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The Seven Trumpets - The Sixth and Seventh
I. Revelation 9:13-21
A. A voice from the horns of the altar commands the release of the four angels (Revelation 7:1-3)
1. The altar being referred to is the altar of incense
2. These four angels are the four winds mentioned in Revelation 7:1-3. Angels and wind can be interchanged - Heb 1:7
3. They were prepared to kill 1/3 of mankind
4. The angels were located in the land between the rivers
a. The Euphrates has often served as a boundary of God’s nation
(1) Gen 15:18 - the boundaries promised to Abraham
(2) Fulfilled in I Kings 4:21
b. The enemies of God’s people built up on the other side of the river and eventually overcame them - Isa 8:5-8
5. 200 million horsemen are released
a. Recalls Psalm 68:17 - The size of the Lord’s army
b. The horsemen had breastplates of red, blue, and yellow
(1) Fire, smoke, and sulphur (brimstone)
(2) God’s wrathful judgment on nations, such as Sodom and Gomorrah.
c. The horses had heads like lions and breathed fire
(1) The power of the horses were in their mouths
(2) Their tails were serpents which could bite
(3) The destruction of an army as they march in and the terrible aftermath they leave behind.
B. 1/3 of mankind were killed by three plagues: fire, smoke, and brimstone
1. Rom 1:18-19 - God’s judgment on the wicked
C. The remainder did not learn from these events
1. They continued to worship idols - Rom 1:22-23
2. They were not repentant of murders, sorceries (includes drug use), immoralities, or thefts - Rom 1:28
D. These are punishments on the wicked world in general. The impact on Christians is not yet considered.
E. Albertus Pieters: “As for the great happening of the trumpet series, I do not take much interest in locating them here or there in history, for it seems to me I know them. Have we not ourselves twice, in 1914-1918 and again in 1939-1945 seen the bottomless pit opened, and the heavens darkened by swarms of evil things that issued from it? Has not the earth in our own day, so that we can never forget it? So it seems to me, as I see the pageant unroll act after act; and finally I turn away with profound confidence in the plans of Him that sitteth on the throne, written in the unsealed orders that are in the hands of the Lamb.”
II. Revelation 10:1-11
A. A mighty angel comes out of heaven
1. He is wearing a cloud - he has a glorious work - Ex 16:9-10; Ex 24:16-18
2. A rainbow on his head
3. His face like the sun and his feet like a pillar of fire
4. In his had was a little book
a. This book is the word of God, our Bible
b. It is open, not sealed as the earlier scroll
5. He stands on the sea and the land
a. His message is for the whole world
B. He roars out words like a lion. Similar to Jer 25:30
1. A response comes back like seven thunders
a. Thunder announces divine judgment
(1) I Sam 2:10 - God thunders against those who oppose him
(2) II Sam 22:14 - God thunders as he readies to avenge David
(3) Isa 29:6 - God thunders before laying Ariel low.
b. The seven voices of God - Ps 29
2. But what is said, John is forbidden to write down.
C. The angel then gives an oath that there would no longer be a delay
1. He lifts up his hand as he gives the oath - Deut 32:40, Ezek 20:5
2. Similar to Dan 12:7
3. It will happen in the days of the seventh trumpet
4. At the point the mystery of God is finished, as was told to God’s servants and prophets.
a. Believed to be the defeat of the lawless one - II Thess 2:3-8
b. Or the completion of the revelation of the mystery of salvation - Rom 16:25-26. In other words, the New Testament is almost completed.
D. A voice from heaven tells John to take the little book
1. John is told to eat the book
2. It is bitter in the stomach, but sweet in the mouth
3. This is similar to Ezekiel 2:8-3:4, 14
a. God’s promises of rewards are sweet - Ps 19:7-10, Jer 15:16
b. But the promises of trials are bitter - Jer 15:17-18
c. The reception and comprehension of God’s word is sweet, but fraught with bitterness of spirit in the condemnation of sinners and the proclamation of the Scripture’s judgments against men and nations, declaring the consequences of disobedience, the wickedness of sin, and the terror and finality of judgment - Homer Hailey.
4. He is then told to prophesy about people, nations, tongues, and kings.
III. Revelation 11:1-14
A. John is given a measuring rod
1. He is told to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship in it.
a. Here, the temple is the church - Eph 2:19-22
b. The church is being measured for deserving of protection by its obedience - II Cor 10:12-18
c. I John 4:1 - Try every spirit to see if they are of God.
2. He is not to measure the outer court of the temple
a. That has been given to the nations (Gentiles means nations)
(1) The non-Christians will not be protected (like Revelation 7)
(2) The Gentiles could enter only to the outer court at the temple.
b. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months
(1) The measure of time is 3 ½ years - one half of 7 or completeness and perfection
(2) 3 ½ symbolizes incompleteness, uncertainty, tumult, and discomfort.
(a) It is referred to in a number of ways:
i) 42 months - The time “Jerusalem is trampled” (Rev 11:2)
ii) 1260 days -The time the witnesses would prophesy in sackcloth (Rev 11:3)
iii) 1260 days the woman would be protected in the wilderness (Rev 12:6)
iv) Time, times, and a half time - The time the woman would be nourished while protected from the serpent (Rev 12:14)
v) Period of time of the beast’s authority and blasphemies (Dan 7:21)
vi) Period of time the saints would be in the beast’s hand (Dan 7:25)
(b) All refer to the same period. The time the saints are persecuted.
(3) The church is also referred to as the New Jerusalem - Rev 21:2
(a) It is a type of the church - Gal 4:26; Heb 12:22-23
(b) The church would be corrupted and persecuted by those who are not true believers
B. Two witnesses will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth
1. Why two witnesses?
a. Needed for legal testimony to secure conviction - Deut 19:15
b. This has been continued in the church - Matt 18:16, II Cor 13:1, I Tim 5:19
2. They are two olive trees and two lampstands
a. Lampstands referred to the church - Rev 1:20; It also refers to the word of God - Ps 119:105
b. Likewise, oil is required to give light
(1) Similar, but different, to Zechariah’s vision in Zech 4:2-6, 11-14
(2) Oil of anointment - dedicated to a purpose
3. These are the church and the word
a. Testifying in sackcloth refers to a time of misery and distress
b. Phil 2:15-16 - Christians holding forth the word as a light in a crooked world.
c. Again, this seems to refer to the prophecy of reign of the man of sin - II Thess 2:3-12
4. Their enemies will be consumed by the fire from their mouths
a. Similar to Jer 5:14
b. They are given authority to:
(1) Stop the rain (Note that Elijah’s drought lasted 3 ½ years.)
(2) Turn the water to blood
(3) To smite the earth with plagues as often as they desire
c. Alludes to the prophets of Old who displayed God’s power, which served as witness to the truth of their words - Heb 2:3-4
d. Success in the spread of the gospel
C. At the end of their testimony, the beast comes from the abyss
1. The beast refers to a king or kingdom or institution - Dan 7:3, 17, 23
a. We will learn more about this beast later.
2. He wars with the two witnesses and kills them, but not before their testimony is done.
3. Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city
a. The city is called Sodom and Egypt and is where the Lord was crucified.
b. They remain on view for 3 ½ days without being buried
(1) Disrespect and contempt
(2) A time of pain and tumult, though shorter than the previous time (3 ½ years)
c. The people will celebrate their death
4. Satan wins a victory through the beast, halting the spread of the Gospel
a. The city which represents all the cities which opposed God. We will see more of this city later.
b. Sodom through corruption, Egypt through bondage, Jerusalem who rejected the prophets and God’s Son.
D. God resurrects them
1. The people are in terror
2. A voice calls them to heaven and their enemies see them depart
a. The saints martyred are called to join God
3. As they go an earthquake cause a 1/10 of the city to collapse, killing 7,000 people
4. The spread of the Gospel is revived and the evil city is given a significant wound.
a. 1/10 indicates a partial, restrained judgment
b. 7,000 killed means a complete accounting
5. The rest of the people are terrified and give glory to God
a. No conclusion can be made that they are converted
IV. These events conclude the second woe
V. The Seventh Trumpet - Revelation 11:15-18
A. Triumph has been achieved
1. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of Christ
B. God is worshiped for His accomplishment
1. Jesus promised he would come quickly
a. Rev 2:16 - He would come quickly to war
b. Rev 3:10-11 - He would come quickly to test
c. Rev 22:7, 12, 20 - Jesus promises to come quickly
2. This is not final judgment, but the swiftness of God’s judgment upon the wicked
3. The earth was shaken and the unshakable remains - Heb 12:26-29
4. Daniel’s prophesy has been fully fulfilled - Dan 2:44, 7:13-14
C. The evil tried to rebel against God’s design. In their defeat, their possessions were turned over to God’s people
1. Dan 7:21-22 - The beast prevailed for a time, but the saints won in the end.
2. Ps 2 - God always wins
3. The dead are those lost in sin - Eph 2:1, 5
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