Seals, Trumpets and Bowl of
Wrath
Revelations
presents four sequences of seven events: 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Thunders after
the 6th Trumpet and, finally, 7 Bowls of the Wrath of God. Lets
correlate them with what we have learned so far. We have some parallel reports.
For example the 6th Bowl: ”And the sixth angel poured out his
bowl onto the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the
way of the kings from the east might be prepared" (Rev.16:12)
and the 6th Trumpet: ” Now the number of the army of
the horsemen was two hundred million; and I heard the number of them."
(Rev.9:16) Most interpreters are virtually unanimous in interpreting this
passage as that of the easterners, the yellow ”race". I remember too well
how Mao Tse Tung announced in 1969 that China is the only nation in the world
able to mobilize 200 million soldiers. This generated much comment at the time
because it coincided with the number mentioned in the Bible. The horse of the
fourth rider, which is reported in the 4th Seal, is the color of the
Orientals: ”So I looked, and behold, a pale green horse. And the
name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed behind him.” (Rev.6:8a) It seems that
the 4th Seal, the 6th Trumpet and 6th Bowl of
God's Wrath refer to the same army, even though, not necessarily, at the same
stages. The 6th Bowl of Wrath reads as follows: ”And I saw three
unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the
mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are
spirits of demons, performing signs, which go forth to the kings of the earth
and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that.” (Rev.16:13-14)
This ”great day of God Almighty" is,
again, the very same Day of the Lord. Then the Day of the Lord, at the time of
the 6th Bowl has not yet begun! The 6th Bowl still refers
to the Day of the Lord as a future event. The 6th Seal, however,
reports, as we saw earlier, that the Day of the Lord has already begun. (Rev.6:17)
Again a
clear evidence that Revelations is not chronological. The 7th Trumpet
announces that ”The kingdoms of this world have been
made those of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and
ever!" (Rev.11:15b) What else is announced by the
7th Trumpet? “Your Wrath has come, … and to destroy those who
destroy the earth.” (Rev.11:18 in
part) So, again, the Day of the Lord. Isn’t this “and to destroy those who destroy the
earth.” too, the
announcement of the battle of Armageddon? In which all secular and demonic
power will be destroyed? In the 7th Bowl it then happens: ”And the seventh
angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple
of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is finished! And there were noises and
thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and
great earthquake as had not occurred since men came to be on the earth.” (Rev.16:17-18) What
happened? The Day of the Lord is rolling! The earthquake of the 6th Seal,
the signs of Luke 21:25 and Mark 13:24, and Matt. 24:29 and Zac.14 :4-8, in
which the Mount of Olives is split, and the valley for Israel’s escape is
formed. I return again to the 7th Trumpet, which announces “Your Wrath
has come, … and to destroy those who destroy the earth." So it
seems that the first 6 Trumpets, because they are not the day of the Wrath of
God, are disasters caused by human beings in which they destroy, or scatter,
the power of the holy people and are the consequences of signs of the two
witnesses of God: ”And if anyone tries to harm them, fire proceeds from
their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone tries to harm them, he
must be killed in this manner. These have authority to shut the heavens, so
that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have authority over
waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as
often as they desire.” (Rev.11:5-6) Take note
that the two witnesses plead, partially, the plagues of the type announced by the
first 5 Trumpets and by the first 5 Bowls of the Wrath of God. It gives the
impression that the plagues of the first 5 Trumpets are caused by men parallel
to the first 5 plagues of the Bowls of Wrath are brought about by the two
witnesses of God, something similar to the miracles of Moses and Aaron in Egypt
against the magicians of Pharaoh. We correlate the plagues of the Trumpets with
the plagues of the Bowl.
Trumpets/Bowls of Wrath correlation
1st/4th And the first angel sounded: And hail and fire
followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of
the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up / And the fourth
angel poured out his bowl onto the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men
with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name
of God who has authority over these plagues; and they did not repent to give
Him glory.
2nd/2nd Then 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
living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. / And the second
angel poured out his bowl onto the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man;
and every living soul in the sea died.
3rd/3rd Then 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 water. And the name of
the star is called Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many
men died from the water, because it was made bitter. / And the third
angel poured out his bowl onto the rivers and springs of water, and they became
blood.
The two
witnesses are two Israeli prophets called by God for their ministries in Israel
during the great tribulation: ”And I will give to my two witnesses, and they will
prophesy
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