Read Revelation 8:8-9.
Like the first four seals, the first four trumpets are set apart from the last three. The first four trumpets represent the partial (yet significant) destruction of God’s creation in which man resides. Mankind’s destruction comes in the later trumpets, but for now, the environs of man experiences God’s wrath.
The first trumpet saw the destruction of the earth, trees, and grass. In the second trumpet, we see the destruction of a third of the sea and a third of the life therein. The exact cause of its destruction can only be speculated, but it is clear that there will be a significant event that will lead to the catastrophic loss of much of the sea and its life. As I ponder this destruction, I am saddened that such beauty will be destroyed.
Have you ever snorkeled? If so, you know how beautiful God’s created fish are. The colors and diversity of sea life declare the glory of God. There is not a manmade thing that can compare to the brilliance, elegance, and creativity of God’s sea creation – nothing. And yet it will not last. It will be destroyed for one simple reason: sin. Sin entered the world, and it destroyed all of creation. Let it be known that God will not destroy a beautiful world. It is already destroyed in a very real sense. Sin has tarnished a once perfect creation.
So here’s the thing: if what we see today in creation is beautiful in its tainted state, imagine how beautiful the new creation (i.e. the new heavens and earth) is going to be when sin is forever purged from our midst. I doubt our present eyes and mind could handle what is to come. A new body will be fitted for such glory.
But with all that in mind, I am still saddened by the loss of so much in this and the other trumpet judgments. And rightly so, the sadness is ultimately due to the filthyness of sin. So fithy is sin that God will remove it from His presence forever. It is sad, but necessary. That’s how bad sin is. And as bad as it will be to lose a third of the oceans and its life, it is nothing compared to the death of Christ. We may be saddened by the loss of earth, sky, and sea, but really, there is nothing sadder than Christ having to die because of sin.
So I will stop being sad over the necessary loss of the world’s riches, and remember that Christ died so that we might, among other things, attain the riches of the treasures of heaven. Things must get worse before they will get better. But it will be worth it.