The Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls

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Note: You can jump to any particular seal, trumpet or bowl by clicking the button above and choosing a link.

Sequence of the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls

Before getting into the study, I would like to quickly go over the sequence for the seals, trumpets, and bowls. It may be premature if you haven’t studied this aspect of Bible prophecy before, but I think it explains the sequence of presentation here. There are views that the 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls all speak to the same events in different ways but for the reasons I will go over, I don’t hold that belief. The Bible should interpret itself and I feel that it does a pretty good job here. Lumping them all together typically leads to a belief that the seals, trumpets, thunders and bowls are all the wrath of God, but I believe it is more nuanced than that.

Transition from seals to trumpets:

Revelation 8:1,2
And when he 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.

I believe this is pretty clear evidence that the trumpets don’t happen until after all seven seals are opened, since the angels aren’t even given their trumpets until after the seventh seal. Even then, they do not blow them until the angel casts the censer to the earth after the seventh seal.

Furthermore we see in Revelation 7:1-3, which is between the sixth seal and the start of God’s wrath, the four angels who are given power to hurt the earth and sea are told to wait until the 144,000 are sealed before they can begin. Interestingly we also see at this time, just before God’s wrath, the uncountable multitudes in heaven from every nation before the throne in white robes that came out of great tribulation.

Transition from the trumpets to the bowls:

Revelation 11:15
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.

We see here that the seventh angel is sounded in Revelation 11. Notice this detail about the seventh trumpet...

Revelation 10:7
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

This tells us that the seventh trumpet isn’t a quick toot, but a blast which lasts for days. Keeping that in mind, lets examine when the trumpet sounds.

Revelation 11:15
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.

Later in Revelation, we see the angels get their bowls.

Revelation 15:1; 5-8
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God...

...And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

So the angels weren’t even given these bowls until after the seventh angel began to sound and these bowl judgments are specifically labeled as the seven last plagues that fill up the wrath of God. Notice how all seven of these bowls are poured out in one chapter and in pretty short and to the point ways. I believe this gives the impression of increased frequency. In fact, I believe that these bowls are all poured out during the days of the voice of the seventh trumpet. And finally, at the seventh bowl...

Revelation 16:17
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Here’s how I believe it looks laid out in a timeline. Notice the increase in intensity and frequency.

The table below shows the sequence over time

The Scroll & Seven Seals

Before I get into the details, we must define what the seals are all about.

Revelation 5:1-10
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a scroll written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the scroll, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the scroll, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the scroll, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the scroll, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Commentary from Revelationcommentary.org on the scroll, seals and what they mean:

Book written inside and on the back - There are probably as many questions about this phrase as there are letters that compose it. However, the questions can be grouped under three headings: (a) function, (b) content, and (c) form. Of the three, function is the easiest question to answer.

a. Function: First, a sequential nature is established. With the seven seals, the author indicates the seals are opened one after another. This format will be repeated in relation to the trumpets and bowl judgments that follow. The book is built around these three sequences. Second, Christ, who is uniquely able to break the seven seals, is clearly established as a sovereign who executes the will of the One seated on the throne—God, the Father. The Father has willed that the Son oversees its execution. John 5:22,27 and Acts 10:42 indicate that Jesus is Judge of all. This is the central purpose of the Revelation: to reveal the Son’s execution of the Father’s judgment against both the living and the dead. This naturally leads to the question of content.

b. Content: Once it is accepted that the seven seals are not a part of the contents of the scroll, but in fact are conditions to its opening, the reader is able to discern two things. First, John does not explicitly indicate what is contained in the scroll. However, with the breaking of the seventh and final seal, the first direct attack against the earth begins in the form of a trumpet judgment. That the trumpets are judgments of God will be detailed later. Second, since Revelation 8-20 contains the judgment of God against wickedness, the scroll must contain the eschatological judgment of God, else the contents of the scroll are never disclosed. This seems highly unlikely given the importance of the scroll indicated in Revelation 5. Ezekiel 2:9-10 speaks of a scroll similar to Revelation 5. Ezekiel’s scroll contained “lamentations, mourning, and woe.” All three terms are associated with disaster. All three express deep grief on the part of the afflicted.

c. Form: The exact form of the scroll is debated. However, taken at face value several points are obvious. First, the basic book form during John’s time was the scroll. The fact that all seven seals were visible argues for a scroll. The fact that the contents of the scroll could not be known until it was opened argues for a rolled up scroll. There is no historical evidence of a sealed scroll within a sealed scroll.

Sealed up with seven seals - There is historical evidence of scrolls containing seven seals. In both the Jewish and Roman worlds, seven sealed scrolls were very common. Specifically, Roman law mandated that wills be validated by the seals of five or seven witnesses. Jewish magic also employed the motif of seven seals.

The Seven Sealed Scroll

ValleyBible.net

The Greek word for book here is biblion which is not referring to a book as we know it today. It was a scroll. A scroll was made up of a long piece of papyrus or treated animal skin (parchment) and rolled up from both ends. Scrolls of those days averaged about 15 feet in length. John informs us that it had writing on both sides. “It was common in the first century for a person in authority to seal an important document so that its contents would remain secret. Roman law required a last will and testament to be sealed seven times, as illustrated in the wills of Caesar Augustus and Emperor Vespasian.”₂₁₅ “Such documents were sealed with wax or clay and could be opened only by a qualified person.”₂₁₆ “This kind of contract was known all over the Middle East in ancient times and was used by the Romans from the time of Nero on.

The full contract would be written on the inner pages and described briefly on the outside. All kinds of transactions were consummated this way, including marriage-contracts, rental and lease agreements, release of slaves, contract-bills, and bonds. Support comes also from Hebrew practices. The Hebrew document most closely resembling this scroll was a title-deed that was folded and signed, requiring at least three witnesses. A portion of the text would be written, folded over and sealed, with a different witness signing at each fold. A larger number of witnesses meant that more importance was assigned to the document.”₂₁₇

The scroll John saw in god’s hand is the title deed to the earth which He will give to Christ. Unlike other such deeds, however, it does not record the descriptive detail of what Christ will inherit, but rather how He will regain His rightful inheritance. He will do so by means of the divine judgments about to be poured out on the earth. (Revelation 6:12)

Ezekiel describes this same scroll in his vision of heaven: ‘Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe’ (Ezekiel 2:8-10).”₂₁₈ “It reveals the judgments of God to be poured out on the earth, Christ’s Second Coming to rightfully inherit and implement the title deed of redemption to planet Earth, and His righteous rule in the Millennial Kingdom.”₂₁₉

There is also archaeological evidence of ancient legal documents and bullae made to seal papyrus paper.

The scroll cannot be opened without opening the seven seals that are on the scroll and only Yeshua is worthy to open the seals. I believe the reason it is so important is that the end cannot come until the scroll foretelling the end is read. I believe John wept because he understood that it must be opened to fulfill prophecy and the second coming of Christ to take the kingdoms. It highlights the importance of the Lamb, Yeshua.

What is on the scroll? Given the progression of events through Revelation from the seals to the trumpets to the bowls, I believe the scroll has written on it the righteous judgments of the wrath of God, the 7 trumpets 7 thunders and 7 bowls, that will come upon the earth culminating like birth pangs closer and more intense toward the end. I believe scripture backs up this idea of the judgments of the seven trumpets and seven bowls being what is written on the scroll.

Ezekiel 2
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Zechariah 5
Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll [scroll]. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

I shared this progression at the top of this page from Revelation 8:1,2 where the seven angels are given seven trumpets only after the 7^th seal is opened. There is also only ½ hour time from the 6^th seal, where the terrified people of earth recognize God’s wrath, until all the seals are opened and the scroll can be read. The trumpets and bowls are delivered from heaven upon the earth. They are outside of man’s or Satan’s control.

Why would God have to open the scroll to begin His judgments? I believe that just like this 7,000 years of history will be a testimony of God’s immense love for all eternity, so too is the scroll a witness of God being outside of created time such that before anything was begun, even His plan of salvation, the end was known, and the judgments written. All creation will recognize those judgments as just and glorify God. It will be yet another eternal proof of God’s all-knowing presence.

Given that the wrath of God doesn’t start until the trumpets, it should also be clarified that the result of each seal being opened is not God’s wrath, but is focused on events on the earth leading to the end. So while Yeshua is not performing the actions resulting from breaking the seals, it shows His authority and that He is still in control of the timing.

Alan Kurschner also had a podcast on this topic pointing to some research pointing to the scroll being a certificate of debenture, or debt. My Understanding on the Symbolic MEANING of the Seven-Sealed Scroll: A ‘Certificate of Debenture’ – Ep. 144

Do the seals match the pre-signs Christ spoke of?

This idea was brought up by someone on a board, but I forgot to get the background links and now can’t find them. I also found later that Chris White has also addressed this view discussing the wars of the Antichrist.

So the seals that are broken by Christ off of the double-sided scroll that has the judgments of God written on them are completed before God’s wrath comes. The trumpets, thunders, and bowls in Revelation 8 through Revelation 16 contain the details of the coming judgments which Christ did not go into in the Olivet discourse. When Christ described the end, He just used the term “the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:”

Isaiah 13:6-13
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

If you do a search on the word “shaken” through the entire KJV Bible, you will see it shows up 22 times in 21 verses and in 7 mentions, it is suggestive of wrath or judgment of some kind.

I believe this shows the same progression that Christ spoke of in the lead-up to the abomination of desolation, the beginning of the last 3½ years of the end leading to the 1,000 year millennium. So the seven seals’ purpose is to seal the scroll written on both sides, which contains the judgments of the earth, the seven trumpets, seven thunders, and seven bowls. With this understanding, let us examine what the seals, trumpets, and bowls represent and what their breaking, blowing, and pouring will bring to pass.

Seal 1 (White horse)

Revelation 6:1,2
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

• Rider has a bow^G5115 (from base G5088; a bow (apparently as the simplest fabric): - bow.
  
  • [G5088 is: to produce (from seed) literal or figurative: bear, to be born, bring forth, be delivered, be in travail])
    
• A crown^G4735 (as a badge of royalty) is given to him.
  
• He spreads out conquering victoriously overcoming his enemies.

The first thought of a bow in the context of that passage is a weapon to fire arrows, but the Greek base of the word also brings in the idea of bringing forth something as well as the idea of a weapon being used to conquer. In looking for other scriptures speaking of a bow, the first to show up had an interesting possible correlation.

Genesis 9:13-17
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

• God sets His bow^H7198 in the clouds (From H7185 in the original sense (of H6983) of bending; a bow, for shooting (hence figuratively strength) or the iris:-X arch (-er), + arrow, bow ([-man, -shot])
  • [H7185 is: to be dense, i.e. tough or severe (in various applications):--be cruel, be fiercer, make grievous, be ((ask a), be in, have, seem, would) hard(-en, (labour), -ly, thing), be sore, (be, make) stiff(-en, (-necked))]
  • [H6983 is: to bend; used only as denominative for 3369, to set a trap:--lay a snare.])

This would also seem to fit with what Daniel prophesied regarding the 70th week of years determined for Israel and Jerusalem.

Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Bringing this all together, Yeshua warned in the olivet discourse to take heed that no man deceive you and that many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:4-5 Similarly he warned of both false christs and false prophets, both of which are foretold to come in Revelation 13. Matthew 24:24 He also said when talking to the unbelieving Jews that He was not recieved by them coming in His Father’s name, but another coming in his own name they would receive. John 5:43

So this rider of the white horse brings forth a covenant related to Israel and he is given governmental authority after which he begins a campaign to conquer. I would recommend reading False Christ | Will the Antichrist Claim to Be the Jewish Messiah? by Chris White. The research there that points to a Jewish Antichrist is very compelling and brings new light to this passage.

It would all seem to point to some convergence of events, triggered by Yeshua breaking the seal in His timing. A Jew in Israel does what nobody has been able to do, brings together a modern largely secular Israel to get behind restarting of the daily sacrifice. For this to happen a temple must be built, whether on the Temple Mount or in the City of David. Perhaps the re-emergence of the Ark of the Covenant or some other big event will bring more of secular Israel back to their faith or perhaps just the apparent fulfillment of multiple Old Testament prophecies by the future antichrist, building on the desire of the awaited Messiah Israel is currently blinded to. Romans 11:25

There is no doubt that these events would stir up the existing animosity against Israel by her surrounding neighbors and perhaps it is this sudden shift in Israel that causes the conquering to begin.

Seal 2 (Red G4450 [flame-colored] Horse)

Revelation 6:3-4
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 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: and there was given unto him a great sword.

• Rider is allowed to take peace G1515 (implied prosperity; rest or quietness) from the earth.
• This also initiates them [people] to kill G4969 each other (butcher: especially an animal for food or sacrifice) Implied mankind amongst themselves, not an outside force killing them like God’s Wrath.
• Was given the rider a great G3173 (great - loud, mighty, strong) sword G3162 (sword - [possibly derivative of G3163: battle, figurative: controversy] figurative: war, judicial punishment)

This seems a fairly straight-forward reading to follow after the rider of the white horse going forth to conquer, but there is perhaps a little nuance here. This rider removes prosperity, rest and/or quietness from the earth. It doesn’t say this rider kills people, but implies through the removal of peace, people are killing each other. For instance the same word is used in Matthew 24:10 regarding people betraying and hating one another.

In the paradigm of a Jewish Antichrist who has just triggered the rebuilding of a Jewish temple in Jerusalem and the context of the wars of the antichrist, this rider would likely follow.

On a more global scale, it seems that polarization is already ramping up for many reasons and it’s not hard to imagine that conflict could break out all over the world as emotions snap and hopeless people turn against each other over real or perceived crisis. This could be further triggered by reactions to the wars of the antichrist.

Seal 3 (Black Horse)

Revelation 6:5,6
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

• Rider has pair of balances^G2218 in his hand. (to join [especially by “yoke”], coupling, servitude [a law or obligation] literally: the beam of the balance [connecting the scales])
• A voice from the midst of the four beasts at the throne in heaven says:
  measure of wheat for a penny, three measures of barley for a penny; and hurt not the oil and the wine.

First we see the rider has a pair of balances, speaking to a yoke of servitude by law or obligation. Looking where else in the New Testament this is used would seem to verify this. Christ speaks of taking His yoke on us to find rest and that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Acts 15:5-11
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

This same word in Greek speaks to the burden carried keeping the law of Moses. Peter speaks to this burden of the law of Moses that Yeshua replaced with His own easy yoke for them that believe. We are not under the Law, but rather grace through Christ.

Exodus 29:1-2; 35-40
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
...And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

In addition to the bullock and ram, we see the wheat oil and wine are part of the initiation of the consecration of the priests and to start the daily sacrifice. Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (“Maimonides” or Rambam [1138–1204 A.D.]) interpreted the scriptural requirements for the temple sacrifices. I found this link on the temple sacrifices interesting.

Korbanot: The Biblical Temple Sacrifices
Only five types of animals could be brought as sacrifices: oxen, sheep, goats, turtledoves and pigeons. Other sacrifices known as flour-offerings (minchah) consisted of wheat or barley flour accompanied by olive oil and frankincense. Additionally, wine (and sometimes water) would be poured into specially designed cavities in the altar.

Links:
Wine-offering: Maimonides, Maaseh Hakorbanot 2.
Water-offering: Maimonides, Temidin U’Musafin 10:6–10..

Burning olive oil in the Temple’s Menorah was also part of a ritual offering to God. Exodus 27:20 In addition, meal offerings were brought to a Temple priest who burned a part of it on the Temple’s altar. Leviticus 2:1-9

We see oil and wine also included in the decree of Darius, reinforcing that of Cyrus the Great earlier, of the things which should be allowed for the Jews to make burnt offerings to God according to the appointment of the priests at Jerusalem around 518 BC.

Ezra 6:8-10
Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which [are] at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

Furthermore, we see in the destruction of Babylon, the lament of the merchants for her destruction, much of which os over the loss of buyers for their merchandise, including some of what is needed for the consecration of the priests and to start the daily sacrifice.

Revelation 18:11-13
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

Bringing this all together, it would seem to be speaking to the yoke of the daily sacrifice and return to the following of the law of Moses, which can’t start until the temple is rebuilt. Ever since Christ’s first coming, the daily sacrifice in the temple is done away with. However Israel as a nation never accepted Yeshua, that is yet to come. In their mindset, the temple and sacrifices are required of them. This would fit with the 180 degree flip of Christ’s easy burden and the demands of a return to the old ways with the return of the temple in Jerusalem. It also speaks to the value of the ingredients for at least the flour-offerings to start the daily sacrifice.

I should also point out that the millennium, when Yeshua is ruling the earth, also speaks to temple sacrifices. The Anticrhist’s apparent fulfillment of this Old Testament prophecy will only seem to bolster the idea that he is the Messiah at this time.

Seal 4 (Green/Pale Horse)

Revelation 6:7,8
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 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 unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

• pale^G5514 means greenish (verdant (Green with vegetation; covered with green growth. Lacking experience or sophistication; naive), dun-colored)
• Rider’s name is Death^G2288, and Hades^G86 (the place (state) of lost departed souls) accompanies him.
• A powerful capacity^G1849 (token of control, mastery, delegated influence, superhuman, potentate) was given to them over 1/4 part of the earth, to kill with cabers (long and broad cutlass), hunger, death, venomous beasts^G2342 of the soil^G1093

This would seem to be a continuation of the wars from the second horseman. Here death and hell are given power over 1/4 of the earth. This authority given them would seem to be the ability to command a quarter of the earth. This potentially fits in with Daniel 7, where he had a vision of four beasts from the sea. These are contemporaneous kings that are initially seen as diverse and distinct from each other, the fourth beast having 10 horns.

As Chris White lays out in the video linked below, he believes Daniel 7 is a view of the overall global political power around the time of the end. The wars of the Antichrist then follow and after the abomination of desolation in the mid-point of the 70th week of Daniel, we see a unified beast in Revelation 13 with all the charactersistics of Daniel 7’s beasts merged into the Antichrist kingdom.

P1 - Daniel 7 - How to Find the Antichrist 101 - A Pre-Wrath Commentary

So in this view, this fourth rider of the pale horse represents the control of just the 4th beast from Daniel 7, prior to the Antichrist being killed and resurrected then declaring himself to be God in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. The flow and compatibility with the rest of scripture to my understanding makes this the most logical interpretation at this point.

Seal 5 (Souls Under The Altar) Great Tribulation?

Revelation 6:9-11
And when he had opened the fifth seal, 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, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

I believe the fifth seal marks around the time of the abomination of desolation, when the antichrist will go after the nation of Israel as described in Revelation 12. Those who are killed are told to wait a little while for their fellow servants to be killed as they had. We know this is prior to the catching away to meet the Lord in the air because those that are alive will not precede the dead in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50-53) and the alive are promised to be kept from the wrath of God, which comes at least ½ hour after the sixth seal...

Seal 6 (Sun/Moon/Star Event)

The 6th seal, like the abomination of desolation, is a very pivotal time in end-time prophecy. It marks the time just before God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. It’s also important to understand the great tribulation according to scripture in order to fully understand how the sixth seal fits into end-time prophecy.

Revelation 6:12-17
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth 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?

Notice in the following passage that we have the people going into caves for fear of the Lord. This is the time when He rises “to shake terribly the earth.”

Isaiah 2:12-21
For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

But it is not just the earth that is shaken at this time.

Hebrews 12:23-29
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.

Isaiah 13:6-13
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
[Sixth Seal]
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
[Day of the Lord: God’s Wrath]
And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Now from Isaiah 13, we see that in the day of God’s fierce anger, He will shake the heavens with His wrath. This is the same thing described in Matthew and Mark as happening just after the sixth seal. I believe the “shaking of the heavens” is almost a 3½ year period of time as the 7 trumpets and 7 thunders and 7 bowls come upon the children of disobedience dwelling on the earth. So we see that Isaiah 13:13 connects the wrath of God with the shaking of the heavens. But can we know the timing of the sixth seal in the timeline of prophetic events?

Matthew 24:29-31
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [wrath of God Isaiah 13:13] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mark 13:24-27
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

With Matthew 24:29, the events of the sixth seal are placed immediately after the time of Jacob’s trouble, about 30 days after the abomination of desolation in accordance with the time specified for Israel in Matthew 24:15-28, Daniel 12:1, and Jeremiah 30:4-7. Click the link for a more in-depth Biblical analysis of the great tribulation. We also can see that the events of the sixth seal are before the shaking of the heavens, which is the wrath of God.

An interesting possibility was brought to light by David W. Lowe, author of Earthquake Resurrection. His premise is that the resurrection of the just at the harpazo is accompanied by an earthquake. Given that scripture says our gathering to Christ is after the man of sin is revealed at the abomination of desolation, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, and before the wrath of God, the timing of the sixth seal with its accompanying earthquake would fit in this timeline. In addition, the fact that the children of disobedience are going to be caught unawares because the day of the Lord comes like a thief, it would make sense then that we wouldn’t know the day or hour of the resurrection/harpazo if it coincides with this time of sudden destruction. While we won’t be in darkness considering this time, we still do not know the day or hour of it.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Matthew 24:32-36
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

We may not know the day or hour, but we’re not in darkness about the times. Could it be that the reason we aren’t told the day or hour is because the bride’s resurrection and catching away coincides with this event that is to catch the world off-guard? Biblically, the events all coincide, so it would seem to make sense.

Un-Blinding of Israel

And what about Israel? When I say Israel at this time, I'm speaking of those Jews who have not already accepted Yeshua. He said that Israel would be blinded until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Romans 11:25 He also said that the elect of Israel obtained it but the rest were blinded by God. We can see this in Luke 19:41-44 when at the Triumphal entry, Yeshua blinded Israel because they didn’t know the time of their visitation, the presenting of Himself as Meshiach Nagid. Zechariah 9:9 He also said that through Israel’s blindness, salvation would come to the Gentiles, or non-Israelites. One more thing He said was that we, the Gentiles, would provoke Israel to jealousy. To date I am unsure of any instance where the nation of Israel has been liked much by the world. Israel has been persecuted by the world as prophesied would happen. I think Israel is less trusting of anyone enough to be jealous of them.

However, the focus of their jealousy were not just Gentiles, but those to whom the salvation came due to this rejection of Yeshua, Christians. Now Israel has a bad history with those who call themselves Christians. This has given them little trust for “Christians” in general. However, if the church in  history and today truly stood for Truth in God’s Word, many of their blights and practices would not exist and it would not be possible to mingle with the world in uniting religions.

So why would Israelites be jealous of Christians? I believe the answer comes at the sixth seal. Most scripture about the day of the Lord is from the Old Testament. They know this and this event will be a big deal. I believe also that the harpazo is/will be known of enough that word would spread when the dead were raised and true Christians were suddenly gone. God’s wrath is about to be poured out. Is this the fullness of the Gentiles when Israel is un-blinded and provoked to jealousy from the catching away of those that love Yeshua upon their escape? Only 144,000 of the 12 tribes of Israel are sealed and all hell is breaking loose on earth. I know personally I don’t want to be on the earth at that time either. If there was an escape and I missed it, I would be jealous. Those left behind will still be saved if they accept Yeshua, but there will be a putting to proof, Revelation 3:10, during the events of God’s wrath and the hatred and murder of Jews and Christians for the next 3 1/2 years. Daniel 7:25

Other Scriptures about the timing of the sixth seal:

I think the other places describing the sun/moon/star event fall in line with the sixth seal description. Specifically because almost all of them are mentioned in relation to the day of the Lord...

• Isaiah 2:10-21 - This connects the day of the Lord, the people of earth hiding in caves and mountains for fear of the Lord, and the Lord rising to shake the earth as the same time. (The 7th seal is only ½ hour of silence in heaven, the sixth seal and first trumpet can be the same day.)
• Isaiah 13:10-13 - 6th Seal is before the shaking of the heavens (day of the Lord = God’s wrath)
• Joel 2:1-11 - The signs come before the day of the Lord (mentioned in context to the signs)
• Joel 2:23-32 - 6th Seal is before the day of the Lord (God’s wrath)
• Joel 3:11-16 - 6th Seal is before the shaking of the heavens (day of the Lord = God’s wrath = shaking of heavens: Isaiah 13:10-13)
• Matthew 24:29 - 6th Seal is immediately after the great tribulation (time of Jacob’s trouble) Matthew 24:15-22
• Mark 13:24-25 - The signs come immediately after the tribulation of Mark 13:14-20
• Luke 21:25-26 - The signs come before the shaking of the heavens (Isaiah 13:10-13)
• Acts 2:16-21 - The signs come before the day of the Lord (Quoting Joel 2)
• Revelation 6:12-17 - The sixth seal

See how this connects to a pre-wrath harpazo of the bride of Christ.

Seal 7 (Silence for ½ Hour)

Revelation 8:1,2
And when he 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.

Here we see the seventh and final seal opened, the last seal that needs to be broken in order to open the scroll. As I mentioned before, the sequence of the seals, trumpets, and bowls are evident from scripture. Notice that the seven angels don’t even receive their seven trumpets until after the seventh seal is broken. The half an hour is probably the time it takes to unroll the scroll and give out the trumpets to the seven angels before the wrath of God comes ½ hour later. In other words, the sixth seal and God’s wrath will most likely happen on the same day. This answers the question of how the people of earth could see God’s wrath coming if it is supposed to come suddenly like a thief, it’s only separated by ½ hour at the least. I also believe the catching away of the bride will happen in this short period of less than a day, the exact day and hour of which we won’t know.

Events Between the 6th and 7th Seals

I think the Holy Spirit guided the order given in Revelation for a reason and we should take it at face value. I believe the seventh seal isn’t concluded in Revelation 6 after the sixth seal because of this very reason. God wants to make it clear that the order is sequential. By placing the seventh seal two chapters ahead and just before the handing out of the trumpets, God makes it clear that the trumpets cannot occur until all seven seals are broken. It should also be noted that Revelation 7, the chapter that separates the sixth and seventh seal, has this to put into the sequence:

Revelation 7:9
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

This multitude is in heaven. We know this because the elders and beasts are there too. This is not on earth. Verse 14 says, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Please read the great tribulation study and Matthew 24:29-31 study for more on that. This is the fulfillment of the promise of Luke 21:34-36 and that to the church of Philadelphia as well. Revelation 3:10

Therefore, I believe looking at the sequence of the seals in line with the witness of other scriptures show a sequence of events starting at the abomination of desolation when the man of sin is revealed in the temple. He goes after Israel in Jerusalem as depicted in Revelation 12 until the remnant of them are protected, at which time he turns to those that hold the testimony of Christ. Then suddenly the signs of the sixth seal coincide with the coming of Christ and in one short time, the bride of Christ is gathered (Matthew 15:1-13) and the wrath of God begins after this silence.

There’s an interesting potential parallel from Zephaniah, which mentions the silence before the day of the Lord. Recall that the sixth seal is the signs of the sun, moon and stars and Christ comes in the clouds to gather the elect before the wrath of God is poured out.

Zephaniah 1:7-10
Hold thy peace H2013 at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

So let’s move on to the trumpets, the beginning of the wrath of God poured out on them that dwell on the earth, the children of disobedience.

Revelation 8:3-5
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. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. 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.

The Seven Trumpets:

The Day of the Lord and the Wrath of God begin

Trumpet 1 (1/3 Trees)

Revelation 8:6-7
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 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.

Red Rain - This phenomena was brought to my attention listening to Coast to Coast AM on October 25, 2007. Given the descriptions in the Bible regarding a rain of blood beginning at the first trumpet bringing God’s wrath, I thought I should put together some information regarding this. I suspect it will be blood, but some other odd things have fallen from the sky including blood. Some more cases can be read here. Is this what John saw at the first trumpet? I don’t know, but for the record I thought I would share. One thing of note discussed was that at high temperatures, this stuff in the water making it red started multiplying. Perhaps you know more about this, let me know!

In Kerala (2001) - “Heavy downpours occurred in which the rain was coloured red, staining clothes with an appearance similar to that of blood.”

Trumpet 2 (1/3 Sea)

Revelation 8:8,9
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; 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.

A good Hollywood visualization of “stars falling from the sky” or “hail and fire” and “a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea” can be seen in the movie Deep Impact. As in the film, you could imagine 1/3 of the sea dying with an impact in the Atlantic, almost 1/3 of the oceans on earth. I believe this is what will be seen immediately following the time of Jacob’s trouble when the sixth and seventh seals are opened. This is the first and second trumpets being blown, the beginning of the wrath of God, the day of the Lord.

Trumpet 3 (1/3 Waters Wormwood)

Revelation 8:10,11
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; 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.

Trumpet 4 (1/3 Sun/Moon/Stars Smitten)

Revelation 8:12
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.

I believe this is speaking of a change in the rotation of the Earth. If 1/3 of the day and night don’t shine, that’s like saying the earth is spinning faster and it would have an overall darkening effect.

The Three Woes

Revelation 8:13
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!

Trumpet 5 (Abaddon [Apollyon] From Bottomless Pit) Woe One

Revelation 9:1-11
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; 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: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

There is a place on the earth where no matter which direction you go, you are going South. Likewise there is another place where no matter what direction you go, you are going North. These are the North and South poles respectively. I believe this same concept is expressed with the term “bottomless pit.” Where is the only place you cannot go down, only up? In a 3-dimensional sphere, the very center. No matter which direction you went, you would be going up. I believe the bottomless pit of the Bible agrees with the hollow earth theory. In addition, if there is a core of magma, the idea of the lake of fire would seem to fit. In Revelation 9, the fifth trumpet of God’s wrath is sounded and an angel unlocks the gateway to the bottomless pit. From this comes an army of demon locusts with the power to torment for five months those without the seal of God on their foreheads. They are led by their king, Abaddon, or Apollyon. Could this be the ancient god of Greek mythology Apollo?

Trumpet 6 (Euphrates Angels) Woe Two

Revelation 9:13-21
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

The Seven Thunders

We don’t know much about these because John is specifically told not to write what he saw.

Revelation 10:1-4
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Before the seventh trumpet is blown, the second woe ends.

Revelation 11:3-14
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

I find it interesting how each woe are the final three trumpets. Except the second woe isn’t described as passing until after the two witnesses are resurrected and caught up even though the sixth trumpet is described several chapters earlier. I think this helps define the timing of the two witnesses as ending their 1260 day witness sometime around the sixth seal.

Trumpet 7 (Days of the Voice [Kingdoms are the Lord’s]) Woe Three

Revelation 10:5-7
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

This passage tells us that the seventh trumpet is sounded over an extended period of days, plural. The mystery of God will be finished, the return of Christ in glory, before the seventh angel stops sounding.

Revelation 11:15-19
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. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

This isn’t the end though, all seven bowls must be poured out before Christ returns in glory and before the mystery of God is finished. This is because God’s wrath is not poured out after Christ returns in glory. He returns at Armageddon, which isn’t even started to gather until the 6th bowl. The way this is resolved is that all seven bowls are poured out in quick succession while the seventh angels is sounding over the period of days up until Christ’s return in glory with His wife. Revelation 19:7-8; 11-14

As you can see above, there’s no widespread destruction elaborated in the seventh trumpet compared to the other trumpets, just an earthquake and great hail. This is one of three woes, separated out of the bunch for their severity. But we know that the seventh trumpet is sounded over a period of days. Revelation 10:7 We also know that the seven bowls are the last plagues. Revelation 15:1 This is primarily why I believe that the seventh trumpet actually contains the seven bowls. In other words, during the days when the seventh trumpet is being sounded, the seven bowls are poured out in quick succession like birth pangs going from the seals to trumpets to bowls, they are more intense and closer together. This would also explain why the seventh trumpet is the third woe. When it sounds perhaps within a matter of days the wrath of God in the last seven bowls will be poured out and completed. So when the seventh bowl is done, it is finished and the seventh trumpet is also finished. Babylon is destroyed in one day and then Christ returns in glory.

The Seventh Trumpet and the Last trump

There are some who view the seventh trumpet as the last trump, which calls us to the clouds in the harpazo. Here’s what the seventh trumpet and the last trump have in common:

• They’re both trumpets
• The seventh trumpet is the last of the trumpet judgments sounded

That’s where I believe the connection ends. Neither of these are definitive enough to state that they are the same trumpet. Here’s some reasons why I don’t believe this is a correct assessment:

• The “last trump” associated with our harpazo is the “trump of God.” Are all seven trumpets handed to the angels the “trump of God?” Are just one of the seven trumpets God’s trump? Can angels blow God’s trumpet or is it called the trump of God because God blows it?
• 1 Corinthians 15:52 states when the trumpet sounds the dead will be raised incorruptible. Revelation 20:4,5 says that resurrection is after Christ has returned and Satan is bound. There’s no mention of a trumpet at that point. So is the seventh trumpet after Satan is bound and after Christ has returned in glory?
• Matthew 24:30,31 does have a trumpet and a gathering of the elect. However, what is commonly overlooked is from where they’re gathered from, heaven. Somehow some of the elect were already in heaven at this point.
• Luke 21:34-36 states that we are going to escape the wrath of God and stand before the Son of man. If Christ doesn’t return until the end and God’s wrath comes before the end, then in order to stand before Him, we must be taken into heaven. This fits perfectly with the above scripture saying that heaven is from where we’re gathered. The harpazo is clearly delineated in scripture as pre-wrath.

I don’t believe the two common points above based on assumption can stand up to the scriptural evidence contradicting the assumption. It’s the same thing for the “first resurrection” term that’s often assumed to mean that no resurrection happened before it. I go into the Biblical explanation here.

The Seven Bowls (Vials):

Filling up (completing) of the Wrath of God

Revelation 15:1
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up^G5055 the wrath of God.

• Filled up (G5055)
  teleō (tel-eh’-o)
  From G5056; to end, that is, complete, execute, conclude, discharge (a debt): - accomplish, make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over, pay, perform.

Revelation 16:1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Bowl 1 (Mark of the Beast Sores)

Revelation 16:2
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Bowl 2 (Sea Turns To Blood)

Revelation 16:3
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

Could this be a severe case of harmful algea blooms?

Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae—simple plants that live in the sea and freshwater—grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. The human illnesses caused by HABs, though rare, can be debilitating or even fatal. - NOAA

Bowl 3 (Rivers Turn To Blood)

Revelation 16:4-7
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

Bowl 4 (Scorching Sun)

Revelation 16:8,9
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

What could this be? I believe it may be a solar flare timed with a weakening of the earth’s electromagnetic field enough to let the sun’s plasma strike the earth’s surface. What could cause a weakened magnetic field on the Earth? Recall the fourth trumpet judgement could be explained by an increased rotation of the Earth. This would strengthen the magnetic field, but with some of the judgements taking place, it could be an unstable time for our Earth. If the idea of a binary red dwarf to our Sun is a possibility, I could imagine that having several devastating effects laid out in the wrath of God.

Isaiah 30:25-28
And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. [Zechariah 13:9] Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity [self-focus]: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. [Bridle: History of the Mystery of Iniquity]

Global Warming & the Day of the Lord

Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Weakening 10 Times Faster Now (July 8, 2014)
Earth’s Magnetic Field May Be About to Go into Reverse (May 10, 2007) - The weather in space is controlled by events at the centre of the Earth. A pity, then, that the magnetic field generated there may be about to go into reverse. GREENLAND was discovered without the use of magnetic compasses. The Viking longboats that arrived here in 982 relied on the stars and the sun to maintain their orientation. But it was the compass (a Chinese invention) that enabled later European navigators to bestride the world. It was the compass, too, which revealed that the Earth itself has a magnetic field and thus led to the first serious question about the planet’s internal structure: what is down there that generates this field? Such a question is not merely academic. Besides directing compasses, the Earth’s magnetic field reaches out into space to direct the flow of the solar wind around the planet—forming a structure called the magnetosphere (depicted above). When the wind hits this field it creates a shock wave known as the bow shock. Most of the protons and electrons of the wind go round this shock wave, and lots of dangerous radiation from the sun is thus diverted away from the Earth. There is, however, a growing body of evidence that the Earth’s magnetic field is about to disappear, at least for a while. The geological record shows that it flips from time to time, with the south pole becoming the north, and vice versa. On average, such reversals take place every 500,000 years, but there is no discernible pattern. Flips have happened as close together as 50,000 years, though the last one was 780,000 years ago. more...
I believe this could be part of the cause for the fourth bowl of God’s wrath: Revelation 16:8, “And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.” With a weakened magnetic field around the earth and a solar flare directed at the earth, we would see plasma from the sun scorch the earth.

Bowl 5 (Seat of the Beast)

Revelation 16:10,11
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Bowl 6 (Kings of East & Gathering To Armageddon)

Revelation 16:12-16
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

This bowl is evidence that the bowls are poured out completely before the seventh trumpet is done sounding because Christ’s return is to Armageddon, but the armies aren’t even gathered until the 6th bowl.

Some interesting information on the Southeastern Anatolia Project (aka GAP) put together by John Reynolds.

Bowl 7 (It Is Done!)

Revelation 16:17-21
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

This is the final judgement from God on adulterous Jerusalem who killed the prophets. This is laid out in the prophetic symbology of the beast of Revelation, whose history is laid out in the visions of Daniel and John. More detail can be seen summarized in the the fourth kingdom.

Isaiah 34:1-2, 4-5, 8
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD [is] upon all nations, and [his] fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. ... And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling [fig] from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. ... For [it is] the day of the LORD’S vengeance, [and] the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Revelation 6:12-16
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

It’s interesting that the day of the Lord, the day of the wrath of God, is tied to the controversy or dispute of Zion, God’s holy hill. This whole idea of the woman (Jerusalem) sitting on Mount Zion representing adulterous Israel and the dragon’s seven heads the Gentile influence over her combined with the judgment of Bayblon filled up in the seventh bowl ties this all together.

God will judge Jerusalem, the seat of the dragon at the time, and cast her down utterly. It is from these ruins that the Messiah will raise up His new city and temple and rule undisputed from then on. Once the wrath of God has recompensed her, the dispute over Jerusalem will be over forever.

Which of the seals, trumpets, and bowls are God’s wrath?

Some of this will be review of the details above, but I don’t think we should ignore the events that occur in the seals, trumpets, and bowls and which of these are God’s wrath. The seals are explanations of events happening resulting from Christ opening the seals. This provides the understanding that He is in control. His breaking the seal initiates events that transpire on earth.

The first four seals are four horsemen that do things on the earth. God’s wrath comes from Him while these descriptions seem to be describing happenings on the earth that lead up to God’s wrath.

1. Seal 1: White horse - Conquering rider
2. Seal 2: Red horse - rider given power to take peace from the earth (Rider takes peace from the earth, not God.)
3. Seal 3: Black horse - famine on earth (I think this may have to do with our genetic manipulation mixed with weather changes and governmental controls...not entirely sure though.)
4. Seal 4: Green horse - Rider is death and Hades follows him. 1/4 of the earth under their power to kill with sword, hunger, death, and beasts of the earth (wasn’t from God’s wrath, but death and Hades)
5. Seal 5: Souls under altar killed because of the Word of God (wasn’t from God’s wrath)
6. Seal 6: This event is more of a sign than wrath brought on the earth. An earthquake does happen that will probably kill some, but no worse than has already been happening. (Can we define this as God’s wrath?)
7. Seal 7: ½ hour silence in heaven (I don’t see anything in this that could be considered God’s wrath)

That’s the seals. We should remember that we’re not appointed to God’s wrath, but there really isn’t anything here that appears to be God’s wrath, just Christ initiating events showing He is in control. The actual aggressors result from un-restraining certain people, groups, etc.

Remember also that the seven seals are all done before the trumpets are handed out. Revelation 15:1 Now lets examine what the trumpets do and see if that is God’s wrath.

1. Trumpet 1: Hail, fire mingled with blood cast to earth burning 1/3 of the trees and all green grass.
2. Trumpet 2: Meteor hits ocean killing 1/3 of sea life and 1/3 of ships as well as turning 1/3 of it to blood.
3. Trumpet 3: Wormwood star falls from heaven making water bitter and killing many.
4. Trumpet 4: 1/3 of sun, moon, stars smitten. (as opposed to sun black as sackcloth, moon blood red, and stars falling, not darkened)
5. Trumpet 5: Woe 1 - Demon locusts from the bottomless pit and Abaddon (Apollyon = Greek god Apollo?)
6. Trumpet 6: Woe 2 - Loose 4 angels bound in Euphrates River (1/3 of men killed by them)
7. Trumpet 7: Woe 3 - Kingdoms of this world are become kingdoms of the Lord.

How is the seventh trumpet the third woe? There are lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail, but that doesn’t seem like much compared to the first two woes. I believe the answer comes from scripture:

Revelation 10:5-7
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

The seventh trumpet is sounded over a period of days plural. I believe that the third woe are the seven bowls, the filling up of God’s wrath.

Revelation 15:1
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

These seven bowls are the seven LAST plagues. It would follow then that there were plagues before them (7 trumpets) and that these seven bowls occur after any previous ones. I believe they are actually the third woe, part of the seventh trumpet being poured out in quick succession during the days of the seventh trumpet.

1. Bowl 1: Mark of the beast sores
2. Bowl 2: EVERYTHING dies in the sea as the whole sea is turned to blood. (as opposed to 1/3 in the 2nd trumpet)
3. Bowl 3: Rivers turn to blood
4. Bowl 4: Scorching sun.
5. Bowl 5: beast’s kingdom full of darkness.
6. Bowl 6: Frog spirits gather armies to Armageddon.
7. Bowl 7: It is done: Earthquake greater than any earthquake since man has been on the earth and a plague of hail exceedingly great

I believe all this shows that the seals are not God’s wrath, but that God’s wrath begins with the censer and trumpets and ends with the seventh bowl. I believe what I have presented shows that these are sequential except for the seventh trumpet which contains the seven bowls, but it does begin to sound before the bowls. Here is a chart of how I see the seals, trumpets, and bowls: