The First Four Trumpets
Study 3
page 3
page : 1 : 2 : 3 :
Sun, Moon and Stars Go
Dark
“The fourth angel
sounded his trumpet, and a third of
the sun was struck, a third of the
moon, and a third of the stars, so
that a third of them turned dark. A
third of the day was without light,
and also a third of the night.”
(Revelation 8:12)
The judgments of God
do not end with two asteroid impacts.
The fourth judgment follows the first
three trumpets, the result is the
Sun, moon, and stars go dark. It is
conceivable that the darkness John
saw is similar to what occurred in
the northwestern part of the United
States during the Mt.St. Helens
eruptions in 1980. At midday, it
looked like midnight. There was no
light. Although Revelation does not
say why the Sun, moon and stars turn
dark, this worldwide phenomenon would
be consistent with volcanic
eruptions. The cumulative effects of
a giant earthquake and two asteroid
impacts could certainly disrupt the
fragile balance of Earth’s
tectonic plates. As the tectonic
plates strain to readjust, enormous
energy would be released. Hundreds of
volcanoes could erupt, belching magna
and ash in a series of explosions
that could dwarf the blasts of Mount
St. Helens, Mount Pinatubo in the
Philippians and Mount Popo in Mexico.
Consider the
cumulative effect. The first three
trumpets send megatons of dust, soot
and debris into the atmosphere.
Hundreds of volcanic eruptions
(around the Ring of Fire) belch more
dust in the form of volcanic ash,
causing extended darkness around the
world. Millions of burning acres and
resulting windstorms insure that the
jet stream is affected. One ounce of
soot absorbs 25,000 times the amount
of sunlight that one ounce of dust
absorbs! Given this physical fact, it
is not hard to encircle the middle
third of Earth where two-thirds of
the world’s population lives!
The absence of sunlight for an
extended period of time will produce
famine. While you are pondering these
powerful displays of God’s
wrath, keep in mind that god is
righteous and He can justify His
actions. What does the severity of
God’s actions say about
man’s rebellion?
John predicts, “A
third of the earth was burned up, a
third of the trees were burned up,
and all the green grass was burned
up.” It is very interesting to
note that the quantity of “one
third” is used 12 times
throughout the description of the
seven trumpets:
1/3 of Earth will be
burned up
1/3 of the trees will
be burned up
1/3 of the sea will
turn into blood
1/3 of the sea
creatures will die
1/3 of the ships on
the sea will sink
1/3 of the rivers and
springs will become contaminated
1/3 of the light from
the Sun will be taken away
1/3 of the light from
the moon will be taken away
1/3 of the light from
the stars will be taken away
1/3 of the day will be
without light
1/3 of the night will
be without light
1/3 of mankind will be
killed in the sixth trumpet war
What is God trying to
tell us about the repetitive use of
“one-third?” Would you
believe it has to do with God’s
generosity? God destroys one-third,
but spares two-thirds. To appreciate
the importance of God’s
generosity, notice how rebellion was
addressed in Bible times.
When a tribal nation
refused to pay tribute to a king who
claimed higher authority over their
territory, it was common practice for
the offended king to attack the
defiant city and totally destroy it
– men, woman and children.
(Deuteronomy 2:34; 3:6) However, if
the king was in a generous mood, he
might spare one-third of the nation
from destruction (and thus maintain
some of his tax base.) Notice how
this happened during the reign of
King David. “David also defeated
the Moabites [who had refused to pay
him tribute]. He made them lie down
on the ground and measured them off
with a length of cord. Every two
lengths of them put to death, and the
one-third length was allowed to live.
So the [surviving] Moabites became
subject to David and brought tribute
[tax].” (2 Samuel 8:2, insertion
mine)
God also dealt with
Israel in a parallel pattern. God
tolerated Israel’s rebellion for
many centuries, but when its cup
reached full measure, God killed
two-thirds of Israel when He sent His
servant Nebuchadnezzar to destroy
them. (Jeremiah 25:9) Because God is
a generous King, He spared one-third
(the survivors) by putting them in
Babylonian exile. God told Ezekiel,
“A third of your people will die
of the plague or perish by famine
inside you; a third of you will fall
by the sword outside your walls; and
a third I will scatter to the winds
and pursue with drawn sword.”
(Ezekiel 5:12) Did you notice
God’s use of His deadly
judgments: sword, famine and plague?
Did you notice that two-thirds were
killed?
Again, the balance of
mercy can be observed in the days of
Zechariah. God said, “ ‘In
the whole land,’ declares the
Lord, ‘two-thirds will be struck
down and perish; yet one-third will
be left in it. This third I will
bring into the fire; I will refine
them like silver and test them like
gold. They will call on my name and I
will answer them; I will say,
“they are my people,” and
they will say, “The Lord is our
God.”’” (Zechariah
13:8,9)
The repetitive use of
“one-third” within the
seven trumpets declares God’s
generosity with a defiant and
rebellious world. The trumpet
judgments are redemptive in nature.
If a generous king spared one-third
of a rebellious nation in ancient
times, what can be said of the King
of kings who spares two-thirds of the
elements mentioned in the seven
trumpets? Inscribed in the first four
trumpets, life on this planet would
perish within a couple of months!
Same Conclusions and
Some Predictions
What makes this
interpretation of the first four
trumpets so uncanny is that
scientists and Bible students are not
only arriving at the same conclusions
– that asteroids and meteorites
will impact Earth – but they are
also surprised by the consistent
harmony of results. Will Earth be
pummeled by fiery rocks raining from
Heaven? More and more scientists are
convinced it is inevitable, and so
are students of Bible prophecy.
