# **The Second Trumpet: The Sea Turned to Blood (Revelation 8:8–9)**
> **“The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”** *(Revelation 8:8–9, NIV)*
The Second Trumpet signals divine judgment through the imagery of a **great burning mountain** cast into the sea. This event symbolizes **a catastrophic upheaval that devastates maritime power, commerce, and military strength**. Historically, this trumpet finds fulfillment in the **Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815)**, particularly in the destruction of France’s naval dominance and the severe impact on Catholic maritime nations.
## **The Napoleonic Wars and the Shattering of Catholic Maritime Power**
During the **wars following the French Revolution**, the seas became a battlefield where the Protestant British Empire clashed with Catholic France and its allies. Britain, the dominant naval power, systematically **crushed the naval forces of France, Spain, and Portugal**, all of whom were historically aligned with the Papal system—the Beast of Revelation.
### **The British Naval Blockade and the Fall of French Dominance**
From 1793 onwards, the British Navy **blockaded French-dominated Europe**, crippling trade and isolating Napoleon’s empire. The blockade caused severe economic stagnation, fulfilling the imagery of the **sea turning to blood**, as commerce withered and maritime nations struggled for survival.
> **“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.”** *(Romans 1:25, NIV)*
This passage mirrors how Catholic nations, devoted to the image of the Beast, suffered divine judgment through economic decay and military defeats at sea.
### **Napoleon’s Failed Middle East Campaign and Divine Judgment**
In **1798, Napoleon launched an invasion of Egypt**, seeking to dominate the Middle East. He hoped to use Egypt and Palestine as a base to strike **against British India and the Ottoman Empire**. However, this campaign met divine resistance.
- **The Battle of the Nile (1798):** Admiral Nelson **annihilated the French fleet at Aboukir Bay**, cutting off Napoleon’s forces from reinforcements and supplies. This event ensured that Napoleon’s campaign would ultimately fail.
- **The Siege of Acre (1799):** Napoleon attempted to march through Palestine to seize control of the Middle East, but his forces were repelled at Acre. British naval forces **shadowed his movements along the coast**, preventing his army from gaining a foothold.
> **“Praise Yahweh from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do His bidding.”** *(Psalm 148:7–8, NIV)*
God’s sovereignty over the elements ensured that Napoleon’s **ambition was limited to Catholic Europe**. Whenever he overstepped this boundary—whether in the Middle East or in his Russian campaign—his forces were **devastated by nature, famine, and divine intervention**.
### **The Destruction of the French and Spanish Fleets**
The greatest naval engagement of this period was **the Battle of Trafalgar (1805)**, where **Admiral Lord Nelson led the British fleet to a decisive victory against the combined forces of France and Spain**. This battle permanently weakened Napoleon’s ability to challenge Britain at sea.
> **“The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is His name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has hurled into the sea.”** *(Exodus 15:3–4, NIV)*
Just as God overthrew Pharaoh’s forces in the Red Sea, He used the British Navy to **cast the burning mountain of Napoleonic ambition into the sea**, breaking its power over maritime trade and warfare.
## **The Second Trumpet and the Sea Turned to Blood**
Revelation 8:8–9 describes the second trumpet as causing **a third of the sea to turn into blood**, leading to the death of **a third of the living creatures** and the destruction of **a third of the ships**. This vividly symbolizes the economic and military devastation of Catholic maritime nations.
The British Navy destroyed over 1,100 French and Spanish ships between 1793 and 1814.
French commerce collapsed as British naval supremacy cut off trade routes.
Spain and Portugal, once dominant maritime empires, were reduced to minor powers.
This judgment mirrors God’s past interventions against oppressive empires. Just as Egypt’s waters turned to blood in Exodus, symbolizing divine wrath, so too did the maritime empires that supported the Papacy suffer destruction upon the seas.
## **Conclusion: The Second Trumpet’s Warning**
The **Second Trumpet** represents **divine judgment upon Catholic maritime nations**, particularly through **the Napoleonic Wars and British naval supremacy**. The destruction of **France, Spain, and Portugal’s naval power** fulfilled the prophecy of the **burning mountain cast into the sea**, bringing economic stagnation, military defeats, and loss of colonial influence.
The **lesson of the Second Trumpet** is clear: those who align themselves with the **Beast and its image** will face divine reckoning. Napoleon’s fall serves as a warning that no empire, no matter how powerful, can **defy divine will and prosper**.
> **“For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”** *(Isaiah 14:27, NIV)*
The **storm of divine judgment** that began with the First Trumpet continued to shake the world through the Second, ensuring that **the age of Catholic maritime dominance was brought to an end**.
