Chapter 17
Judgment Continues The Sounding of The Seven Trumpets

A Novel By Dave White

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so you will be tested, and you will have tribulation…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.  (Revelation 2:10,11)

After The Vanishing Ch 17 The Trumpet Judgements

We find the account of the seventh seal beginning in Revelation chapter 8:

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he may add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hands.
(Revelation 8: 1-4)

Silence in Heaven

Silence in Heaven for one-half hour? Imagine the solemnity of such an event. Remember the sixth seal has released unimaginable terror upon mankind, with much more to follow-it’s simply an unfathomable event. All that comes to mind is why? Why does this have to happen? The answer exists, but words do no justice to its meaning. This whole chain of events shouldn’t have to happen but they must, it is all somehow necessary.

For those Left behind at the rapture but have come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, rest assured, your prayers are reaching the throne of God. These tribulation saints will endure pain and suffering and hardships like none before them and none will ever endure again.

Keep believing His promise:

He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21)

The account of the seventh seal and the seven trumpets continues:

And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
The first 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.
The second 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 that were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third 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 of the men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.
The fourth angel sounded, 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.

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!” (Revelation 8:6-13)

As we’ve discussed earlier, the first four trumpet blasts are the after effects and the continuation of the terror unleashed in the nuclear war described in the sixth seal. Now, mankind must live with the devastation.
Remember, the judgment and wrath of God are that he allows us to experience life completely devoid of His Spirit and influence. His church is long gone from the earth and Anti-Christ has been quite successful in the first half of the tribulation. In essence, God is saying “O.K. you asked for life without restraint, you’ve got it”. Paul described it this way:

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God…and their foolish heart was darkened…Professing to be wise they became fools…Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity…
because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. (Romans: 2:21,22,24, 2:5)

If you are forced to live through these awful judgments what will be your response to God?
Will you repent, by acknowledging the fact that you have gone astray, and are in need of correction? Will you accept the judgments from God as righteous and true? Or will you shake your fist in anger to God declaring “How could You?”
The choice is yours.

The Fifth Trumpet- the Bottomless Pit

Beginning with the seven seals and through the first four trumpet judgments, the events and occurrences are likely explained as the natural outgrowth of a nuclear/biological war. The ultimate expression of man’s inhumanity to man.
With the sounding of the fifth trumpet, a new supernatural element is introduced,

Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; the key to the bottomless pit was given to him.
He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went 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 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.

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.
And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
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.
The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
(Revelation 9:1-6, 11, 12)

The Fallen One

The star that has fallen is undoubtedly Satan, finally expelled from heaven and the presence of God. Satan, up until this time has always had access to the throne of God as the “accuser of the brethren”, but now he is cast out. The key to the bottomless pit is given to Satan and the most vicious demons are released to wreak havoc upon the earth. Mankind, having chosen the religion of self-satisfaction and unrestrained freedom over the governance of the one true God, is about to experience life without the restraining influence of The Holy Spirit of God. The bottomless pit has always restrained the worst of the worst Satan had to offer. Now they are let loose on the earth, yet, with restrictions; those that have the seal of God by a living faith in Jesus Christ will be spared the torment. This will cause one of two possible reactions; either one will repent and turn to faith in Jesus Christ or one will form an almost unbreakable shield of deepening anger and rebellion against Him. To see the hand of God protect his own and still not turn to him is almost beyond belief!

Yet, most will continue in their rebellion and refuse the grace of God. At that point, the Judgements only get worse.
There is also some speculation that this passage in Revelation is an attempt by John to use the locusts as a 1st-century description of an attack helicopter equipped with a nerve gas that afflicts people but leaves plant and animal life unharmed. That’s a possibility, but, in either case, the above passage is clear, the plague will last five months and God’s people will be supernaturally protected.

The Sixth Trumpet- The Army From The East

Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 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. The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million, I heard the number of them. 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. And a third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone.
(Revelation 9:13-18)

You will recall in chapter 7 we have already identified China as the only possible country capable of fielding an army of 200 million men. In context, here is a replay of that prophecy:

The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.  (Revelation 16:12)

In our prophecy outline, we have already witnessed Russia and Her allies attack Israel, and we’ve seen God defend the holy land, anti-christ then launches a counterattack against Russia and the Muslim alliance. China has been characteristically quiet, waiting for just the “right” opportunity! With the rest of the World decimated by the war, China, “The Kings from the East,” makes Her move. Revelation 9:13-18 and 16:12 describe a huge army advancing through the dried up Euphrates river toward Israel and the valley of Armageddon. What an incredible scene- an army of two hundred million advancing from behind an unprecedented nuclear exchange. What on earth do they expect to find when they get there? Alas, the final conflict is starting to take shape. Slowly but surely China is approaching the great valley of Har-Magedon.

~~~~~

The Seventh Trumpet- Christ’s Reign Foreseen

Then the seventh 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 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. (Revelation 11:15,18)

amazingly,

The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the work of their hands… (Revelation 9:20)

It should be noted that many of the events described in the book of Revelation occur simultaneously or overlap. The book is not written in the storybook form, with a beginning, the drama, conflict, conclusion, etc. As we mentioned earlier it is written as a series of events and visions in a non-linear form that can easily be misconstrued. There has always been great debate and controversy surrounding the symbolism and meaning in the book of Revelation. Just prior to the actual rapture itself, some Christian groups actually believed these events had already happened!

What we have attempted to do is bring to your attention the most provable and significant events and show a recognizable pattern, so that as these events transpire, you, the reader, will have a general compass of what will be occurring next. We are not trying to stir up debate or “reinvent the wheel” as it relates to Bible prophecy. We have simply tried to create a pattern that you, reading this just after the rapture couldn’t miss.

Consider: As you are reading and studying the book of Revelation and other ancillary supporting documents, don’t lose sight of what the Lord is trying to do; Bring you and all the world to a saving faith in Him, as the God of truth, and His Son Jesus, who paid the penalty for your sin so that you could obtain eternal Life.

Beginning with the rapture itself, God has tried to regain the attention of mankind, stripping us of all amusements and luxuries that divert our attention. The choices will be clear; whom do you serve? Whom will you follow? These end times events will have the visage of one big “Global Village”, and through anti-christ’s global news network (GNN?) everyone’s attention will be on Israel. Your political attitude towards Israel will, by and large, reflect your spiritual attitude toward God.

These wars and plagues do not occur in a vacuum, insulated from the geopolitical realities on the ground. The rise of Anti-Christ and The False Prophet, the international peace treaty, the global religion, the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, the two great witnesses, etc., all have one common denominator: Israel, and Her capital, Jerusalem. That is amazing!

Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes trembling to all the peoples of the world…

It will come in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. (Zechariah 12:2,3)

Through the rapidly developing internet and telecommunication systems these events will be broadcast worldwide in real time. God will have everyone’s attention focused on the events surrounding Israel. The day’s of Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey will give way to “whose side are you on? Do you believe the witnesses? What do you believe? and finally, in whom do you trust?

This will be an incredible drama unfolding before your very eyes. God will expose the so-called “Angel of Light” to be the penultimate “Prince of Darkness,” and all the while proving Himself to be faithful and true. The last seven years of recorded history will prove to be the greatest of all passion plays, with eternal consequences for each and every person living to experience it. Don’t lose sight of the moment; through all the bombs, plagues, political and religious intrigue, all avenues of discussion will lead back to that question: “whose side are you on?”

You need not choose darkness.

God is turning His attention and making Himself known to a people (Israel) who have continuously turned their backs and would have nothing to do with Him.

…all the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.
(Romans 10:21)

But it is The Most High God who shows Himself to be the author of love and mercy. Though they wish nothing to do with Him, His love knows no bounds, His faithfulness endures the generations!

Say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! (Romans 11:1)

The Holy One is coming for His people

…the deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from the house of Jacob, This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.
(Romans 11: 26,27)

All of these end times events relate to God’s ancient promise to Abraham.

Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing.

Ever wonder how Israel and the Jewish people have survived intact throughout the centuries?

And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you…

Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore…
In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.
(Genesis 12:1-3,17:7, 22:18,19)

God has chosen the descendants of Abraham; the Jewish people, to reveal Himself to the nations. No matter how far astray the “heirs to the promise” may seem, God keeps His promises. It is the root cause of enmity between the Israeli and Arab peoples, and it’s the ultimate cause of the Holocaust of 1939-1945.

The book of Revelation declares in no uncertain terms “Jesus is coming.” He is coming to fulfill this everlasting covenant He made with Abraham. The “reality of man” is before you. Whom shall you serve: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; or…

His enemies?