Sermon Leftover - Revelation 8: Many Sounds & Trumpets

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On this past Sunday I was honored to preach on Revelation 8 (Link to the children's message and sermon). Yesterday I shared some sermon leftovers about the silence mentioned in Revelation 8:1 (Click here for yesterday's discussion). Today we are examining some of the sounds that come after the half hour of silence mentioned in Revelation 8:1. From the silence of 8:1 comes the rest of the chapter which explodes with overwhelming sounds. If there was one chapter of the Bible which includes the most variety of sounds it may very well be Revelation 8. 

1. In 8:2 we're told about seven angels who are given each a trumpet. 
2. In 8:4 we're told about the prayers of God's people (which were previously mentioned in 5:8 and in 6:9-11). 
3. In 8:5 we're told about peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 
4. Starting in 8:6 the angels sound their trumpets, each trumpet has a unique subsequent action or set of actions associated with them. 
5. In 8:7 we're told of hail, anyone who has heard hail either indoors or outside knows it's particularly unique sound when compared to rain. 
6. In 8:7 we're told about a fire. While flames are often thought of for their light and visible nature, they have a distinct sound as well. The roars of wildfires can be heard from great distances. 
7. In 8:8 a huge flaming thing like a mountain hits the sea. The sound of sizzling comes to mind. 
8. In 8:9 ships are destroyed as a result of this huge impact on the sea. The sounds of splitting timbers and crashing decks are unmistakable among the upset waters. 
9. In 8:10 we're told of a star which crashes into rivers and springs. We know what a pebble dropping into a puddle sounds like, how much more so a star!
10. In 8:12 we're told of the "lights" being darkened, the light of the sun, moon, and stars. The absence of light doesn't also necessitate the absence of sound. Anyone who has gone camping outdoors knows that in the darkest moments of night, before the dawn, there are still a great host of nocturnal creatures which roam, creep, and crawl. 
11. In 8:13 all these various sounds are broken up by the loud voice of an eagle calling out with a warning of woe yet to come in the remaining three trumpets. 

That's no less than 11 different sources of sound throughout the chapter! Revelation 8 is certainly a "loud" chapter. Allow me to try and group some of these sounds with some biblical references:

Trumpets - Trumpets and blowing horns were used for a variety of things through the books of the Bible. 

1. Trumpets in war: Trumpets were used by the soldiers of Gideon in battle against the Midianites (Judges 7). Trumpets were used in battle at Jericho as the people of ancient Israel marched around the city (Joshua 6). Trumpets were one of the many symbols used prophetically by Jeremiah to warn of the coming war to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 4:19, 42:14, 51:27). 
2. Trumpets as a call to worship: The sound of the trumpet was a reminder and call for the Day of Atonement (the single most important holy day of ancient Israel) each year (Lev 25:9). The prophet Joel spoke of blowing the trumpet to gather the people for a time of fasting as a holy congregation (Joel 2:15). 
3. Trumpets incorporated in worship: Trumpets were instruments of praise, thanksgiving, and reverence often included in the worship of God throughout the Old Testament (Ps 47:5, Ps 150:3). The Prophet Isaiah used spoke of the Trumpet in connection with a return from exile and a resuming of worship (Isaiah 27:13). 
4. Trumpets were often used for warnings: The prophet Ezekiel warned of coming judgment and called for the blowing of the trumpet by watchmen (Eze 33:3-6). The prophet Hosea commanded a trumpet to be blown as he spoke of an eagle crying out in judgment against God's people (Hos 8:1). The prophet Amos also does something similar in describing how trumpets were used to announce something terrible approaching (Amos 3:6). Trumpets were used in the time of Nehemiah after the exile to warn of any dangers or threats coming to attack the workers rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem (Neh 4:18, 4:20).
5. Trumpets often signaled a new ruler in ancient Israel: This blowing of a trumpet in association with the enthronement of a new king is frequent in the historical narratives in the books of 2 Samuel and 1& 2 Kings (See 2 Samuel 15:10, 1 Kings 1:34, 1:39, 1:41, 2 Kings 9:13). 
6. Trumpets were used to gather, dismiss or disperse ancient Israel: After a bloody battle between Judah and Israel the trumpet was used to signal the end of the pursuit by Judah's troops (2 Sam 2:28). Jeremiah uses the symbol of the trumpet to speak of gathering out of a response to judgment (Jeremiah 4:5, 46:1). 

Now that we have some of the Biblical references in mind, what can we say about these seven trumpets being blown in Revelation 8-11? 

1. We can certainly say that these trumpets call back to the battle of Jericho in some way. The only other place in the whole of the scriptures that the number seven is associated with trumpets is in the battle of Jericho in Joshua 6. This should clue us in to see these trumpets in some relationship to war or battle. 
2. We can certainly say that these trumpets bring with them warnings of accompanying judgement. Each trumpet sounded by the seven angels unleashes some new devastation. Whether it's destruction on the land and waters (the first four trumpets) or destruction on the inhabitants (the 5th and 6th trumpets), destruction is without a doubt the resulting action of these trumpets. 
3. We can certainly say that these seven trumpets signal a new ruler. In Revelation 11:15 (we haven't gotten there yet in our sermon series) the final seventh trumpet sounds, and we read the following: 

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)

This trumpet signals the messiah's reign. There has been a transfer of power, a declaration of new jurisdiction. With the seventh trumpet a new power has ascended to rule in a way that will never be usurped, replaced, or removed. What tremendously good news of great joy! This Lord and his Messiah reign in a never-ending kingship. There is justice, there is hope, there is a royal righteous chief who will put to final rest all the injustice, all the despair, and all the wickedness. 

I'll leave you today with a few David Chilton's comments from his Revelation commentary. I think Chilton absolutely nails the meaning of the trumpets with his first 3 observations:

Several areas of the symbolic significance of trumpets are in view in this passage. First, trumpets were used in the Old Testament liturgy for ceremonial processions, particularly as an escort for the Ark of the Covenant; the obvious, prime example of this is the march around Jericho before it fell (Josh. 6; cf. 1 Chron. 15:24; Neh. 12:41). As G. B. Caird says, “John must have had this story in mind when he wrote; for he tells us that with the blowing of the seventh trumpet the ark appeared (11:19), and also that one of the consequences of the trumpet blasts was that a tenth of the great city fell (11 :13).” Second, trumpets were blown to proclaim the rule of a new king (1 Kings 1:34, 39; cf. Ps. 47:5): “John’s seventh trumpet is the signal for the heavenly choir to sing their coronation anthem, praising God because He has assumed the sovereignty and begun to reign (11:15).” Third, the trumpet sounded an alarm, warning Israel of approaching judgment and urging national repentance (Isa. 58:1; Jer. 4:5-8; 6:1, 17; Ezek. 33:1-6; Joel 2:1, 15). “John too believed that the purpose of the trumpet blasts and the disasters they heralded was to call men to repentance, even if that purpose was not achieved. ‘The rest of mankind who survived these plagues still did not renounce the gods of their own making’ (9:20; cf. Amos 4:6-11 ).”