MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 8
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista
The Seventh Seal Judgment Angel
Vic Batista: Revelation 8:1-5 provides more to learn about God’s mighty angels:
“When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.”
Nathan Jones: We are now to the seventh and last Seal Judgment. Jesus Christ Himself is the only one worthy to open the seals on the title deed to the earth. Going back to the beginning of history, God gave mankind control over the earth, but when Adam sinned he unwittingly handed the deed over to Satan. But, by Jesus’ death on the cross, Christ earned back the deed to the earth to one day claim dominion over all of the planet. Only Jesus is worthy to come and claim what is now His.
Nathan Jones: #Jesus' death on the cross earned Him back the title deed to the earth. Click To TweetFor the final Seal Judgment, a short time of silence is followed by an angel with a golden censure. He stands before God’s throne and mixes a concoction. He takes from the golden altar the smoke from incense, the prayers of believers, and some fire. The first two the Bible says are a fragrant aroma to the Lord. All the prayers of Christians throughout the centuries begging God for justice are now answered. The concoction is thrown down to the earth, causing strange noises, thunder, lightning, and an earthquake.
The First Trumpet Judgment Angel
Nathan Jones: Jesus has opened each of the seven seals releasing God’s wrath upon the world. Now we get to the Seventh Seal Judgment. It is a prelude to the next serious of judgments called the Seven Trumpet Judgments.
In chapter 8, we read about seven angels who stand before the throne of God. This is a little confusing because at times we are told about the sevenfold spirit of God, in other words the Holy Spirit who is the third part of the Trinity. Rather, I believe this passage is specifically referring not to the Holy Spirit, but to seven separate angels whose job it is to pour out the wrath of God in seven different judgments called the Trumpet Judgments.
Vic Batista: I agree, because in verse 2, “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God. And they were given seven trumpets.” These are angels separate from the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 8:6-7 begins the blowing of these Trumpet Judgments with the First Trumpet Judgment Angel.
“So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.”
Nathan Jones: Remember how earlier in Revelation we were shown that it is Jesus who opens the Seal Judgments? Then the seven angels by the throne of God are told by Him to pour out the Trumpet Judgments. This means that the Seal and Trumpet Judgments are indeed God’s wrath from beginning to end.
So, we get the first of the Trumpet Angels. When he blows the trumpet he sends down “hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.” Whatever this may be can naturally be explained by meteorites, or possibly it is nuclear in nature, or it is actually just fire. We aren’t given that level of detail.
This wrath of God — this judgment — has this angel sending down hail mixed with fire, and it is mingled with blood. Real blood? I don’t know. The passage says it is, so I take it for what it says literally. Whatever this blood may be, it sounds supernatural in nature as it burns up a third of the trees on the planet and all the green grass. We are talking about an incredible attack upon the ecology of this planet!
Vic Batista: Revelation 8 is not just talking about a little drought like in Texas when it doesn’t rain for a week or two and everything turns yellow and begins to die out. This is not drought we are talking about here, right?
Nathan Jones: No, not at all. We are talking about a third of the trees on the planet, whether they are all congregated on a continent or two, or are spread throughout the planet. And, we are talking about not just a third, but all of the grass across the planet burns up. Whatever this hailstorm is that God sends, it devastates the ecology, and when the ecology is devastated, so too is the food production devastated. Even the production of oxygen from the trees is greatly reduced.
The First Trumpet Judgment is a direct attack by God on mankind for the purpose of getting people to repent and turn to Jesus Christ.
Vic Batista: Excellent point! I have only been through a few hailstorms living in South Florida, and they are very scary if you ever driven through one.
Nathan Jones: I’m reminded of Oklahoma. That’s where all the horrible storms seem to be when the weather is reporting. You would think the wrath of God is poured out on Oklahoma during the Spring. The first time I ever drove into Oklahoma, as soon as I crossed the border over the Red River, it was hail, lightening, wind, and tornadoes like I’d never seen before. To think the Oklahoma storms could only be counted as a weak type of just what will be happening across the entire planet during the Tribulation.
Vic Batista: Probably many of us have been through hailstorms. They’d be considered little storms compared to the incredible hail storm of the First Trumpet Judgment. Just imagine the size those stones must be to cause so much destruction. The damage must be unimaginable! Just like you said, the whole cycle of life involving the trees and grass are disrupted. Plant life plays a vital key role in how nature functions.
Nathan Jones: Exactly. We’re not talking about a little hailstorm here. We are talking about an unprecedented hailstorm! Clearly, I take the Bible for what it says, but this storm sounds bigger than any hailstorm this earth has ever experienced. It’s massive enough to level most of the ecology. And this is just the beginning. Wait until we get to the hailstorms at the very end of the Tribulation that throw hundred pound hailstones!
Vic Batista: Amazing, and that’s just the First Trumpet sounding!
In the ninth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we’ll look at more of the Trumpet Angels found in Revelation 8.
would like to say that these messages you are posting are very helpful to me and i pray that others will have their spritual eyes open to this and really realize that we are living in the end times and they need to get ready and not be left behind when all this takes place.It helps me keep myself ready every day.And helps me long for the coming of Our Lord Jesus to come and straighten all this up.Blessings to all of you.
If the seals are part of the Trib. Please explain where Jesus was because He was not on or under the earth or in heaven! If Jesus is not in heaven then the church can’t be there either! Or you have to except He broke His promise that we would be with Him always. Take your pick!
Revelation 4-5 is all about Jesus in the throne room of Heaven about to open the Seal Judgments. Those chapters go into great detail about Jesus’ location and Him opening the Seal Judgments.