Prophetic Possibilities
The Seven Trumpets
As we head toward the change of the Millennium (Jan. 1, 2001), it is only natural for us to wonder how the prophecies of the Book of Revelation may come about in our time. On this page I will present some of MY "guesses" as to how these things might come to pass.
For example, we read in Revelation 8 of the "Trumpet Judgments" :
| 6 And the seven angels which had the seven
trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. 8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; 9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. 10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. |
The text first calls for "the third part" of trees and other plant life to be burned with "hail and fire, mixed with blood." The phenonomen known as the "coronal mass ejection" from the sun could conceivably cause this to a whole hemisphere of the earth!
Now which half of the earth would this most likely be? Well let's take a look at the world, divided into the "traditional" hemispheres of West and East as pictured below:
It appears just at first glance that there is a lot more land in the Eastern Hemisphere. That leaves "our" hemisphere, the good old "New World" as the best candidate to be the "third" of the the land mass (and thus plant cover) that might be assaulted by the sun's fury. And so, let us "zoom in on the Western hemisphere and consider the consequences.
If the Coronal Mass Ejection struck earth at around noon on the US eastcoast (1800 GMT) at fall equinox (Sept. 20), then the Americas would receive the majority of the heat. When the bits of Britain and Africa included in this arbitrary "hemisphere" then close to one third of the earth's land mass IS what we call the "Western Hemisphere." According to Compton's Contemporary Encyclopedia the Americas make up 26.8 % of the land area of the earth (North: 14.8; South 12.0).
Zooming in on the map, the portion of Africa (area=20.6%) included in the Western Hemisphere can be seen to be another three percent or so (1/6 of 20.6 = 3.8). Although a large portion of Northern Africa is desert, this portion is about half jungle and mountains. When we then include the lushness of the Americas (having comparatively little desert) and the British Isles, we can see where the loss of plant life in these areas would be devastating.
To summarize this theory: The Americas (26.8%) + Western Africa (3.8%) + The British Isles (2%) = 32.6% of the land mass of earth (approximately). If a CME hit this hemisphere about one third of the trees and grass (and other exposed lifeforms) would be effected by extreme heat.
The "burning censer" contributes to the First Trumpet as God's Wrath is poured out on the earth.
The Mountain Burning As Fire
Recent movies have brought our attention up the very real possibilities of Asteroids ("Armageddon") and Comets ("Deep Impact") striking the earth.
"Armageddon" raised the possibility, of course, that we might be able to stop verses 8 and 9 (A "burning mountain" being a good description of meteor or asteroid). However, the scenario in Revelation requires us to mix the themes of the two movies -- putting a "third part of the sea" at risk. Recent media have covered the "near misses" out there:
More of these are not only "out there" but one definitely "has our name" on it. At least if we read Revelation 8:8-9 literally. Where might it hit? Well, the impact in "Deep Impact" is a real possibility. The Apostle John sees "the sea" and that would lead us to assume "The Great Sea" (=Mediterranean Sea) at the middle of the known world at the time:
If this is correct, the possibility of a significant impact might be between just below Greece and Italy ("in the midst of the sea") which would affect ships brought in to fight wars in the Balkans and Israel!! This could easily be "a third part of the ships." As seen FROM PATMOS, John would see:
However, this might kill ALL life in this relatively small body of water. The bigger picture, that "a third of the LIFE in the sea" be killed, might just be the Atlantic Ocean. The second largest Ocean, a major impact there would have wider "world impact." The Atlantic (see below) could be considered "about a third of the sea" when all the waters are considered. The possibilities are "endless," I suppose, but these two seem to be the best to fit the text and context.
The Comet "Wormwood"
What of the "comet" named Wormwood? Again, the "third part" of the "rivers" and "fountains of waters" -- where could this be?
According to the World Book Encyclopedia, LAKE BAIKAL, in Siberia holds 20% of the worlds unfrozen fresh water.
"Lake Baikal, also spelled Lake Baykal,
is the deepest lake in the world. It also contains more water than any other
freshwater lake. Lake Baikal lies in southeastern Siberia... It is 5,315 feet (1,620
meters) deep at its deepest point and consists of more than 20 percent of the world's
unfrozen fresh water. . . .
The large volume of water in Lake Baikal effects the weather in
the surrounding area. For example, the area nearest the lake has temperatures
several degrees warmer in winter, and cooler in summer, than places farther inland. . . .
[O]nly one (river), the Angara, empties out of it."
World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 12 (L), pages 35-36
Ground Zero, at only one spot, might put Wormwood crashing in 20% of the world's fresh water, turning it bitter, and spreading to all of Asia (including the rivers of China and India!) in clouds of "acid rain."
"Zooming in" on a scan of a National Geographic map, we can see that this area is a hotbed of geological activity. This would greatly increase the severity of the disaster.
"Zooming out," the central location in the most populated area of the world is seen! This is a "very good candidate" for the "land fall" of Wormwood.
If anyone is interested in discussing this,
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