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After the rapture starts the wrath of God -- a way in which the earth is totally cleansed of any human or demonic opposition to the government of God. This wrath is initiated when the 7th seal is opened and the seven trumpets are sounded. The Hebrew word for trumpet is usually "shofar" -- a sonorous wind instrument crafted from a ram's horn. Although trumpets could be made of metal Numbers 10:2, most of the time they were made out of an animal's horn (shofar). Therefore, what the apostle John probably saw were angels sounding the shofar.
Notice that these angels are important spirit beings that are constantly in the presence of God following His commands.
Revelation 8:2
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given
to them.
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Revelation 8:6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. The first four trumpet sounds bring destruction upon the inhabited earth. The last three are called woes. This is similar to the time of Noah's flood. People were marrying, building, and
planting, thinking they had a future, but instead they have no future.
Earth is destroyed by the 7 trumpet blasts. |
The First Trumpet 
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Re 8:7 The
1st sounded, 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. We must notice that the destruction is widespread (1/3 of the earth), and that it starts with small size particles -- hailstones. The size of the particles increases as well as the damage. |
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The Second Trumpet
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Re 8:8
The
2nd
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 souls, died; and a third of the
ships were destroyed. This incoming rock is the size of a mountain, and it falls in the ocean. The size of the incoming meteors continues to increase. The plagues continue to increase in severity with each trumpet blast. |
The Third Trumpet
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Re 8:9 The
3rd
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 size
now is like a star -- bigger than a mountain. This one falls on land. |
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The Fourth Trumpet
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Re 8:10
The 4th 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 whole planet is now covered with dust
that darkens the sky. Not only is the earth affected by this trumpet
blast, but the sun and the moon are also affected. |
The next 3 trumpet sounds are called "woes"
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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 last 3 trumpets continue to bring destruction upon the earth. |
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The Fifth Trumpet
Re 9:1 Then the 5th 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.
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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.
This is evidence that at the time of the
fifth trumpet there are some Christians with the seal of God still living on
earth.
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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.
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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. |
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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
6th angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the
golden altar which is before God,
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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." Notice the 4 angels bound at the River Euphrates. These are not angels that proceed from the throne of God, these are angels that have been bound for some time and when they are released they kill 1/3 of mankind by influencing people to war against each other. We have to contrast these bound angels -- probably demonic angels, to the angels that are free and go into the presence of God. |
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.
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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. |
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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;
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Re 9:21 and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their drugs, nor of their immorality, nor of their thefts. |
By this time there will be very few Christians alive on Earth. Only human scum will remain -- hardened individuals who will not repent and turn to God no matter how difficult the situation might become. During this time God will use his two witnesses to prophesy on this earth; but no people will repent, instead they will rejoice with the death of the witnesses.
Re 11:3
And I will give [power] unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days,
clothed in sackcloth.
Re 11:4
These are the two olive trees, and the two
candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
See Two
Witnesses.
The Seventh
Trumpet
Re 11:15 Then the 7th
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 7th trumpet, there are 7 bowls of wrath. The 7 bowls are the consummation of the Wrath of God. God curses the unrepentant people with more plagues. Notice that after the 6th trumpet there is no mention of repentance of the people, no matter how bad things get on earth.
When the 7th bowl of wrath is poured, Satan influences the one world government leader and his armies, along with some minor government armies to gather at Megiddo for the Battle of Armageddon to fight Christ and his saints Re 19:19. Of course, the devil is no match for Christ and his armies. 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 reader. Some of these stories are in reference to:
If you want to know at what point we are in history, see Timeline
