Morning Bible Study: Revelation 8:6-13

The Trumpets
6  Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.

7  The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned. 

8  Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, 

9  one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed. 

10  Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 

11  The name of the star was Bitterness [Wormwood]. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water. 

12  Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night. 

13  Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, "Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets."   NLT

Commentary

(the following commentary is from www.easyenglish.bible)

"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.

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."