The 7th seal is divided into seven sub-sections, each introduced by a Trumpet blast. The seven Trumpets, in other words, constitute the 7th seal; they are the 7th seal in terrifying detail.
Remember this important point, for great confusion will result if the seven seals and the seven trumpets are treated as two separate prophecies. The 7th seal is introduced with these words:
| Revelation 8: | 1: And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2: And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. |
| Revelation 8: | 7: 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. |
At this Trumpet, mighty continents housing millions of human beings will be devastated by hail and fire mingled with blood. Similar scenes, though on a much smaller scale, were witnessed in ancient times at the destruction of Sodom and Egypt (Genesis 19:24, Exodus 9:24). The God of Israel, then, literally rained hail and fire on mankind because of their grievous sins and stubborn refusal to acknowledge His authority. The same thing is due to happen at the 1st Trumpet. We are also told, one third of the world's forests and all of the green grass will be burnt up. As foretold in Revelation 7: 1-3, the four winds are beginning to hurt the earth and the trees.
What these events do, to the agricultural output of the world, is difficult to imagine, but it is quite obvious, this 1st Trumpet ushers in the terrible Time of Trouble! It is a time of international turmoil and terror unparalleled in the history of humanity.
| Revelation 8: | 8: 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; 9: 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. |
At this Trumpet, one third of the earth's oceans will congeal like the blood
of a dead man. The sea, like the earth and trees before it, is being
hurt as foretold in Revelation 7: 1-3. All of the traffic on the
ocean/s involved will stop; all the fish in those waters will perish. In
addition to these immediate effects, there will be other awesome
repercussions, such as freak weather conditions, lack of rain water, fresh
air and oil. The oceans of the world, as any ecologist will confirm,
regulate the weather and help purify the very air we breathe. So the death
of even one ocean is a catastrophe of unimaginable magnitude. This Trumpet,
in short, will disrupt the weather, the agricultural output, the economy and
the physical welfare of the whole human race.
At about this time, the sun will begin to scorch the earth, for the cooling
effect of the oceans will have diminished and drought will become a
world-wide problem. Hunger and thirst will, then, become as common in the
West as they are today in the East. The Great Tribulation will have
entered its second terrifying stage.
| Revelation 8: |
10: 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; 11: 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. |
Like the 1st and 2nd Trumpets before it, the 3rd Trumpet causes untold damage and distress on earth. A third of the rivers and fountains of water are to be polluted and many people die as a result. The question is often asked: could not the terms earth, sea, trees, grass, ships and fish be symbolic?
The AVITW - USA does not deny, the possibility for it obviously does exist. Indeed, some of the terms (trees, grass, fish etc.) could easily be taken to represent people and scriptural texts found in support. The main reason why we favor the literal translation, however, and avoid references to people, is because 'a third of mankind' is scheduled to die under the 6th Trumpet. That frightening fact by itself, which is expressed twice in Revelation 9, verses 15 and 18, compels us towards the opinion, the hurting of a third of the sea, a third of the ships, a third of the rivers, a third of the trees and all the green grass cannot also refer to people, but must, at least on a lower plane, refer to the literal sea, ships, rivers, fish, trees and grass. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine, what else they could be, especially when we remember, a third of the human race is scheduled to die at the 6th Trumpet. Nevertheless, and we say this without reservation, symbolic representation may still be present here; but to date we have not come across any person capable of explaining away the anomalies such an interpretation would create.
| 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. |
The punishment hitherto confined to this planet now mounts up to the heavens. The sun, moon, and stars are somehow smitten and begin to shine with a greatly diminished beam. How this almost unimaginable catastrophe is brought about is not explained, but it is obvious, if this trumpet is understood in a literal sense, then physical light as we know it will be greatly reduced on earth. This could be the result of enormous amounts of dust, ash and smoke being produced by the natural catastrophes mentioned earlier.
Once again we ask the question: Could it be, this Trumpet presents a symbolic picture of heavenly powers, and that the sun, moon and the stars in this instance actually stand for spiritual agents of light and energy; perhaps angel beings?
The possibility obviously must exist, especially in view of the plain statement like: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). If this were the case, then this Trumpet's reference to darkened stars could well present a drastic reduction in angelic authority throughout the universe. A third of the angelic host would be smitten by God, and their privilege and ability to radiate spiritual light taken from them. This Trumpet, then, may be the prelude which is mentioned in Revelation 12:
| Revelation 12: | 9: And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. |
Yes, the 4th Trumpet could well have symbolic overtones, but whatever its interpretation, it sets the scene for another dark age, a spiritual twilight zone, in time, when light from heaven will diminish greatly and Satanic activity on earth will increase sevenfold.
The picture presented so far is undoubtedly grim and the reader is probably wondering if there is any good news in this catalog of catastrophe; any protection for the true believer in the terrible Time of Trouble. We are happy to report, there is a great deal of good news and a most encouraging degree of protection; but these blessings are conditional, being reserved for those who genuinely endeavor to obey God (Read Deuteronomy 28 for proof of the principle that the blessings of God are reserved for the obedient).
We have already seen, the Seal of Yahweh, the God of Israel, is His law, and that His Sign (signature) is the Sabbath commandment in His law. We have also seen how, 144,000 believers will at that time accept the Almighty's Seal in their minds, and will begin keeping the commandments of God with faultless dedication and effect. The blessings, which follow that kind of obedience will be beyond comparison and will manifest themselves in many miraculous ways during the Time of Trouble. One of the blessings will be that of divine protection. A perfect example of the protection afforded the to the 144,000 sealed believers in the Time of Trouble is given in Revelation chapter 9, which outlines the event of the 5th Trumpet. In verse 4, we note with great relief, at that time all sealed believers (those who obey Yahweh's law) will be supernaturally protected from torture and abuse. All others will suffer. This matter of divine protection is dealt with later. Yes, there will be protection during the Great Tribulation, but it will be reserved for those who obey the Almighty God and bear His Seal. Of all mankind, they alone will be kept from Satan at the time of the end, and will walk unscathed through the fiery trials just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did in ancient Babylon (Daniel 3). Indeed, those bygone experiences in Daniel's day were especially staged by the Eternal as miniature demonstrations, prophetic prototypes of a mighty deliverance, which is to be repeated on a world-wide scale before the entire universe, when the Almighty will once again miraculously protect His obedient servants form the terrors of the Evil One.
Bearing these reassuring thoughts in mind, let us now return to the prophecy of the seven seals, for there are still three trumpets to explain. The last three Trumpets (5, 6 and 7) are so fearful, that even by angel standards they are classified as '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! |
| Revelation 9: |
1: 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. 2: 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. 3: 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. 4: 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. 5: 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. 6: And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. |
No one will deny, but, here before us is a picture of absolute terror, when for 5 months earth's mighty population, all except the sealed servants of Yahweh, will be tormented by a host of merciless beings, who are to arise from the bottomless pit. For obvious reasons, we will not dwell on this frightening aspect of the prophecy once having presented it. Instead, we will briefly answer the following questions and point to a way of escape.
The general lack of interest in the Revelation has, over the years, resulted in a dearth of information about the Bottomless Pit. But, it is obviously a subject, which all of the world should know about; for is not mankind going to be tormented for 5 months by beings, which come out of the bottomless pit? The answers to those two questions about the bottomless pit and it occupants are of vital importance, so let us closely study the matter.
The original Greek word abussos is translated in the Bible (in Revelation 9:1) as bottomless pit. Some Bible dictionaries render abussos as 'abyss.' The word abussos means, exceedingly deep gulf or pit. Abussos is also used in Luke's gospel where it is translated simply as the deep. In the incident recorded in Luke 8: 26-36, we are given an important clue as to what the abyss is and how frightened evil angels are of being sent there. If the reader will turn to Luke's gospel, he will see, in verse 31, how certain devils who had taken possession of a man were themselves terrified of being ordered into the abyss. They literally begged the Messiah for permission to enter a herd of swine rather than be sentenced to the abussos the exceedingly deep pit.
From this incident, we can see, the abussos, the Bottomless Pit is a place or condition, which evil angels dread; a kind of spirit penitentiary or dungeon, which existed thousands of years ago.
Strong's concordance, describing the 'bottomless pit' says it is a:
"pit of immeasurable depth, a very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth used as the common receptacle of the dead and especially as the abode of demons."
It is from somewhere within that unlit dungeon, that a myriad symbolic locusts will arise at the 5th Trumpet or 1st Woe (Revelation 9: 1-3). What are these locusts that torture mankind for five months? They are evil angels, devils of mind-bending depravity, who were sentenced to the abyss long before the early Christian era. At this very moment they are still chained and completely immobilized within the blackness of the abyss, held there in total darkness awaiting the judgment of the Great Day. Here is proof of this astounding fact.
| 2 Peter 2: |
4: For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to
hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved
unto judgment;
|
| Jude 6: | And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. |
Yes, fallen angels are, at this moment, held captive in the abyss, the Bottomless Pit, fettered in a way we humans do not properly understand, so the symbol of a 'chain' is used to help us. At the 1st Woe, a mighty angel (star) will be divinely authorized to open the abyss, and out will pour this host of devils like the smoke of a great furnace (Revelation 9: 1-5). The only people on earth who will be protected from their sadistic onslaught will be the ones who bear, in their foreheads, the Seal of the God of Israel. All others will be tormented. Here is proof of this frightening fact.
| Revelation 9: | 4: 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. |
Without laboring the point, we will at this stage, again respectfully remind the reader to seriously consider accepting Yahweh's Seal, for fearful, indeed, will be the lot of those who reject it. References in this woe to Abaddon, the king of the bottomless pit (verse 11) are covered later where the identity of this king who is to ascend from the bottomless pit is considered.
Revelation 9:12 brings us to the end of the 1st woe (the 5th Trumpet). The reader will have noticed, even though the scenes portrayed here are fearsome, divine protection is assured to those who have God's Seal, especially from the terrors of Abaddon the Destroyer from the Abyss!
