Interpreting the seven trumpets of Revelation

Vern S. Poythress

1st trumpet

Hail and fire (v. 7) are reminiscent of the seventh Egyptian plague in Exodus 9:23-24. As in the case of the Egyptian plagues, these judgments come from God against evildoers. They show that God is the true God, and call people to repentance. Yet, like the Egyptians, people may harden themselves and not repent (cf. 9:20-21). Some other trumpet plagues parallel other Egyptian plagues.

After the fourth trumpet an eagle appears, indicating that even more terrible judgments follow in the last three trumpet plagues (v. 13). He announces woe, a typical beginning to a prophetic oracle (for example, Amos 5:18; 6:1). The three last trumpets are grouped together as three woes (9:12; 11:14). These plagues explicitly discriminate between the righteous and the wicked, as did the later Egyptian plagues.

2nd trumpet

3rd trumpet

4th trumpet

5th trumpet

a horrific army of locusts, energized by demonic sources

6th trumpet

The Sixth Trumpet: The Conquering Army, 9:13-21
The Roman Empire feared an attack of the Parthians from beyond the Euphrates (9:14), the eastern border of the Empire. But all such fears are dwarfed by what Revelation pictures. Outside threats experienced by the Roman Empire presage the final day of battle of cosmic proportions (16:14). 9:13-21 is similar to 16:14, but the consequences are less severe, still leaving time for repentance (9:18-21). Nations as well as individuals who give themselves to idols or to the worship of power and militancy may find themselves overwhelmed in a military judgment brought against them. It happened to ancient Babylon, to Greece, to Rome, to Hitler's Third Reich, and to the Soviet Union.

7th trumpet

The Seventh Trumpet: God's Temple Opened, 11:15-19
The second cycle of judgments (8:2-11:19) closes with a second description of the Second Coming. It zeroes in on the last judgment (v. 18) and the triumph of God's kingly rule (vv. 15, 17). The opening of God's temple in heaven is the opening of the original of which the earthly temple was a copy. The ark is seen (v. 19). The ark was the most holy object in the tabernacle (Exod. 25:10-22). It was normally concealed from sight behind the tabernacle curtains. The revealing of this innermost object signifies that God has fully revealed his glory, both the glory of his law (the covenant words) and of his mercy (as signified by the atonement cover).