Expounding the Trumpet and Vial Judgments in the Book of Revelation (PART 1 of 2)

Expounding the Trumpet and Vial Judgments in the Book of Revelation (Part 1 of 2) [Print Document]

Revelation 10:7

“[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.”

God was putting on my heart to write an article about Revelation 10:7. This article will look at the deeper meaning behind the verse and how it applies to the world today and in the future. Let’s look at the last part of Revelation 10:7: “... the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” When the seventh angel has sounded his trumpet, the prophecy of the future and of judgments on the earth shall be fulfilled.

In Revelation 8-9, we read about six trumpets that are sounded by six angels. The seventh angel blows his trumpet in Revelation 11. These trumpets announce sequential judgments that literally shall fall upon the earth and shall affect billions of people. Some Christians think these judgments are figurative or allegorical, but we must go according to God’s Word and the Spirit of God, and not man’s opinions. I encourage you to seek God for yourselves to see if what I am writing here is of God. (See Jeremiah 33:3 and John 16:13.).

An Overview of the Trumpet Judgments

Let’s look at an overview of the trumpet judgments in Revelation 8-9.

The 1st trumpet — Hail and fire, mingled with blood, are cast upon the earth. All the green grass is burnt up and one third of the trees are burnt up. The blood is literal blood. It is the blood of those who were martyred for their

faith in Jesus and in God’s Word. (God showed me this. You may seek God about this.). In Revelation 16:4-7, the rivers and fountains of water are turned to blood. It is revealed why this will happen. Revelation 16:6 says: “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” For the same reason, this blood is poured upon the wicked as judgment for the shedding of innocent blood and for shedding the blood of the martyrs.

The 2nd trumpet — A giant asteroid falls into the sea and a third of all fish and other sea creatures are killed. And, a third of the sea becomes blood. That means, a third of all the ocean is blood. A third of the ships are destroyed. This judgment will devastate the world economy. Many countries depend on the sea for transportation and food. The blood-filled sea would make transportation slower and more costly. Also, without a third of the fish, the food supply would be significantly harmed.

The Marine Stewardship Council said on their website some interesting facts about the consumption of fish:

“In 2013, fish accounted for about 17% of the global population's intake of animal protein.”

“In 2013, fish provided 3.1 billion people with almost 20% of their intake of animal protein.”

“In some countries, fish accounts for more than 25% of animal protein intake.”

The 3rd trumpet — The star wormwood is an asteroid that is filled with a very bitter and poisonous substance. This asteroid breaks apart in the atmosphere and the pieces land in many areas to make the water bitter and poisonous (i.e. it kills men who drink it). The pieces land in a third of the rivers and upon the fountains of water (i.e. streams and springs) around the world.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization stated:

“In fact, all the major rivers in the world — from the Rio Grande to the Nile — have their headwaters in mountains and one of every two people on the planet depends on mountain water in one way or another: for drinking, as a source of energy or income, for growing food.”

So, 50% of the world population depends on water that originates from mountains in the form of springs, melting snowpacks, rain, and other forms of runoff. For a third of this to be poisoned would severely impact hundreds of millions of people. This third trumpet judgment is a very powerful plague with devastating results. But, most of the people during the tribulation period are very stubborn, and will not repent.

The 4th trumpet — The sun, moon, and stars will be smitten by this judgment. Only two thirds of the normal light from the sun will reach the earth. (One third of the sunlight does not reach the earth.) Because only two thirds of

the light from the sun reaches the earth and the moon, the moon only reflects two thirds of the light it normally would. It is a third dimmer than normal.

Of all the stars that can be seen from the earth, their light intensity will be darkened by a third. Only two thirds of their light will reach earth. Daylight will be much dimmer than normal, and temperatures on the planet will drop. This will not last that long because all life on earth would die if it did. God showed me that this cooling of temperatures and reduced sunlight will cause crops to have lower yields. There will be less food available for the world.

The 5th trumpet — A star falls from heaven onto the earth. This star has a key to open the bottomless pit. This star is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name is Apollyon (Revelation 9:1 and 9:11). A hole opens up in the earth and a smoke ascends out of this hole. The dimensional barriers that keep demonic creatures from manifesting in our dimensions are removed, and hideous, demonic creatures come out from the depths of the earth.

These demonic creatures are shaped like horses ready for battle. They each have the head of a man and the wear crowns. They have hair the length of a woman’s. Instead of having human teeth, they had sharp teeth like the teeth of a lion. They had breastplates and they likely resembled centaurs. They had insect-like wings and scorpion tails. For five months these demonic creatures will torment people who do not have the seal of God (or the mark of God) on their foreheads. (See Revelation 9:10 and 9:4-6).

These are literal creatures, and are not figurative because the Bible clearly describes how they sting men and torment them like the torment of a scorpion. There is nothing in the text to indicate this is figurative. It is an actual judgment that shall happen to the ungodly. This is a special time in history when the wickedness of mankind is great, and when the devil will have access to torment wicked people.

The 6th trumpet — Four principalities on the devil’s side are released from the Euphrates River to lead a host of demonic creatures to kill one third of the earth’s population. 200 million horse-like creatures with demon riders go forth to kill men by way of fire, smoke, and burning sulfur (brimstone). On the rear of these creatures are tails that are snake-like. They have the heads of poisonous serpents. (It says in Revelation 9:19 “…they had heads, and with them they do hurt.”).

(Blue flames appear as sulfur burns
 in Indonesia's Kawah Ijen volcano.)

These demonic creatures are clearly described as horse-like with lion-like heads. They also have riders (Revelation 9:17) whose breastplates were fiery, sulfuric, and of a dark red color (the color of jacinth or hyacinth. {See the footnote}). The fire, smoke, and brimstone come from the lion-like heads of the horse-demons.

These are not modern or futuristic weapons. These are demonic creatures that Satan uses to execute God’s judgment on the wicked. The devil executes God’s judgment because the devil loves to kill, and rebellious people have given themselves over to the devil. In Psalm 78, the Bible says that evil angels fulfilled God’s wrath on the wicked Egyptians.

Psalm 78:49 says: “[49] He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.”

____________________

Footnote:

Huakinthinos is the Greek word for hyacinth (i.e. jacinth). It is: “a red color bordering on black” and also refers to a flowering plant. (See Revelation 9:17).

____________________

The 7th trumpet — This trumpet announces the vial judgments which come in quick succession. The vial judgments take place in a very short span of time because they take place in one year. God will hold the world accountable to the ten commandments, which are in the ark of the covenant (Revelation 11:19: “…the ark of his testament:…” ). The reason God will hold them accountable is that He revealed Himself to every person on earth, and convicted them that He exists, and convicted them of wrongdoing (Romans 1:18-25, John 3:18-21, John 1:9). These last judgments will bring in Jesus Christ to reign on the earth and bring an end to the Antichrist’s kingdom, which will only last seven years (Daniel 9:27).

The 7th trumpet is a judgment that takes place in seven stages during the course of a year. If you are ready, you can click on this link to read about the vial judgments from Revelation 16. We will expound on them in the next article.

_____________________________

If you are coming here as a non-Christian, I encourage you to read this. God desires to have fellowship with you, as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

Dear reader, we have a loving Creator God, Who made all things that exist, that did exist, or ever will exist. He loves us greatly and does not desire that any should perish in Hell (2 Peter 3:9). But, He cannot stop us from making wrong choices because He gave us a free will. He wants us to know Him personally and know His love for us, which He demonstrated by sending Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins (Romans 5:8-10).

This love for us is calling out to us every moment, gently and with conviction because the Bible says that the invisible things of God are clearly seen by those who are made, even God’s attributes and care (Romans 1:19-20). Therefore, we are without excuse. We cannot say we never knew that God was calling out to us. I encourage you and ask you, with concern for your soul, that you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

Only He can save you and only He can make you whole (Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, John 14:6). Only He can give you true life and eternal life in Heaven. Only Jesus Christ’s blood, which was shed about 2,000 years ago, can wash away all your sins, and mine (Hebrews 9:22). Won’t you make Jesus your Savior and Lord? You may not see tomorrow. What will become of your soul when you die? Trust Jesus, and you will have certainty of being in Heaven, and Abba God, the Father, will be able to love on you more than you could realize, and adopt you into His home.

2 Peter 3:9 — “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Romans 5:8-10 — “[8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. [10] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 10:9-10 — “[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Acts 4:12 — “[12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

_________________________

References:

“Fish as Food.” Marine Stewardship Council. msc.org.

Kourous, George. “Mountains and Fresh Water.” U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. fao.org.

____________________________

Richmond Gyimah's Testimony of Heaven and Hell