Antichrist - His "Military" Campaigns

Synopsis:   The language of war is employed in Revelation to portray the assaults of the Dragon against the saints who follow the Lamb.

Photo by Ben Lee on Unsplash

The book of Revelation uses the language and imagery of war to portray the attempts by Satan and his earthly agents to destroy the saints of God. The book shows no interest in conventional or nuclear wars between nations, instead, the Dragon determines to annihilate the church while there is still time. To accomplish this, he uses deception, compromise, and persecution.

Fourth Trumpet

SYNOPSIS:  The fourth trumpet causes a partial darkening of the sun, moon, and the stars - Revelation 8:12.

Tyler van der Hoeven on Unsplash

The image of the darkening of a third of the sun, moon, and the stars is based on the ninth plague of Egypt when the darkness endured for three days:  “Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (Exodus 10:21-23).

Third Trumpet

SYNOPSIS:  The third trumpet produces a “great star” that falls onto the sources of freshwater, embittering them – Revelation 8:10-11.

By ben lim on Unsplash

The description of the third trumpet includes imagery from the first plague of Egypt when Yahweh struck its sources of freshwater. As Moses warned, God struck all the  freshwater sources so the “Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river,” turning their waters “into blood.” Thus, the “fish that are in the river will die and the river shall become foul” (Exodus 7:17-21).

Second Trumpet

SYNOPSIS:  The second trumpet harms much of the commerce on which Babylon and the “inhabitants of the earth” depend – Revelation 8:8-9.  

By Chris Pagan on Unsplash

The second trumpet sounds, upsetting the sea, thus, disrupting a third of all commerce on it. In the book of Revelation, the “sea” is vital to the commerce on which “Babylon” depends, and it is the source of evil and chaos. In part, this explains why no “sea” is found in New Jerusalem. In the symbolical world of Revelation, the “sea” is linked to the “Dragon” and the “Beast” (Revelation 15:1-5, 18:17-21, 20:13, 21:1).

First Trumpet

SYNOPSIS:  The first trumpet unleashes a plague based on the seventh plague of Egypt, but with modifications – Revelation 8:7.  

Eugene Triguba on Unsplash

The first four trumpets use imagery from two events out of the history of ancient Israel – The “ten plagues” of Egypt, and the judicial pronouncement by Jeremiah against the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The “plagues” are based on the seventh, first, and ninth plagues of Egypt, the “hail,” “blood,” and “darkness” (Exodus 7:15, Jeremiah 51:25).