When I was young—O for the days!—I sung a camp song whose verses I forget but whose chorus I remember: “Same song, second verse, a little bit louder, a little bit worse.” I think of that chorus when I read about the blowing of the seven trumpets in Revelation 8.6–11.19, for that passage depicts the same tribulation as the seven opened seals (6.1–8.5), but, at least in some aspects, in a more intense way.
Both portray the destruction of the earth—indeed of all creation, but under the fourth seal, only a fourth of humanity is killed by war, famine, and plague. After the blowing of the first four trumpets, by contrast, a third of humanity is dead, and a third of creation lies waste. There is an exponential difference between 25% and 33% when those percentages are talking about billions of people.
Now, it is important to recognize the symbolic character of the language John is employing. When the sixth seal was opened (6.12–17), the sun became black, the moon blood, and the stars fell from the sky. Additionally, “every mountain and island was removed from its place.” When the sixth seal was opened, in other words, creation fell apart. But in 8.6–12, the sun, moon, and stars are all back. If the seals and the trumpets describe different events, such a reappearance is plain impossible.
In addition, the math does not quite add up. When the fourth trumpet is blown (8.12), John tells us that “a third of the sun was struck” in order that “a third of their light might be darkened.” From an astrophysical point of view, a 33% drop in the sun’s output would not lower temperatures by 33%, it would freeze all earth’s inhabitants to death. Unless we want to make Scripture look ridiculous, we must be careful not to interpret it literally when doing so would make it literal nonsense.
So why does John dwell on the 33% destruction of everything as he narrates the blowing of the first four trumpets? Well, obviously, because he is simply reporting what he saw. And yet, I think, there is a further reason. It has to do, interestingly enough, with the justice and fairness of God. Scripture everywhere portrays God as a just judge. He does not declare the innocent guilty, nor the guilty innocent. But at the present moment, he is giving all of us—all of us being guilty—the chance to amend our ways. He is being patient with us, hoping that his patience will lead us to repentance (2 Peter 3.9).
The problem is, however, that the way he demonstrates patience is by not striking us with a thunderbolt every time we do something wrong. He withholds that kind of judgment. He wants us to come to him voluntarily. Instead of making the most of this opportunity, however, we think everything is fine and dandy. (After all, we are not getting struck by thunderbolts from heaven.) So God sends us John with a prophetic reminder that judgment is coming, and it is not pleasant.
Do we get the picture? More importantly, do we change?
Listen to The Daily Word online.
GeorgePWood.com 