Revelation 8:7-9:21 The Trumpet Judgments (1-6)

Revelation 8:7-9:19 The trumpet judgments which follow, and the bowls of wrath, are strongly reminiscent of the ten plagues that are recorded in Exodus. Perhaps this is because Pharaoh's arrogance and rebellion against God is matched by that of the antichrist. Or perhaps it is because there are only a limited number of types of catastrophes that can affect humanity on this scale, although the planetary scale of these calamities dwarfs the plagues that were inflicted solely on Egypt.

Trumpet #	Citation	Egyptian plague
1	Rev 8:7: hail, fire, & blood; 1/3 earth, grass & trees burned up	Ex 9:18-26 Plague of hail, thunder, and fire
2	Rev 8:8-9: burning mountain thrown into sea; 1/3 of sea becomes blood, 1/3 of sea creatures die, 1/3 of ships destroyed	Ex 7:14-21 Water of Nile and all rivers, streams, pools, and reservoirs turned to blood; all fish die.
3	Rev 8:10-11: star (wormwood) falls and 1/3 of waters, rivers and springs, become bitter	Ex 7:14-21 Water of Nile and all rivers, streams, pools, and reservoirs turned to blood; all fish die.
4	Rev 8:12: 1/3 of sun, moon, and stars darkened; 1/3 of day dark	Ex 10:21-23 Plague of darkness
5	Rev 9:1-11: locusts released from the bottomless pit; torment men with scorpion-like stings	Ex 8:1-24 Swarms of frogs and gnats cover the land of Egypt; frogs from the Nile; gnats from the dust. Ex 10:12-20 Plague of locusts brought in by the east wind
6	Rev 9:13-19: army of 200,000,000 horsemen released, to kill 1/3 of mankind by fire, smoke, & brimstone	Ex 12:29-30 Death of the first-born of every household
7	Rev 11:15-15:6 God executes judgment as His kingdom engages in overcoming the nations and the power of Satan.	Exodus 10:7, 14:26-28 Egypt and Pharaoh’s army destroyed

The plagues of Egypt were a judgment inflicted to show the Egyptians the futility of worship of their gods. That is, not only were the gods of Egypt powerless against the wrath of the one true God, but their very nature, when distilled to its essence, was destructive and vile. And so when God enters into judgment with the world system, His actions similarly demonstrate that the distilled essence of the world-system is destructive and vile. Previously the seven seals had shown that human effort, when its essence was unsealed and released, was futile and destructive. And that is because it is based on Satan's values and methods. Worship of nature, commerce, science, or power leads to evil. None of these things are intrinsically evil in their proper place and context, but they are not gods and making them so by worshipping them leads to the inevitable judgment that now befalls mankind. The environment is something that man is responsible to God for as a steward, consistent with Genesis 1:28-31, but care for it is a responsibility to God, not an end in itself. Commerce and business are a means by which humans make a living in order to be able to survive, and also to have earthly goods to share with others (Ephesians 4:28), but making either business or "the economy" an end in itself is to worship the means. Science is the proper study of all that God has created, and the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 97:6), but science does not give meaning to life, and placing it as the be-all and end-all of life is to worship science, rather than the Creator of nature. Power is in essence the means of government, of leadership in human society at every level of social organization (Romans 13:1-7). But political power, especially when it results from or is mixed with the use of force (military or internal secret police) is not the summum bonum of life. God is all powerful and woe to those who believe that human power can trump God's. And in the trumpet judgments, God trashes these same human values, to make way for His kingdom to be established. (Hebrews 12:27-28)

Revelation 9:20-21 The bottom line on the first six trumpet judgments is that the rest of mankind did not repent. How hard their hearts will be. All pretense has been stripped away. No more pretending that mankind's way of doing things is good. No more confusion about what God commands or stands for. But men want their way, and cling to it like impudent two-year-olds.