The Trumpets
Open Your Bible
Revelation 8:1-13, Revelation 9:1-21, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Peter 3:8-12
BY Rebecca Faires
The language in today’s passage is full of rich imagery: a flaming mountain is thrown into the sea, a third of the stars are blackened, and crowned locusts ride horses with scorpion tails into battle. It’s both chillingly specific and massively cryptic—and why are there seven seals, anyway? Before we get carried away, we have to remember that Scripture must first be interpreted through the lens of Scripture. So where else in Scripture do we see the number seven? It’s a parallel to the seven days of creation, the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, Jacob’s seven years of service to Laban, the seven trumpets of Jericho, etc. In God’s Word, seven is a number of completion.
In all the swirling imagery, the central purpose of all Scripture is to teach the good news of the gospel: Christ has come to save. And the whole book of Revelation is just the same. These judgments show us the completion of God’s good work. And the end purpose of God’s work of salvation is that He should abide with us, and we with Him. He is our God, and we are His people.
Because we are His, we can rejoice at His coming, and at the restoration of righteousness. Judgment must come. Justice is necessary because He is justice. He will make all things right. He will not allow wickedness to go on forever.
God’s judgment is total, and our only escape is Jesus. For those of us in Christ, our judgment was paid by Christ at the cross. The weight of our judgment has already fallen on Him. Therefore, we should rejoice at God’s coming judgment, because it will restore righteousness.
We are His, and so we need not fear any present tribulation. The consequences of evil in this world are scary, and the threat to believers is real. But the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous (1 Peter 3:12). He is always with us, and He cares for us. His ears are open to our prayers, and He is not indifferent to our cries. Even in judgment, God is merciful to those who love Him.
We need not fear, because we are His. Instead, we can be people of hope, joy, and peace. This is cause for great rejoicing. His justice is ongoing, and this passage is not the final judgment but a picture of God’s ongoing work in the world. He is constantly doling out mercy to us, deferring judgment, calling us back to Him. His work is not done in our families or in our communities. Therefore, have hope for your children, for your parents, and for your neighbors who are not yet believers. God is constantly at work.
28 thoughts on "The Trumpets"
-
God is constantly at work.
-
The last verse of chapter 9 made me so confused and sad. How can you see all that death and destruction and still not believe. :(
-
I was shaken a little because I don’t want to be apart of that story. But the Holy Spirit reminded me this is what will happen if we don’t believe or repent. Thank god believers are under his mercy!!!!! For that we can rejoice in hope and peace and joy!!!
-
This is soo good!
I must say I have also been shaken but your perspective- sharing it has made me realize that yes we are saved by Mercy.
-
-
I love love love love love this song. I sing it over and over daily. And sometimes out loud!
-
Such a beautiful picture of Gods grace after reading about all the destruction that will be unleashed. We have such a settled HOPE IN CHRIST!
-
This reading may seem frightening at first.
The seven seals were scary, now we have 7 trumpets full of God’s wrath.
And yet, Revelation 7 said that the servants of God would be sealed, protected before any of the trumpets blew.
Such mercy and grace from the Father.
Another thing that stood out to me was that the first 4 trumpets effected creation. What God had created, which He deemed good, He allowed to be destroyed in 1/3s. Why?
Trumpets 1-4 bring catastrophes and difficulties…but 5 and 6 are called Woes.
I wondered what made them worse?
I noticed that humans are directly effected by the two Woes:
Stung by locust-like creatures, suffering for 5 months, plus lion-headed horses with snake tails that attack.
God continues to offer example of His power, while allowing time for repentance.
And yet, in Revelation 9 the Word says that the rest of the people who survived did not repent.
Whatever time we have is short.
The 1 Peter verses speak to my heart.
Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,
NOT paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.
We have the promise of God on our lives.
We are blessed.
The time is short.
My days need to be different.
My hands must give comfort instead of returning the slap.
My words must guide to Life and Peace, not tear down with death.
My heart must be soft to the opportunities to share the gospel of salvation,
while there is still time.
Purify me Lord, may I be your witness,
while there is still time.-
I love how you put it, Angie! Amen!
-
-
Every wrong will be made right. That truth sums it up for me. If only the unbelievers and half believers in my family could see it! Praying for God to open so many eyes and hearts to his love for all creation.
-
The seven seals and the seven trumpets will happen just as every one of the seven things that Rebecca mentioned happened in reality.
Post Comments (28)