The First Angel

2005-5-17 06:21:00

Here are the next verses to consider:

And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 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. Revelation 8:6-7

Notice not one, but all seven angels prepared themselves to sound. This tells us that all seven chakras are open and functioning as a unit in the disciple treading the path of Christ. All the parts of his being are now ready and waiting to sound.

What does it mean when we speak of "sound" here? In its spiritual sense a sound represents an action or group of actions. Or perhaps, more technically, we could say it is the cause that produces a particular result.

Consider the complexity of producing one sound on a piano.

First, the strings of the piano must be in tune or the sound will not be the desired one. Then a key is struck causing a downward pressure to convert to forward motion of the hammer to hit just the right string. The hammer travels five times as far and approximately four times as fast as the front end of the key to hit the string. Next the hammer instantly rebounds preventing the note from being muffled to bring forth the pure sound.

Thus, to produce one sound on a piano is complicated enough, but produce a more complex sound like a chord is even more so. Then if the musician plays an entire piece the complexity becomes mind boggling.

In the art of symbology a note, a chord, a symphony or even a set of actions that produce a specific result are all seen as an individual sound.

Therefore when the seven angels prepare themselves to sound, they are really preparing to do their various skilled individual works which seen together create a greater sound or a symphony of the soul.

We have seen that the disciple experienced the silence of heaven wherein he perceived the will of God. After having perceived this will he is now willing to do a great work no matter what the cost for his vision of the will gives him purpose that he has never before envisioned. He thus prepares his sound or his work.

Now the scary thing for readers of the Book of Revelation is it appears that all hell and destruction will break out because of the seven angels. Because of the chapters that follow many believe that they are reading a description of the end of the world.

And yes, sooner or later outer cataclysmic events will happen on the earth at various times that will make believers think that Revelations is literally coming to pass. But those who are looking for a literal step by step fulfillment will be looking beyond the end of the world. The greater meaning is the unveiling of Christ as it will manifest in us as we follow along the path of light and love.

Now let us examine the first sound:

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.

Rain is usually interpreted as a blessing from God, but not so with hail. Hail is a destructive force. Hail and fire were two of the destructive forces of the plagues of Moses. The hail was so powerful that it destroyed every man and beast that was unprotected.

Then in Isaiah we have another clue about hail:

Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. Isaiah 28:2

Here this servant similar to Moses will use hail to "cast down to the earth."

Here is what the hail will do:

Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. Isaiah 28:17-18

The hail "shall sweep away the refuge of lies."

The second destructive force is fire. When trees, plant life and grass gets old a great fire is often started by nature itself. The old thus gets burnt to prepare the way for the new.

Instead of the symbology of water, as was used in the old Testament, John uses blood as a destructive force from heaven. It is true that blood often represents life or spiritual force, but as a destructive aspect it represents anger, passion, retribution or karma. For instance, the waters of the Egyptians turned to blood and meted out a just punishment.

The earth represents the abode or home where men stand securely, as they suppose, upon their belief systems. The trees represent the great and respected men and women of the earth who are seen as powerful authorities firmly planted and anchored in their learning and philosophy. The grass represents those who look up to authority for approval and learning but have little root and strength of their own.

Now let us quote the verse again:

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.

Interpretation:

When the disciple perceives the work he must do to carry out the will of God as he has seen it he sounds his first note and begins his first work that has true purpose.

His words and works are powerful and irresistible like hail (powerful spiritual force) that will destroy the hiding place of those found in illusion, causing the covering over truth (false beliefs) to be destroyed.

His words and works carry the fire of spirit that penetrates to the soul where the truth must be faced.

These are mingled with blood, or the intense passion and strength, of the awakened disciple.

With this triplicity of power the disciple thus approaches the great and powerful (the trees) as well as the common followers (grass). None of the rank and file can stand against the disciple. They either join him, flee from him or are inflamed by him. They are all "burnt up" or incapable of standing up to him or confounding him.

One third of the powerful will be willing to confront the disciple but these will be confounded or penetrated by the awakened one and their authority will be "burned up" as they will no longer feel secure in their position.

The other two thirds will ignore or avoid contact with the disciple and continue to live with their false sense of authority.

We can see how this played out in the life of Christ. He came to Jerusalem with power as great hail that destroyed the covering of lies and exposed hypocrisy. Most authorities avoided him but those who came against him or challenged him were altered forever and realized that they did not have the authority they thought they had.

Some of the "trees" like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were converted; others were inflamed, but at least two thirds tried to ignore him and avoid having their authority challenged.

None of the common followers (the grass) tried to stand up to him or confound him. All who came close to him were altered (burned up) in some way.

Next to contemplate:

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; 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. Revelation 8:8-9

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873)