1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.
— Psalm 24:1-2

There would be some who would take exception to the statement, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it....” They would rather see the earth as its own entity. That’s why they like calling the earth “Mother Earth” or “Mother Nature.” They’d rather see the earth existing on its own than being owned by God. For if the earth was truly owned by God, all on earth would be accountable to God. Therefore to avoid any acknowledgement or accountability to God, it’s easier for them to say that earth somehow came together on its own instead of saying it is owned by God who created it.

Even if a painting didn’t bear the name Rembrandt, the brush strokes and colors would point to the artist. The more science uncovers the intelligent design of the earth, the more the facts point to God as the creator. In fact, several years ago a scientist published an article entitled, “Seven Reasons Why I Believe in God.” Here are some of them.

• Consider the rotation of the earth. Our globe spins on its axis at the rate of one thousand miles an hour. If it were just a hundred miles an hour, our days and nights would be ten times as long. The vegetation would freeze in the long night or it would burn in the long day; and there could be no life.
• Consider the heat of the sun. Twelve thousand degrees at surface temperature, and we're just far enough away to be blessed by that terrific heat. If the sun gave off half its radiation, we would freeze to death. If it gave off one half more, we would all be crispy critters.
• Consider the slant of the earth. (I think he said twenty-three degrees.) If it were different than that, the vapors from the oceans would ice over the continents. There could be no life.
• Consider the moon. If the moon were fifty thousand miles away rather than its present distance, twice each day giant tides would inundate every bit of land mass on this earth.
• Think of the crust of the earth. Just a little bit thicker and there could be no life because there would be no oxygen.
• Think of the thinness of the atmosphere. If our atmosphere was just a little thinner, the millions of meteors now burning themselves out in space would plummet this earth into oblivion.¹

Though I’m not a scientist, I’m sure the list of facts could be far longer that reveal the miraculous order and design of earth.

Yet one of the reasons I believe many reject God as earth’s creator and owner is that it no longer looks like something God would have created. I’m not talking so much about the landscape of the earth as I am about the disease, death and disorder that pervade it. What many forget, though, is that the world God created has been altered by Satan’s lies and our sins. However, Revelation 8 reminds us that though the world God created may have been altered, God still owns it. He will make that clear in His efforts to restore it.

Opening the Seventh Seal

In Revelation 5, we learned that God holds in His hand the title-deed to the earth. It’s been sealed with seven seals and Jesus is the only one worthy to open it. Jesus opens six of the seven seals in Revelation 6 releasing the initial wave of God’s wrath. Before opening the seventh seal, Jesus appoints 144,000 Jews as evangelists in Revelation 7. They will announce to the world, “You can still experience God’s grace in the midst of His wrath.” Now in Revelation 8 Jesus opens the last seal, announcing God’s ownership of the earth. Verses 1-6 describe what takes place in heaven with the opening of the last seal.

1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

Prior to verse 1, heaven has been filled with the majestic sounds of power and praise. John hears a voice that sounds like a trumpet in Revelation 1 and 4. In chapter 4 the living creatures praise God saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.” The twenty-four elders cry out “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain” in chapter 5. In chapter 6, martyred saints call out to God, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” In chapter 7, the saved in heaven shout “Salvation belongs to our God” and the angels join in saying “Amen!” With the title-deed of earth in His hand, Jesus now opens the last seal…and there is silence in heaven for thirty minutes.

A dramatic pause can be a powerful tool in public speaking. It can either cause the listener to absorb what has been said, or anticipate what’s about to be heard. The thirty minutes of silence in heaven does both. It causes all in heaven to absorb all God had promised. God promised a Messiah, and Jesus came. God had promised salvation, and Jesus died and rose again. God promised a day when He would rapture His believers, release His tribulation, Jesus would return, and the earth would be restored. With the opening of the seventh seal, heaven knows—THIS IS IT!

Heaven also knows what’s about to come. Earth is about to be restored, but until then, the labor pains are only going to get worse. As I shared before, Jesus’ statements regarding the end times in Matthew 24 describe the events that transpire with the opening of the seven seals in Revelation. In Matthew 24:8, Jesus calls these tribulation experiences the beginning of birth pains leading up to His return.

In order for our son John Mark to be born, Loree’s labor had to be induced. In some way, it was nice. A date was set so that we could make sure family was informed, his room was ready, and we could get excited about having him. We drove to the hospital early, and they started Loree on the pitocin to try to induce the labor. By mid-morning, Loree was getting bored and frustrated. She told me, “I can’t believe I’m not hurting.” Then before noon, I saw Loree gasp. Her eyes filled with excitement as her first labor pain hit and she said, “It’s starting.” There seemed to be silence as we waited to see if there would be a second labor pain. When it came, Loree said, “Yes…it’s starting.” But this time her tone was more nervous than excited as she realized how the pains would have to grow before John Mark could come.

It’s possible to see the silence in heaven at the excited anticipation of Christ’s coming. But, it’s also possible that the silence of heaven is the hush of reality as they realize the pains the earth is about to go through before Jesus comes.

Before continuing, it’s important to ask, “Where will you be when heaven is silent?” Will you be in heaven experiencing the silence with all the saints or will you be on earth about to experience what has made them silent? Where you stand and what you experience when heaven is silent depends on whether or not you surrender your life to Jesus while living on earth. As you will see, the best place to be at that time is in heaven. Here’s why.

During the thirty minutes of silence, the saints see movement around God’s throne. Verse 2 reads, “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.” Scripture identifies various ranks of angels (cherubim—Genesis 3:24; seraphim—Isaiah 6:2; archangels—1 Thessalonians 4:16, Jude 9). The Greek word “the” classifies these seven angels as a special order of angels. What makes them special is their close proximity to God. The Greek word for “stand” indicates that they have been in the presence of God for some time. It’s believed that the angel Gabriel is one of the seven because when he introduces himself to Zechariah in Luke 1:19, he says, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.” Each of the seven angels was given a trumpet. According to Numbers 10: 1-10, Israel used the trumpet to summon the people and announce times of war or special occasions. Blowing these trumpets will accomplish all these purposes.

Before one trumpet sounds, something else occurs. Verses 3-5 explain that another angel is given a golden censor. Exodus 30:1-10 explains that in the tabernacle and temple the golden altar stood before the Holy of Holies—the presence of God. Incense was burned there morning and night as an act of reverence unto God, as well as on the Day of Atonement. At that time, the priests offer prayers on behalf of the people. Here in Revelation 8, the golden censor in the hand of the angel represents the prayers of the people unto God. The angel will hurl those prayers toward earth indicating God is about to answer them.

Some may wonder what prayers are about to be answered. For me, two come to mind. One is the prayers of the martyrs. In Revelation 6:10, their prayers rise to God from beneath the altar, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” God is about to answer their prayers and avenge their blood. Furthermore, in Matthew 6:10 we are taught to pray, “...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The New Testament teaches that the Kingdom of God comes to earth three ways. First, it comes within you as the spirit of God claims more sovereignty of your life (Luke 17:20-21). Second, it comes through you and you help others surrender their lives to Jesus (Luke 13:18-21). Third, it comes in time (1 Corinthians 15:23-24). This is when Jesus returns and restores the earth. For all who have prayed, “...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and longed for Jesus’ return and for the earth to be restored, their prayers are about to be answered.

I don’t want you to miss the significance of God hurling these prayers to earth to be answered. Martyrs have prayed for God to act on their behalf for thousands of years. Believers have prayed for Christ’s return for just as long. When you think God is not listening, or when you wonder if God has said “No,” think again. God has neither ignored nor forgotten your prayer. If your prayer is according to His will, He will answer it, and He will do so when the time is right. Therefore don’t stop praying.

When Jesus opens the seventh seal and God answers the countless prayers, those living on earth will see that the earth belongs to God. It will be evident in what He does, for with each trumpet blast God will do something to prove that the earth is His.

The First Trumpet
The Land is Mine!

In verse 7, the first angel blows his trumpet. When he does, God proves that the land is His.

7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

Though Satan’s lies and our sins have altered the order and ways of the world, God’s actions in the remaining verses reveal that the earth is His. In fact, it’s always been His, for many of the acts God will perform in Revelation 8 He also did in the book of Exodus. For example, the hail and fire.

The first trumpet blast is reminiscent of the seventh plague on Egypt in Exodus 9:18-26. At that time, Egypt alone was devastated by the hail. In Revelation 8:7, the whole earth will feel the effects of hail and fire mixed with blood. As a result, a third of the earth’s trees and all the green grass will be burned up.

Consider the following effects of this blast from God. First, a third of the trees are gone. The Greek word for trees in this verse usually refers to “fruit trees.” That means a third of the earth’s produce and vegetation are gone. Also gone are all of the earth’s grasses. That means livestock won’t be able to graze which means in time there would be less meat to eat and milk to drink. And if you remember your basic science, people breathe air and produce carbon dioxide. Plants consume the carbon dioxide to put oxygen in the air. With far less foliage, the quality of the air breathed is dramatically reduced.

This is something God can do and verse 7 says He will do it because the land is His.

The Second Trumpet
The Seas are Mine!

Some might say, “If that happens, then earth’s inhabitants will turn to the seas. Since land covers around 30% of the earth’s surface and water covers around 70%, there will be plenty of food to survive.” Yet, God says in verses 8-9, “The seas are mine, too!”

8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Some might see this mountain ablaze as a great volcanic eruption. John was probably familiar with one of those when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79. It buried the city of Pompeii in molten lava and even destroyed some of the ships in the Gulf of Naples.²

Others assume it refers to a great meteorite striking an ocean. An article in Time magazine once gave a scientist’s assessment of what would happen if an asteroid one mile in diameter hit the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The force of impact would be the equivalent of a 500 megaton bomb blast. It would create a crater on the ocean floor fifteen miles across. One thousand cubit miles of sea water would be displaced, producing waves up to 100 feet high. Earthquakes 100 times worse than ever recorded would ripple across the earth.³

I do not know what this mountain ablaze will be, but I do have a good idea of what it will do. Just as when God turned the Nile River into blood in Exodus 7:14-25, a third of the seawater will be turned to blood. Furthermore, a third of the creatures living in seawater will die. Finally, a third of all ships will be destroyed.

Now all seafood will be reduced a third. Can you imagine the stench with carcasses floating in bays and washing ashore? The shipping industry will be devastated. Currently there are over 33,000 merchant ships registered; 11,000 of them would be destroyed, as would a third of all military ships.

What a reminder that we fish, travel and defend ourselves at the mercy of God’s seas...for the seas are God’s.

The Third Trumpet
The Rivers and Springs are Mine!

Having been raised in Oklahoma and Texas, I could hear some living there saying, “I could still survive. As long as I have a well, stock tank or pond, I can raise my own crops and catch my own fish, and hunt on my land.” You can try, but in verses 10-11, God will remind you that the rivers and springs are His as well.

10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water- 11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

Since the Greek word for “star” can refer to any celestial body other than the sun or moon, and since meteors and comets were often described as torches in Greek literature, it’s likely this is a meteor or comet.

The impact of this meteor or comet will make a third of the fresh water from rivers and streams undrinkable. Thus it’s given the name “Wormwood” which means bitter. The water was not only bitter, it was deadly as many died from drinking the water.

Thus, to my friend who thinks you can still live off the land, you might. But you will have to be careful. One-third of your fishing spots will be poisoned. It’s likely that much of the game you used to hunt are dead from drinking the water. Oh, and be careful watering your crops. Remember, a third of your irrigation water will be bad.

Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, an angel blows the fourth trumpet. Now you see that the sun, moon, and stars belong to God, too.

The Fourth Trumpet
The Sun, Moon, and Stars are Mine!

I love what Albert Einstein once said: “One thing I have learned in a long life—that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike.”⁴ Einstein admitted that all he knew about the universe was primitive compared to what truly was. And the truth is made clear in verse 12. It’s all God’s!

12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

Again, God had done something similar to this in Egypt. Exodus 10:21-23 records the ninth plague. Here, God darkens the sun over Egypt for three days. Yet God’s action in verse 12 is worse. The effect is not just upon Egypt, but the world. It’s not just the sun, but God darkens one-third of the sun, moon and stars. And, it’s not just for three days. It’s believed this will last for three and a half years.

Consider the consequences of this trumpet blast. With the sun, a third of our warmth, energy and light are now gone. You could deal with it if Miami were cooler, but you wouldn’t want Minnesota any colder. However, Minnesota might be better than Miami. With the moon affected, the tides could be dangerously unpredictable. No matter where you live the nights will be colder and darker. Days and nights will be reversed as there will be only eight hours of daylight with sixteen hours of darkness. You can imagine the emotional effects of living under such conditions.

If anything, the four trumpet blasts have brought to mind all we take for granted. We assume because the land has always been there that it will always be there. We assume because we paid someone for it, placed a fence around it and take care of it, that it belongs to us. It actually belongs to God and He can take it away at any time.

We also assume because the seas have always had their currents, tides, and are teaming with life, they are ours for food, travel and business. Yet, they don’t belong to us. They belong to God and He can do with them what He likes when He likes.

We are such an industrious generation. We feel we can plant our own crops, hunt our own game and take a drink of water whenever we like. We forget that all of those opportunities are gifts from God.

We even plan what to wear as though we invented the seasons. We schedule when to swim and not to swim as though we control the tides. We calendar our lives as though we have the upper hand on the sun, moon and stars. But we don’t.

We live our lives as though the earth belongs to us, but it never has. It’s fair to say that by Satan’s lies and our sins we have altered the ways of the world. But we have never taken ownership of it. It still belongs to God, and when the four trumpets blow all will see that it is His and that He is in the process of restoring it.

Key Change

I once read of the Mountain Valley Cathedral located in a remote Swiss village. Though its architecture and stained glass were striking, what truly stirred the hearts of the people was the sounds of its pipe organ. The music filled the valley and people would travel from distant lands just to hear it.

To the regret of many, something happened to the organ. Its sweet tones had become sour and eventually silent. No one wanted to play it or hear it. Musicians and experts from around the world did their best to fix the organ. Everyone in and near the village listened painfully to their efforts. No one could fix it, so once again, it sat silent.

One day an old man came unannounced to the church and asked the sexton if he could work on the organ. After much persuasion, the sexton timidly agreed. For the next two days, the man worked on but never played the organ. Then at noon on the third day, he sat at the organ and began to play. The sour tones had once again become sweet. Farmers stopped in their fields and merchants closed their shops as people were drawn to the church.

When the man finished playing, someone asked how he could fix it when all the other experts couldn’t. His eyes smiled when he said, “I’m the one who built this organ fifty years ago. I built it, and now, I’ve restored it.”⁵

God seems to be making the same statement in Revelation chapters 8 and 9. By His actions on earth, all will know that God is the one who created it and is now in the process of restoring it.

I wonder if, when the old man played the organ, his music called for any key changes. When you hear them, you know they are a part of the same song, it’s just that the key has changed. In Revelation chapters 8 and 9, God is playing the same song. It’s entitled “The Earth Is Mine!” Yet there seems to be a clear key change in verse 13. John writes,

13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

The three woes are the reminder of the three trumpet blasts yet to come. It’s hard to think that God can do anything more to prove that the earth is His. Yet the four trumpet blasts that have sounded have only proved that the earth is the Lord’s physically—the land, seas, rivers, springs, sun, moon, and stars. The three blasts to come will now prove that the earth is the Lord’s spiritually. When you read Revelation 9, you will be shocked at what God releases spiritually.