The Seven TrumpetsRevelation 8:6-11:18

Judgment Proclaimed (8:6-13)And although there is a repetition of scenes . . . this is not as though the events occurred twice. Rather, since those events

that are future to them have been decreed [by God] to happen, these things are spoken twice. . . . For the sevenfold

Holy Spirit [1:4], when he has passed in revue [the events] to the last time, to the very end, returns again to the same times and supplements what he had said incompletely. Nor ought

we inquire too much into the order of the Revelation. Rather, we ought inquire after the meaning, for there is also the

possibility of a false understanding.

— Victorinus of Petovium, Commentary on the Apocalypse 8.1-2, ACCS

Judgment Proclaimed (8:6-13)

The first four trumpets are represented as bringing woes upon nature or partial destruction of the world.

They represent woes upon nature in its fourfold aspect. This is the classification of nature as it was known to men in that day: land, sea, fresh waters,

heavenly bodies [Gen 1:6-10]. Part of the symbolism is taken from the plagues of Egypt; part is from

historical events of John’s own day.

— Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb 155

Judgment Proclaimed (8:6-13)

• vv. 6-12. The First Four Trumpets

• Hail & fire (Exo 9:24-25)

• Blood (Exo 7:20-21)

• Wormwood (Amos 5:6-9)

• Darkness (Exo 10:21-23)

Judgment Proclaimed (8:6-13)A few years before this writing Mount Vesuvius had erupted (August, A.D. 79) pouring forth a fiery flood which engulfed

Herculaneum and Pompeii . . . . Ashes from the burning mountain fell on ships far out in the sea and upon the distant shores of Egypt and Syria. Pliny relates that there was first

an earthquake followed by the eruption which sent an avalanche of fire down the mountainside into the sea. Many

who eluded the streams of lava were suffocated by the sulphurous [sic] fumes which reached far away. The sky was darkened so that Pliny said, “It was now day elsewhere, but

there night blacker and thicker than all night.”

— Summers 156

Judgment Proclaimed (8:6-13)• vv. 6-12. The First Four Trumpets (cont.)

• Intensification = 1/4 (ch. 6), 1/3 (ch. 8), all (ch. 16)

• v. 13. The Three Woes (Hos 8:1)

• 1st Woe: 5th trumpet (9:1-12) = Pestilence

• 2nd Woe: 6th trumpet (9:13-21) = Conquest

• The Witness of the Church (10:1-11:14)

• 3rd Woe: 7th trumpet (11:15-19) = Final Defeat

A Just Reward (9:1-21)

• vv. 1-12. The Fifth Trumpet

• A fallen star (Luke 10:17-18; Rev 12:9)

• The bottomless pit (2Pe 2:4, 9; Mat 25:41)

• A great furnace (Gen 19:23, 27-28; Jude 6-7)

A Just Reward (9:1-21)These words can refer to the first fall of the devil from his

angelic rank because of his pride and envy, or it can refer to his destruction through the cross of the Lord, when, as the

Lord says, “the ruler of this world is judged,” cast out of his ancient tyranny [John 16:11]. . . . Because of his accusations and calumny against people, he has been called “accuser,” which he is. . . . And although the saints have been accused

and slandered by him, as was also Job, yet by their sufferings for the sake of Christ they have conquered him as well as all

those who trusted in him [Job 1:12, 2:6; 42:10].

— Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse 12.7-8, 10-12, ACCS

A Just Reward (9:1-21)• vv. 1-12. The Fifth Trumpet (cont.)

• Limited freedom (1:18; 20:1-3)

• Limited time (Mat 24:22)

• A demonic swarm (Exo 10:12-15; Joel 1:4; 2:1-11)

• Abaddon = Apollyon = Destruction = Satan

A Just Reward (9:1-21)• vv. 13-21. The Sixth Trumpet

• Four angels (7:1)

• Euphrates = the frontiers of the Empire

• 2 x 10,000 x 10,000 = 200 million riders (7:9)

• The plagues of war = fire, smoke & sulfur

• Demonic worship (Isa 9:13-17; 1Co 10:14-15, 19-22)

• A warning unheeded (Dan 5:22-23; Luke 10:19-20)

A Just Reward (9:1-21)The description given in this passage is such as to

terrorize any opponent. Feature a horse with a lion’s head, with fire, smoke, and blazing sulphur coming from his mouth, with a poisonous snake in place of a tail! The

combined efforts of P.T. Barnum and Robert Ripley could not produce such an animal! Now multiply that by

200,000,000 and get the picture of the army marching on Rome. This whole picture is given to symbolize

external invasion which would serve as an instrument of God’s hand to punish the oppressors of his people.

— Summers 159

A Just Reward (9:1-21)Through these words the magnitude of the evils is revealed. For it is common among those in severe

troubles to call upon death. But it is from the judgments of God that death does not come to those in

the midst of trouble who seek it. For he considers it beneficial to use the bitterness of tribulations to make hateful that sin which was the mother and patron of

their torments.

— Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse 9.6, ACCS; see Psa 119:71

The Angel & the Scroll (10:1-11)

• vv. 1-11. A Mighty Messenger

• Divine authority (Rev 1:1, 14-15)

• Universal mystery (5:7; Luke 8:10)

• Too little, too late (9:21; Dan 12:3, 8-10)

The Angel & the Scroll (10:1-11)The mystery of God to be fulfilled when the seventh

trumpet sounds is his plan to unite all things in heaven and earth under Christ’s headship (Eph. 1:10), making

visible to all the sovereignty by which the Son now orchestrates every event for his church’s welfare (Eph.

1:20-22). This “mystery” includes the unrestrained expression of God’s wrath, signified in the bowl

judgments, toward all who resist his reign (cf. Rev. 15:1, where “finished” translates the same verb [Gk. teleō]

rendered “fulfilled” in 10:7).

— The ESV Study Bible; see 2Th 2:9-12

The Angel & the Scroll (10:1-11)

He was to assimilate it, make it part of himself. In his mouth the little book would be sweet. This no doubt symbolizes the

sweetness, the joy of receiving a revelation from God and the delight of being trusted with the responsibility of his message. Every preacher knows this joy. Every preacher with the right

feeling in his heart knows, too, the bitterness that comes in the delivery of God’s message of condemnation to men in sin. . . . The thought of the dreadful consequences of the

revealed wrath of God as it falls upon sinful man is a bitter thought no matter how necessary that judgment may be.

— Summers 162; see Eze 2:9-3:3, 14

The Angel & the Scroll (10:1-11)“It is necessary that you again . . . [prophesy] . . . among peoples and tongues and nations.” When John saw this revelation, he was on the island of Patmos, having been

condemned . . . by Caesar Domitian. There, it seems, John wrote the Revelation, and when he had already become aged,

he thought that he would be received [into bliss] after his suffering. However, when Domitian was killed, all of his decrees were made null and void. John was, therefore,

released . . . and afterward he disseminated the revelation that he had received from the Lord.

— Victorinus of Petovium, Commentary on the Apocalypse 10.3, ACCS

The Two Witnesses (11:1-14)The faithful already live anticipatively in the new age by faith in the resurrected Lord (Rom. 6). Eternal life is viewed as already present (1 Tim. 6:12; 1 John 5). Believers are already presently

sharing in the coming reign of God. Nonetheless, amid continuing history there still remains this period “between the times” in which the reign of God has been inaugurated yet not consummated as expected in the last days. In commending to Timothy both physical training and godliness, Paul instructed him to be simultaneously accountable for the “promise for both

the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7–8).”

— Thomas C. Oden, Classic Christianity 3.9.1, internal citations omitted

The Two Witnesses (11:1-14)• vv. 1-14. Kings & Priests

• Heavenly temple (Eze 40:2-5; Eph 2:19-22)

• Earthly court (Dan 8:13; Luke 21:24)

• Holy city (Gal 4:25-26; Heb 12:22-24)

• 42 mos. = 1,260 days = a limited time (Dan 7:25)

The Two Witnesses (11:1-14)• vv. 1-14. Kings & Priests

• Witnesses, olive trees, lampstands (Deu 19:15; Mat 18:16; Zec 3:1; 4:9-14; Rev 1:6, 20)

• Power in preaching (Acts 4:33; Rom 1:16-17)

• Power in prayer (Jam 5:15-18; Rev 8:3-12)

• Power in persecution (Eze 37:4-10; Rev 7:2-3)

The Two Witnesses (11:1-14)The great city . . . is identified as the site of the martyrs’ death and

their Lord’s crucifixion. See also references to “the great city” in 16:19; 17:18; and five times in 18:10–21, where in these instances

“the great city” is symbolically identified as “Babylon,” a euphemism for Rome. In this verse (11:8), however, the symbol is

apparently to be understood in a broader sense to include Jerusalem, where the two martyrs are killed and the “Lord was

crucified.” It is likely that John has merged Rome and Jerusalem here into one combined symbol . . . . Thus the symbol . . . had

broad significance in John’s day, but it also stands as a representative symbol for every empire that grasps after divine

glory and afflicts Christ’s church even in this present day.

— The ESV Study Bible

The Heavenly Sanctuary (11:15-19)

The seventh trumpet reveals the day of judgment in which the Lord will reward his own followers and

banish those who have corrupted the earth. . . . The six previous trumpets . . . proclaimed the course of the

various struggles of the church. This seventh trumpet is the messenger of the eternal sabbath [Heb 3-4] and

of the victory and dominion of the true King.

— Bede, Explanation of the Apocalypse 8.2, 11.15, ACCS

The Heavenly Sanctuary (11:15-19)

• vv. 15-19. The Last Trumpet (1Co 15:51-57)

• The kingdom of God & Christ (Dan 7:14, 27; 1Co 15:22-27)

• The nations rage (Psa 2:1-6)

• Holy of Holies (Heb 8:1-2; 9:12; 10:19-25)

The Seven TrumpetsTrumpet Symbol Result

First Hail, fire & blood 1/3 burnedSecond Burnt mountain in sea 1/3 bloodiedThird Stars fall on waters 1/3 embittered

Fourth Sun, moon & stars 1/3 darkenedFifth 1st woe: locusts Partial destructionSixth 2nd woe: Euphrates 1/3 killed

Seventh 3rd woe: Heaven Reward & reign

Recapitulation in RevelationSeals Trumpets Bowls

Conquest Hail, fire & blood EarthWar Burnt mountain in sea Sea

Scarcity Stars fall on waters WatersDeath Sun, moon & stars Sun

Prayers offered 1st woe: locusts Beast’s thronePrayers answered 2nd woe: Euphrates Euphrates

Heaven 3rd woe: Heaven Air

Works Cited• Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Ed. Thomas C.

Oden. InterVarsity, 2003. Accordance.

• The Comprehensive Bible Cross References. Ed. T. E. Clontz & J. Clontz. Cornerstone, 2011. Accordance.

• The ESV Study Bible. Ed. Lane T. Dennis & Wayne Grudem. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. Accordance.

• Oden, Thomas C. Classic Christianity. HarperCollins, 2009. iBooks.

• Summers, Ray. Worthy is the Lamb: An Interpretation of Revelation. Nashville: Broadman, 1951. Print.