Protestant
Well-Known Member
The Four Trumpet Judgments of Rev. 8 are Spiritual, not to be Taken Literally
Although God certainly has the power to literally achieve the judgments depicted in Rev. 8, our modern scientific knowledge of the complex interrelationships of earth’s ecosystem necessitates our gravitating toward a spiritual, yet realistic, understanding.
For example, Jesus uses ‘rivers of living water’ as a metaphor for the continued outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the life of the spiritually-thirsty believer.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified) (John 7:37-39).
Jesus uses the same metaphor with the Samaritan woman at the well:
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:13-14).
This same spiritual ‘water of life’ is reiterated in Rev. 22:
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (v.1).
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (v.17).
In Genesis 9:11 the Lord Promises not to Destroy the World by Literal Water Again as in the Days of Noah
I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.
But if we understand the judgments of Rev. 8 as literal, modern science tells us the earth’s ecosystem would be thrown into a catastrophic disaster from which we would never recover. All life on our planet would soon become extinct, due to the destruction of our ever so precariously balanced ecosystem which allows for life to exist.
For example, literal water is a necessary component to sustain literal life. According to the World Health Organization, “There are two billion people in the world drinking chiefly contaminated water, which is a staggering number. And as a result, there are almost one million deaths per year” (OAN, 8/22/19).
The French documentary, A Thirsty World, states that “water is desperately lacking for more than one billion people……. Contaminated water kills more than 4,000 children every day.” This contamination is due, in part, to a prodigious lack of toilets and water treatment facilities.
What can we surmise from these undisputed facts?
First and foremost, we can discount a literal interpretation of Rev. 8. Without clean water life as we know it would cease, thereby making the preaching of the Gospel a waste of time and energy.
Imagine preaching the love of God in Christ to townspeople dying of painful dysentery? “God loves you so much He turned the waters to blood and poisoned the rest.” How well do you think they will receive it?
Secondly, by literally poisoning the waters God negates His promise not to ever again destroy life by water.
Without detailing the resulting catastrophes of losing sunlight and heat if the sun were literally darkened, making the planet inhabitable; or the loss of the gravitational pull (caused by a falling sun) which keeps the solar system from destroying itself, it should be self-evident Rev. 8 is teaching spiritual judgments of God.
These judgments are directed at those professing false Christians who are teaching and practicing that which opposes the truths of the living God.
It is their perversions and lies which make the pure waters of life of God’s Word, bitter poison which kills.
In Chapter 9, these same judgments are detailed, ultimately identifying the Angel of the Bottomless Pit, the Destroyer, the King of the Locusts.
For centuries, his identity was known and preached, unlike today, where truth is darkened and men are drinking the poisonous teachings of the Jesuits and false prophets.
Although God certainly has the power to literally achieve the judgments depicted in Rev. 8, our modern scientific knowledge of the complex interrelationships of earth’s ecosystem necessitates our gravitating toward a spiritual, yet realistic, understanding.
For example, Jesus uses ‘rivers of living water’ as a metaphor for the continued outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the life of the spiritually-thirsty believer.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified) (John 7:37-39).
Jesus uses the same metaphor with the Samaritan woman at the well:
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:13-14).
This same spiritual ‘water of life’ is reiterated in Rev. 22:
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (v.1).
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (v.17).
In Genesis 9:11 the Lord Promises not to Destroy the World by Literal Water Again as in the Days of Noah
I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.
But if we understand the judgments of Rev. 8 as literal, modern science tells us the earth’s ecosystem would be thrown into a catastrophic disaster from which we would never recover. All life on our planet would soon become extinct, due to the destruction of our ever so precariously balanced ecosystem which allows for life to exist.
For example, literal water is a necessary component to sustain literal life. According to the World Health Organization, “There are two billion people in the world drinking chiefly contaminated water, which is a staggering number. And as a result, there are almost one million deaths per year” (OAN, 8/22/19).
The French documentary, A Thirsty World, states that “water is desperately lacking for more than one billion people……. Contaminated water kills more than 4,000 children every day.” This contamination is due, in part, to a prodigious lack of toilets and water treatment facilities.
What can we surmise from these undisputed facts?
First and foremost, we can discount a literal interpretation of Rev. 8. Without clean water life as we know it would cease, thereby making the preaching of the Gospel a waste of time and energy.
Imagine preaching the love of God in Christ to townspeople dying of painful dysentery? “God loves you so much He turned the waters to blood and poisoned the rest.” How well do you think they will receive it?
Secondly, by literally poisoning the waters God negates His promise not to ever again destroy life by water.
Without detailing the resulting catastrophes of losing sunlight and heat if the sun were literally darkened, making the planet inhabitable; or the loss of the gravitational pull (caused by a falling sun) which keeps the solar system from destroying itself, it should be self-evident Rev. 8 is teaching spiritual judgments of God.
These judgments are directed at those professing false Christians who are teaching and practicing that which opposes the truths of the living God.
It is their perversions and lies which make the pure waters of life of God’s Word, bitter poison which kills.
In Chapter 9, these same judgments are detailed, ultimately identifying the Angel of the Bottomless Pit, the Destroyer, the King of the Locusts.
For centuries, his identity was known and preached, unlike today, where truth is darkened and men are drinking the poisonous teachings of the Jesuits and false prophets.