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The Fourth Trumpet (1/3 Heavens Struck)
The fourth trumpet strikes 1/3 of the sun, 1/3 of the moon and 1/3 of the stars so that a third of them was darkened. Days are 1/3 shorter.
Look For
● Days are 1/3 shorter
● 1/3 of the sun is dark
● 1/3 of the moon is dark
● 1/3 stars are dark
Revelation 8:12
“Then the fourth angel sounded: 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 were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
Darkened Sun, Moon and Stars
This trumpet is also interesting to try and comprehend. Keep in mind that in the 6th seal, the sky receded. It’s very likely that the sky still remains ‘rolled up’ even partially. This trumpet could be a further progression of the ‘receding’ universe. However for this scripture to be noteworthy the events can’t already be happening, therefore the blackened sun, the blood moon and the stars should have returned to their regular states since then. An example is that in seal 6 the stars fell to earth, but now later on this trumpet the stars seem to be back in their place. This rules out anything actually happening to the stars previously.
A third of the sun ‘was struck’ (ἐπλήγη) and will be ‘darkened’ (σκοτισθῇ). Could this refer to the total time the sun is shining? Such as going from shining 24 hours a day to 16 hours a day turning on and off like a light? If this were true it could only apply to one side of the planet (such as Israel). Also this method wouldn’t easily be done when looking into the physics of it and doesn’t strictly align with scripture.
Perhaps 1/3 of the physical sun is blocked 100% of the time in the same way the moon can have crescent phases. This also could be achieved by a very slow rogue planet passing in front of the sun, blocking up to a third of it for an extended time. This also doesn’t seem biblical so it’s eliminated.
The last option is that the entire suns intensity is diminished by a third or about 33.3%. This is the most likely as the bible seems to imply that the whole sun will be darkened equally on its surface by a third. Joel 2:10 seems to shed a bit more ‘light’ on this trumpet which seems to be referring to this event, or a similar event right after the 7th bowl but before His return. Either way we can see that it distinctly refers to the brightness of the sun, moon and stars being dimmed by about 33.3% 24 hours a day.
Joel 2:10
“The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.”
Days are 1/3 Shorter
To find some answers for the passage “A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night” we have to look deeper into the reason for the tribulation, which is to bring Israel to salvation. This could be the key to explaining why a third of the day did not shine and likewise [became] a third of the night, because it only applies to Israel. This is just my interpretation but Israel could have 1/3 less sun on an average day (becoming 8 hours) and somewhere else on the exact opposite side of the world (the pacific ocean) will have 1/3 more sun (becoming 16 hours), hence potentially explaining the verse.
Another possibility to consider is that the previous trumpet meteors (the 2nd trumpet in particular) could have impacted earth so hard that it slows its rotation by 1/3, making days a third longer and likewise nights 1/3 longer as well.
To sum up, I believe the sun, moon and stars are about 33.3% (1/3) darker and on top of that, the sun shines 1/3 less in Israel and 1/3 more on the opposite side of the world every day – excluding any current seasonal tilt.
During the period of the darkened sun, it doesn’t mean that the sun’s heat will also be reduced by the same third, but there’s always the chance that it will be. If this happens then we’re looking at a new mini ice age where crops will die and weather phenomena will become extreme.
Related Verses
○ Combined
● Joel 2:10 “The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.”
● Matthew 24:29 “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
○ Dark Sun
● Luke 23:45 “Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.”
● Revelation 9:2 “So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.”
○ Dark Moon
● Isaiah 13:10 “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.”
○ Dark Stars
● Isaiah 13:10 “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.”
● Ezekiel 32:7 “When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, And the moon shall not give her light.”
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Jump To
◄ Previous – Part 24 – 3rd Trumpet | Next – Part 26 – 5th Trumpet ►
Part 1 – Introduction
Part 7 – Left Behind?
Part 10 – Post Rapture Steps
Part 13 – The Tribulation (First Half)
Part 30 – Mid Tribulation
Part 38 – Armageddon
For a full list of the parts, see the bottom of Part 1.
