What Is the Meaning of the Seventh Trumpet?

 

The Bible speaks of a seventh trumpet that will sound before Jesus Christ’s return to earth. What does the sounding of this last trumpet mean for you?

The book of Revelation provides an overview of prophetic events that will occur in the end time before Jesus Christ’s second coming and beyond.

This section of Scripture includes many symbols, including “seven seals,” the sounding of “seven trumpets,” and “seven last plagues” to be poured out of “seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God” (Revelation 5:1; 8:2, 6; 15:1, 7).

The seals, trumpets and plagues represent a series of events that will affect all mankind during these momentous times.

The sounding of the seventh trumpet announces the culmination of God’s plan for this world and the remaining steps that He will take to ensure that His plan is accomplished for all of mankind.

What does the Bible say about this last trumpet, and what does it mean for you?

What is the message of the seventh trumpet in Revelation?

The apostle John recorded what he saw in vision:

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’

“And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.’

“Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail” (Revelation 11:15-19).

What does the seventh trumpet mean?

The sounding of the seventh trumpet signals the long-awaited arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth.The sounding of the seventh trumpet signals the long-awaited arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth. This trumpet, which is also called the third “woe” (Revelation 9:12; 11:14), will be one of the most important announcements in human history. The establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth is the fulfillment of biblical prophecies recorded throughout the Bible.

In the interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, God through the prophet Daniel revealed that eventually a kingdom would arise that would destroy all the human governments that preceded it. Most important, God said this kingdom “shall never be destroyed … and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44).

Years later, Daniel also had a dream in which God confirmed the coming of this eternal kingdom. In his vision Daniel saw “One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven,” who “was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.”

And again, Daniel noted that His dominion “shall not pass away, and His kingdom [is] the one which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

What did Jesus teach regarding the Kingdom of God?

During His earthly ministry, Jesus was the representative of the Kingdom of God, and this subject was the basis of His teaching. As Matthew wrote: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23; compare Mark 1:14; Luke 8:1).

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He spent 40 days with His disciples before ascending into heaven. He spent this time “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). The Kingdom of God, which has been prepared by God the Father and His Son from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34), was clearly the focal point of His teaching.

The Kingdom of God has likewise been the focus of God’s people throughout the ages. Abraham “waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10), and Jesus instructs us to pray for this Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:9-10). Additionally, Jesus said that seeking this Kingdom and God’s righteousness is to take priority in our lives (Matthew 6:33).

What happens after the seventh trumpet?

After the seventh trumpet, John heard the 24 elders worshipping God (Revelation 11:16-18). Their praise of God also reveals what conditions will be like at that time.

These elders say that the nations were angry, that God’s wrath has come, that the time for rewarding God’s faithful people has come and that God will soon destroy those who destroyed the earth.

Let’s now consider how these end-time events relate to the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

The nations were angry

In the book of Revelation, seven seals are opened before the blowing of the seven trumpets. The second seal, represented by a rider on a red horse (one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse) signifies war. War, of course, is what often happens when nations become angry with each other. And Bible prophecy indicates that wars will escalate prior to the return of Christ.

When Jesus gave signs of the end of this present age in His Olivet Discourse—signs which correlate with the seals in the book of Revelation—He said, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:7).

Some of the conflicts between nations during the end times are specifically identified. Bible prophecy indicates that a major conflict will erupt between powers warring over control of the Middle East. “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind” (Daniel 11:40).

In addition to this conflict, Zechariah 14:2 says that in the end all the nations will come together “to battle against Jerusalem.” When Christ returns, these armies will unite to fight against Him and quickly be overcome (Revelation 19:19-21).

The wrath of God

As the seals are successively opened in the book of Revelation, the seventh seal includes the seven trumpets. These trumpets are actually punishments called the wrath of God that will come upon the earth’s inhabitants because of mankind’s sins (Revelation 6:16-17).

So, by the time the seventh trumpet sounds, mankind will have already been suffering from the wrath of God.

The wrath of God, however, is not yet complete. Because humans will still refuse to repent of their sins and acknowledge Jesus as the King of the earth, seven last plagues—also called “seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God” that will follow the seventh trumpet—will wreak additional devastation upon mankind and the earth (Revelation 15:7).

In these seven last plagues, “the wrath of God is complete” (verse 1).

What happens to faithful Christians at the seventh trumpet?

In praising God at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the 24 elders also noted that the time had come for the dead to be judged and God’s faithful people to be rewarded. (Do you know what the Bible means by a converted, faithful Christian? See our online article “Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen.”)

The Bible shows that the sounding of this trumpet is indeed the great hope of the saints throughout the ages.The Bible shows that the sounding of this trumpet is indeed the great hope of the saints throughout the ages.

In teaching about the resurrection of the dead, Paul wrote: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

On another occasion Paul wrote: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The judgment of God

The last item mentioned by the 24 elders as they praise God is that those who destroy the earth will be destroyed (Revelation 11:18). These are people “who have, in their conquests, spread desolation over the earth and who have persecuted the righteous, and all who have done injustice and wrong to any class of men” (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament).

Thus, in their praise of God, the 24 elders summarize what has led up to the blowing of the seventh trumpet and what is yet to occur.

Remembering the seventh trumpet

The blowing of the prophetic trumpets is such an important part of God’s plan of salvation for mankind that one of God’s annual holy days pictures these events. The Feast of Trumpets pictures the return of Christ, His judgment upon mankind, and most important, His establishment of the peaceful Kingdom of God here on earth.

If you’d like to join Christians around the world who will be observing this day in anticipation of Christ’s return, feel free to contact us for further information.

To learn more about end-time events that will affect your life, see “How 7 Trumpets of Revelation Will Affect Humanity” and our booklet The Book of Revelation: The Storm Before the Calm.

How 7 Trumpets of Revelation Will Affect Humanity

 

Revelation speaks of seven trumpets that will sound before the return of Christ to earth. What are the seven trumpets of Revelation? Why will God send them?

The number seven is an often-repeated number throughout the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation.

This book, which was given to reveal what “must shortly take place” (Revelation 1:1), includes:

• Seven churches (verse 4).
• Seven golden lampstands (verse 12).
• Seven stars (verse 16).
• Seven “lamps of fire … which are the seven Spirits of God” (4:5).
• Seven seals (5:1).
• Seven trumpets (8:6).
• A beast with seven heads and 10 horns (13:1).
• Seven thunders (10:3).
• Seven last plagues (15:1) contained in seven golden bowls (15:6-7).

The seven seals, seven trumpets and seven last plagues form an outline of prophetic events that will occur before and at the time of Christ’s return to earth. As our articles “Seven Seals,” “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” and “Wrath of God” explain, the first five of the seven seals represent Satan’s wrath against God’s people and mankind in general. The sixth seal announces the wrath of God (Revelation 6:12-16).

The seventh seal represents the Day of the Lord—the major theme of the book of Revelation. This seventh seal includes God’s judgment upon disobedient mankind in the form of seven trumpet plagues (Revelation 8-9) and seven last plagues (Revelation 15-16).

Seven trumpets of Revelation interpretation

When the seventh seal was opened, John saw seven angels with seven trumpets. As each angel blew his trumpet, John saw terrifying plagues unfold, and he used powerful symbolic language to try to describe what he was witnessing.

First Trumpet: Hail and fire mingled with blood will cause all the grass on earth and a third of the trees to be burned up (Revelation 8:7).

Second Trumpet: A great mountainous burning object will be thrown into the earth’s oceans, causing one third of them to become blood, one third of sea life to die and one third of the ships to be destroyed (verses 8-9).

Third Trumpet: John saw a burning star fall from heaven on sources of fresh water, causing the water to become bitter and kill many (verses 10-11).

Fourth Trumpet: The light of the sun, moon and stars upon the earth will be diminished by a third (verse 12).

Fifth Trumpet (also called the first woe): What John could only describe as an unusual type of locust (likely seeing in the vision modern military aircraft) will emerge on the earth that will inflict intensely painful stings upon humans for five months (Revelation 9:1-12).

Sixth Trumpet (also called the second woe): Four angels will be released to kill one-third of the earth’s remaining population via an army of 200 million (verses 13-19).

Seventh Trumpet (also called the third woe): As this trumpet is sounding, voices in heaven will say, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15). This seventh trumpet also includes the seven last plagues.

Impact of the seven trumpets

Because of mankind’s disobedience to His holy and beneficial laws, God will bring this severe punishment upon earth’s inhabitants.Because of mankind’s disobedience to His holy and beneficial laws, God will bring this severe punishment upon earth’s inhabitants.

The effects of the first six trumpets will include an ecological disaster of epic proportion. And as the planet struggles to support life, humans will have to endure such intense pain that they will desire to die (Revelation 9:6); and many will indeed die, as noted in the description of the sixth trumpet (verses 13-19).

While one would think that such intense punishment would cause people to repent of their sins, this will not occur.

Humans are going to be so set on their freedom to break God’s laws that they will be willing to die for their way of life rather than repent. What a truly sad state of deception Satan has perpetrated upon mankind (Revelation 12:9)!

Because people will not repent, seven additional punishments called “the seven last plagues” (Revelation 15:1) will come upon mankind.

Why the seven trumpet plagues?

Why will God send the seven trumpet plagues mentioned in the book of Revelation? What is the purpose of these plagues, and how do they prepare the world for Jesus Christ’s second coming?

The great day of His wrath

The apostle John gives the setting of the seven trumpets in Revelation 6.

In Revelation 6:17 John quotes the fearful people of that time crying out: “The great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Why is God so angry? Why would the Lamb—the loving Son of God who gave His life for us and who wants everyone to be in His family—be so angry at the world that He sends these plagues?

God hates sin

A couple of important passages from Isaiah help explain why God is angry. Isaiah 58:1 says: “Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”

God hates sin because it is the antithesis of what He is. It destroys us. It causes the pain and suffering of our world, the broken families, the violence, the mental anguish, the meaningless lives and purposeless deaths. Satan uses sin to try to thwart God’s plan and keep us from becoming God’s children. (Learn more in our article “What Is Sin?”) 

The next chapter of Isaiah contains these additional reasons God hates sin:

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. … Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways” (Isaiah 59:2, 7-8).

God sees the permanent damage that sin can cause: eternal death! So He uses temporary punishments to try to get our attention.

The Day of the Lord: A call to repentance

The book of Joel also talks about this great day of God’s wrath, using the more common name throughout the Bible: The Day of the Lord.

Joel 2:1 says: “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand.”

God continues in verses 12-13: “‘Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your hearts, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.”

God’s punishments are for the purpose of calling us to repentance. God wants to forgive people and have them become right with Him. He wants us to become His children. (Learn more in our articles “What Is Repentance?” and “Children of God.”)

Why seven plagues?

But why does God need seven terrifying plagues to bring people to repentance?

At the end of Revelation 9 is a prophecy of what will happen even after the first six destructive plagues have occurred.

“But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

If one plague would wake everyone up, that’s all God would use. But obviously it will take all seven trumpet plagues to finally bring this world to repentance.If one plague would wake everyone up, that’s all God would use. But obviously it will take all seven trumpet plagues to finally bring this world to repentance.

Satan has done his best since the time of Adam and Eve to inoculate humanity against feeling guilt for breaking God’s laws. He has worked to convince people that God’s laws are not valid, and to make repentance seem pointless, ridiculous or foolish.

After the seventh trumpet

When the seventh trumpet sounds, Jesus Christ will be announced as King of Kings (Revelation 11:15).

Verse 18 then summarizes many of the events of that seventh trumpet and beyond: “The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Those who have been destroying the world will be destroyed. The angry nations will be defeated, and God’s righteous anger will be spent. Jesus Christ and the saints will be ready to rule—and to teach those who come out of that terrible period ready to repent.

While sobering judgments are destined to come upon the inhabitants on earth, our loving God does not desire any to ultimately perish (2 Peter 3:9) and will in due time give every human an opportunity to understand His way of life and choose whether to obey God or not. This opportunity will come during and after a 1,000-year period of time called the Millennium—a time when Satan will be bound and unable to deceive mankind.

After all of the bad news, the prophesied best news ever will be fulfilled! And the people of the world will finally be ready to hear—and to repent—and to change. The trauma of the seven trumpet plagues will be overshadowed by the wonderful world tomorrow that will come! God speed that day!

Read more about the plagues and how to avoid them in our articles “What Is the Day of the Lord?” and “The Wrath of God: How to Survive.” Read more about the good news on beyond that time in our article “Best News Ever.”

The Wrath of God: How to Survive

 

God has been very longsuffering with the evils of humanity, but He will reach His limit and unleash His anger. How can you avoid the wrath of God?

In the sixth chapter of Revelation, the apostle John saw a vision in which Jesus Christ was opening a sequence of seven seals from a prophetic scroll. As the first five seals were opened, John saw great sorrows on the earth, brought about mostly by mankind and aggravated by Satan.

For an overview of the message of all seven seals, see the article “Seven Seals.”

Fifth seal: Tribulation, some to be martyred

As the fifth seal opened, the apostle John saw a scene of a group of people figuratively crying out from their graves, asking God, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10).

These represent those who gave their lives as martyrs for their obedience to God and their faith in Jesus Christ. In the vision, they are told that “they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed” (Revelation 6:11). They are among the faithful who will be granted eternal life.

This vision indicates that there are some faithful saints who will be required to give up their lives as a testimony to their faith before Christ returns. Jesus called for patient endurance among His faithful people during this time ahead saying, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9).

Sixth seal: Signs in the heavens announce God’s judgment

Immediately after the events of the fifth seal, the opening of the sixth seal will bring a great earthquake and cosmic disturbances in the heavens. These heavenly signs will terrify the populations of the earth (Revelation 6:12-14; Matthew 24:29-30; Luke 21:25; Joel 2:30-32; Isaiah 34:4).

This will be God’s announcement to the entire earth that He is about to intervene in world affairs in order to humble the nations before bringing the Kingdom of God to the earth.

Seventh seal: The wrath of God

When the seventh seal is opened, God will deliver terrible punishments upon the earth because of disobedience. This punishment will be so severe that it will decimate huge populations (Isaiah 13:12).

People will greatly fear this wrath to come.

After the sixth seal, “The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

“‘For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Revelation 6:15-17).

Elsewhere in the Bible this time of God’s wrath is also called the Day of the Lord. (Read more about this major theme of end-time prophecy in our article “What Is the Day of the Lord?”) The plagues of Revelation will especially come on those who have accepted the “mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image” (Revelation 16:2; learn more in our articles “Who Is the Beast?” and “Mark of the Beast”).

This final period of catastrophic events, climaxing in Christ’s return to the earth, shows God punishing a wayward world that has refused to heed the warnings He has sent.

Sadly, even during this time of punishment, the Bible shows that mankind will not repent of its idol worship, murders, sorceries and thefts. Instead, unrepentant humans will blaspheme God for their suffering (Revelation 9:20-21; Revelation 16:9, 11).

Once God’s wrath begins, it will not end until it has accomplished its purpose. As God said through the prophet Ezekiel, “All flesh shall see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched” (Ezekiel 20:48).

The prophet Jeremiah adds, “The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, and until He has performed the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will consider it” (Jeremiah 30:24).

Escape from the hour of trial

During this future time of great global distress, the Bible states there will be a group of people on earth who will be spared from God’s wrath. Addressing these people, Christ said, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The phrase “the hour of trial” implies a short period of time. In other passages the King James Version translates the Greek word hora variously as a day, hour, instant, season and short time. The phrase indicates that the entire earth will be subjected to a short period of testing, which will include great adversity and human suffering.

God’s protection

Through the prophet Isaiah, God also spoke of refuge for His faithful people during this future punishment of humanity. “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain” (Isaiah 26:20-21).

Revelation 12 also describes God’s protection of some Christ’s followers in the troubled times just before Christ’s return (Revelation 12:13-16). Read more about this in our article “Place of Safety.”

When the wrath of God is unleashed upon the whole earth, there will be no quick ticket to a place of safety that one can purchase. There will be no secret password to obtain immunity from God’s coming anger. So, what is God looking for in this group of people He will spare? What must you do to be included in this group? The Bible is quite specific.

How to avoid the wrath of God

God is looking for humble repentance in people today! He is looking for people of godly behavior, who regularly call upon Him and who ask to be accounted worthy by His grace.God had the prophet Zephaniah deliver an announcement that pertains to our day. He wrote, “Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the LORD’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you! Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’s anger” (Zephaniah 2:1-3).

God is looking for humble repentance in people today! He is looking for people of godly behavior, who regularly call upon Him and who ask to be accounted worthy by His grace.

Escape all these things

Jesus said to those who would listen, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).

After noting that God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” the apostle Peter warned his listeners that the Day of the Lord will surprise a world that isn’t giving heed to God’s righteous laws.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. … Therefore, … what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…?” (2 Peter 3:9-11).

In other words, we need to be living godly lives now if we wish to be spared from God’s wrath that will be poured out on the disobedient.

Be prepared: developing a deeper relationship with God

Hopefully, no one wishes for the wrath of God to come on the unsuspecting populations of the earth and no one wishes to be caught unprepared when God’s punishments come. Certainly God does not want you to be caught unaware! That’s why He sent His prophets to reveal His plans in advance in hope that people would turn and seek Him (Amos 3:7).

The way to survive the wrath of God is to develop a relationship with Him now through faithful obedience to His instructions. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

Why just leave to chance your prospects of being spared from the wrath of God when He is offering a call to repentance before that great and dreadful day? To strengthen your relationship with God, study the process of Christian conversion in our free booklet Change Your Life.