When do the Trumpets Sound?

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.“ -Revelation 8:1-2

Something is getting ready to happen. These seven angels are given trumpets and when they are blown some crazy things begin to happen which are described later in Revelation chapter 8. When can we understand the seven trumpets to blow? Is it in the past? Is it now? Is it in the future?

Scholars have debated this for centuries. There are many ideas. Let’s examine a couple possible interpretations and then use the Bible to give us some insights to this mystery.

Some teach that the seven trumpets happen at the same time throughout history as the opening of the seven seals. We might call this the historical parallel view.

Some teach that the seven trumpets happen at the beginning of the seventh seal being opened, just before the last seven plagues are poured out and Jesus returns. This might be called the sequential or nested view.

What Should We Believe?

What are we to believe? As usual, let’s look for some clues in the Bible to help us understand this most fascinating section of the book of Revelation.

Let’s explore two examples of blowing trumpets in sequences of seven and see if they give us some clues for understanding the timing of the seven trumpets.

Clue 1: The Story of Jericho

When the children of Israel came to Jericho, God has some special instructions for them and it involved blowing trumpets – seven trumpets in fact. Here is a description of how they followed God’s instructions very carefully. [emphasis mine]

8 So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” 11 So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.

12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.

15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! -Joshua 6:8-16

 

Everyday the priests blew the trumpets while they walked around the city once. However on the seventh day they marched around seven times the same way, blowing the trumpets. That’s a lot of trumpet blowing – especially on the seventh day!

Observation: Blowing the trumpets repeated daily and was more intense on the seventh day. Notice the pattern.

Clue 2: The Day of Blowing of Trumpets

On certain days the Israelites were instructed to blow the trumpets. These were special days to help them keep track of time. Hello!! Keep track of time… Maybe we should pay attention here. 🙂

“Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.” – Numbers 10:10

“And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. -Numbers 29:1

Blowing the trumpets was repeated monthly and intensified on the seventh month. The first day of the seventh month was a day specifically for the blowing of trumpets. The trumpets were sounded as a reminder to the people to turn back to the Lord and prepare for the day of atonement which was on the tenth day of the seventh month. They were to prepare their hearts and watch and be ready for the judgment day.

Repent and Be Saved

Jesus has been “sounding the trumpets” in every generation, telling people that at some point time will run out. He is always calling us to repentance, to turn away from sin and be saved. As the time for His second coming gets very near, the warnings will get stronger and more intense. God really doesn’t want anyone to be lost (Ezek. 18:32).

Jesus said the signs of his soon coming would be like “birth pangs”.

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. -Matthew 24:8 (ESV)

The wars, famines, earthquakes and troubles mentioned in Matthew chapter 24 will increase – like the pains of childbirth get stronger and closer together before the baby is born.

The Warnings are Intensifying

The seven trumpets in Revelation are warnings to a world headed for destruction. Jesus has been warning every generation since he went back to heaven (The parallel view). Kind of like the trumpets blown the first six days while they walked around Jericho or the first day of the month for six months.

Jesus will also make every attempt to warn those living at the end of this world’s history (the sequential or nested view). This is just like the loud warnings on the seventh day they marched around Jericho and the day of trumpets on the seventh month before the Day of Atonement. God doesn’t want anyone to be lost.

It looks like both timelines could be accurate. While we don’t have to figure out all the specifics, we can be certain that God is sending his special warnings to the world and the warnings are getting more intense as we get closer to the end of this world’s history as we know it.

Revelation 8:1 says the seventh seal is opened….and seven angels take seven trumpets which are about to sound. The warning has been sounding for thousands of years, but the final warnings are more intense. It’s the final warning to a world headed for destruction. Will people  listen to the warning signs all around them? Will they turn back to their Creator and repent?

Amazingly, God loved the world so much that He gave his only begotten Son to die for mankind – even when he knew many wouldn’t listen (Rev. 9:21). Yet a small remnant will hear the call to repent and will follow the Lamb wherever He leads (Rev. 14:4). My prayer is that we will be part of that group. May we all have ears to hear the loud trumpet warnings calling us to repent and be saved. God is so good!