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8: A panel about
the horrors of war and pollution |
CHAPTER 8 |
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A response comes
from the hologram. With the machinery, the message is cast down to Earth.
This produces electrical noises, flashing lights and some tremors. |
5 Then the angel
took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and
threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thundering,
lightning, and an earthquake. |
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The message goes
to the seven panel members and they each prepare for their auditions. |
6 So the seven
angels who had the seven trumpets
prepared themselves to sound. |
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The first member begins and shows
a picture of war (they are possibly using a wide screen and a data projector):
An attack by airforces, dropping bombs which causes houses and plants to
burn. |
7 The first angel
sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled
with blood, and they were thrown to the earth.
And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green
grass was burned up. |
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The polluted
air
The fourth panelist talks more about pollution: The air is polluted so that
it fades the sun- and moonlight into two thirds of what they should be (this
does not seem to be a localized phenomenon). |
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. |
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9: The war in
Middle East; horrors of modern warfare |
CHAPTER 9 |
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The fifth panelist
shows how something comes down from the sky, something that has (or gives)
access to an airbase. ("Talling" does not suggest a landing but
rather a crash. "To him" referst to a person; who is this person
who came from the sky?) |
1 Then the fifth
angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen
from heaven to the earth [another falling
star]. To him was given the key to the
bottomless pit. |
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They open the doors of the airbase
and thick smoke comes out of the hangar as the aircraft are about to come
out. |
2 And he opened
the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out
of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun
and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the
pit. |
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An immense group of fighter aircraft
takes off from the base in a cloud of smoke. These craft have power to hurt
people. (Here "scorpions of the earth" possibly refers to the
military forces of Iraq; see the meaning of "earth" in the glossary). |
3 Then out of
the smoke locusts came upon the earth.
And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth
have power. |
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These aircraft are carrying new
kind of weapons that do not harm the plants nor the houses, but only people.
They are supposed to harm only people who do not wear the colors of the
leader of this army. |
4 They were commanded
not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing,
or any tree, but only those men who do not have the
seal of God on their foreheads. |
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And even these people are not supposed
to die. Instead they are disabled with injury, that is like having been
stung by a poisonous animal (or again, "scorpion" perhaps refers
to military equipment). |
5 And they were
not given authority to kill them, but to torment
them for five months. Their torment was like the torment
of a scorpion when it strikes a man. |
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The soldiers who are attacked with
these weapons remain lying on the battlefield in terrible agany. They pray
to die to escape their pain, but they are too badly hurt even to take their
own lives. |
6 In those days
men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death
will flee from them. |
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Detailed description
of military aircraft
John understand these craft are vehicles of war, like horses were in his
time. The heads of the craft are covered with shiny visors (1; see illustration),
and the faces of the pilots can be seen through them (2). |
7 The shape of
the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their
heads were crowns of something like gold
(1), and their faces were like the faces
of men (2). |
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 The
planes are followed by a trail of smoke, which is like a long hair (3).
They fire bullets that bite like the teeth of a lion (4). |
8 They had hair
like women's hair (3), and their teeth were like lions'
teeth (4). |
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They are covered
with armours of steel (5). When they fly, their sound heard from a distance
is like the sound of a chariot with many horses (6). |
9 And they had
breastplates like breastplates of iron
(5), and the sound of their wings (6) was like the sound of chariots with
many horses running into battle. |
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The tails of the
aircraft (7) with the rudders are shaped like the tails of a scorpion (8)
(one can only admire John's care and accuracy in memorizing all these details).
These aircraft were sent to disable the enemy for five months (the Gulf
war?). |
10 They had tails
like scorpions (7), and there were stings in their tails
(8). Their power was to hurt men five months. |
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...And tanks
John sees the weapons of this war: Terrifying tanks
with their emblems painted on them (1) (red, blue and yellow; the colours
of the flags of USA & UK and the muslim emblem). The gun cabins are
like the "heads of the lions" (2), out of which their ammunition
is fired. |
17 And thus I
saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had
breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow
(1); and the heads of the horses were
like the heads of lions (2); and out of
their mouths came fire , smoke,
and brimstone. |
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 With
these weapons the people were killed. By the ammunition fired from the mouths
of the tanks and aircraft, with smoke following the shots. |
18 By these three
plagues a third of mankind was killed; by the fire
and the smoke and the brimstone which
came out of their mouths. |
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John takes care
to describe this in more detail: The power of the weapons is both in the
mouth (3) (the opening of the gun in the cabin) and the gun, which is long
and tube-like as a snake (4). It is the head of the "snake" that
really does the harm (5), since that is where the ammunition comes out.
(Does anybody doubt this is the description of a gunned military craft??) |
19 For their
power is in their mouth (3) and in their tails;
for their tails are like serpents (4),
having heads; and with them they do harm (5). |
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However, despite of all this destruction,
the safely surviving people far away from the battle fields (the Americans,
I'm afraid) did not change their ways in order to establish peace (all this
is being narrated by the panelist or possible a voice over the video screen).
They remain following their wrongful leaders and worshiping money and technology,
which are lifeless idols. |
20 But the rest
of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not
repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship
demons, and idols of gold
, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor
walk. |
