“And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.” Revelation 8:2
In chapters 8 and 9 of the book of Revelation, the Lord portrays another most interesting viewpoint of His plan in history. These trumpets retrace to a great extent the period already covered by the seven churches and the seven seals. They show that God’s messages to His people throughout time were combined with justice and mercy in punishing evil. It is God who sends seven judgments upon apostate Christians—those who were the persecutors of God’s true people. The trumpets describe the principal political and military events during the Christian era directed against the western and eastern Roman Empire. Though they are in the past, still they hold great significance, as they clearly show how God is in control of all the events of this world. Let us see how these prophesied events, which are described to us in strange-sounding symbolic language, were fulfilled. To understand how these events took place, we must look at history.
“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” Revelation 8:7. Thus is symbolized the first trumpet or judgment which fell upon the western part of the Roman Empire, the portion that rejected God and His love. It was an invasion by the Goths, a barbarian tribe from the frozen regions of the North, under the leadership of Alaric. This is the reason the symbol of hail was used in the prophecy. This barbaric incursion occurred about the close of the fourth century and onward. The invaders overran Macedonia, Thrace, Greece, and then crossed the Alps and pillaged and set fire to the city of Rome in A.D. 410.
“Many cities were cruelly oppressed, or destroyed. Many thousands were inhumanly massacred. The consuming flames of war spread over the greatest part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul.
“Alaric again stretched his ravages over Italy. During four years the Goths ravaged and reigned over it without control. And in the pillage and fire of Rome, the streets of the city were filled with dead bodies. . . .” –Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 477–478
How terrible was the retribution of God upon sinners who had rejected His love! It seemed as if almost every living thing was to be destroyed. “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.” Revelation 8:8–9
The next act of invasion which broke up the Roman Empire was by Genseric and his Vandals. This symbolism reveals a warfare at sea rather than upon land. By establishing his headquarters on the north African coast around Carthage, he was able to dominate the Mediterranean with a navy of pirates, pillaging the coasts of Spain, Italy and Greece and preying upon Roman commerce. Our word “vandalism” gives us an idea of what his actions were like. The “third part” mentioned in the verses above refers to the division of the Roman Empire after Constantine’s death among his three sons. In our prophecy we deal with the third of the Roman Empire given to Constans, mainly Africa and Italy. A desperate attempt by the Romans to wipe out the Vandals only saw Genseric reestablish himself as the sovereign of the seas. His ships of war and barges filled with combustible material set on fire and destroyed the Roman fleet of 1,113 ships and over 100,000 men. It was a literal fulfillment of the burning mountain being cast into the sea as the Roman fleet went up in flames.
The judgments of God were not finished yet. “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” Revelation 8:10–11
In the interpretation of these Scripture verses, the star called Wormwood is a symbol of Attila and his Huns who invaded the Roman Empire. He appeared suddenly like a blazing star and then vanished like a star whose light was quenched in the waters. The areas that he made “bitter” or devastated were the regions of the Alps and those portions of the empire whence the rivers flow down into Italy. “It was the boast of Attila that the grass never grew on the spot which his horse had trod. ‘The scourge of God’ was a name that he appropriated to himself, and inserted among his royal titles. He was ‘the scourge of his enemies, and the terror of the world.’”–Daniel and the Revelation, p. 485
Even this great devastation did not bring the people to repentance toward God. Therefore, He permitted an additional calamity to befall them. “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.” Revelation 8:12
In the sixth century the Heruli, another barbarian tribe under Odoacer, dethroned the last emperor and extinguished the imperial glory of the Western Empire. The symbols “sun, moon and stars” denote the great luminaries of the Roman government—its emperors, senators and consuls that were brought to extinction. Fearful were the calamities brought about by the barbaric invasions, but they were light as compared with what was to follow.
The next three trumpets are called woes because of the more terrible events to take place under their sounding. The Moslem world—the Saracens and the Turks—became a scourge of the apostate Roman Catholic Church which had usurped the remains of the Roman Empire. The fifth angel sounded and out of the wilderness of Arabia the followers of Mohammed arose like smoke out of a pit to torment the Eastern Empire especially. “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.” Revelation 9:1–2
They were commanded to torment those who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads. In other words, their attacks were to be directed only against unrighteous men. They hurt the apostate Catholic Church which was destroying the people of God. Abu-Bakr, Mohammed’s successor, said to his soldiers: “You will find another sort of people that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter, till they either turn Mahometans or pay ‘tribute.’” –Daniel and the Revelation, p. 498
On July 27, 1299, Othman I, the traditional founder of the Ottoman Empire, made his first assault on the Greek division of the Eastern Roman Empire. One hundred and fifty years later the Greek empire was still independent and was not conquered, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Revelation 9:5, that they should be tormented for five months. This time period was fulfilled exactly. Five months at 30 days each = 150 days. Because in Bible prophecy one day = one year (see Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6), this torment was to last 150 years. This woe depicted trouble but not total destruction.
Much could be said regarding the literal fulfillment of the other aspects of this prophecy, but space does not allow. Since, however, even these great and terrible happenings were not heeded by the people, additional troubles had to come to bring the prophecies to a complete fulfillment. The prophecies of God’s Word will always be completed. Note the words of God: “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” Revelation 9:13–15. Here is another specific time prophecy—1 hour, 1 day, 1 month, 1 year. Under the second woe (the sixth trumpet), the Lord used the Turks to punish the apostate Christian world. A new mode of warfare was introduced—gunpowder, firearms and cannon—that was used by the Turks in their warfare against the Eastern Empire.
“It was to ‘the fire and the smoke and the sulphur,’ to the artillery and firearms of Mahomet, that the killing of the third part of men, i.e., the capture of Constantinople, and by consequence the destruction of the Greek Empire, was owing.” –Daniel and the Revelation, p. 510
The time period of this prophecy was not understood until the year 1838, when Josiah Litch published a complete explanation of Revelation 9. From his calculations of the Biblical prophecy, he predicted that the Ottoman Empire would lose its independence “in A.D. 1840, sometime in the month of August.” –Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 334. Just a few days before the event, he even predicted the exact day on which this would take place.
His calculations were based on the following figures: The 150 years of the previous woe began on July 27, 1299, and extended to July 27, 1449. At this time the prophetic period of “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year” began. When we apply again the prophetic yardstick of one day = one year, we come to the following conclusions:
1 hour = 15 days
1 day = 1 year
1 month of 30 days = 30 years
1 year of 360 days = 360 years
———————–
Total =391 years and 15 days
With the starting point of July 27, 1449, this time period would extend to August 11, 1840. On that very day the Turkish Sultan put his affairs into the hands of the great powers—England, Russia, Austria and Prussia; and thus Ottoman independence was gone. The time set for the fulfillment of this prophecy by Josiah Litch was watched with great interest by thousands. When it was fulfilled, much strength was given to the Advent Message which Josiah Litch helped to preach.
The line of trumpets seems to be interrupted by another event—a great proclamation of God described as an angel coming down from heaven to earth. His message is proclaimed to all parts of the earth; “and he set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot on the earth.” Revelation 10:2. This message is to go even to the furthest island of the sea. In this way every person on earth will be left without excuse.
No more prophetic time is to be given. “There should be time no longer.” We are living on borrowed time. Very soon the mystery of God will be finished, the seven last plagues will fall, and Jesus will come. Probationary time for each person on earth will be over. Are you ready for the final judgment? Amen.
Henry Dering