Revelation 8

Revelation 8:1

From Now to the End of Time An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Revelation www.easyenglish.info Ian Mackervoy This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 8 The seventh (7th) *seal - Revelation 8:1 v1 When the *Lamb opened the seventh (7th) *seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Verse 1 The seventh (7th) *seal.

The *Lamb then opened the seventh (7th) *seal. All the many sounds in heaven stopped. There was a sudden pause. There was complete silence. It lasted for about half an hour. The 7 *trumpets - Revelation 8:2-11:19 Preparation for the *trumpets - Revelation 8:2-5 v2 Then I saw the 7 *angels who stand in front of God. They each received one of the 7 *trumpets.

v3 And another *angel came and he stood at the *altar. He had a gold bowl in which to burn *incense. He received a lot of *incense. He had to offer this on the gold *altar with the prayers of all God’s people. The *altar was in front of the *throne. v4 As the *angel burned the *incense, it caused smoke to rise from the bowl in his hand. That smoke rose up to God with the prayers of his people. v5 Then the *angel took the gold bowl. He filled it with fire from the *altar. Then he threw it onto the earth. There were *thunder, loud noises, and much lightning. And the earth shook.

Verse 2 There was a silence in heaven when the *Lord broke the seventh *seal. In the seventh *seal were the events called ‘the 7 *trumpets’. In the seventh *trumpet, there were the events called ‘the 7 bowls’.

After that silence, John looked. He saw the 7 *angels. These *angels were a special group. They stood in the holy place, ready to serve God. Each of these received a *trumpet. These *trumpets bring the anger of God to the earth.

Verse 3 An *angel came and he stood at the *altar. He was not one of the 7. He had much *incense, which he added to the prayers of God’s people.

The prayers of his people are important to God. He hears them and he answers them.

Verse 4 The sweet smell of the *incense and the prayers rose up to God. God received the prayers of his people. He would answer their cry.

Verse 5 The prayers had risen to God. Then the *angel took the empty bowl. He filled it with fire. Then he threw it to the earth. There were powerful effects in the sky. And the earth shook. The fire and the effects showed that God was angry. He was angry about people’s evil deeds. He was angry that they refused to obey him. He was angry that they would not accept his love. So, he would now act against the earth. The first four *trumpets - Revelation 8:6-12 v6 Then the 7 *angels who had the 7 *trumpets prepared to sound them.

v7 The first *angel’s *trumpet sounded. Then *hail and fire mixed with blood poured down on the earth. It burned up a third of the earth. It also burned up a third of the trees. And it burned up all the green grass.

v8 The second *angel’s *trumpet sounded. I saw something like a great mountain. It was on fire, and it fell down into the sea. And a third of the sea became blood. v9 A third of all that was living in the sea died. And this event destroyed a third of all the ships on the sea.

v10 The third *angel’s *trumpet sounded. A great star fell from heaven. It was burning like a torch in flames. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the fountains of water. v11 The name of the star is *Wormwood. A third of the water became bitter. And many people died from the waters, because they were bitter.

v12 The fourth (4th) *angel’s *trumpet sounded. Something struck a third of the sun, of the moon and of the stars. A third of each of them became dark. There was no light for a third of the day and a third of the night.

Verse 6 All was ready for the *angels to sound the *trumpets.

The first four *trumpets affect a third of nature.

Verse 7 The first *trumpet.

When the first *angel sounded his *trumpet, there was a great storm. The storm appeared in heaven. The skies were as red as blood. Then the storm poured down on the earth. There was *hail, fire and blood.

The effects of the *hail and fire were terrible. The fire burned a third of the land. All the trees and other plants on that land died.

Verses 8-9 The second *trumpet.

The second *angel sounded his *trumpet. John saw what looked like a huge mountain. It burned with fire. As it burned, it fell into the sea. The effect of this was to make the sea red. A third of the sea became blood.

Then all that lived in that third of the sea died. All the ships on that part of the sea sank.

Verses 10-11 The third *trumpet.

Then the third *angel sounded his *trumpet. A third of the fresh water on the earth became bitter. The cause was a huge star, which fell to earth. Its name was *Wormwood. Many people who drank this bitter water died.

Verse 12 The fourth (4th) *trumpet.

At the sound of the fourth *trumpet, something struck the sun. The result was darkness for a third of the day. The same happened to the moon and the stars. Their light did not shine for a third of the night. The cry of the *eagle - Revelation 8:13 v13 Then I saw and I heard an *eagle. It was flying across the sky. It cried with a loud voice, ‘Trouble, trouble, trouble to those who live on the earth! Trouble will come at the sounds of the *trumpets of the last three *angels.’

Verse 13 The effects of the first four *trumpets were terrible. But the effects of the last three would be even worse. The *eagle warned that the last three *trumpets would bring awful trouble. The first four affected only part of the world. The last three would affect all the people on earth.

© 2006, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

July 2006

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