And the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, burning like a lamp, fell out of heaven.  And it fell upon a third of the rivers and upon the springs of water.  And the name of the star is called Wormwood.  And a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters because they had been made bitter.  Rev. 8:10, 11.
 
    The language of this trumpet echoes the Old Testament.  The falling star, for example, reminds me of Lucifer tumbling from heaven in Isaiah 14.  Lucifer, who claims to be like God, is cast out of heaven like a star falling from the sky (Rev. 8:10).
 
    Scripture often associates a torch, or a lamp, with the Word of God (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23).  But here John connects it to a falling star, so it represents a counterfeit of the truth.  The action of falling, then, represents spiritual decline (Rev. 2:5; Heb. 4:11).  The falling star gives off light like the Word of God, but it is not the real thing.
 
    These images are consistent with the embittering of rivers and springs that follows in our text.  Rivers and springs symbolize spiritual nourishment.  Just as we need physical water to keep from perishing, so we need spiritual water (the Holy Spirit--John 7:37-39; cf. Ps. 1:3) in order for our faith to survive.
 
    When the falling star strikes the rivers and springs, however, it makes the water bitter.  People come seeking the nourishing waters of the Spirit and the truth, but instead get poisoned by waters that have become bitter.  In the Old Testament wormwood and bitterness are consistent symbols of apostasy and idolatry (Deut. 29:17, 18).  Because the water of truth has been poisoned, that which promised life instead becomes the source of death.  Bitter water cannot sustain life (Lam. 3:15, 19; Ex. 15:23).
 
    Most of us know the frustration that comes when we buy computer software that doesn't do what we need it to do.  Imagine purchasing a computer program that includes a software manual that is full of mixed-up information.  It says, "If you want to accomplish this task, do thus and thus."  But when you do what the manual tells you, nothing happens or the computer crashes.
 
    Now, hopefully that has been pretty rare in your experience.  But it happens frequently in the spiritual world.  People encounter all kinds of false information about God and spiritual life.  When they buy into it, their own spiritual software begins to malfunction, and the consequences are great.
 
Lord, help me to be more serious about what I believe.  I don't want to have a casual faith--I want one that will survive whatever comes.

 And the second angel blew his trumpet, and it was that a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.  Rev. 8:8, 9.
 
    The fact that water turns into blood here strongly reminds us of the first plague of the Exodus (Ex. 7:19-21).  Turning the Nile into blood would destroy Egypt's economy and comforts in an instance.  The lifeblood of Egypt was and is the water of the Nile.
 
    If you have ever traveled to Egypt, you know that it is a lush and productive country along the banks of the Nile, but just a few miles away from the river you will encounter some of the driest, most barren land you will see anywhere.  It rains so seldom that the soil is as fine as flour and dusty in the extreme.  You can hardly find a blade of weed, much less healthy crops there.  In fact, the humidity is so low 10 miles from the Nile that it all but sucks the moisture right out of you.  Every time I have had a chance to visit the Egyptian desert, I have had to drink a couple liters on my return or face a serious headache!
 
    Our text contains a second clear allusion--one to God's judgment on ancient Babylon.  " 'I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,' declares the Lord.  'I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain' " (Jer. 51:25, NIV).  In Jeremiah 51 God pronounced judgment on Babylon because it has oppressed the people of God.  So the second trumpet blends elements of the Old Testament judgments on both Egypt and Babylon.  What is interesting is that both countries were and are flat, dry, and dependent on the great rivers that pass through them. 
 
    But if ancient Babylon was located in a flat river valley, why does this verse speak of a mountain?  It is a symbolic reference.  Daniel 2 depicts God's kingdom in terms of a great mountain.  So Jeremiah's description suggests Babylon is a great counterfeit of God's true kingdom.  This trumpet promises that God will destroy that counterfeit in the waters of its own "sea."
 
    The symbolic judgments represented in the second trumpet may well reflect the collapse of the Roman Empire, an event still future at the time that John wrote the book of Revelation.  From the point of view of the first readers the empire may have seemed invincible.  But the vision assures the prophet that God marks the activities of oppressors on this earth, and He acts at the proper time.
 
Lord, give me the confidence that matters are still under Your control.  May I not grow impatient at the pace of Your interventions.

And the first angel blew his trumpet, and it was that hail and fire mixed with the blood were thrown to the earth.  A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.  Rev. 8:7.
 
    If nuclear war ever breaks out, here's a suggestion on where to take cover.  North of Yellowstone National Park, in a place called Paradise Valley, you will find a remarkable number of places to hide underground.  In the splendid scenery of Paradise Valley one could easily overlook the clues: ventilation equipment, vaultlike doors in hillsides, a watchtower that could double as a machine gun nest.  One of the shelters is called Mark's Ark, a sort of Motel 6 location 20 feet under the ground.  When someone asked the builder, "Why don't you live down here?" he said, "are you nuts?  The only reason I'd come down here would be because I had to."
 
    The first 90 feet of walking gets you through the entryway to Mark's Ark.  It's cluttered with spare parts that might be useful in a long-term disaster.  Next you go through a decontamination room and an engine room with a large amount of stored fuel.  The main shelter is 32 feet across and 132 feet long.  It has three floors and 40 bedrooms!  They're individually furnished by families who plan to live in them someday, if things get really bad outside.  The place even has an auxiliary shelter for pets.  Dehydrated food, lentils, beans, and oatmeal pack the long corridors.  The shelter also has a well-stocked clinic and a big community kitchen.  "Easily feed 150," says the builder.
 
    But why would 150 people want to go underground for a year?  It started in the 1980s with predictions of nuclear war by a controversial local religious group, the Church Universal and Triumphant.  The shelter craze spread to the church's neighbors.  The area now has about 30 community shelters.
 
    Today the same people talk less about the nuclear threat and more about natural catastrophes involving extreme wind, as when the earth tips on its axis.  According to one potential resident, "Now if that happens, it throws the whole kilter of the air cycles off.  The jet stream, instead of staying up there, could come right down on the surface, and man--300 mile-an-hour winds would just change your life entirely."  In Paradise Valley they think the rest of America is woefully underprepared.
 
    A large percentage of these people are conservative Christians, who see in the trumpets natural disasters that will affect all people.  But they misunderstand the text.  According to Revelation, the trumpets are judgments of God that fall on unbelievers (Rev. 8:3-5; 9:4).  So the best safety against the judgments of God is not shelter in Montana, but rather obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
Lord, whenever my world "caves in," help me to trust You rather than my own devisings.

  And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth.  And there were thunders and noises and lightenings and an earthquake.  And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.  Rev. 8:5, 6.
 
    At 8:00 p.m. on October 30, 1938, most American families gathered around their radios to listen to the number one program in the country, Edgar Bergen and his dummy sidekick Charlie McCarthy.  But on another network others settled in to hear Mercury Theatre on the Air.  Orson Wells began the program with a fake weather forecast followed by music from a dance band.  He interrupted the music with a series of news flashes about explosions on the planet Mars, followed by the arrival of a strange cylinder just outside Trenton, New Jersey.
 
    Ten minutes into his program Edgar Bergen needed a drink of water, so they took a break in the live broadcast.  While a vocalist sang, many listeners turned their dials to see what else was on.  Stumbling onto Mercury Theater on the Air, they were drawn in by the seemingly live news flashes.  The program included fake interviews with crowd noise and police sirens in the background.  As if they were actually happening, news reports told of fearful creatures trashing New Jersey neighborhoods attacking everything and everyone.  Nothing seemed able to stop them.
 
    The imagination of the listeners began running wild.  Mass panic spread across the nation.  Ministers interrupted and dismissed church services.  People contemplated suicide rather than let themselves fall into the clutches of the invading monsters.  The program duped even highly educated scientists.
 
    In Fayetteville, Indiana, the Nickless family became concerned for their lives.  They collected the children and drove the mile and a half over to Grandfather's house.  Grandpa Nickless was a solid man with solid values.  He would know what to do.  By the time they arrived at Grandpa's they were almost hysterical.  They shouted, "Turn on the radio!"  Grandpa listened for a bit and then began to laugh.  He told than that it was a hoax--that it was just a radio program.
 
    "How do you know?" they shouted.
 
    Picking up his Bible, he said, "According to this, the world won't end like that."  Then he reminded them of Revelation and its outcome.  After a while the Nickless family calmed down and returned home to put the children to bed.  Grandpa was right.
 
    Strange things have occurred and will yet occur in this world.  The trumpets of Revelation don't hide the premonition of disaster.  But John did not write the book to terrify us.  Instead it assures us that no matter how bad things get, it will turn out all right in the end.
 
Lord, calm my worries and my fears with assurance from Your Word.

  Another angel came and stood upon the altar, having a golden censer.  And much incense was given to him in order that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne.  And the smoke of the altar went up, along with the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel before God.  Rev. 8:3, 4.
 
    A ship wrecked during a storm, and only two men survived.  They were able to swim to a small desertlike island.  The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.  They decided to make a contest out of it.  To find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
 
    The first thing they prayed for was food.  The next morning the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit.  The other man's parcel of land remained barren.  After a week, the first man was lonely and prayed for a wife.  The next day another ship sank just offshore, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island.  But on the other side of the island things remained the same.
 
    The first man prayed for a house, clothes, and more food.  Like magic, he received all of them.  However, the second man still had nothing.  Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island.  In the morning he found a ship docked at his side of the island.
 
    The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island.  He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had received any answer.  As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
 
    "My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered.  "His prayers were all unanswered, so he does not deserve anything."
 
    "You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him.  "He had only one prayer, which I answered.  If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."
 
    "Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should own him anything?"
 
    "He prayed that all your prayers would be answered."
 
    Though we hate to admit it, selfishness often taints our prayers.  The prayers of true saints demonstrate the self-sacrificing concern for others that Jesus showed on the cross.
 
Lord, purify my prayers today with the incense of Your righteousness.

  Another angel came and stood upon the altar, having a golden censer.  And much incense was given to him in order that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne.  And the smoke of the altar went up, along with the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel before God.  Rev. 8:3, 4.
 
    Does God still answer prayers the way He used to?  Does He talk to people the way He did to Abraham?  Early one morning a voice awakened Abraham and said, "Take your only son up to that hilltop north of you, stab him to death, and then set fire to him."  If you had been Abraham, would you have done it?
 
    How did he know that the strange request had come directly from God?  I suspect that Abraham, during his long life, had done a lot of walking and talking with the Lord.  He had come to know when God was communicating with him and when it was simply his own inner feelings or some other influence.  Abraham had experimented with God until he had figured out when it was God speaking and when it was not.
 
    Does God still speak to people today?  I have employed the following process.  When I am ready to pray, I take a pencil and paper with me.  Finished with my prayer, I remain in position and wait patiently.  Then I write down whatever thoughts and ideas come to my mind.  A large percentage of them are usually irrelevant to my life at that point.  But some of them seem more promising.  I pass these ideas through the filter of Scripture, as far as I understand it, and eliminate all ideas contrary to God's Word.  I test the rest of the ideas in experience and observe the results.  If I feel impressed to visit someone, I go!  Or if I'm urged to make a phone call, I do it!  Whether or not something is from God can be discerned by the results of trying out the impressions that come to us.
 
    A student who heard my suggestion decided to try it.  After prayer he felt impressed that a woman in Canada needed a phone call.  Since his wife was in Canada at the time, he called her and asked her to contact the woman.  She tried several times but didn't get through.  My student urged his wife to keep trying.  The next time she did, the woman picked up the phone.
 
    "My husband died three days ago," she said, "and I just returned from the doctor who diagnosed me with cancer.  I was just sitting here by the phone wondering if anyone cared!"
 
    Needless to say, that student and I believe that God still answers prayer.
 
Lord, touch my heart with anything You would have me do.  I am open to Your leading.

  Another angel came and stood upon the altar, having a golden censer.  And much incense was given to him in order that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne.  And the smoke of the altar went up, along with the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel before God.  Rev. 8:3, 4.
 
    A pastor on vacation rented a sailboat in the Caribbean.  He and his family greatly enjoyed the combination of heat from the sun and the bracing coolness of the ocean breezes.  It was a wonderful respite from the daily pressures of ministry back home.  One day they beached the boat on a small, sandy island with palm trees.  Soon a couple who had anchored a gigantic air-conditioned yacht a few yards from shore joined them.  After the initial pleasantries, the pastor identified his companion.  But while the couple was clearly secular, they didn't seem fazed by that.  Instead they invited the pastor and his family to join them for supper on the yacht.
 
    The minister looked forward to an opportunity to witness about the difference Jesus can make in life, even for those who seem to have it all.  All through the meal he waited for the golden opportunity to share, but it never came.  Soon the sun began to go down and he knew that he had to get back to the sailboat and return to the resort before it got dark.
 
    The family said goodbye to the couple and went down the ladder to the sailboat tied alongside.  After his wife and children made it to the sailboat, the pastor headed down the rungs of the ladder.  Just at that moment the woman of the boat leaned over the rail, looked down at him and asked, "What does it mean to be a Christian?"  He looked up, knowing that the timing of the question meant he'd better answer in one minute or less!
 
    "Religion is spelled D-O," he replied.  "Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E.  Christian faith isn't about what we do for God--it is about what God has done for us."  In other words, because of the cross, human beings become acceptable to God.  They can find meaning and purpose in life because God has already acted to make it possible.
 
    That's what the incense at the altar is all about.  The incense originated from the altar of sacrifice.  It is the sacrifice that makes the incense possible.  The cross is the foundation of everything God does for His people.  Because of what happened on the cross, Jesus can provide forgiveness.  In the daily ritual of the Old Testament sanctuary the incense constantly hovered over the camp, covering the people and their sins.  When we fall short of the glory of God, the incense of Christ's righteousness shields our lives as well.
 
Lord, thank You for the perfect acceptance available to me today in Christ.  May I sense the presence of the "increase" of Your righteousness in all that I do

   And I saw the seven angels who have stood before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.  Rev. 8:2.
 
    One day my friend Jim found himself in Beijing, China, desperately needing a size 11 shoe.  Now, getting a size 11 shoe is not a problem in North America or Europe, but it can prove an almost hopeless task in China.  Jim browsed around in a large open market that contained many stalls with brand-new shoes, but none of them fit.
 
    At one particular shop Jim finally found a pair of shoes that did fit somewhat, but were not to his liking.  The salesperson pleaded with him to buy the shoes and kept coming down in price.  Politely Jim thanked him and tried to walk away.  The salesperson grabbed his arm tightly and with another tremendous drop in price implored him to purchase the shoes.
 
    After several minutes he escaped the man's grasp and went looking further down the aisle.  To his mild amusement, the salesman followed him with the shoes in hand (which had now come down to about $8).  Finally Jim bought another pair from the man to end the whole episode.  If the man had not been so persistent, Jim would not have bought the shoes. What does this have to do with the seven trumpets?
 
    The concept of trumpets has a rich background in the Old Testament.  Six Hebrew and two Greek words are translated as "trumpet" or "blow the trumpet."  Of 134 uses in the Greek Old Testament, 75 are in the context of worship, 33 refer to battle situations, and 10 warn that an enemy is approaching (Eze. 33).
 
    The most important of these references is Numbers 10:8-10.  The passage tells us that trumpets were sacred instruments whether used in worship or in battle.  They called on God to remember His covenant.  When He heard the trumpet's call, He would protect and defend His people in battle (verse 9).  And as priests blew trumpets over the sacrifices of Hebrew worship, God "remembered" His people and forgave their sins (verse 10).
 
    Thus whenever the priests sounded the trumpets God acted.  So the blowing of trumpets was a symbol of covenant prayer.  When God's people pray on the basis of His promises, He will respond.  He will deliver them from human enemies and also from sin.
 
    On the surface the seven trumpets sound like a litany of war and disaster.  But at a deeper level they portray a spiritual concept.  They symbolize God's people calling for Him to right the wrongs on this earth.  And like the shoe salesman in Beijing, it pays to be persistent.
 
Lord, help me to renounce retaliation in my everyday life.  Help me, instead, to trust You to do what is right and deal with my "enemies" if that becomes necessary.

                        And when he opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about a half hour....And another angel came and stood upon the altar, having a golden censer.  Much incense was given to him in order that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, went up from the hand of the angel before God.  And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth.  And there were thunders and noises and lightenings and an earthquake.  And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.  Rev. 8:1-6.
 
    It was a typical morning in the Temple of Jerusalem around the time of Jesus.  The priests were sleeping in second-floor chambers above the colonnade surrounding the outer court of the Temple.  Shortly after the rooster crowed, the officer of the day knocked on the door.  He conducted the casting of lots to determine those who would do the various duties of the daily service.
 
    At daybreak they brought a lamb to the outer court.  While the priest prepared to slaughter the lamb, another entered the Temple to clear the ashes from the altar of incense and relight the lamps inside the holy place (cf. Rev. 1:12-16).  The opening of the great entrance door into the Temple (cf. Rev. 4:1) was the signal to slay the lamb (cf. Rev. 5:6-10).  Priests then brought the body parts of he lamb to the altar of burnt offering and poured out its blood at the base of the altar (cf. Rev. 6:9-11).
 
    The appointed priest then took the golden censer (cf. Rev. 8:3-5).  It was like a frying pan with a long handle and had a lid on it.  The priest filled it with coals from the hottest part of the fire on the altar of burnt offering (cf. verse 3).  He then entered the open door of the Temple and arranged the coals of fire on the altar of incense.  At the time commanded by the officer of the day, he added incense to the fire on the altar (cf. verse 4).
 
    At this decisive point in the service three things happened.  Someone threw a shovel down (cf. verse 5) between the altar of burnt offering and the entrance to the Temple.  A break in the singing of the Temple choir produced a moment of silence (cf. verse 1).  And during that moment of silence seven priests would blow seven trumpets (cf. verses 2, 6).
 
    John based the first third of the book of Revelation on the tamid, the daily sacrifice in the Temple.  The incense represents the righteousness of Christ applied to the prayers of the saints throughout the Christian Era.  This scene assures us that the perfect righteousness of Christ covers our mistakes and even the inadequacy of our good deeds.
 
Lord, thank You for the assurance that I can be right with You today, no matter how inadequate I may feel.

 And when he opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about a half hour.  Rev. 8:1.
 
    This is probably the best place to review Revelation 4-7 and think briefly about the implications of the big picture.
 
    Chapter 4--Here we have a general description of the heavenly throne room with no particular point in time in mind.
 
    Chapter 5--The scene moves to a decisive event.  A crisis gets averted in heaven when the Lamb that was slain proves worthy to take the scroll and break its seals.
 
    Chapter 6--Seven further events, each tied to the breaking of one of the seven seals, closes with the climax of earth's history in the sixth and seventh seals.
 
    Chapter 7--Two visionary groups depict the answer to the question of Revelation 6:17: "Who is able to stand?"
 
    The best interpretation of these chapters appears in Revelation 3:21.  It contains the essence of Revelation 4-7 in advance.  Verse 21 mentions the Father's throne (cf. Rev. 4), Jesus joining His Father on His throne (cf. Rev. 5), and His people gathering with Jesus on the throne (cf. Rev. 7:15-17).  God gives this incredible promise to all who "overcome."  That is what Revelation 6 is all about--the struggle of God's people to overcome from the time of the cross until the Second Coming.
 
    Sitting with Jesus on His throne implies power, but the image has something even more exciting in it.  It is about squeezing together on a throne!
 
    While my family has chosen to live without television reception, we do enjoy a video now and then.  In the living room we have a TV monitor and the appropriate players that pipe the sound through six speakers.  The room has a couch, a love seat, and an armchair available for family and friends.  I love to cuddle up with my wife on the couch and watch a video together.  The sense of shared experience and touch makes for real bonding.
 
    But my wife has a strange preference (it seems to me).  Every so often she wants us to squeeze together into the armchair.  That is really, really close.  Although my muscles cramp up and circulation gets cut off, it does wonders for our relationship!
 
    I see something like that in the image of Revelation 3:21.  Jesus not only offers us a place of importance and purpose, but holds out to us a relationship that is really close and will never end.  The greatest Person in the universe wants to spend really intimate time with me at His place.  That makes me want to "overcome" more than anything--motivation enough for a lifetime!
 
Lord, I am humbled by the awesome promise You have made to us.  I will trust in You to see me through all the way to Your throne!