Revelation 8

A.M. 4100. A.D. 96.

(1,) The seventh seal being opened, after a short silence, seven angels prepare to give solemn alarms of approaching judgments, answerable to Christ’s intercession, and the prayers of his people, Revelation 8:1-6 .

(2,) Four of the trumpets being sounded, are each followed by terrible judgments, till the Roman empire is quite destroyed, and the church fearfully defaced, Revelation 8:7-12 .

(3,) An angel denounces still greater miseries to come upon the earth under the three following trumpets, Revelation 8:13 .

This chapter introduces the second period of this prophecy, which begins upon the opening of the seventh seal, and is distinguished by the sounding of the seven trumpets. This period of the trumpets contains a prophetic description of the state of the world and church for a considerable space of time after the empire became nominally Christian, and was governed by the successors of Constantine. It describes the great devastation of that empire by the several nations that broke in upon it, and finally put an end to it; and it predicts a time of great calamity, a state of new trials. So that here the church was shown the new dangers and oppositions it had to expect, after it should be delivered from the persecutions of the heathen Roman government: and that even when the Christian religion should have the protection of the laws and the favour of the emperors, the church would still have great need of caution, watchfulness, patience, and constancy; and there would be still this encouragement to faithfulness and perseverance, that though the opposition in this period of time would be very great, yet neither should this prevail against the cause of truth and righteousness, but the Christian faith should be preserved, and in the end triumph over this opposition, as it had before been victorious over that of the heathen emperors of Rome. And thus these fresh discoveries fully answer the general design and use of the prophecy, namely, to direct and encourage the constancy of Christ’s true church, whatever opposition it may meet with from its enemies, visible or invisible.