Thursday, December 11, 2014

God's Judgments: Nuclear Weapons or Near Earth Objects? 

I am aware that there has been debate among born again believers as to what the objects are that descend upon the earth at the time of the second and third trumpet judgments. 

The Second Trumpet Judgment

Rev. 8:8-9″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, 9and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed. ”The Third Trumpet Judgment

Rev. 8:10-11″The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.  11The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.” 

What is this object?Some say that this is a description of a nuclear weapon while others say that this is most likely a description of a Near Earth Objects (NEO's), like meteors.  In order to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to compare the two and find out for myself which object was most likely the one described by John in Revelation.  Let's look at a very brief description of both of these types of objects. 

The stages of a nuclear missile launch

When a nuclear missile is launched, its fuel is ignited and it ascends upward. 

The fuel is depleted in all stages before perigee, which means that the missile is still ascending at the time the fiery engines fall silent. 

The payload is then propelled by a much smaller fuel source to guide it to it's destination and align it above it's target. 

The warhead is then released and is almost in free-fall as it descends. 

Upon reentry, the heat shield encapsulating the warhead glows brightly. 

Once reentry is made, the weapon is either triggered in the upper atmosphere (creating an IMP) or is detonated just above the ground. 

Here is a video to better show you what has just been described:

The stages of an impact by a Near Earth Object (NEO)

As an NEO enters Earth's atmosphere, the friction begins to burn off the outer layers of the object.  You can see this with the naked eye as this process lights up the sky.  The object leaves a trail of fire and smoke as it plunges toward it's final destination.  It will either burn up and/or explode in the atmosphere, or it will continue burning until it makes impact.  This size of such objects varies, but these NEO's can be massive!  The color of the object can give us clues as to what the NEO is mainly comprised of, but there is no telling what this object is specifically made of unless it leaves traces that can be tested. 

Now, let's look at those two scriptures again:

The first one describes the object as: "...something like a great mountain burning with fire..."

The second one describes the object as: "...a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch..."

If you compare the two objects, the nuclear warhead and the NEO, then it seems that the latter would best describe what the writer is seeing.  Why I believe it's NOT a nuclear warhead

The nuclear warhead is nowhere near the size of a mountain. 

Although the warhead's heat shield would glow as the warhead enters the atmosphere, it would not be burning like a torch or mountain (which leaves fire and smoke) Remember, the fuel source is exhausted, so it can't be describing rocket fuel. 

John also knows the difference between something that is smoking and burning, as opposed to something glowing hot.  This example can be found in Revelation when he is describing Jesus' appearance ("His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace..." Revelation 1:15a).  So the objects that John saw falling from the sky weren't glowing hot, they were on fire. 

Why I believe it's a NEO

One of the objects was a huge as a mountain.  NEO's come in all shapes and sizes.  There certainly are asteroids/comets that are the size of a mountain. 

The objects were burning with fire, with one of the objects being described as burning like a torch.  This would signify flame and smoke, both of which are the result of a NEO entering earth's atmosphere. 

Now, other scripture in Revelation speak about judgments being released "in the air."  This could be determined to be a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere or, as history has shown us time and time again, it could be a NEO explosion in the atmosphere, releasing something toxic to humans. Here is an example of a meteor exploding in our atmosphere.  Remember, this was a meteor that was less than 15.5 yards long, which is not very big compared to what's out there.  Just look at a football field and count off 15 yards.  It's not that long.  It was traveling at 32 miles per second.  Watch what happened when it exploded in the atmosphere over Russia. 

So, that's my take on the subject.  I have avoided going to any other web site to review what their thoughts are because I didn't want my own thoughts on the matter to be influenced by other people's opinions.  I'm sure there are many others who have put more time and effort in seeking the answers to the same question than I have. Please comment below.  I'd be very interested in hearing what your opinion is.