Then the angel took the censer, filled it with smoke from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. When the angel throws down the censer, the incense will no longer go up before God. The intercession on behalf of the world is over.
hen the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water--the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
In the yearly cycle of festivals that God commanded Israel to observe, the Feast of Trumpets came on the first day of the seventh month--just nine days before the Day of Atonement, when all sin was removed from the people (Leviticus 16:30). The trumpets were sounded to warn the people to get ready for that day. In the same way, the trumpets of Revelation are a warning to mankind to be reconciled to their Creator. ("Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.") This is, in fact, the message of Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6; Luke 1:17), which the Two Witnesses will be proclaiming.
The Trumpets, The Two Witnesses, and the Elijah Message
It is our understanding that the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 are the body of Christ--God's modern-day apostles--empowered by the Spirit of truth (John 15:26-27; Acts 1:8) and that they will come in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord. They will be ministers of reconciliation--ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven--and they will prophesy during the time of the trumpets. Notice this quote from Ellen White:
There will be a series of events revealing that God is master of the situation. The truth will be proclaimed in clear, unmistakable language. As a people we must prepare the way of the Lord under the overruling guidance of the Holy Spirit. The gospel is to be given in its purity... The message that means so much to the dwellers upon the earth will be heard and understood. Men will know what is truth. Onward and still onward the work will advance until the whole earth shall have been warned, and then shall the end come. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 96)
Here it is again, with comments interspersed to show how it applies to our understanding of Revelation:
There will be a series of events [the trumpets] revealing that God is master of the situation. The truth will be proclaimed in clear, unmistakable language [the three angels' messages]. As a people [the lampstands, or the human element of the Two Witnesses] we must prepare the way of the Lord [the ministry of Elijah] under the overruling guidance of the Holy Spirit [the olive trees, or the divine element of the Two Witnesses]. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 96)
The Seven Trumpets and the Story of Jericho
From another angle, the only other time in the Bible where seven trumpets appear is in the story of Jericho. There are some interesting points about this story that can further illuminate the significance of the seven trumpets in Revelation.
1. In the story of Jericho, Israel had already gone through its purification process (Numbers 25). We understand that there will be a time of shaking for the church to purify it and that this shaking will take place before the trumpets begin to sound.
2. All the Israelite army was together marching around Jericho; however, the actual trumpets were sounded by seven priests (Joshua 6:3-4). In the same way, it is our understanding that, while all of God's people will be together in the final proclamation of the gospel to the world, there will be a particular ministry for the 144,000 servants who were sealed as firstfruits of the harvest (Revelation 7:4; 14:1-5).
3. Although Jericho itself was destroyed, salvation came to Rahab and her household. At the end of the trumpets, we find that a tenth of the great city (Babylon) falls; however, God will call his people to come out of her (Revelation 18:4), and there will be many among the Gentiles who will receive salvation during that time (Amos 9:11-12; Acts 15:16-17).
The Trumpets: God's Final Call
It is our understanding that the trumpets of Revelation represent God's final warning to the world. This is a time of terrible calamity, such as the text of Revelation 8 describes; but it is a time of mercy for those who have not yet heard the gospel. Ellen White describes such a time:
In quick succession the judgments of God will follow one another--fire and flood and earthquake, with war and bloodshed.Oh, that the people might know the time of their visitation! There are many who have not yet heard the testing truth for this time. There are many with whom the Spirit of God is striving. The time of God's destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have had no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter. (Testimonies to the Church, vol. 9, p. 97)
Notice what Ellen White is describing:
- A quick succession of judgments,
- Probation is closed for those who have already heard the gospel,
- God's mercy is extended to those who have not yet had an opportunity to learn what is truth.
The Nature of the Judgments
John saw a series of judgments from God as the first four angels sounded their trumpets. While it is probable that there is symbolic meaning in the trumpets, there are good reasons to anticipate a primarily literal fulfillment. First, what John described can be explained in terms of modern scientific understanding. In other words, his vision of the first four trumpets need not have a symbolic meaning to make sense. Second, as we have already seen, Ellen White clearly states that God will send a series of judgments during which his servants will proclaim the gospel; and she describes certain of these, such as tidal waves, volcanic activity, earthquakes, fire, and flood:
Tidal waves: In the last scenes of this earth's history, war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague, and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. (Review and Herald, Oct 19, 1897)Volcanic activity: The earth's crust will be rent by the outbursts of the elements concealed in the bowels of the earth. These elements, once broken loose, will sweep away the treasures of those who for years have been adding to their wealth by securing large possessions at starvation prices from those in their employ. (3SM 391-2)
Earthquakes, Fire, Flood: I am bidden to declare the message that cities full of transgression, and sinful in the extreme, will be destroyed by earthquakes, by fire, by flood. All the world will be warned that there is a God who will display His authority as God. His unseen agencies will cause destruction, devastation, and death. All the accumulated riches will be as nothingness. . . .
Calamities will come--calamities most awful, most unexpected; and these destructions will follow one after another. If there will be a heeding of the warnings that God has given, and if churches will repent, returning to their allegiance, then other cities may be spared for a time. But if men who have been deceived continue in the same way in which they have been walking, disregarding the law of God and presenting falsehoods before the people, God allows them to suffer calamity, that their senses may be awakened. . . .
The Lord will not suddenly cast off all transgressors or destroy entire nations; but He will punish cities and places where men have given themselves up to the possession of Satanic agencies. Strictly will the cities of the nations be dealt with, and yet they will not be visited in the extreme of God's indignation, because some souls will yet break away from the delusions of the enemy, and will repent and be converted, while the mass will be treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. (Manuscript 35, 1906)
While we may not know the exact nature of the first four trumpets, they can be explained in terms of meteor showers, an asteroid impact on the sea (which would cause massive tidal waves), an asteroid impact on the land (earthquakes, poluted water), and volcanic activity (which would send up volcanic ash into the atmosphere that would absorb much of the sunlight). It is perhaps not important for us to know precisely what the trumpets are describing, but it is very important for us to understand what they mean.
What Do The Trumpets Mean To Us Right Now?
Based on our study of the Bible, we believe that, by the time the seven angels begin to sound their trumpets, we who have heard the gospel and have had the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as our Savior will have already been tested and sealed. For us, probation will have closed. On the other hand, there will be many, many people in the world who have never heard about Jesus, and the gospel will be taken to these in a matter of a very few years (the Two Witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days--about three and a half years).
What does this mean for us? It means that right now is the time for us to be cultivating our relationship with Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:7). The Bible appears to indicate that we are currently living on borrowed time and that we need to be ready right now to follow Jesus wherever he leads. He is the Commander of Heaven's army, and he is now preparing his troops for battle. "Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:13-18)
The prayers of the saints, made perfect through the incense of Jesus' righteousness, are ascending before God from the hand of the interceding angel (Revelation 8:3-4). Are some of them yours?
