Go to Related Reading
About this book

Revelation

About this book
Chapter 8

1 Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.⁠ 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.⁠ 3 Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne.⁠ 4 The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.⁠ 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood,⁠ and it was thrown at the earth so that a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.⁠ 8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood,⁠ 9 and a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed. 10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; it landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.⁠ 11 (Now the name of the star is Wormwood.) So a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.⁠ 12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day and for a third of the night likewise.⁠ 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying directly overhead, proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!”

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 7:20 and Revelation 8:8

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Share:

Summary

Revelation 8 uses language from Exodus 7, where the Nile turns to blood, connecting the plagues of Egypt with judgment at the end of the age. Revelation reshapes the national story of deliverance into a universal description of judgment.

Passages

Exodus 7:20

Hebrew Bible
18 Fish in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their gathered waters43—so that it becomes blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.” 20 Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord had commanded. He raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. 21 When the fish that were in the Nile died, the Nile began to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood everywhere in the land of Egypt! 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts, and so Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron—just as the Lord had predicted.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

Revelation 8:8

New Testament
6 Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed. 10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; it landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... The hardening function of the judgments parallels the effect of God’s judgments on Pharaoh who likewise was hardened and refused to repent (Exodus 7:22–23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 34–35; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:5). This parallel is strengthened by the obvious connection of the trumpet and bowl judgments with the plagues sent against Egypt leading up to the Exodus ... The first trumpet brings hail and fire (Revelation 8:7) and corresponds to Exodus 9:22–25. The second and third trumpets turn water to blood (Revelation 8:8–11) and correspond to Exodus 7:20–25. The fourth trumpet brings darkness (Revelation 8:12) and corresponds to Exodus 10:21–23. The fifth trumpet brings locusts (Revelation 9:1–11) and corresponds to Exodus 10:12–15 ..."
Alexander Stewart, Soteriology as Motivation in the Apocalypse of John (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2015), 105.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Exodus 7:20 and Revelation 8:8

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library