The Seven Trumpets

Parts 1-3

 

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Begin Text:

We have been studying the book of Revelation for several months and we have carefully examined four topics: The seven churches, the seven seals, the 144,000 and the Two Witnesses. We have five topics to go: The seven trumpets, the four beasts of Revelation, the seven bowls, the Second Coming, and the Millennium.

 

After we finish our study on the seven trumpets, we will be able to move through the remaining topics in less time when the first four topics because we will have established a good foundation and a strong framework to work within. I hope you understand how the four rules take us to the intended meaning of apocalyptic prophecy. I have three introductory things to say about the seven trumpets before we begin with Revelation 8:2.

 

1.   The seven trumpets are to the Second Coming of Jesus what the Feast of Trumpets was to the Day of Atonement. In other words, the seven trumpets of Revelation will awaken the whole world to hear that “The Judgment Bar of Christ” has begun. This parallels the Feast of Trumpets that awakened the whole camp of Israel to The Judgment Bar of Christ that took place on the Day of Atonement.

 

Many Christians are surprised to learn that the member of the Godhead who spoke to Israel in the Old Testament was Jesus Christ Himself!

 

1 Corinthians 10:1   For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they passed through the sea.

 

1 Corinthians 10:2   They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

 

1 Corinthians 10:3   They all ate the same spiritual food

 

1 Corinthians 10:4   and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

 

Keep in mind that the Feast of Trumpets was designed to prepare Israel to meet Jesus Christ and the seven trumpets in Revelation will do the same. [more about this later on]

 

2.   Unfortunately, many Christians do not know anything about the seven trumpets. There’s an interesting reason for this. Christians believing in a pre-tribulation rapture aren’t concerned about the seven trumpets because they believe they will occur after the rapture. On the other hand, Christians believing in a historical interpretation of Revelation believe the seven trumpets happened in the distant past so they are not concerned about the seven trumpets. Both views produce the same result: The seven trumpets do not apply to us; therefore they really do not concern us. This is terrible, a tragic mistake.

 

3.   The seven trumpets are the catalyst in Revelation’s story that makes the story unfold. (A catalyst is an ingredient that causes something to happen that would otherwise be impossible.} The seven trumpets will drastically change life, as we know it. The seven trumpets will turn the whole world upside down. The seven trumpets will destroy the infrastructures of the world and in so doing produce the Great Tribulation.

 

Strong statement: If a person does not properly understand the nature and purpose of the seven trumpets, he cannot accurately understand the book of Revelation. Period. Revelation’s story will not make any sense if the seven trumpets are not correctly understood.

 

Review Charts showing the relationship seven trumpets with other prophetic elements….

 

Keep Rule One in mind as we study the seven trumpets: “Each apocalyptic prophecy has a beginning point and ending point in time and the events occur in the order given.”

 

Start                                       Stop

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  A-----B-----C-----D-----E-----F     

 

Let’s read:

 

Revelation 8:2   And I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

 

Revelation 8:3   Another angel, who had the golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.          

 

Revelation 8:4   The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

 

Revelation 8:5   Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the alter, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightening and an earthquake.

 

Revelation 8:6   Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them… 

 

Let’s go through these verses one more time and I will insert some commentary:

 

Revelation 8:2   And I saw the seven angels who stand before God [God has seven highly exalted angels that serve Him. These seven angels are the same seven angels of the seven churches, and the same seven angels pouring out the seven bowls] and to them were given seven trumpets. [The seven trumpets are seven horrible judgments that will notify the whole world that Jesus Christ is returning to Earth].

Timing: As I have said before, I believe the seven angels were given the seven trumpets in the Spring of 1994, because at the end of the 70 Jubilee cycles. God’s patience with man’s rebellion reached its limit. I believe the time appointed for God’s wrath arrived in April 1994 and I suspect that the implosion of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter during July 1994 was magnificent “prophetic example” of God’s coming wrath. You may recall that the comet broke up into a string of 21 chucks and they impacted Jupiter creating the most powerful explosions ever witnessed by man. 

 

Let’s consider how Revelation 8:2 and 7:1 fit together:

 

Let’s suppose the seven angels were given the seven trumpets in the Spring of 1994. Let’s suppose the first seven angels went off to harm Earth, but they were told to “wait” until the 144,000 servants have been sealed. This delay explains Revelation 7.

 

Revelation 7:1   After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 

 

Revelation 7:2   Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:

 

Revelation 7:3   “ Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 

 

Why do we need to know about this delay? Why has God informed us about this delay? In a sentence, we know today that God’s wrath is overdue, but God’s wrath is overdue, but God has not implemented His wrath because He is waiting on something more important than His wrath!

 

Jesus is waiting for the appointed time to arrive. “With God, timing is everything.” He is waiting for a specific day; a day is exactly 1,335 days short of the seventh millennium. Thus far, the delay has lasted 14+ years. According to my calculations, I think the seventh millennium begins somewhere between 2011 and 2017. Of course, I could be wrong. But, I think we are very close.

 

Revelation 8:3   Another angel [not one of the seven], who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne [We know that this alter is the “true” Altar of Incense. Look at these verses:

 

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