Chapter 9
The Seven Trumpets
“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and seven trumpets were given to them.” (Re 8:2 NAS)
The stage is now set for God to begin a series of judgments for the purpose of waking people up. These judgments are heralded by the sounding of a trumpet and seven angels are assigned to the task.
“3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. 5 And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” (Re 8:3-5 NAS)
Before the first trumpet sounds, there is another angel that ministers before the altar of incense. As much incense is burnt upon the altar the smoke of it is mixed with the prayers of the saints. The smoke from the altar carries the prayer of the saints before God. The implication is that the judgments that are about to fall on the earth will be executed with a consideration of the requests and intercessions that have come from God’s people. As the angel throws the fire from this altar to the earth there is thunder, sounds, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. God has responded from heaven, He has heard His people, and His hand is upon them.
“And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.” (Re 8:6 NAS)
The First Trumpet Sounds
“And the first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” (Re 8:7 NAS)
Hail and fire, mixed with blood are thrown to the earth. These things effect the land surface by burning up one third of the vegetation. I do not know if God is using a natural phenomenon or supernatural action. What actually causes this catastrophe is of minor importance. What is important is the effect it has on the earth. This is a disaster of epic proportion.
The Second Trumpet Sounds
“8 And 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; 9 and a third of the creatures, which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.” (Re 8:8-9 NAS)
This event heralded by the second trumpet affects the sea and those things in it. Like the first event, it affects one third of the sea, sea creatures, and the ships upon it. The extent of the damage seems to be greater than if several volcanoes erupted in the ocean.
The Third Trumpet Sounds
“10 And 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; 11 and the 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.” (Re 8:10-11 NAS)
As the third angel sounds, we see a star falling from heaven, like a torch that is burning. The star is called Wormwood because of the effect it has on the earth. Wormwood poisons a third of the waters, and men died from the waters that were made bitter.
The Fourth Trumpet Sounds
“And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were smitten, so that a third of them might be darkened and the day might not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.” (Re 8:12 NAS)
As the fourth angel sounds, the sun, moon, and stars are affected. Something blocks the light from them for a third of a day. From the text, I cannot tell whether this is simply for one day or for a period of time in which the light was blocked for one third of the time during the day and night.
Woe, Woe, Woe
“And I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe, to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!” (Re 8:13 NAS)
Four angels have sounded and one third of the land, sea, waters, and heavens have been affected. The full effect that this has upon the population was not revealed. I personally do not have great insight so as to be able to fully bring complete clarity for understanding all of these events. There is much symbolism used in describing these things and it is difficult to understand to what extent it is symbolism or an actual description. I am simply walking you through some of these things so that I can share with you what I believe to be apparent.
The last three trumpets that sound are heralding horrendous things that are being unleashed upon the earth. There is a lot of symbolism within the description of these things that is apparent. Whereas the first four trumpets heralded things that seemed to have come from natural things within the created universe, the next two trumpets seemed to herald the unleashing of evil forces that have been somewhat restrained up until now.
One thing that all of these things do seem to have in common though is that they are being measured out in such a way that men would look to God for help. As the three woes are heralded the effect upon mankind becomes increasingly worse. But God is continuing to look for repentance that is necessary for salvation. As we will see though is that people have become increasingly hard and resistant to God’s appeal to them.
The Fifth Trumpet Sounds
“1 ¶ And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.” (Re 9:1-6 AV)
As the fifth angel sounds the first Woe is come upon the earth. There is much symbolism here that I will not even attempt to unpack. What does seem clear to me is that this evil that has been under restraint is unleashed at this time. These locusts that have come out of the smoke from the pit have the power to torture people, but they have restraints that limit them. They cannot kill people or hurt the environment or affect those who have God’s seal. They have five months in which to torment people as a scorpion would. The torment of these locusts brings people to the point of seeking death, yet people will not find death as an option.
I will not expound upon the full description of the locusts except to say that they do have a king, Apollyon, the angel of the bottomless pit.
The Sixth Trumpet Sounds
“13 ¶ And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they might kill a third of mankind. 16 And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.” (Re 9:13-16 NAS)
As the sixth trumpet sounds the second Woe has come upon the earth. Like the first Woe it is the unbinding of an evil force. This force is in the form of a military army of an enormous number. The force of this army ends up killing one third of mankind.
We are given a description of this army and their weaponry. The imagery seems to be symbolic. Obviously, the horses and horsemen are more representative of our modern warfare than that of the first century. I will not speculate on the actual meaning of this imagery. Speculation would detract from my purpose here, which is to give an overview of the events being heralded by the seven trumpets.
Purpose of These Plagues
“And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;” (Re 9:20 NAS)
Why are all of these things happening? Why is God bringing all of these calamities upon the earth? The answers to these questions should be obvious if we are acquainted with God’s Word. Sin is the cause of all of man’s sufferings. God in His mercy has provided us with knowledge, wisdom, and insight for living righteously. Knowing that we needed more than this God has also provided forgiveness and pardon from sin through Jesus Christ. But man has rejected God and continues to follow the influence of Satan. The final judgments are coming but God in His mercy continues to reach out pleading with people to repent. Eventually, God’s wrath will be poured out on all those who do evil, but until then God continues to plead with people in an effort to save them. The verse above clearly shows that God is still looking for repentance.
As we have seen through revelation up until now, we are being warned of the coming judgments. First it came in the form of God’s Word through His prophets. When that was not enough God allowed people to continue on the path of destruction and people begin to suffer through the actions of their fellow human beings. As people harden their hearts and turn from God instead of toward Him, He withdraws His hand that has protected us from the natural forces in nature and bad things happen.
All of these things have happened throughout our history and at times men have turned to God and God has spared nations and peoples that repented of their sin. But people again drifted from the truth and turned toward their evil ways and the influence of Satan. With time it seems like people become more resistant to the warnings that God sends.
What is being revealed to us here is a final series of warnings before the final judgments of man’s sins. The first four trumpets begin with natural phenomena that are allowed to destroy the earth. The fifth trumpet heralds the release of satanic influence from the pit to torment people. The sixth trumpet heralds that satanic influence that drives men to kill and destroy. But these harsh warnings are but one side of what God is doing. On the other side He is pressing forward the message of grace.
The Little Book
“1 ¶ And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; 2 and he had in his hand a little book which was open. And he placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; 3 and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.” (Re 10:1-3 NAS)
“8 ¶ And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophecy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” (Re 10:8-11 AV)
We are reading these words that were penned over two thousand years ago. John was faithful in the task that was spread before him. The Word of God that was entrusted to him was to go forth unto the ends of the world. This Word has been declared in all nations and peoples. It has been translated into the various languages of the earth. The message is one of justice and mercy, of sin and forgiveness, and finally of salvation or damnation.
Again there is much symbolism here that I will not fully unpack. What I want us to see here is that as God is revealing the final events which are that is of epic proportions, He pauses to remind us of His ongoing appeal. Sin and evil must be judged, but warnings, appeals, and pleadings for repentance that leads to forgiveness and salvation have been ongoing and will continue up until this point in the future.
The Final Appeal
“3 ¶ “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.” (Re 11:3-4 NAS)
When people stand before God they will be without excuse. In many cases, people are willfully ignorant. The Word of the Lord is now available like no other time in history. For most people God’s Word is at their fingertips. But in the last couple of years, we are beginning to see a suppression of the truth. Cancel culture and censorship are now being imposed within even the freest nations on earth. Efforts are underway to suppress the Word of God and declare this love letter as hate speech. How far this goes in America is yet to be seen. America has been instrumental in spreading the Gospel of peace throughout the world, but that Gospel is now being stifled here at home. Even many churches refrain from preaching the whole of the Word for fear of what men may say.
The fact still remains that it is not the will of God that people would perish. We have just walked through the harsh warnings that God is going to bring upon the earth to cause men to look toward heaven for their salvation. Countering that is Satan’s deceptive work to blind the eyes of all of mankind. Through enticements, distractions, fears, misinformation, and censorship, people are being blinded to the truth.
In the Scripture above I see God’s final appeal for people to wake up before judgment comes. In the final days of choice God commissions two powerful witnesses that prophecy (declare the Word of God). This is unlike the appeals previous that have come through the testimony of His saints (Christ’s Church). From this passage, it appears more like a forced Word from God. The word of these two witnesses goes forth with power. Men are unable to suppress the word of their testimony for twelve hundred and sixty days.
“And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.” (Re 11:7 NAS)
For three days their dead bodies lie in the street for everyone to see. For the most part, people have rejected God’s final appeal and it will not go well with them.
“12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them. 13 And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Re 11:12-13 NAS)
The second Woe that was to come upon those who dwell on the earth has been completed. Those who have rejected God’s final appeal are now facing judgment as God is prepared to pour out His wrath on the kingdoms of this earth, for they have followed the folly of Satan.
The End of the Age
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.” (Mt 24:14 NAS)
“but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.” (Re 10:7 NAS)
The Seventh Trumpet Sounds
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Re 11:15 NAS)
The first thing we see as the last trumpet sounds is a scene of great rejoicing in Heaven. The kingdoms on earth which have long been under the spell or influence of Satan are now under the authority of Jesus Christ and He is beginning His reign. The snapshot that we saw as the sixth seal was broken is now unfolding in greater detail. This is the beginning of a new age in which righteousness rules and reigns.
As we followed through the time of the sounding of the first six trumpets, we traversed through that time of great testing and trials that Jesus prophesied of in Matthew 24, commonly called the great tribulation. We are now approaching the time of the outpouring of God’s wrath. Do you remember the outline that Jesus presented to His disciples in Matthew to answer their questions? That outline ends with the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
Remember the question: “… what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Mt 24:3 NAS)
Here is the answer: “29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.” (Mt 24:29-30 NAS)
The Trumpet Sounds
“And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Mt 24:31 NAS)
This is the event that all of creation has been looking toward, the return of the King. There is a transition period in which a new administration takes control of everything on earth. The following verses give a list of the things that are going to happen at this time as Christ fulfills His promises to those who have put their trust in Him.
“18 “And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” (Re 11:18-19 NAS)
Much of the rest of the Book of Revelation is expounding upon this list of things that are mentioned in these verses. We are given added details of the players involved, the governments, leaders, and the involvement of Satan. We will see an expanded view of the rewards to the faithful and the judgment of the unrighteous. But it all begins here.
The nations are enraged. As we have seen in earlier prophecy, at this time the nations will oppose Christ at his return and actually attempt to do battle with Him.
This is the time in which God will pour out His wrath on the earth. The details of this are contained in the bowls of wrath that we will read about later.
It is the time for the dead to be judged. Later there will be a time when all the books are opened and judgment is passed on the ungodly. But at this time we will see the resurrection of the righteous dead. This is the first judgment. We also know from the writings of Paul that this will occur at the last trumpet when the dead in Christ rise first and we who remain will be caught up to meet Him in the air.
The judgment of the dead brings forth the righteous and as stated in these verses the rewards for all of the faithful are given during this time. Blessed are the ones who are a part of the first resurrection, for they will spend eternity with Christ. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1Th 4:17 NAS)
And the last item on the list is the destruction of those who destroy the earth. For those who cried from under the altar for justice, now is the time.
At this time the temple of Heaven is opened and the ark of His covenant appears. This is the fulfillment of the covenant of God and the record is revealed for all to see.
“And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” (Re 11:19 NAS)