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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>R E V E L A T I O N.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. VIII.</FONT>
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<P>
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We have already seen what occurred upon opening six of the seals; we
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now come to the opening of the seventh, which introduced the sounding
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of the seven trumpets; and a direful scene now opens. Most expositors
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agree that the seven seals represent the interval between the apostle's
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time and the reign of Constantine, but that the seven trumpets are
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designed to represent the rise of antichrist, some time after the
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empire became Christian. In this chapter we have,
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I. The preface, or prelude, to the sounding of the trumpets,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+8:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. The sounding of four of the trumpets,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+8:7-13">ver. 7</A>,
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&c.).</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Re8_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Seven Trumpets.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 95.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in
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heaven about the space of half a hour.
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2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to
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them were given seven trumpets.
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3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a
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golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he
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should offer <I>it</I> with the prayers of all saints upon the golden
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altar which was before the throne.
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4 And the smoke of the incense, <I>which came</I> with the prayers
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of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
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5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the
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altar, and cast <I>it</I> into the earth: and there were voices, and
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thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
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6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared
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themselves to sound.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses we have the prelude to the sounding of the trumpets in
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several parts.</P>
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<P>
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I. The opening of the last seal. This was to introduce a new set of
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prophetical iconisms and events; there is a continued chain of
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providence, one part linked to another (where one ends another begins),
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and, though they may differ in nature and in time, they all make up one
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wise, well-connected, uniform design in the hand of God.</P>
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<P>
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II. A profound <I>silence in heaven for the space of half an hour,</I>
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which may be understood either,
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1. Of the silence of peace, that for this time no complaints were sent
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up to the ear of the Lord God of sabaoth; all was quiet and well in the
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church, and therefore all silent in heaven, for whenever the church on
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earth cries, through oppression, that cry comes up to heaven and
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resounds there; or,
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2. A silence of expectation; great things were upon the wheel of
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providence, and the church of God, both in heaven and earth, stood
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silent, as became them, to see what God was doing, according to that of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+2:13">Zech. ii. 13</A>,
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<I>Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord, for he has risen up out of
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his holy habitation.</I> And elsewhere, <I>Be still, and know that I am
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God.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The trumpets were delivered to the angels who were to sound them.
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Still the angels are employed as the wise and willing instruments of
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divine Providence, and they are furnished with all their materials and
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instructions from God our Saviour. As the angels of the churches are to
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sound the trumpet of the gospel, the angels of heaven are to sound the
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trumpet of Providence, and every one has his part given him.</P>
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<P>
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IV. To prepare for this, another angel must first offer incense,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+8:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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It is very probable that this other angel is the Lord Jesus, the high
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priest of the church, who is here described in his sacerdotal office,
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having a golden censer and much incense, a fulness of merit in his own
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glorious person, and this incense he was to offer up, <I>with the
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prayers of all the saints, upon the golden altar</I> of his divine
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nature. Observe,
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1. All the saints are a praying people; none of the children of God are
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born dumb, a Spirit of grace is always a Spirit of adoption and
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supplication, teaching us to cry, <I>Abba, Father.</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+32:6">Ps. xxxii. 6</A>,
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<I>For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee.</I>
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2. Times of danger should be praying times, and so should times of
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great expectation; both our fears and our hopes should put us upon
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prayer, and, where the interest of the church of God is deeply
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concerned, the hearts of the people of God in prayer should be greatly
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enlarged.
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3. The prayers of the saints themselves stand in need of the incense
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and intercession of Christ to make them acceptable and effectual, and
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there is provision made by Christ for that purpose; he has his incense,
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his censer, and his altar; he is all himself to his people.
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4. The prayers of the saints come up before God in a cloud of incense;
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no prayer, thus recommended, was ever denied audience or acceptance.
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5. These prayers that were thus accepted in heaven produced great
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changes upon earth in return to them; the same angel that in his censer
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offered up the prayers of the saints in the same censer <I>took of the
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fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth,</I> and this presently
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caused strange commotions, <I>voices, and thunderings, and lightnings,
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and an earthquake;</I> these were the answers God gave to the prayers
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of the saints, and tokens of his anger against the world and that he
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would do great things to avenge himself and his people of their
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enemies; and now, all things being thus prepared, the angels discharge
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their duty.</P>
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<A NAME="Re8_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re8_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Seven Trumpets.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 95.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire
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mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the
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third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt
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up.
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8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain
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burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of
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the sea became blood;
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9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea,
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and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were
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destroyed.
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10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star
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from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the
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third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
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11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third
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part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the
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waters, because they were made bitter.
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12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun
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was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part
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of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the
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day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
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13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of
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heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the
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inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the
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trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Observe, I. <I>The first angel sounded</I> the first trumpet, and the
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events which followed were very dismal: <I>There followed hail and fire
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mingled with blood,</I> &c.,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+8:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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There was a terrible storm; but whether it is to be understood of a
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storm of heresies, a mixture of monstrous errors falling on the church
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(for in that age Arianism prevailed), or a storm or tempest of war
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falling on the civil state, expositors are not agreed. Mr. Mede takes
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it to be meant of the Gothic inundation that broke in upon the empire
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in the year 395, the same year that Theodosius died, when the northern
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nations, under Alaricus, king of the Goths, broke in upon the western
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parts of the empire. However, here we observe,
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1. It was a very terrible storm-fire, and hail, and blood: a strange
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mixture!
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2. The limitation of it: it fell on <I>the third part of the trees,</I>
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and on the third part of <I>the grass,</I> and blasted and burnt it up;
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that is, say some, upon <I>the third part of the clergy</I> and <I>the
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third part of the laity;</I> or, as others who take it to fall upon the
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civil state, upon <I>the third part of the great men,</I> and upon
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<I>the third part of the common people,</I> either upon the Roman
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empire itself, which was a third part of the then known world, or upon
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a third part of that empire. The most severe calamities have their
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bounds and limits set them by the great God.</P>
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<P>
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II. <I>The second angel sounded,</I> and the alarm was followed, as in
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the first, with terrible events: <I>A great mountain burning with fire
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was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+8:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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By this mountain some understand the leader or leaders of the heretics;
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others, as Mr. Mede, the city of Rome, which was five times sacked by
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the Goths and Vandals, within the compass of 137 years; first by
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Alaricus, in the year 410, with great slaughter and cruelty. In these
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calamities, a third part of the people (called here the sea or
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collection of waters) were destroyed: here was still a limitation to
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the third part, for <I>in the midst of judgment God remembers
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mercy.</I> This storm fell heavy upon the maritime and merchandizing
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cities and countries of the Roman empire.</P>
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<P>
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III. <I>The third angel sounded,</I> and the alarm had the like effects
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as before: <I>There fell a great star from heaven,</I> &c.,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+8:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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Some take this to be a political star, some eminent governor, and they
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apply it to Augustulus, who was forced to resign the empire to Odoacer,
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in the year 480. Others take it to be an ecclesiastical star, some
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eminent person in the church, compared to a <I>burning lamp,</I> and
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they fix it upon Pelagius, who proved about this time a falling star,
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and greatly corrupted the churches of Christ. Observe,
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1. Where this star fell: <I>Upon a third part of the rivers, and upon
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the fountains of waters.</I>
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2. What effect it had upon them; it turned those springs and streams
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into wormwood, made them very bitter, that men were poisoned by them;
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either the laws, which are springs of civil liberty, and property, and
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safety, were poisoned by arbitrary power, or the doctrines of the
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gospel, the springs of spiritual life, refreshment, and vigour to the
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souls of men, were so corrupted and embittered by a mixture of
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dangerous errors that the souls of men found their ruin where they
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sought for their refreshment.</P>
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<P>
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IV. <I>The fourth angel sounded,</I> and the alarm was followed with
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further calamities. Observe,
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1. The nature of this calamity; it was darkness; it fell therefore upon
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the great luminaries of the heaven, that give light to the
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world--<I>the sun, and the moon, and the stars,</I> either the guides
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and governors of the church, or of the state, who are placed in higher
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orbs than the people, and are to dispense light and benign influences
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to them.
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2. The limitation: it was confined to a third part of these luminaries;
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there was some light both of the sun by day, and of the moon and stars
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by night, but it was only a third part of what they had before. Without
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determining what is matter of controversy in these points among learned
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men, we rather choose to make these plain and practical remarks:--
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(1.) Where the gospel comes to a people, and is but coldly received,
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and has not its proper effects upon their hearts and lives, it is
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usually followed with dreadful judgments.
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(2.) God gives warning to men of his judgments before he sends them; he
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sounds an alarm by the written word, by ministers, by men's own
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consciences, and by the signs of the times; so that, if a people be
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surprised, it is their own fault.
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(3.) The anger of God against a people makes dreadful work among them;
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it embitters all their comforts, and makes even life itself bitter and
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burdensome.
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(4.) God does not in this world stir up all his wrath, but sets bounds
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to the most terrible judgments.
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(5.) Corruptions of doctrine and worship in the church are themselves
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great judgments, and the usual causes and tokens of other judgments
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coming on a people.</P>
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<P>
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V. Before the other three trumpets are sounded here is solemn warning
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given to the world how terrible the calamities would be that should
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follow them, and how miserable those times and places would be on which
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they fell,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+8:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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1. The messenger was <I>an angel flying in the midst of heaven,</I> as
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in haste, and coming on an awful errand.
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2. The message was a denunciation of further and greater woe and misery
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than the world had hitherto endured. Here are three woes, to show how
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much the calamities coming should exceed those that had been already,
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or to hint how every one of the three succeeding trumpets should
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introduce its particular and distinct calamity. If less judgments do
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not take effect, but the church and the world grow worse under them,
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they must expect greater. <I>God will be known by the judgments that
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he executes;</I> and he expects, when he comes to punish the world, the
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inhabitants thereof should tremble before him.</P>
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