The book of Revelation describes three series of seven judgments that will occur during the seven-year tribulation period—the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls. The seven trumpets begin about two years into the tribulation period. Jesus prophesied in Luke 21:11 that during the first half of the tribulation period “there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” The first four trumpet judgments (Rev 8:7-12) are connected with the arrival of a great mass of cosmic debris, apparently a massive asteroid cluster (possibly a large comet). The sounding of the first trumpet is followed by a great storm of small and medium-size meteors which ignite fires all over the earth (Rev 8:7). This storm is followed soon after (when the second trumpet sounds) by the impact of a very large asteroid in the Pacific Ocean, which punctures the earth’s crust and causes a massive upwelling of blood-red magma (Rev 8:8-9). The sounding of the third trumpet heralds the arrival of another very large asteroid, which is composed not of rock but of a toxic substance that melts and burns in the earth’s atmosphere and scatters toxins over a region that contains the headwaters of many of the world’s great rivers—likely the great mountain ranges of Central Asia and the Himalayas (Rev 8:10-11). The fourth trumpet judgment describes a darkening of the sun, moon, and stars for a third of each day and night, which is apparently caused by the earth passing through a thick stream of cosmic dust which follows the asteroid swarm (Rev 8:12). These physical “falling stars” are followed in the fifth trumpet judgment by a “fallen star” representing a spiritual being, Satan, who unleashes a storm of fallen angels onto the earth (Rev 9:1-11). When the sixth trumpet sounds, four more fallen angels are unchained and provoke world leaders into launching an extremely destructive invasion (Rev 9:13-21). For a detailed explanation of the first four trumpet judgments, see my commentary on Revelation 8. All current draft chapters of my commentary are available on the About pages of my website and my blog.

The first four trumpet judgments—the great meteor storm of the first trumpet, the major asteroid strikes of the second and third trumpets, and the darkening of part of the day and night by a cosmic dust stream in the fourth trumpet—are judgments from God, but they are judgments that are mediated through natural phenomena. They stand in contrast to the bowl judgments (Rev 16), which are characterized by direct supernatural activity. Thus, while God is able to create meteors and asteroids right above the earth’s atmosphere at the moment when each angel sounds his trumpet, it does not seem that this is what Revelation 8:7-12 describes. It seems that each trumpet blast heralds the arrival of objects which have been traveling through space for a long time on their way to the earth. God has timed these objects to arrive at just the moment when each angel sounds.

The nature of the first four trumpet judgments raises an important question: how far in advance of impact will these approaching asteroids will be detected? Scientific equipment for detecting and tracking asteroids has greatly improved in recent years. In general, the world’s space agencies are confident of their ability to detect and track very large asteroids decades in advance of a potential collision with the earth. There are a few exceptions to this rule. If the asteroids associated with the trumpet judgments are the core of a long-period comet, they may be traveling at triple the speed of typical asteroids and would be difficult to detect far in advance due to their speed, faintness, and irregular orbit. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “The outlook for detecting long-period comets that are specifically on a collision course with Earth is poor. Long-period comets, by definition, would likely be discovered on their way into the inner solar system only a few months—or, at best, a few years—before impact.” In this case, these objects might not be discovered until after the rapture, since the trumpet judgments begin about two years into the tribulation period. However, it should be noted that the ability of space agencies to detect and track objects in the solar system is continually improving. This is due to the construction of more powerful telescopes, comprehensive sky-scans, and the development of improved algorithms for analyzing data from telescopes.

Whether the mass of celestial objects which strikes the earth during the first four trumpet judgments is a long-period comet or something else, it is very likely that it is already hurtling through space on a long orbit around the sun, having been prepared by God to strike at exactly the moment when each of the first four angels sounds his trumpet during the tribulation period. What might this mass of objects consist of? Where did it come from?

The earth is pockmarked by craters which give unmistakable evidence of a major cosmic storm in the past. Most of these craters have been partially or completely covered by subsequent geological activity, but scientists can still recognize the impact marks of many enormous asteroids. Scientists currently estimate that the largest asteroid ever to impact the earth, called the Vredefort asteroid, was as large as 15.5 miles (25 km) in diameter—far larger than Mount Everest. From the perspective of biblical chronology, these asteroid impacts must have occurred during Noah’s Flood, about 4,550 years ago.

Many creationists have identified these asteroid impacts as the mechanism which triggered the Flood, as it can hardly be a coincidence that the earth was bombarded by large numbers of massive asteroids at the exact time when the Flood occurred. A shower of hailstones from heaven is often connected with judgment in the Bible (Josh 10:11; Isa 30:30; Ezek 38:22; Rev 11:19; 16:21). Possibly there was a large cosmic disturbance (an explosion or ejection? the redirecting of a massive comet?), when God decreed that the Flood would occur in 120 years (Gen 6:3), and the mass of objects resulting from this disturbance took 120 years to reach the earth—though the people of the earth may have seen the light from this disturbance in space within hours of God’s decree.

Some of the asteroids that struck the earth after Noah and the animals entered the ark were large enough to break up the earth’s crust into tectonic plates and start runaway subduction of some plates beneath others. As the ocean basins (“the fountains of the deep”) were broken up and pulled apart (Gen 7:11), the molten rock from the mantle welling up underneath the oceans created superheated steam jets, which spewed huge quantities of water high into the earth’s atmosphere and caused massive amounts of rain to fall on the land. The asteroid impacts themselves would also have vaporized large amounts of seawater, causing massive rainfall. Additionally, the hot rock from the mantle, which became the new seafloor, temporarily raised the ocean basins, bringing the ocean water up over the land, until the runaway subduction slowed, the rock cooled, and the water ran back off the continents into the ocean basins.

The mass of celestial objects which intersected the plane of the earth’s orbit at the time of the Flood must have proceeded on an orbit around the sun, which means that this mass is coming back around the sun and will eventually cross the plane of the earth’s orbit once again, if the world lasts long enough. Thus, it is possible that the asteroids associated with the first four trumpet judgments are the remnants of the cosmic storm which caused the Flood, with the mass of celestial debris taking around 4,700 years to return on a highly elliptical orbit. When God set a date on the amount of time left for the world before the Flood (Gen 6:3), the mass of cosmic debris set in motion at that time may have also set a limit on the time left for the world after the Flood.

Whether or not the mass of asteroids associated with the first four trumpet judgments is the same mass that impacted the earth at the time of the Flood, it is evidently a very large cosmic mass with many very large asteroids. One would think that it would be detected by today’s powerful telescopes decades, or perhaps more than 100 years, before it collides with the earth.

Whether or not the world of Noah’s day saw a celestial explosion 120 years before the debris from that explosion that reached the earth and induced the Flood, they at least received a warning from God 120 years in advance. As a corollary, the asteroid swarm that impacts the earth at the time of the trumpet judgments might be detected 120 years or more in advance. This would give the world of the end times, like the world of Noah’s day, 120 years of advance notice that a great judgment is coming. Further, if this is the mass of objects from Noah’s day, scientists should be able to calculate that it previously struck the earth around the year 2518 BC, but they will be at a loss to explain how such an extraordinary event left no trace in the historical or geological record, since the secular world has an absolute precommitment to denying Noah’s Flood. The sighting of such a mass of asteroids would truly be a surreal moment for both the secular world and Christian believers.

As of now, no mass of large objects on a collision course with the earth has been spotted, and it is possible that this mass will not be detected before the rapture. But if such a mass is spotted, Christians would be well to interpret this extraordinary news in light of the trumpet judgments, and should realize that the collision of this mass with the earth will very likely occur during the tribulation period. Christians should, like Noah, warn the world of God’s impending judgment, and call unbelievers to repent and believe the gospel. The approach of a massive number of very large asteroids is a clear sign of the Apocalypse that even unbelievers can recognize.

While Christians will be taken off the earth at the rapture and do not need to prepare to survive the tribulation period, they can make preparations for those who will be left behind. Specifically, they can prepare for the evangelization of the world by the 144,000 during the tribulation period (Rev 7), and they can build the equivalent of Noah’s ark by preparing a place of refuge for the Jewish people (Dan 11:41; Rev 12:6, 14). Additionally, young Christians living close in time to the tribulation period may forgo plans for a long career and retirement, and may instead make shorter-term plans focused on doing what they can for the Lord in the short time that they have. It would be tremendously useful for Christians to have significant advance warning of when the rapture will occur—an approximate date for the rapture, based on a fairly precise date for the start of the trumpet judgments. (For more information on the rapture, see this post and this one.)

The first scientific observation of the approaching asteroids will likely be made with a note of caution, and the initial observations will be carefully checked and rechecked. Perhaps at first there will be considerable uncertainty as to whether there is a single large object or a cloud of small objects. As scientists gradually realize how large the approaching asteroid swarm is, and they are able to calculate with certainty that it will cross paths with the earth, the world will proceed from disbelief to panic to preparation. Rather than repent in order to avert God’s judgment, the world will work furiously to build rockets and spacecraft that can divert or break apart the incoming asteroids. Terrestrial backup systems for satellites will be created, infrastructure will be hardened, and disaster response teams will be readied. Perhaps laser defense systems will be placed around urban areas to vaporize incoming meteors. It is likely that many large asteroids are successfully diverted by the world’s space agencies and militaries. However, the small and medium-size asteroids are far too numerous to be diverted, and two very large asteroids which follow the initial swarm will strike the earth. For possible reasons as to why these two very large asteroids will evade the world’s defenses, see the list following the comments on Revelation 8:8-9 in my commentary on Revelation 8.

Thus, while the asteroid swarm which strikes the earth during the first four trumpet judgments has not been detected yet, it is very likely that it will be detected well before the tribulation period. Christians should be aware of the significance of this news when it breaks, as it will be a powerful confirmation of the literal truth of the prophecies of the book of Revelation and it will set a definite limit on the time remaining until the tribulation period.

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