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Revelation 8 7 th Seal and Trumpets 1-4 are Revealed In the Chapter 6, John left us hanging on who was represented by the 7 th Seal. Although we know Christ is the first and the last, this description stumped me for the longest time. I couldn t figure out why Christ was described with this event. Revelation 8:1 (Amp.Greek) (1) And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour. I finally figured it out months later when I amplified Chapter 15. When John went into the Throne Room in Chapters 4 and 5 he spoke of the sounds of angels and elders who were worshipping God night and day. Then, in Chapter 7, the 144,000 joined in. When the 7 th seal opens, there is silence in Heaven for half an hour. The only reasons there would be silence in Heaven is if everyone was told to be quiet, (which never happens), or if everyone leaves, which does happen at His return. Jude 1:14 (Amp. Greek) (14) Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these things saying, Behold the Lord cometh with an enumerable host of angels. Some translations say an enumerable host of saints, but the Greek word is Strong s G40 Hagios and it means angels. So we know the angels leave Heaven and come with Him on His return for the Bride. But do the 144,000 and the 24 elders get to come? Here is the Throne Room right before His return. Revelation 15:8 (Amp. Greek) The Temple of the New Jerusalem in Heaven was filled with smoke, which originated from the Shekinah glory of God, by which He made manifest to men His presence and His power, and no one was able to enter into the temple until the time that the seven calamities and afflictions of the seven angels, were finished. The seven calamities are the Bowls of Wrath, which the seven angels will pour out after the 7 th trumpet blows. Everyone is told to leave the Temple in Heaven until they have done their job. This means, the 144,000 and the 24 elders get to come along. Heaven is silent for the first time in history. Apparently, the bowls only take ½ hour to pour out. But that is not all that happens after the 7 th trumpet sounds. Christ raptures His Bride. Revelation 10:7 (Amp. Greek) (7) For when the time comes and you see the words of the seventh angel occurring when he sounds the last trumpet, the mystery of God, which is the completion of His purposes, and Christ s last act of testifying, will be accomplished. The mystery is complete when Christ returns from Heaven, just as He declared to His servants, the prophets. It appears the Throne Room will be empty for half an hour while all of this takes place. This would confirm either a Post-Tribulation/Pre-Wrath Rapture, in which case the Bride would be
removed before the Bowls of wrath are poured out. Or, it will confirm a Post-Tribulation rapture, in which case the Bride would be removed after the Bowls of wrath are poured out. Here are your confirming scriptures, which confirm the Bride will be removed before the Bowls of wrath are poured out. Ephesians 5:5-7 KJV - (5) For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (6) Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. (7) Be not ye therefore partakers with them. The wrath is for the disobedient, not the Bride. Colossians 3:4-7 NASB - (4) When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (5) Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. (6) For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, (7) and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. The Bowls of wrath are for the wicked, not the righteous. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-11 NKJV - (2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord [The return of Christ] so comes as a thief in the night. (3) For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.[seal #6- The wicked and unbelieving] (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. (5) You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. (6) Therefore let us not sleep, as others do [Like Sardis who slept while the enemy attacked], but let us watch and be sober. (7) For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. (8) But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and [as] a helmet the hope of salvation. (9) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. (11) Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. Whether we wake or sleep, we will live with Him forever. Wake G1127 Gregoreo - 1 Thessalonians 5:10, γρηγορέω means to live, be alive on earth. Sleep - G2518 Katheudo - b. euphemistically, to be dead: 1 Thessalonians 5:10 So, whether we are alive on earth when He returns, or already dead, we will all live together with Him forever. We need to encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT - (13) And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people
who have no hope. (14) For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. (15) We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. (16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. (17) Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. (18) So encourage each other with these words. When the 7 th trumpet sounds, the Dead Christians will arise and the Bride will be removed from the earth in a twinkling of an eye, and then the Bowls of Wrath will be poured out on the wicked and unbelieving left behind, because Christians are not appointed unto wrath. We have just found concrete scriptures to confirm a Post-Tribulation / Pre-Wrath Rapture. But there will be plenty more. Pretribulation believers use the I Thessalonians passage in their arsenal. They think the Tribulation is the wrath of God, and since we aren t appointed unto wrath, Christians will be raptured before it begins. What they don t understand is that the Tribulation is not the wrath of God. The Bowls of Wrath are the wrath of God, and Christians won t be on the planet when they are poured out. However, they will be on the planet during the Tribulation. But as we covered in Chapter 6, the Tribulation will take place in the Middle East, not the USA. Note: God s wrath could also include the punishment of Hell. So the Seal s timeline is complete. We have our seven key players or groups of players revealed. Seven is God s number and He saved Himself and the Bride for last. John now starts a new timeline called the Trumpet s timeline. I believe these timelines cover the exact same period of time. They run parallel to each other, not back to back, as people teach, and they both end with the return of Christ. Remember, Chapter 6 was an outline of the whole Tribulation. It revealed Key Players. The first seal was opened and Christ symbolically appeared with a rainbow, a crown, and His signet ring to mark the 144,000. Then we had the Antichrist, the False Prophet, Death and Hell Personified, the 144,000 Martyrs, the Wicked and the Unbelieving, and Christ with His Bride. Now we are going back to the beginning of the Tribulation to fill in the details. The Trumpet s Timeline is another outline of the whole Tribulation, but is reveals Key Events. Revelation 8:2-6 (Amp. Greek) (2) And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. (3) And another angel came and stood at the altar of incense, which was in the Holy Place in Heaven, He had a golden vessel used for burning fragrances; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with all the prayers addressed to God from Christians in every city upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the Christians, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. (5) And the angel took the golden vessel, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and
thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. (6) And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 1 st Trumpet Revelation 8:7 (Amp. Greek) (7) The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the lands: and a third part of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. Remember what the angel of the East said before He marked the 144,000 in Chapter 7? Revelation 7:1-4 (Amp. Greek) (1) After these things I saw four angels standing on the four extreme limits of the earth restraining the four cardinal winds from blowing on the earth, or the sea, or any tree. (2) And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal {signet ring} of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, (3) "Wait! Don't harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of His servants." (4) And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God-144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel : This proves they were marked at the very beginning before the first trumpet blew. Hail is hail. The blood could be blood rain. And fire from Heaven could be literal fire, because God has rained down fire from Heaven before. The fire will burn up one third of the trees and all of the grass in the areas where it lands. This is not a global thing. Just because it says they are falling on the earth, doesn t mean the entire planet is catching on fire. Here again: The Expository Bible Commentary by Gleason L. Archer Jr. teaches on the phrase The whole earth by saying it refers not to all known parts of the inhabited earth, but rather to the entire territory of the Near and Middle East that in any way relates to the Holy Land. The word ar a and its Hebrew equivalent eres does not necessarily mean earth in the sense of the entire inhabited globe, but depending on the context, might mean a single country or region. In almost every instance, the extent of the district involved is determinable from the context. 2 nd Trumpet Revelation 8:8-9 (Amp.Greek) (8) And the second angel sounded, and it looked like a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and a third part of the sea became blood; (9) And a third part of the creatures, which were in the sea, which had life, died; and a third part of the ships were destroyed. John was given these visions while he was imprisoned on the Island of Patmos. Patmos is located in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece, which extends into the Mediterranean Sea. Around the Mediterranean is where the prophesy of Revelation appears to be centered.
I may be wrong, but I believe this burning mountain could be an erupting volcano in the Mediterranean Sea, since this is the Sea located closest to Israel, and the Mediterranean is littered with over 200 active volcanoes. If one erupted in the water, to John it would look like a great mountain of fire in the Sea. A typical volcanic eruption sends mushroom clouds of ash miles into the sky with 25% of these gases making it into the stratosphere. This debris and smoke can block sunlight from reaching the earth, which will come into play later. But could a volcanic eruption cause 1/3 of the ships to be destroyed? It could, because they cause Tsunamis and that could take out the ships. Could a volcanic eruption in the sea cause 1/3 of the water to become red like blood, and could it kill 1/3 of the sea life? Indeed it could. Have you heard of red tides? Through research on various websites, I learned that Red tides are caused from harmful algal blooms (HABs), which 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. This plankton is so dense and toxic it either kills the sea life or poisons it, thus making it toxic for human consumption. People who consume these fish will break out in horrible sores. Which will come into play later. These blooms often take on a red or brown color and are called Red tides. Coastal water pollution produced by humans, and systematic increase in sea water temperatures have also been suggested as possible contributing factors in Harmful Algal blooms. Underwater volcanic eruptions have been proven to cause Red tides. Here again, one erupting volcano in the Sea would not turn 1/3 of the water on the planet to blood. It would turn 1/3 of the water within range of where it erupted in into blood. Therefore, 1/3 of sea creatures in the Oceans wouldn t be killed. Only 1/3 of the creatures in the water closest to the volcano would be killed. Also 1/3 of the ships in the world wouldn t be destroyed. Only 1/3 of the ships within range of the erupting volcano would be destroyed by the tsunami it would cause. Does that make sense? There are a few Trumpets where the Lexicons did not spell out what they are clearly, so I apologize if I get them wrong. 3 rd Trumpet Revelation 8:10-11 (Amp.Greek) (10) And the third angel sounded, and there fell an enormously large star from heaven, burning like a flaming torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the natural springs (11) And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and a third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. So what could this enormous star be, which is powerful enough to contaminate 1/3 of the rivers and natural springs near or in Israel? I have two thoughts. #1. I used to think it was a meteor. When you watch a video of a meteor falling towards earth, it looks exactly like a star from heaven burning like a torch. And depending on its origin, a
meteorite can contain components which could poison the water and the people who drink it. The largest meteorite to date exploded over Russia in 2013. It was estimated to weigh more than the Eiffel Tower. It s no coincidence they named the burning star which poisons the drinking water Wormwood. Wormwood is a plant which grows on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. They use it to make Absinth alcohol which was banned in several countries for its negative effects on humans. It has an extremely bitter taste. Here again, if one meteor hits some rivers and springs around the Mediterranean, it is not going to poison the rivers and springs in the United States. That is one theory. #2. My second thought came from Chapter 1, when Jesus held seven stars in His hands. The stars were metaphors for angels. The Greek word for star is G792 Aster, and there are many confirming scriptures to Revelation 8:10-11. Sometimes stars are stars, sometimes they are angels, sometimes they are false teachers, called wandering stars, and sometimes the star is Jesus, who is called the morning star. So without knowing for sure, I can only speculate, which I hate to do in this teaching. This enormously large star might be a meteor, but it could also be an angel named Wormwood, and this angel poisons 1/3 of the drinking water in a certain region of the Middle East. If John says a single enormous star will fall from heaven, then it is a single star or a single angel, not several nuclear missiles, as some believe. That means, if only one star falls over there, it won t poison the rivers of the entire planet. If fire falls from Heaven in the Middle East, it won t burn the grass in Texas. And if a single volcano erupts in the Mediterranean, the fish in Lake Erie will not die. I do not believe these events are world-wide but localized in Israel and the countries which surround the Mediterranean Sea. 4 th Trumpet Revelation 8:12 (Amp. Greek) (12) And the fourth angel sounded, and a third part of the sun was smitten by God that it may be deprived of light and shrouded in darkness, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars were also darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. As discussed earlier, the natural result of volcanic eruption is volcanic winter, where the debris in the stratosphere blocks the sun s rays. Another natural explanation could be smoke from all of the fires in the first trumpet. This could explain why the sun, moon and stars were shrouded in darkness one third of the time. Or it could be the hand of God and God alone. Revelation 8:13 (Amp.Greek) (13) And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the highest point in the heavens, which the sun occupies at noon, where what is done can be seen and heard by all, saying with a loud voice, Woe, Woe, Woe, to those who inhabit the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, which are yet to sound! The first heaven is the region of the clouds. The second heaven is where the sun is located, and the third heaven is where God and the angels reside. This angel is seen in the second heaven.
1 2 3 4 Everything thus far has confirmed that the events of the End Times will not originate in the United States. The next three trumpets are yet to come. But here is something which caught my attention. We know that when Satan originally fell from Heaven, he took a third of the rebellious angels with him and they were cast to the earth. How symbolic is it that a large star (Trumpet 3), possibly an angel, fell from Heaven like a burning torch (like Satan did, who looked like lightning) Luke 10:18 NLT - (18) "Yes," he told them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Then in the 4 th trumpet 1/3 of the stars (a metaphor for angels) were darkened. I just wanted to add that. Now we continue in Chapter 9 with more trumpets.
Revelation 9 5 th Trumpet (1 st Woe) 6 th Trumpet (2 nd Woe) 5 th Trumpet / 1 st Woe Revelation 9:1-12 (Amp. Greek) (1) And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw an star (angel) fall from Heaven unto the earth and to him was given the power and authority to unlock and open the bottomless pit of Hell, which was a common receptacle for both the dead and demons. (2) And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose smoke out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened, by reason of the smoke from the pit. (3) And there came out of the smoke an infernal kind of demon-like locust, which were let loose by Divine judgment, and unto them was given the power to sting and scatter the people. (4) And they were commanded not to hurt the grass, or any green thing, including the trees; but only hurt those men who didn t have the seal of God in their foreheads. (5) And they were commanded not to kill these men who didn t have the seal of God, but only torment them for five months: and their torment was like that of a scorpion, when he stings a man. (6) And when this time comes, men will look for an opportunity to die, but they won t find one. They will desire to die, but they won t be able to. (7) The shapes of these marvelous and infernal locusts, these monsters representing satanic agencies, which were let loose by Divine judgment to torment men for five months, were like horses that were fit and prepared for war. And what was on these animal s heads, is left to be decided by the reader, but it resembled a golden crown of some sort and their faces look like men s faces. (8) They had animal hair that looked like women s hair, and their teeth looked like lions teeth. (9) They had breastplates, consisting of two parts, protecting their bodies on both sides from the neck to the middle, which were made of iron. And the sound of these imaginary creatures wings were like the sound of war chariots drawn by many horses into battle. (10) And they had tails like scorpions, which could sting people, and their power was to hurt and do damage to men for five months. (11) They were subject to a master, who controlled them, who was and is the prince angel of the bottomless pit. The pit is an abyss of immeasurable depth found in the lowest part of the earth. In Hebrew, the prince demon s name is Abaddon. He is described as the angel prince of those infernal regions, the minister of death and the author of havoc on earth. The Greeks call him Apollyon the destroyer. (12) One woe is past. Behold, there are two more woes to come. John calls these creatures imaginary, not because they aren t real, but because he has never seen anything like them before. They didn t exist until his vision. There are a few things listed in Revelation which won t exist until his vision, like the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem and the location of the Battle of Armageddon. He is seeing into the future. These things will exist. Although it clearly states: there came out of the smoke of Hell an infernal kind of demon-like locust, which were let loose by Divine judgment, some believe John is describing military helicopters, which he didn t know how to describe in his time. These are personal interpretations, not Biblical ones. As I ve discussed earlier, I won t give you conjecture if there is Biblical proof to prove otherwise, and in the case of the first few trumpets, I apologized that I had to guess.
But these last few trumpets are very clear. This is why I don t believe they are military helicopters. #1 They only stung those who don t have the seal of God on their foreheads (How would a chopper pilot know what only God knows?) #2 - They only hurt the wicked and unbelieving for five months. (If a chopper fired at them, it would kill them instantly) #3 - They were released from Hell where demons are locked until this time. (They are not people who are currently enrolled in the military) #4 The Bible says they are satanic agencies, not people. That s good enough for me. Here is what I find so cool. Apollyon is in charge of them in the Abyss, but God is in charge of them when they are loosed. These demons have been locked up for a long time. But when they are released, they only punish the wicked. They aren t allowed to touch the 144,000. 6 th Trumpet / 2 nd Woe Revelation 9:13-14(Amp. Greek) (13) And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God (14) saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Let loose the four bad angels which have been bound in chains in the great Euphrates River, which flows down from the mountains of Armenia, down through Assyria, Syria, into Mesopotamia, through the city of Babylon and finally emptying into the Persian Gulf. Once more confirmation that the Trumpets will take place in the Middle East, not the U.S.A. Revelation 9:15-21 (Amp. Greek) (15) And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for this pre-determined time, to slay the third part of men. (16) And the number of the cavalry was two hundred million: and I heard the number of them. (17) And then I saw the cavalry of horses in the vision, and their riders. They had breastplates which covered them on both sides from the neck to the middle, which were shining like fire of a dark red, almost black colored, jacinth and sulphurous brimstone. The heads of their horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths broke forth fire, smoke and brimstone. (18) By the fire, smoke, and brimstone of their mouths, a third part of men were killed. (19) For their power was in their mouths, and in their tails. Their tails were like snakes with heads, and with them they inflicted injury. (20) And the rest of the wicked men, who weren t killed by the calamity and heavy affliction sent by God as punishment, did not repent and turn their souls away from worshipping the demon gods of the Gentiles, or the lifeless idols made in the images of those heathen gods, which were manufactured out of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood. (21) Nor did they repent and turn away from their sinful acts of murder. They continued using drugs for potions to cast spells during acts of witchcraft, having unlawful sexual intercourse, and stealing. Remember the Key Players revealed under the 6 th Seal? They were the wicked and the unbelieving who refused to repent. Before the Lord s return, a large group of them will be killed by these fire-breathers.
Here again, some people believe John is describing 200 million military helicopters, tanks, or the Chinese Army. However, that is unlikely, and here is why. #1 The Bible says they are demons which are loosed for a pre-determined time. (These 200 million are not living humans enlisted in the Military) #2 They breathe fire out of their mouths to kill only the wicked (There is no way 200 million military fighters would know who was wicked in God s eyes) #3 Their tails were like snakes with heads that inflicted injury. (I don t know of any military vehicle which has a tail resembling this description, nor one whose tail just inflicts injury but not death) Here again, God is in complete control. These calamities were sent by Him to punish and kill the wicked, not the righteous. Only the wicked and those not sealed by God are being affected by Trumpets #5 and #6. So far we have (1) hail mixed with blood and fire, (2) a volcano erupting in the sea, (3) a meteor or an angel named Wormwood contaminating the 1/3 of the rivers and streams they use for drinking water, (4) the sun, moon and stars being shrouded in darkness one third of the day and night, (5) demons stinging the wicked for five months and (6) a cavalry of 200 million firebreathing demons killing 1/3 of the wicked over there. If you recall, between the sixth and seventh seal, John gave us a fill-in-the-blank flashback to expound on the 144,000 who were instrumental in that timeline. Now, between the sixth and the seventh trumpet, John is going to do it again. He will take a divine pause to bring us another fill-in-the-blank flashback for more key players. Remember, whoever he unveils will be instrumental in the Trumpet s Timeline.