Insight from Revelation 8:<\/p>\n
Chapter 7 was focused on the saints. Before further describing the plan that will end the rebellion on earth, it was essential for the saints to know that God knows them, loves them, has protected them, and that he will safely bring them to his presence. Now that the saints know this, they are ready to read more about God\u2019s plan to end the rebellion on earth and to bring in everlasting worship.<\/p>\n
Chapters 8\u20139 are connected because they speak of angels blowing seven trumpets and of the things that happen when the trumpets are blown. The seven trumpets should remind the reader of the people of Israel marching around Jericho. The priests at that time also blew seven trumpets. When the trumpets blew, the walls of Jericho fell down. This is exactly what is taking place in these chapters. The trumpets are blowing and \u201cBabylon\u201d (mankind in wicked rebellion against God) is beginning to crumble.<\/p>\n
It is important to notice that the punishments in these chapters are limited. They are not total. For instance, 8:9 declares that, \u201cA third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.\u201d This isn\u2019t because only a third deserved punishment. Rather, the reader needs to know that, for some reason, only a third were judged. This means two thirds were spared by God! These chapters demonstrate that God is giving the people on earth time to repent. He is showing great mercy! These punishments are gracious calls for the earth to repent. God does not have to show restraint.<\/p>\n
However, even with these limited judgments, the earth will not repent (see Revelation 9:20\u201321). Like pharaoh during the time of the plagues in Egypt, the earth is hard-hearted and continues in rebellion. The earth\u2019s refusal to repent prepares the reader for things to come in later chapters. There will be no more limited punishments. God will pour his full fury on the earth.<\/p>\n
The church is on earth during these two chapters. This is clear because the prayers of the saints are mentioned in 8:3. It is also clear because the suffering of the church on earth during this time period will be a major focus in Revelation 11\u201313.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_crdt_document":""},"class_list":["post-4745","reading-plan","type-reading-plan","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan\/4745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reading-plan"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}