Prophecy
8
The Six
Trumpets –
Revelation 8:2 – 9:21
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The
Rules of Interpretation
Consider how
the Rules of Interpretation are
observed in this prophecy:
Rule One says
an apocalyptic prophecy has a
beginning point and ending point in
time and the events within the
prophecy occur in the order given.
This prophecy conforms to Rule One
because chronological order is self
evident:
- The
seven angels stand before God
and are given seven trumpets
- The
angel ministering at the
golden Altar of Incense
presents a petition to the
Lord that comes from all of
the saints
- The
Lord answers the petition of
His saints and the censer is
cast down, terminating the
services at the Altar of
Incense
- The
angels prepare to sound their
trumpets
- The
trumpets sound in
chronological order
For reasons
presented in Appendix A, I believe
this prophecy began in 1994. For
reasons that will be discussed in the
next prophecy, this prophecy ends on
the 1,265th day of the Great
Tribulation.
Rule
Two says a fulfillment
only occurs when all of the
specifications are met, and this
includes the order stated in the
prophecy. At this time, one element
in this prophecy has been fulfilled.
The seven angels have received the
seven trumpets. According to the
previous prophecy (Prophecy 7), these
angels are waiting for the selection
and sealing of the 144,000. Once the
144,000 have been sealed, Jesus will
announce that there will be no more
delay and God’s wrath will
begin.
Rule
Three says that
apocalyptic language can be literal,
analogous, or symbolic. To reach the
intended meaning of a prophecy, the
reader must consider (a) the context,
(b) the use of parallel language in
the Bible, and (c) if an element is
thought to be symbolic, the Bible
must interpret the symbol with a
relevant text. The language used in
this prophecy is not symbolic because
there are no relevant texts defining
a symbol. On the other hand, we do
find an extensive use of analogous
and literal language. The language
used in the first four trumpets
should be taken literally, although
some analogous language is mixed in.
For example, the Bible says,
“there came hail and fire mixed
with blood, and it was hurled down
upon the earth.”[78] If the
first trumpet is a meteoric firestorm
of burning hail that burns up a third
of the Earth and all of the green
grass, then the phrase “fire
mixed with blood” must be
explained. The first trumpet judgment
is an expression of God’s wrath.
He will burn up a third of the Earth
in the same way that He burned up
Sodom and Gomorrah; by raining down a
hailstorm of burning meteors. There
is a mixture of blood mentioned in
this judgment which means there is a
mixture of mercy. (This mixture
stands in contrast to the seven bowls
which have no mixture of mercy. Revelation
14:10) Instead of
destroying two-thirds of the world,
Jesus destroys one-third. The
parallels between wrath and mercy,
fire and blood are obvious. God began
offering mercy to mankind through the
promise of Christ’s atoning
blood the day that sin came to Earth.
I maintain
that trumpets five and six also use
literal and analogous language.
Remember, if an element is thought to
be symbolic, the Bible must interpret
the symbol with a relevant text that
specifically addresses the symbol.
The difficulty with these two trumpet
judgments is that there are biblical
concepts involved which are difficult
to describe within the limitations of
language. The devil and his demons
are literal beings, yet they
currently live in a realm that human
beings cannot smell, taste, hear,
touch, or see. Our physical senses
cannot detect Lucifer and his
followers. So, God used some ideas
that were common in John’s day
to illustrate concepts that human
beings cannot explain. For example,
the Bible says, “They [the
locusts described in verse 7] had as
king over them the angel of the
Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is
Abaddon, and in Greek,
Apollyon.”[79] Who is
the angel of the Abyss? Who is king
over a great cloud of locusts that
have faces that resemble human faces,
wear gold crowns on their heads, have
long hair and lion’s teeth? The
Bible uses literal language to
describe spiritual details and this
misleads people into thinking the
book of Revelation is full of
mysterious symbols. Instead, God
describes spiritual things with
literal language so that we can
properly grasp concepts that go
beyond human reality. God has stayed
within the limits of language to
explain what a visible Lucifer and
visible demons will do once they are
permitted to physically appear on
Earth! If Rule Three is carefully
observed, the Bible will make sense,
“just as it reads.”
Rule
Four says the presence
or absence of the Jubilee Calendar
determines how God measures time. The
fifth trumpet has a time period of
five months. The Jubilee Calendar
expired in 1994 and time is not
translated a day for a year after
1994. This allows two interesting
issues to unfold. First, if we assume
that Jesus keeps the devil and his
angels in the Abyss for two-thirds of
the 1,335 days allotted for the Great
Tribulation, the fifth trumpet should
occur around the 891sh day of the
Great Tribulation. The five months
allotted for the fifth trumpet
(remember, a month in God’s
calendar is one new moon to another
new moon – or 29.53 days) would
end around the 1,039th day of the
Great Tribulation. (890 days + 148
days = 1,038 days) If this
calculation is correct, then the
sixth trumpet will occur
approximately two years and ten
months after the Great Tribulation
begins. Perhaps “Day 1039”
will be the “very hour, day,
month and year” predicted.
“And the four angels who had
been kept ready for this very hour
and day and month and year were
released to kill a third of
mankind.”[80]
The second
interesting issue that unfolds from
God’s use of literal time is
that the sixth trumpet appears to
span 226 days. This number is
determined as follows:
1,265
days (the seventh trumpet sounds)
– 1,039 days (the end of the
fifth trumpet)
equals 226 days or about seven and a
half months.
These
calculations enable us to put some
perspective on the time allowed for
Lucifer’s physical presence on
Earth. Given the limitations of
travel and communication that will
exist during the time of the fifth
trumpet, and given the fact that
there are approximately 220 nations
on Earth, five months (148 days) is a
very short period of time for Lucifer
to deceive the whole world. Then, if
we allow 226 days for the sixth
trumpet, Lucifer has to work fast to
accomplish the following:
- The
abolition of the world’s
religions and governments
- The
slaughter of a third of
mankind and establishment of
a worldwide government
- The
enforcement of the mark of
the beast
- Secure
his position as king of kings
and lord of lords
Clearly, the
last 445 days of the Great
Tribulation will be awful. This span
of time covers the last three woes.
Rule Four is very helpful in this
prophecy because it produces perfect
harmony from the sum of its parts.
The Great Tribulation is 1,335 days
in length, so everything described
above easily fits together with
respect to timing and accomplishment!
References:
- Matthew 24:37 Return
- Leviticus 25:9; Joel 2:1 Return
- Revelation 6:8 and Revelation
9:15 Note:
Suppose the world population
is 7 billion and 25% die when
the fourth seal is broken.
This means that 1.75 billion
people will perish. 7 billion
people minus 1.75 billion
people leave 5.25 billion
people remaining. Then,
one-third of the world’s
population is killed during
the sixth trumpet. One-third
of 5.25 billion people is
1.75 billion people.
Therefore, 1.75 billion
deaths plus 1.75 billion
deaths equals 3.5 billion
people or 50% of the
world’s
population. Return
- Revelation
11:7-19 Return
- Revelation 6:7,8 Return
- See
http://www.wake-up.org/links/soferim.htm.
Even the priests served in a
rotation of 24 groups. See
also Luke 1:8,9. Return
- Exodus
29:38-43 Return
- The
Bible indicates the blood for
corporate sins was applied to
the horns of the Altar of
Incense, whereas blood shed
for individual sins was
applied to the horns of the
Altar of Burnt Offering.
Compare Leviticus 4:7,18 with Leviticus 4:25,30.
Furthermore, on the Day of
Atonement, the horns on the
Altar of Incense required
cleansing just like the horns
on the Altar of Burnt
Offering. (Leviticus
16:18,19)
Therefore, the Altar of
Incense was contaminated by
corporate sin in the same way
that the Altar of Burnt
Offering was contaminated by
the sins of
individuals. Return
- Hebrews 8:1-5 Return
- Genesis 2:17 Return
- Genesis 3:21 Return
- Romans 12:1,2 Return
- Revelation 6:7,8 Return
- 1
Thessalonians 5:3 Return
- Revelation
10:6 Return
- Revelation 1:6; 5:10; Hebrews 5:1 Return
- See Hebrews 12:27 and
compare physical signs and
wonders in Revelation 8:5 with Revelation
11:19 and 16:18-20. Return
- Daniel 12:11,12 Return
- Daniel 8:19 Return
- Numbers
16:46-50; 2 Samuel 24:15,16; 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chronicles
28:6; 1 Corinthians
10:8 Return
- 1 John 4:18 Return
- Matthew 28:20 Return
- 2 Samuel 8:2,
insertion mine Return
- Ezekiel 5:11,12,
italics mine Return
- Zechariah 13:8 Return
- Revelation
14:10; 15:1 Return
- Luke 21:25,26 Return
- 1 John 4:8 Return
- John 3:16 Return
- Romans 5:8 Return
- Genesis 6:5-7 Return
- Genesis 13:13 Return
- 2 Peter 3:9 Return
- Exodus 20:5 Return
- Jeremiah 25:8,9 Return
- Matthew
22:37-39 Return
- Ecclesiastes
12:13,14; 2 Corinthians
5:10 Return
- Jeremiah 9:15
(KJV) Return
- Isaiah
14:12-16; Ezekiel
28:12-19 Return
- Matthew
2:13-20; Revelation
12:4,5 Return
- John 12:31,32 Return
- Revelation
12:7-9 Note:
Prior to Resurrection Sunday,
Lucifer and his angels had
limited access to Heaven. (Job 1:6,7)
Evidently, God recognized
Lucifer as the prince of this
world after Adam and Eve
fell. (John 12:31) As
the prince of Earth, Lucifer
had a seat in God’s
government. When Jesus paid
the price for sin with His
own blood, Jesus redeemed the
world (that is, He bought the
world back). Jesus was
appointed the prince of this
world on Resurrection Sunday,
but Lucifer would not
relinquish his position and
this explains the war
described in Revelation
12:7-9. Return
- Mark 5:7-15 Return
- Isaiah 14:16,17; Revelation
17:8 Return
- Revelation
13:13,14 Return
- 2
Thessalonians 2:9-12; John 8:44 Return
- Numbers 21:4-9 Return
- Malachi 3:6 Return
- Daniel 2:21 Return
- 2 Kings 19:35 Return
- Jeremiah 25:8,9 Return
- Compare Leviticus
18:26-30 with Leviticus
26:14-39. Return
- 2
Thessalonians 2:9-12 Return
- 2
Thessalonians 2:1-12 Return
- Daniel 9:26; Hosea 5:10; Revelation
12:15; Jeremiah
47:1-4 Return
- Jeremiah 6:22,23; 25:9; 31:8; 51:48; Ezekiel 9:2 Return
- Jeremiah 1:14; Ezekiel 26:7; Job 37:22 Return
- Daniel 8:9,23; 11:36 Note:
The horn that comes out of
the north in Daniel 8 is
called a stern-faced king
implying the stern-faced king
comes out of the north. Return
- This
date is based on the
assumption that the fifth
trumpet will begin on a new
moon, the 891st day of the
Great Tribulation. Five lunar
months will expire (148 days)
and then, the sixth trumpet
will sound (the 1,039th day
of the Great
Tribulation). Return
- Revelation
6:11 Return
- See Mark 6:36-44 for
a parallel. Return
- Revelation
13:15 Return
- 2
Thessalonians 2:4 Return
- Exodus
18:19-26; Numbers 31:14; Deuteronomy
1:15; 1 Samuel
8:10-20 Return
- Exodus
18:23-25 Return
- Revelation
13:15 Return
- Consider
these references, including
these where God and King
David spared one-third and
killed two-thirds: Revelation
9:15; 13:15; Zechariah 13:8; Ezekiel
5:11-13; 2 Samuel 8:2 Return
- Revelation
17:15-17 Return
- Revelation
13:10 (NIV) Return
- John 16:1-3 Return
- Ezekiel 23:6,14 Return
- The
sixth trumpet appears to be
226 days in length. The
seventh trumpet occurs on the
1,265th day of the Great
Tribulation, so 1,265 days
minus 1,039 days equals 226
days. Return
- Revelation
18:1-7 Return
- Revelation
6:11; 16:4-7; 18:24 Return
- Matthew 24:14 Return
- Matthew
12:31-32 Return
- Matthew
8:28-34 Return
- Revelation 8:7 Return
- Revelation
9:11, insertion
mine Return
- Revelation
9:15 Return
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