The Seven Trumpets

Lesson 30

Marking Code: ST
Marking Color: Black

 

1. Revelation 8:5. The Great Tribulation will begin suddenly. It will begin with a global earthquake that effectively disrupts the activities of the whole world. God has a few things to say to the human race, and He intends to arrest the attention of the world with a massive earthquake that literally stops everything and everyone in their tracks. The sudden cessation of life as we know it will force everyone to stop and wonder what is going on. This coming earthquake is particularly interesting because geologists theorized a “global earthquake” was physically impossible until the early 1990’s. Now, physically evidence is proving that Earth’s tectonic plates go much deeper into the core of Earth than previously thought, and this information has caused geoscientists to change their thinking. The book of Revelation predicts there will be a total of four global earthquakes. (Revelation 8:5; 11:13; 11:19; 16:18) These earthquakes will increasingly rip up the surface of the world, and the infrastructures of travel, communication and manufacturing will collapse during the Great Tribulation. These earthquakes will have greater strength than the one before it. The final earthquake will be so violent that it will literally move all of the mountains and islands from their places. (Revelation 16:20; 6:14)

 

2.  Revelation 8:7. Trumpet #1.  Shortly (perhaps 30 days) after the first global earthquake, showers of white-hot hailstones will rain down from the sky. Meteoric firestorms will ignite unquenchable fires all over the world and the accompanying windstorms will destroy billions of acres of trees, food crops and vegetation within a few days. Of course, millions of people will be left homeless and many more will suffer and die during this “rain of terror.”

 

3. Revelation 8:8-11. Trumpet #2. A few days after the meteoric showers of burning hail, earth will experience two horrific asteroid impacts. The first asteroid will impact an ocean. The first impact will create a series of tidal waves that will inundate coastal cities around the perimeter of the ocean. Seaports and coastal cities, well known for their immoral behavior, will completely disappear with overwhelming loss of life. Survivors will be frightened and distressed by the angry tossing of the sea. (Luke 21:25) Ships will not be able to cross the ocean and men will be powerless to do anything about the churning of the deep.

 

4. Revelation 8: 10,11. Trumpet #3. The second asteroid will impact one of Earth’s continents with devastating results. The impact will contaminate water supplies and cause extensive death. Ground waves from the impact will fracture geologic strata for thousands of miles. Sewage, deadly bacteria, toxic chemicals and other garbage buried in the Earth will seep into underground aquifers. Underground rivers will become contaminated and they will carry their deadly mixture for thousands of miles. Revelation predicts that many people will die of drinking poisonous water.

 

5. Revelation 8:12. Trumpet #4. Shortly after the second asteroid impact, the world will hear a terrible roar. Hundreds of powerful violet volcanic eruptions will occur. These will be numerous and powerful and cause great damage. Millions of people will perish. Revelation predicts there will be great darkness. The jet stream will carry megatons of volcanic ejecta and soot around the world in dense clouds that cause complete darkness.  Scientists have observed this phenomenon in recent times. The extended absence of sunlight over the middle third of Earth (the breadbasket of the world) will prevent surviving crops from reaching maturity. Worldwide famine will begin.

 

In short, the first four judgments will create a horrible domino effect radiating into every aspect of life. Illness of all kinds will appear. Clean water and food will become scarce overnight and the misery index will be “off the scale.” According to Revelation, 25% of Earth’s population will perish from these four judgments. (Revelation 6:8) Think about this. The population of Earth currently is more than 6 billion people. Twenty-five percent of six billion is one billion five hundred million people!

 

6. Revelation 9: 1-11. Trumpet #5.  By the time, the fifth trumpet sounds, Earth will have experienced a worldwide situation that is so desperate that we can only compare it to the flood in Noah’s day. God deliberately puts the whole world in a desperate situation because He knows it is the best way to get everyone’s undivided attention. From a parental perspective, God puts the warring nations of Earth in a type of “time out.” God wants everyone to consider several issues. For example, God wants the world to know that the time has come for the nations of Earth to end. (See Daniel 2.) He wants everyone to know that He is about to establish His kingdom and He wants everyone to know the terms and conditions of being a part of His coming kingdom.

 

A few days before the Great Tribulation begins, God will anoint 144,000 servant messengers with exceptional Holy Spirit power. These people, from every nation, kindred, tongue and people will speak for God for 1,260 days. The 144,000 will be ordinary people who come from every religious background, and they will harmoniously proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the human race. As strange as it may sound, most of the world’s population will reject the terms and conditions of salvation.

 

About two and a half years after the Great Tribulation begins, God permits that ancient serpent, the devil himself, to appear on Earth physically. The devil will come with millions of angels and he will masquerade as Almighty God. ( 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12; revelation 13: 11-18) The devil is the dreaded Antichrist. Deceptively cloaked in brilliant light and charming benevolence, the devil will claim that he is God. The devil will declare that he has come to establish a thousand years of peace on Earth. At this time, there will be three identifiable groups of people. The first group of people is those who have rejected the devil and decided to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. The other group of people will readily receive the devil as God because of the miracles he performs. The third group of people will defy both the devil’s demands and the promptings of the Holy Spirit because they refuse to obey anyone. Since God is separating the people of Earth into two camps, sheep and goats, He will allow the devil to inflict great pain and suffering upon this third group of people who have chosen to defy both God’s and the devil’s authority. Fortunately, the devil will not harm the saints with this affliction. Many of the devil’s victims will eventually relent and join the devil’s camp. However, a few of his victims will come to their senses, repent of their defiance against the gospel of Jesus and receive salvation. The devil will even call fire from Heaven to prove his assumed divinity. Consequently, millions of people will ultimately conclude that the devil is God and they will obey him with astounding zeal and devotion.

 

7. Revelation 9:15. Trumpet #6. When the devil’s popularity and control of Earth reach a sufficient level, he will tell his followers that everyone who refuses to recognize him as God must be annihilated. I call the events of Trumpet #6, World War III. During this time, God will allow the devil and his angels to kill one-third of the world’s population. The devil will establish a one-world government and he will exalt himself as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will control the necessities of life and if a person wants to buy or sell items for survival, that person must become a member of the devil’s kingdom. To demonstrate citizenship in his one world government, the devil will force inhabitants of Earth to receive a tattoo on their right hand. This tattoo will be the number “666.” People who serve as officials in the kingdom of the devil will receive a tattoo on their foreheads to show their superior rank. The tattoo on their foreheads of the devil’s lieutenants will be the chosen name that the devil uses. (Revelation 13:17) The placement of a tattoo on the forehead of Satan’s lieutenants is a blatant counterfeit of what God intends to do for His faithful servants, the 144,000, after He takes them to Heaven. (See Revelation 14:1; 22:4.)

 

8. Revelation 11:15-19. Trumpet #7. Before Satan implements the mark of the beast, everyone on Earth will have heard the gospel and everyone will have made an informed decision for it or against it. When every person has made a decision, Jesus will close Heaven’s door of mercy. Jesus will announce that the offer of salvation is closed by saying, “Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22:11) then, the second global earthquake occurs. (Revelation 11:19).

 

ST-End

 

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