars), although humanity will be affected indirectly. The final three trumpets, represented by a threefold woe, are aimed directly at humanity.

The events that accompany the seven trumpets correspond to and recall the plagues of Egypt during the time of Moses. The hail, blood, and fire of the first trumpet parallel the seventh plague, in which God plagued Egypt with “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” (Exodus 9:24). The sea’s becoming blood at the sound of the second trumpet recalls the first plague of Egypt, in which God turned the river into blood (Exodus 7:14-25). The waters becoming bitter at the sound of the third trumpet recalls the first plague, during which the Egyptians [“lothed”] to drink of the water of the river” (Exodus 7:18). The sound of the fourth trumpet will bring darkness, which parallels the ninth plague, during which God brought three days of darkness over Egypt, “even darkness which may be felt” (Exodus 10:21). The locusts connected with the fifth trumpet (Revelation 9:1-11) recall the locusts that plagued Egypt, destroying all vegetation “through all the land of Egypt” (Exodus 10:15).

These parallels suggest that Egypt is a type of the world and wickedness, and the plagues are shadows of what will come upon our world in the last days. Also, just as God punished those who were hostile to the prophet Moses and his people, he will again plague those who do not hearken to his voice. God said to Pharaoh, “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14).

We recall that before the sounding of the seven trumpets, an angel filled his censer with burning coals from the altar in the temple in heaven and then cast them to the earth (Revelation 8:5). This fire became, symbolically, the fire that accompanied the first three trumpets: “the first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood;” “the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire;” and “the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp.” The seven angels identified in Revelation may be the same angels mentioned in D&C 88:94-110 who will blast their trumpets.

Outline of the judgments that will accompany the blowing of the seven trumpets: Judgment(s) Things Harmed Percentage Agent of

#or Destroyed or Amount Destruction

#of Damage

first angel hail and fire mingled trees and green third part of trees burning

sounds with blood are cast grass and all green grass

trumpet (8:7) upon the earth

second as it were a great sea creatures, ships one-third of sea blood in the sea angel sounds mountain burning becomes blood;

trumpet (8:8-9) with fire was one-third of living

cast into the sea creatures of the sea

die; one-third of ships

are destroyed

there fell a great star rivers, fountains of third part of rivers waters are made third angel

sounds from heaven, burning waters, many men and waters bitter

trumpet as it were a lamp die

#(8:10-11)

fourth angel none listed sun, moon, stars, third part of the sun,

sounds day and night moon, and stars

trumpet smitten and darkened

#(8:12)

fifth angel star falls from heaven, sun, air, those without those who do not smoke, locusts

sounds is given the key of the the seal of God have the seal

trumpet bottomless pit, and he

(9:1-12) opens the bottomless pit

out of which came smoke

which darkened the sun

and the air

sixth angel four angels are loosed men third part of men horsemen and

sounds which were prepared killed horses

trumpet to slay one-third of

(9:13-21) men

seventh angel uncertain none mentioned none mentioned none mentioned sounds trumpet

#(11:15-19)

#6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

verse 6 “seven angels . . . prepared themselves to sound [their trumpets]” The seven angels lift their trumpets to their mouths, ready to sound them.

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.

verse 7 In an instant the silence is shattered. The seventh seal now picks up the destruction scenario of the sixth and multiplies it:

For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig-tree. And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people. For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.

And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people. And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Behold, and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him (D&C 88:87-92).

Mankind’s chance for repentance is rapidly coming to a close. God tried every means to reclaim them, but they would not hear. Now comes the response to the cry of the earth itself: “Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?” (Moses 7:48). The answer is “now,” for judgment has commenced.

“hail and fire mingled with blood” The hail and fire parallel the seventh plague of Egypt: “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 (Exodus 9:24). The plague that follows the sounding of the first trumpet, however, is more severe, for the hail and fire are “mingled with blood” (see also Joel 2:30). The Lord has not revealed what will cause this plague, nor have Bible scholars been able to offer reasonable explanations of what will actually happen during this plague.

“the third part” A “third” means that these judgments were partial and incomplete – that, for now, God’s mercy is greater than his punishment.

“third part of trees was burnt up” The four destroying angels had commanded to “hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:3). Now, at the sounding of the first trumpet, hail and fire destroy one-third of the earth’s “trees,” which may be actual trees, for “green grass” is mentioned in the same context. The loss of one-third of the earth’s trees, which produce fruit, nuts, lumber, and oxygen, would be disastrous. It is also possible that the trees here symbolize people (Psalm 1:3) – thus, this prophecy may indicate that people will be burned. The ordinal number third is used elsewhere in Revelation (8:7-10, 12; 9:15, 18; 12:4).

“all green grass was burnt up” New Testament scholar Mounce believes “green grass” may mean “vegetation” in general (Book of Revelation, 179). The fire and hail that accompany the blast of the first trumpet destroy grass and vegetation. Such a catastrophe would cause a worldwide famine and millions of deaths.

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;

verse 8 “as it were a great mountain burning with fire” John seems to be speaking symbolically, for he uses the expression “as it were,” although the meaning of this passage has not been revealed (Jeremiah 51:25). Or perhaps John is describing a great volcano.

“third part of the sea became blood” If the “great mountain burning with fire” were a volcano, its lava would look like blood flowing into the sea around it.

This plague parallels the first plague of Egypt, when fresh waters became blood at the world of the Lord. This plague was so severe that “there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt” (Exodus 7:21). Ancient Egypt is a type of the present-day world and its wickedness, and Egypt’s first plague is a type of the destruction that will fall upon the world in the days to come.

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.

verse 9 “third part of the [sea] creatures . . . died” As did the freshwater fish during the first plague of Egypt (Exodus 7:21), one-third of all sea creatures will die because of the great burning mountain, identified in the previous verse.

“third part of the ships were destroyed” The great burning mountain destroys the ships on earth.

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;

verse 10 “fell a great star from heaven” Whether this expression refers to a meteorite, nuclear bomb, or another catastrophic event is unknown. We do know that the purpose of this destruction – “a symbol of divine visitation” (Mounce, Book of Revelation, 180) – is to encourage humanity to repent and turn to God.

“fell upon the third part of the rivers / fountains” The great star will fall upon and make bitter one-third of the earth’s fresh inland waters. Such a catastrophe will certainly alter drastically the earth’s ecological system, and many will die (see the following verse).

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.

verse 11 “name of the star is called Wormwood” The star is named after a plant that has a bitter taste. In the Old Testament God sends wormwood upon the wicked as a judgment: to an immoral woman whose “end is bitter as wormwood” (Proverbs 5:4), to wicked people whom God will cause to eat wormwood (Jeremiah 9:15; Deuteronomy 29:17-18; Lamentations 3:15). Thus, the star called Wormwood will bring great bitterness upon earth’s inhabitants.

Because stars represent people in other passages of scripture (Revelation 12:4; Job 38:7; D&C 128:23), the star called Wormwood may represent an angel who is sent from God with bitter judgments upon the people (Mounce, Book of Revelation, 180).

“third part of the waters became wormwood” Approximately one-third of the earth’s fresh waters will become bitter, causing “many men” to die. Elder McConkie asks, “Could this be atomic fallout which shall poison a third of the drinking water of the earth?” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:499).

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.

verse 12 “third part of the sun / moon / stars . . . was darkened” The blast of the trumpet of the fourth angel brings total darkness for one-third of the day and night. John’s prophecy accords with other prophets who have testified that “the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light” (Amos 5:18; Joel 2:2). Isaiah also speaks of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, placing this darkening in the context of God’s punishment of the world for their evil (Isaiah 13:10-11). The events recall the ninth plague, or three days of “thick darkness,” in Egypt as well as the darkness at Christ’s crucifixion, recorded in 3 Nephi 8:20-23.

“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 that the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”

verses 8-12 Four angels have brought four plagues. Again, the number four is symbolic of geographical totality. The whole earth will fall under the angel’s censer, and thus there is the need for the saints to be sealed against these destructions. But remember that the prayers of the saints have played an important role in initiating this judgment. Their petitions, at least in part, have unleashed the wrath. This case seems to parallel that of Noah. According to the book of Moses, Noah’s “heart was pained that the Lord had made man.” The result was that the Lord decided to act, “for it repenteth Noah that I have created them, and that I have made them: and he hath called upon me” (Moses 8:25-26). The result of Noah’s petition was the Flood. But just what role the Church plays during the period of the seventh seal is not disclosed. The Church is not in view in chapter eight; only the world is.

The sounding of the trumpets has important symbolic meaning. The Doctrine and Covenants makes it clear that, “as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, . . . the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years – the preparing of the way before the time of his coming” (D&C 77:12).

Much work must be done before the Lord comes in glory. The beginning of the Millennium will see the finishing of that work. The term millennium can be defined at least three ways. It means literally a period of a thousand years. According to LDS theology, the earth has passed through five full millennia and is about to complete a sixth. Using this definition, we think of the Millennium as the last thousand years of the earth’s history before the “short season.” The term can further be defined as that period during which the earth experiences peace and rest – the period when paradisiacal conditions will prevail. Finally, the term can define the period during which the Savior will take charge of affairs and reign personally upon the earth. These definitions are not mutually exclusive, and for the vast majority of the last thousand years all three definitions will be correct.

But Doctrine and Covenants 77 states that the seventh seal and the seventh thousand years coincide. That being the case, the Millennium will have begun before the second coming of the Savior. The Millennium officially begins at the time the Savior begins to reign on this earth at the great council at Adam-Ondi-Ahman. According to Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, “At that time there will be a transfer of authority from the usurper and imposter, Lucifer, to the rightful King, Jesus Christ. Judgment will be set and all who have held keys will make their reports and deliver their stewardships, as they shall be required. Adam will direct this judgment, and then he will make his report, as the one holding the keys for this earth, to his Superior Officer, Jesus Christ. Our Lord will then assume the reins of government; directions will be given to the Priesthood; and He, whose right it is to rule, will be installed officially by the voice of the Priesthood there assembled” (The Way to Perfection, Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1931, 291. See also Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1982, 578-88).

So, the second coming of the Savior does not usher in the Millennium; the plagues of the seven angels do. That work must first be completed before the Lord appears in glory. The plagues are, therefore, God’s last effort to soften the hardened. The plagues have but one purpose: to begin the cleansing process of the earth. But the method is twofold: first, to reclaim any who will repent under the excruciating pain of the last plagues; and second, to destroy those who will not.

As has been mentioned, as each angel sounds, echoes from Exodus 7-12 are heard. The scourges that God placed upon Egypt become John’s type of the millennial plagues. The point seems to be that God will once again make bare his mighty arm before the nations. As Pharaoh hardened his heart and brought the plagues upon Egypt, so the Lord directs trumpet blasts against a world adamant in its hostility toward the Lamb. As happened with Egypt, as the intensity of the judgments increase, so also does the vehemence with which man refuses to repent (see Revelation 9:20-21; cf. Exodus 7:22-23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 34-35; 10:20, 27- 28).

But the trumpet blasts are not designed to destroy the earth. They affect a significant proportion, but not all. On twelve different instances the Revelator limits the destruction to one-third, symbolically showing that their bounds have been set. They can go only so far. The fraction one-third is used by a number of the prophets in association with what is called “remnant theology,” the remnant being the unaffected part. We see this in Ezekiel 5:1-5. The prophet performs his dramatized prophecy (Hebrew ‘ot,) against Jerusalem by shaving his head and beard, burns one-third of the hair with fire, cleaves one-third with the sword, and scatters the remainder to the wind. Only the latter one-third remains alive though scattered. It is the remnant. The fraction is used again in Ezekiel 5:12 and in Zechariah 13:8-9. In the latter, one-third is all that remains alive after the divine judgments while another one-third is burned with fire. So, the fraction John gives suggests that the purpose of the destruction in Revelation 8 is not so much retribution as a last attempt to turn man to God.

The plagues do not arise out of natural phenomena such as volcanic action. They represent eschatological judgments of which there is no equivalent in Jewish apocalyptic. The picture John paints graphically shows the tremendous power that will rampage upon the earth.

In this way, John symbolizes the great destructions he saw unleashed. The separate plagues are not to be taken as happening one after the other. Rather, the whole world will likely be set in commotion simultaneously. The attack is directed primarily against nature. Nonetheless, mankind is seriously affected. When the grass and trees are hurt, the wheat and fruit trees go up in flames. When the fresh waters are affected they become as wormwood, a very bitter herb that makes the water impossible to drink. The catastrophes apparently cause the atmosphere to become so polluted that sunlight and moonlight are significantly dimmed. This may cause a drastic change in the weather patterns of the earth. A greenhouse effect may be set up and temperatures rise unusually, resulting in the conditions noted by John in chapter sixteen.

The day of darkness as a symbol of the day of judgment runs throughout the Old Testament. Amos notes that the Lord’s day will be a day of darkness and not of light (Amos 5:18). For Joel, it will be a “day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness” (Joel 2:2). As the Savior noted, in the day of the Lord, “the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light” (Mark 13:24; cf. Isaiah 13:10). The fourth trumpet plague fulfills these conditions.

In each of the first three instances, fire is an active ingredient in the judgments. However, this fire is not the same as the fire of the Lord’s coming. During the latter “the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away” (3 Nephi 26:3: cf. Mormon 9:2). The fire of these three judgments precedes the fire of the Lord’s second coming. The fire of the Lord’s coming has been called “the Great Overburn,” an apt description of the final holocaust of Revelation, and has been associated with the last great war before the second coming – a war of a special nature. It is not described in the usual term of bloodshed and the work of the sword. It is a war of burning in which “the people shall be as the fuel of the fire” (2 Nephi 19:19).

It would take a miracle for anyone to survive such a general holocaust, but that is exactly the point. The destruction of these judgments is limited. God supervises the whole thing. Further, the fire acts as his agent. Its purpose is not only to destroy, but also to protect his people:

For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous. Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire. Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel (1 Nephi 22:16-18).

The Lord is perfectly prepared to allow thousands to die in order to protect his people. Some may have trouble with this idea, but John has a very realistic understanding about death. From his perspective, all must die. The question is when and how. Ultimate destiny is not determined by the moment or manner of death; it is by the manner of life. Those who are destroyed are not annihilated. They have further existence. But for the present they have not been playing the game by God’s rules. They have become mean, and so they are thrown into the penalty box, so to speak, for unnecessary roughness while the game goes on. According to Caird, the idea that mortality is so infallibly precious that

the death which robs us of it must be the ultimate tragedy is precisely the idolatry that John is trying here to combat. We have already seen that John calls the enemies of the church “the inhabitants of earth,” because they have made themselves utterly at home in this transient world order. If all men must die, and if at the end heaven and earth must vanish, along with those whose life is irremediably bounded by worldly horizons, then it is surely in accord with the mercy of God that he should send men from time to time forceful reminders of the insecurity of their tenure (Revelation, 113).

Besides, as already noted, the purpose of the plagues is to drive those who would not otherwise do so to repentance and, thus, into the protective arms of God. Those who will not repent must be accountable to the fire.

The Lord has stated, “Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity is full” (D&C 101:11). The world will not take advantage of the half hour of silence to repent. Though warned and recognizing the source of that warning, they will not respond. Thus, sin will be added to sin until the measure is complete; when it is, the moment of grace will pass. Then the angels will sound, and the earth will fall under the power of the four trumpets.

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!

verse 13 “I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven” The word “angel” here is probably not what was intended. Most manuscripts have the Greek word aetos here which translates as either eagle or vulture, as in the Septuagint and the New Testament (e.g. Luke 17:37). This verse parallels D&C 88:92, which reads, “And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come.”

“with a loud voice” All of the earth’s inhabitants must hear. The voice here is probably not literal; instead, it may pertain to God’s judgments that accompany the sounding of the seven trumps. All of humanity will hear of these great calamities.

“Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth” These words clearly show God’s deep displeasure in the inhabitants of the earth, specifically those who choose sin and worldliness and will not repent. God’s pronouncement of a woe results in a condition of woe on the earth.

Woe denotes great trouble and anguish; three woes magnify the trouble and anguish. The first woe occurs when the fifth angel sounds his trumpet (Revelation 9:1-12), and the second woe accompanies the sixth angel’s trumpet blast (Revelation 9:13-21) and is fulfilled in Revelation 11:14, although there is an interlude in chapter 10. John does not identify the fulfillment of the third woe, although it may be connected with the bowl of judgments in Revelation 16, for we observe that as the opening of the seventh seal encompasses both the seven trumps and the seven bowls, so might the seventh trump encompass the seven bowls.

God uses three woes to encourage the wicked to repent, for he says, “Woe shall come unto the inhabitants of the earth if they will not hearken unto my words” (D&C 5:5).

As if the destruction trumpeted by the four angels were not enough, John hears the ominous cry of a bird of prey preparing to dive for the kill. The image of the vulture hovering over a dying beast or of the eagle ready to swoop down for the kill best expresses the doom that the other three trumpets are about to bring upon unrepentant man. From the high heaven where all are visible to it and it is visible to all, it screeches its dirge: “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth” because of the trumpet blasts that are about to be sounded by the other three angels. Real destruction, of which mankind has had only a little taste up to this point, awaits the fifth trumpet blast. Indeed, verse thirteen serves as a “transition between the four plagues brought by God upon nature to lead man to repentance and the subsequent demonic woes in which man will be directly subjected to the forces of the abyss” (Mounce, Revelation, 189).