View source for Opening the Seventh Seal and Sounding the First Four Trumpets

•	"1 <span style="color:darkred"> And when He had opened the Seventh Seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour." </span>
When the LORD Jesus Christ opens the Seventh Seal Judgment, the immediate effect is silence in Heaven. <span style="color:darkred"> "But the LORD is in His holy Temple: let all the Earth keep silence before Him" </span style="color:darkred"> (Habakkuk 2:20). The <span style="color:darkred">"angels desire to look into" </span style="color:darkred"> (1Peter 1:12) both the Gospel plan of man's Salvation and the righteous plan of God's Judgments. <span style="color:darkred">"With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early: for when Thy Judgments are in the Earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness"</span style="color:darkred"> (Isaiah 26:9).

The presence of God is a naturally joyful place. <span style="color:darkred"> "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for Evermore" </span style="color:darkred"> (Psalm 16:11). Therefore, any period of absolute <span style="color:darkred">"silence in Heaven" </span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:1) must indicate the awful gravity of what is about to unfold. <span style="color:darkred"> "As I live, saith the LORD GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" </span style="color:darkred"> (Ezekiel 33:11).
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•	"2 <span style="color:darkred">And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets." </span style="color:darkred">
A picture of the Judgments of the Tribulation Week would begin with the Seal Judgments (Rev 6:1-17; 8:1) occupying the First Half of the Week. The Seventh Seal Judgment (8:1) contains the Trumpet Judgments (Rev 8:2-13; 9:1-21; 11:15-19), which dominate the Second Half of the Week. And, the Seventh Trumpet Judgment (Rev 11:15-19) contains the final seven Vial Judgments (Rev 16:1-21), which occupy the final handful of days of the Tribulation Week (after the Pre-Wrath Rapture). <span style="color:darkred">"And to wait for His Son from Heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" </span style="color:darkred"> (1Thessalonians 1:10).

The angels are God's messengers-- of the Gospel and of Judgment <span style="color:darkred">"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" </span style="color:darkred"> (Luke 2:10). Trumpets are more than a musical instrument, but a means of announcing:
(1) Old Testament Israel's New Year, which is the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah), i.e., <span style="color:darkred"> "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month </span style="color:darkred"> [Tishri, e.g., September], <span style="color:darkred"> in the first day of the month </span style="color:darkred"> [e.g., September 11th 1999], <span style="color:darkred">shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation" </span style="color:darkred"> (Leviticus 23:24),

(2) the time for Old Testament Israel to begin their march in their wilderness wanderings, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps" </span style="color:darkred"> (Numbers 10:2), and

(3) the alarm for war, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies" </span style="color:darkred"> (Numbers 10:9).
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•	"3 <span style="color:darkred">And another angel came and stood at the Altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar which was before the Throne." </span style="color:darkred">
The angel that <span style="color:darkred"> "stood at the Altar" </span style="color:darkred"> (8:3) would be one of the four divisions of Holy Angels described in Scripture:
(1) Angels, in general, are <span style="color:darkred">"ministering spirits" </span style="color:darkred"> (Hebrews 1:14), who are a numerous, i.e., <span style="color:darkred"> "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" </span style="color:darkred"> (Revelation 5:11), but separate class of created beings, superior to man, i.e., man was made a <span style="color:darkred">"little lower than the angels" </span style="color:darkred"> (Psalm 8:5), possessing greater Knowledge and Wisdom than man, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"the Wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the Earth" </span style="color:darkred"> (2Samuel 14:20), and having greater strength than man, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"His angels, that excel in strength, that do His Commandments" </span style="color:darkred"> (Psalm 103:20).

(2) Cherubim are commonly identified in the Old Testament as appearing around the person of the LORD of Hosts, i.e., <span style="color:darkred"> "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth" </span style="color:darkred"> (Psalm 80:1), possibly guarding His Throne as they guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden, i.e., <span style="color:darkred"> "So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life" </span style="color:darkred"> (Genesis 3:24), and aiding in the execution of the Almighty's will , i.e., <span style="color:darkred"> "And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind" </span style="color:darkred"> (Psalm 18:9-10).

(3) Seraphim are briefly mentioned as directing Heaven's worship of the LORD of Hosts, i.e., "3 <span style="color:darkred">And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts: the whole Earth is full of His glory... </span style="color:darkred">6 <span style="color:darkred">Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the Altar: </span style="color:darkred"> 7 <span style="color:darkred">And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged" </span style="color:darkred"> (Isaiah 6:3, 6-7). And,

(4) Archangels, of which Michael (Jude 6) alone is named in the Scriptures, are represented as protecting and prospering Israel, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people"</span style="color:darkred"> (Daniel 12:1), and heralding the return of Jesus Christ, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"For the LORD Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the Trump of God"</span style="color:darkred"> (1Thessalonians 4:16).
The angel at the <span style="color:darkred">"golden Altar" </span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:3) before the Heavenly Throne of God holds a <span style="color:darkred">"golden censer"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:3) to offer incense upon the Altar of incense, which is the Heavenly foreshadowing of the earthly anti-type used by the priesthood. <span style="color:darkred"> "And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it" </span style="color:darkred"> (Exodus 30:1). And, <span style="color:darkred">"Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it"</span style="color:darkred"> (Exo 30:7). The incense of the earthly altar was composed equally of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense (Exo 30:34). It was forbidden to reproduce the incense for ordinary purposes, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people"</span style="color:darkred"> (Exo 30:38). Certainly, the incense would perfume the air to take away the smell of all the animals sacrificed; but more importantly, the incense represented the intercession of the appointed high priest, i.e., <span style="color:darkred"> "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice"</span style="color:darkred"> (Psalm 141:2).

The <span style="color:darkred">"prayers of all Saints"</span style="color:darkred"> (Revelation 8:3) are the wonderful sacrifices offered upon that Heavenly Altar. We have been proffered a look at the very place that the God That Hearest Prayer (Psalm 65:2) receives our petitions as a sweet savour. Our praise of God has been declared a sacrifice to God. <span style="color:darkred">"By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name"</span style="color:darkred"> (Hebrews 13:15). It is an important encouragement to our intercession that we understand and believe that God does not lose even one of our prayers. <span style="color:darkred">"And shall not God avenge His own Elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?" </span style="color:darkred"> (Luke 18:7).
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•	"4 <span style="color:darkred">And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the Saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." </span style="color:darkred">
The <span style="color:darkred">"smoke of the incense"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:4) represents the sweet savour of the LORD's acceptance of the <span style="color:darkred">"prayers of all Saints"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:3). Acceptance by God of ourselves and our prayers is the highest honor that mortal man can receive. <span style="color:darkred">"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service"</span style="color:darkred"> (Romans 12:1). Our voluntary presentation of ourselves to God enables Him to make us-- and our prayers-- well pleasing in His sight. "20 <span style="color:darkred">Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the dead our LORD Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the Sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, </span style="color:darkred">21 <span style="color:darkred">Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, '''working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight,''' through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen"</span style="color:darkred"> (Hebrews 13:20-21).
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•	"5 <span style="color:darkred">And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the Altar, and cast it into the Earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake." </span style="color:darkred">
Notice that the angel offered the incense with a <span style="color:darkred">"golden censer"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:3)-- used to take the burning coals into the Holy of Holies once a year for the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:12)-- now uses the same censer to execute the answer to those prayers. The angel fills the censer with the <span style="color:darkred">"fire of the Altar"</span style="color:darkred"> and casts <span style="color:darkred">"it into the Earth"</span style="color:darkred"> with resulting <span style="color:darkred">"voices, and thunderings, and lightning's, and an earthquake" </span style="color:darkred"> (Revelation 8:5). It appears that the Saints have been praying for the judgment of the Earth, as will be seen in the immediate sounding of the Trumpet Judgments. <span style="color:darkred"> "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O LORD, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth?" </span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 6:10).
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•	"6 <span style="color:darkred">And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound." </span style="color:darkred">
The<span style="color:darkred"> "seven angels"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:6) were ready to sound their trumpets because they had <span style="color:darkred">"prepared themselves"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:6). <span style="color:darkred">"Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not"</span style="color:darkred"> (Luke 12:40). If we will be ready, as the Apostle Paul was, i.e., <span style="color:darkred"> "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand"</span style="color:darkred"> (2Timothy 4:6), then the LORD will answer our prayers to take us Home to dwell in His presence. <span style="color:darkred"> "LORD, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble: '''Thou wilt prepare their heart,''' Thou wilt cause Thine ear to hear"</span style="color:darkred"> (Psalm 10:17).
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•	"7 <span style="color:darkred">The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the Earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." </span style="color:darkred">
1/3 of all <span style="color:darkred">"trees"</span style="color:darkred"> and <span style="color:darkred">"green grass"</span style="color:darkred"> will be <span style="color:darkred">"burnt up"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:7), when the First Trumpet Judgment sounds. Combined with fire and smoke, the air will be difficult to breathe. But, God will make a difference between His Tribulation Saints and the world He is judging. <span style="color:darkred">"And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the Earth"</span style="color:darkred"> (Exodus 8:22). <span style="color:darkred">"Hail and fire mingled with blood"</span style="color:darkred"> (Revelation 8:7) are an unnatural combination; and therefore, would be supernaturally provided by the LORD to accomplish the First Trumpet Judgment. But, the<span style="color:darkred"> "LORD shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His Heavenly Kingdom: to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen"</span style="color:darkred"> (2Timothy 4:18). 
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•	"8 <span style="color:darkred">And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;" </span style="color:darkred">
Again, 1/3 of something is affected-- this time by the Second Trumpet Judgment, i.e., the <span style="color:darkred">"third part of the sea became blood" </span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:8). The LORD will wisely judge the Earth, e.g., incrementally affecting only 1/3 of the sea, giving space for repentance for those who remain. An example of God's Wisdom in Judgment is Solomon's Wisdom in calling for the dividing of the baby. <span style="color:darkred">"All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the '''Wisdom''' of God was in him, to do '''Judgment"'''</span style="color:darkred"> (1Kings 3:28). Ultimately, the LORD will completely destroy the Nations of the Earth. But, first He will restore the Backslidden Church, then He will redeem Israel. <span style="color:darkred">"Fear thou not, O Jacob My servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished"</span style="color:darkred"> (Jeremiah 46:28).
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•	"9 <span style="color:darkred">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." </span style="color:darkred">
Additionally, in the Second Trumpet Judgment, 1/3 of sea creatures and ships will be destroyed by the <span style="color:darkred">"great mountain burning with fire"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:8) that is cast into the sea. This approximates an asteroid striking the Earth, causing 1/3 of the sea to become blood (Rev 8:8). The destruction of 1/3 of sea creatures will provide the blood that the Apostle John describes here. <span style="color:darkred"> "Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come"</span style="color:darkred"> (Joel 1:15). This Second Trumpet Judgment occurs approximately 4 prophetic years into the Tribulation Week, where the Seventh Seal Judgment coincides with the Abomination of Desolation at the Middle of the Week. 
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•	"10 <span style="color:darkred">And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from Heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;" </span style="color:darkred">
Aster is the Greek word for "star" (Rev 8:10). Our word asteroid is derived from this. In modern times, the "Tunguska Event" of June 30th 1908 at 7:40 AM in the remote region of central Siberia in Russia, is the closest thing to a <span style="color:darkred">"great star from Heaven"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:10) falling to the Earth. Scientists theorized that a comet fragment-- dust and ice weighing between 100,000 and 1,000,000 tons-- collided with the upper atmosphere of the Earth at 62,000 miles per hour. An aerial explosion occurred, creating a fireball that was visible 500 miles away. The energy of the shock wave from the aerial explosion was estimated to be equivalent to 10 to 15 megatons. It shook buildings and flattened 500,000 acres of trees, but it left no crater or cometary fragments. Abnormally bright night time skies resulted in Europe and Siberia for some time after the event, from the gases of the vaporized object. "9 <span style="color:darkred">But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; '''but the end is not by and by'''. </span style="color:darkred"> 10 <span style="color:darkred">Then said He unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: </span style="color:darkred">11 <span style="color:darkred">And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from Heaven"</span style="color:darkred"> (Luke 21:9-11).
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•	"11 <span style="color:darkred">And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter." </span style="color:darkred">
This Third Trumpet Judgment is an act of God, resulting from the impact of a star <span style="color:darkred">"called Wormwood"<span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:11). The bitterness of the water kills many, just as bitterness of soul inclines us to iniquity and death. <span style="color:darkred">"For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity"</span style="color:darkred"> (Acts 8:23), were the words of warning spoken to Simon the Sorcerer, after he attempted to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit. Bitterness is a state of discontentedness with God. <span style="color:darkred">"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled"</span style="color:darkred"> (Hebrews 12:15). But, during the Second Half of the Tribulation Week, God will repay the world's discontent with His vengeance, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"Therefore thus saith the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink"</span style="color:darkred"> (Jeremiah 9:15).
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•	"12 <span style="color:darkred">And the fourth angel sounded, 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, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise." </span style="color:darkred">
In our article, "For the Elect's Sake", we hypothesized that the Almighty would speed up the rotation of the planet by 50% during the Fourth Trumpet Judgment to cause night and day to come quicker and be shorter by 1/3.  <span style="color:darkred">"Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" </span style="color:darkred"> (Genesis 18:14). The overall effect of this Fourth Trumpet Judgment is a shifting of man's perception of time, as well as, utter chaos and confusion; while not breaking His Word that He gave in the Noahic Covenant. <span style="color:darkred">"While the Earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:22). As we approach the end of this age, the very weather we experience in our different localities will continually vary to the extreme, while technically not breaking His Word about the divinely appointed pattern of <span style="color:darkred">"seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:22). <span style="color:darkred">"The Earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein"</span style="color:darkred"> (Psalms 24:1). Our God is still a Sovereign God. And, <span style="color:darkred">"Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with Mine own?" </span style="color:darkred"> (Matthew 20:15). Unfortunately, our tendency is to underestimate just what the LORD will do to fulfil the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars by 1/3 in the Fourth Trumpet Judgment. But, the prophet Jeremiah had the right idea. <span style="color:darkred">"Ah LORD GOD! behold, Thou hast made the Heaven and the Earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee"</span style="color:darkred"> (Jeremiah 32:17).
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•	"13 <span style="color:darkred">And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of Heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the Earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!" </span style="color:darkred">
If the LORD was only designing to annihilate mankind at this time, why would He warn the wicked, <span style="color:darkred">"Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the Earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound"</span style="color:darkred"> (Rev 8:13)? Though these are the <span style="color:darkred">"days of vengeance" (Luke 21:22), God still is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance"</span style="color:darkred"> (2Peter 3:9). Multitudes will perish, <span style="color:darkred">"but for the Elect's sake those days shall be shortened"</span style="color:darkred"> (Matthew 24:22). When was the last time that an angel from the LORD was seen <span style="color:darkred">"flying through the midst of Heaven"</span style="color:darkred">, much less, warning mankind? How can anyone not believe that God is judging the Earth, and that these days are unique, i.e., <span style="color:darkred">"such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be"</span style="color:darkred"> (Matthew 24:21)?
[[Category:Revelation]]