When the 7th seal is opened

When the 7^th seal is opened, the apostle John sees seven angels with seven "trumpets". The Hebrew word for trumpet is shofar, a sonorous wind instrument crafted from a ram's horn. Therefore, what the apostle John actually saw were angels sounding the shofar.

What follows is the destruction of the earth heralded by the 7 trumpet blasts.

Revelation 8:2
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

Revelation 8:6
And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.
The first 4 trumpet sounds bring destruction upon the inhabited earth.

The last 3 are called woes.

The First Trumpet

Re 8:7 The 1^stsounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

The Second Trumpet

Re 8:8 The 2^nd angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The Third Trumpet

Re 8:9 The 3^rd angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

The Fourth Trumpet

Re 8:10 The 4^th angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

The next 3 trumpet sounds are called "woes"

Re 8:13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"

The Fifth Trumpet

Re 9:1 Then the 5^th angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.

Re 9:2-4 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Re 9:5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.

Re 9:6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.

Re 9:7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.

Re 9:8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.

Re 9:9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

Re 9:10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.

Re 9:11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

Re 9:12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

The Sixth Trumpet

Re 9:13 Then the 6^thangel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

River Euphrates

Re 9:14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

Re 9:15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

Re 9:16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

Revelation 9:17
And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.

Re 9:18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.

Re 9:19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

Re 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

Re 9:21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

The Seventh Trumpet

Re 11:15 Then the 7^th angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."

Re 11:16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

Re 11:17 saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.

Re 11:18 "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

After the 7^th trumpet, there are 7 bowls of wrath. The 7 bowls are the consummation of the wrath of God. God curses the unrepentant people with plagues. Notice that after the 7^th trumpet there is no mention of repentance of the people, no matter how bad things get on the earth.

When the 7^th bowl of wrath is poured, Satan influences the one world government leader and his armies, along with some minor government armies to gather at Armageddon and make war with Christ and his saints Re 19:19. Of course Christ is no match for the satanic forces; the one world government leader and his "false prophet" are thrown in "the lake of fire" Re 19:20; Satan is chained for a thousand years; the first resurrection occurs Re 20:5, and the millennium begins.

There is a series of stories interjected among the scope of the book of Revelation in order to give more information to the readers. Some of these stories are in reference to:

The message to the angels of the 7 churches (congregations), Re 2:1.

The 144,000 sealed from the tribes of Israel, Re 7:4.

The big company in front of God's throne, Re 7:9.

The 2 witnesses, Re 11:3.

The nation of Israel and Christ's followers through time, Re 12:1.

The one world government referred to as "the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns", Re 13:1.

The important city referred to as a "woman sitting upon the beast" or "Babylon the great", Re 17:1.

If you want to know at what point we are in history, see Timeline

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