Revelation 8:8-9

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8 And [kai] the second [deuteros] angel [aggelos] sounded, [salpizo] and [kai] as it were [hos] a great [megas] mountain [oros] burning [kaio] with fire [pur] was cast [ballo] into [eis] the sea: [thalassa] and [kai] the third part [tritos] of the sea [thalassa] became [ginomai] blood; [haima]

9 And [kai] the third part [tritos] of the creatures [ktisma] which [ho] were in [en] the sea, [thalassa] and had [echo] life, [psuche] died; [apothnesko] and [kai] the third part [tritos] of the ships [ploion] were destroyed. [diaphtheiro]   KJV-Interlinear

8 And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood;

9 and a third of the creatures, which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed. NASB

The key phrase here is ‘hos,’ translated ‘as it were,’ which is an adverbial phrase, and a definite article pointing to the subject, ‘mountain.’

This is not something ‘like,’ but is in actuality a mountain.It is not just any mountain but a great mountain.And since it affects the oceans of the world, we can presume that it is a great mountain in or very near the ocean, but most likely a mountain in the ocean.

The greatest mountain in the ocean is Mauna Kea in Hawaii.If you measure it from its base on the ocean floor, to its peak, then it becomes the tallest mountain in the entire world at 30,000 feet.  But it is one of five mountains that form the Island of Hawaii (the big island).Mt. Mauna Loa to its south on the island, is the active volcano at the moment.

Now, we are not predicting that this is the mountain that will erupt, but if these five mountains did happen to erupt violently and in all directions, then the entire Pacific Ocean would be affected.But also all of the coastlines that border the Pacific and beyond would be impacted as well.This example is only mentioned so that we can gain some understanding of the possible impact of this second trumpet.

This is a great mountain, and by the way this is not an asteroid as many commentaries try to portray.An asteroid would have a very different type of affect if it struck the earth in an ocean.

This is a mountain and a great mountain at that.It will pour hot lava complete with all of the violence of an eruption as well as all of the chemicals such as sulfur and gases and such, that would pollute and contaminate the ocean to the extent that one-third of the sea life will die.

Likewise, one-third of the shipping traffic that will be on the ocean at that time, will be destroyed.These will be ships at sea and ships that are in port and presumably washed up onto the shore with various tsunami's that will occur.

The blood is both literal and figurative.Representing death, there will certainly be a great deal of that.  The ocean and the shores will be awash with dead things floating, and in various stages of decay and deterioration.

And unlike the first trumpet which targeted the burning and destruction of only plants (trees and grasses) and perhaps small buildings or shanties, this destruction, of the second trumpet, will take sea life and pour the stench of death into virtually every coastal community in its path.

The specific mountain is not mentioned or identified in any way, so we cannot presume that this will take place in the Pacific or the Atlantic or the Indian Ocean, or anywhere else for that matter. Likewise the one-third designation does not apply to the entire world, but to the region affected by the eruption.  This judgment could easily apply to the Mediterranean or to any sea anywhere.

And since in later judgments entire islands sink into the sea, then this could easily be more on the scale of a local disaster, rather than a broad regional disaster.  In either case, it will be a massive disaster.

With the first trumpet, the range of the storm is virtually unlimited.  Storm clouds can go anywhere on the earth.  But with this second trumpet, the disaster is limited to a mountain (singular, and not indicating many mountains) and the surrounding region of that mountain, however big or small that region might be.

These first two trumpets are intended to gain everyone's attention, and to warn everyone that faith in Christ is necessary in order for them to continue life in heaven, because life on this earth was never intended to go on forever, and certainly evil will not be permitted to continue. Certainly there will be a loss of life of some sort due to these first two trumpet judgments, but death of people will not begin on a massive scale until the next trumpet.

So choose.

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