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Welcome to the conclusion of this section. Let’s pray together:
Lord,
The prophetic set of the seven trumpets, once studied in the light of Your whole inspired Word, revealed a rousing call to repentance.
In this lesson, we want to parallel these seven messages, to better understand their impact for each one of us.
Please guide us in our search. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 8:1,2
When [the Lamb] had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
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Immediately after the presentation of the seven seals, a new set of seven prophecies was shown to the apostle John: the seven trumpets.
Similar to the letters and the seals, the seven trumpets describe seven periods of history, from the time of John to the glorious return of Jesus.
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Ezekiel 33:2-5
When I bring the sword on a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he sees the sword come on the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and takes not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be on his own head.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be on him.
But he that takes warning shall deliver his soul.
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Just as we have seen in the preceding lessons, the trumpets aim at calling men to repentance...
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Numbers 10:9
If you go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresses you, then you shall blow an alarm with the trumpets.
And you shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
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In the Old Testament, the trumpets sounded many times, announcing the punishment of either the oppressor of Israel, or Israel itself, when it turned rebellious against God.
Those events clearly inspired the messages of the seven trumpets, which also announce the punishment of either the oppressor of the faithful Church, or the Church itself, when it turned apostate.
As the following two tables will demonstrate, the parallel can’t be missed between the punishments under the Old Covenant and the punishments of the seven trumpets.
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Isaiah 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
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Ezekiel 33:5
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be on him.
But he that takes warning shall deliver his soul.
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The seven trumpets also correspond to the seals.
But the trumpets aim at denouncing apostasy, and there is no apostasy in the first and last seals.
The trumpets thus correspond to the seals 2 to 6.
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First seal: Revelation 6:2
And I saw, and behold a white horse.
And He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given to Him: and He went forth conquering, and to conquer.
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Colossians 1:23
The gospel, which you have heard, (...) was preached to every creature which is under heaven.
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Let’s look at the seals one by one, with their equivalent in the seven trumpets.
No trumpet corresponds to the first seal, since that seal presents the victorious Apostolic Church of the years A.D. 31 to 100, in which there was no apostasy.
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Second seal: Revelation 6:4
And there went out another horse that was red.
And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another.
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First and second trumpets: Revelation 8:7-9
And there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast on the earth. (...)
And as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
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Afterwards, the Roman Empire intensified its persecution against the Christians.
It was then struck by the first two trumpets, and fell in A.D. 476.
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Third seal: Revelation 6:5,6
And I beheld, and see a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the middle of the four beasts say, «A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny.»
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Third trumpet: Revelation 8:11
And the third part of the waters became wormwood.
And many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
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As the Roman Empire became weaker, the Church of Rome grew in power, by making a lot of doctrinal compromises with the surrounding nations.
The shortage of bread and water, sources of life, illustrates the spiritual famine brought about by this falsification of truth.
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Fourth seal: Revelation 6:8
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
And power was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill (...) with hunger.
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Fourth trumpet: Revelation 8:12
And the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened.
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The many doctrinal compromises of the Church plunged it into deep apostasy throughout the Middle Ages, from 538 to 1798.
This situation is illustrated by the deadly famine and the darkening of the heavenly bodies.
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Fifth seal: Revelation 6:9,10
I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, «How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?»
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Fifth trumpet: Revelation 9:4,5
It was commanded [the locusts] that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, (...) but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months.
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During the 1260 years of its reign, the Church of Rome killed more than 50 million believers who disagreed with it.
In 1798, it finally lost its power and influence, and recovered them only 150 years later (the prophetic «five months»).
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Sixth seal: Revelation 6:15-17
And the kings of the earth (...) said to the mountains and rocks,
«Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great Day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?»
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Sixth and seventh trumpets: Revelation 9:20; 11:18
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands. (...)
The nations were angry, and Your wrath is come.
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Unfortunately, the apostate Church and the nations won’t learn a lesson from all these punishments.
Choosing to persist in their apostasy, they will soon have to face the wrath of God, and will be destroyed.
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Seventh seal: Revelation 8:1
When [the Lamb] had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
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Matthew 25:31
When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His glory.
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Finally, the seventh seal presents a silence in heaven, which is empty because Jesus and «all the holy angels» are coming to gather the faithful believers who eagerly await this moment.
There is no apostasy, so no trumpet corresponds to this last seal.
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Revelation 11:15,18
And the seventh angel sounded. (...)
«The nations were angry, and Your wrath is come.»
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Revelation 16:1
Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God on the earth.
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In our lesson «The Book of Revelation», we have seen that this book displays a mirror-like structure, in which the historical part (first section) corresponds to the eschatological part (second section).
In this structure, the seven trumpets (chapters 8 to 11), punishing the oppressor of God’s people throughout history, perfectly correspond to the seven bowls (chapters 15 and 16), punishing the rebellious nations at the end of the world.
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Genesis 6:5-7
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.
And the Lord said, «I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air.»
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Finally, similar to the Flood, the seven trumpets are the reply of God to men’s wickedness.
With these trumpets, God reverses the work He did at Creation, and will, after that, create a new world for His people.
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Genesis 2:2
On the seventh day God ended His work which He had made.
And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
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Revelation 11:15,18
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying,
«The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever! (...)
Your wrath is come, and the time (...) that You (...) should destroy them which destroy the earth.»
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At the seventh and last trumpet, God will put an end to the destruction of His creation, and establish His kingdom in a world where evil will be no more.
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Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show to His servants things which must shortly come to pass.
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Each of the seven trumpets gives us a valuable message that strengthens our confidence in the prophetic Word.
These messages also make us realize that this world will end very shortly.
It is up to each one of us to make the proper choices, right here and now, in light of the vital information the book of Revelation gives us, so that, when Jesus returns, we may be numbered with His people.
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2 Chronicles 13:11,12
We keep the charge of the Lord our God; but you have forsaken Him.
And, behold, God Himself is with us for our Captain, and His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you.
O children of Israel, fight you not against the Lord God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper.
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It is also up to each one of us to take heed to the messages of the trumpets, which call us to repentance and obedience to the Word of God.
May this study guide help us to do so.
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«The smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God.» (Revelation 8:4)
Heavenly Father,
The study of the seven trumpets has helped us to discover the wonderful richness of the prophetic book of Revelation.
We humbly and sincerely ask You to help us properly prepare ourselves for the glorious event which will take place at the sound of the seventh trumpet: the return of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
In His name we pray.
Amen.
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