Revelation 8 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Around AD 95, during the reign of the emperor Domitian
Location
The heavenly temple and altar, with the consequences striking the earth, sea, fresh water, and sky
Audience
The seven congregations of Roman Asia
Situation
The seventh seal is opened and heaven falls silent for about half an hour. An angel offers incense mixed with the prayers of God's people, then throws fire from the altar to the earth, and four angels sound trumpets that damage a third of the land, sea, rivers, and heavenly lights.
Key Background
In the Jerusalem temple, worshippers prayed outside in silence while a priest burned incense inside, so the half hour of silence followed by rising incense and prayers would have read as a familiar liturgical moment scaled up to heaven. Trumpets in Israel's tradition sounded to call an assembly, to warn of attack, and to bring down the walls of Jericho, which sets the expectation of a siege announcement rather than random disaster. The first four plagues clearly recall the plagues on Egypt in Exodus, including hail, blood in the water, and darkness, and the repeated fraction of one third marks these as partial and warning judgments rather than final ones.
When he opened the seventh there was across all of heaven for about half an hour.
Then I saw the seven who stand in God's presence, and they were given seven
Another angel came and stood at the holding a golden burner. He was given a large amount of to offer — along with the of all of — on the golden in front of the throne.
The of the incense, carrying the prayers of God's people, rose up before God from the angel's hand.
Then the angel took the incense burner, filled it with from the altar, and hurled it down to the earth. And there came thunder, rumblings, lightning, and an
Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets got ready to sound them.
The first angel sounded his trumpet, and and with were hurled down to the earth. A of the earth was burned up, a of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and a on was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to
a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great fell from the sky, a It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
The star is called A third of the waters turned and many people died from the water because it had become poisonous.
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light was A third of the day lost its light, and a third of the night as well.
Then I looked, and I heard an flying high overhead, calling out in a loud voice: "Horror! Horror! Horror to on the because of the trumpet blasts the other three angels are about to sound!"