UNDERSTANDING THE TRUMPET JUDGMENTS!

 As we prepare for the eventual return of Jesus Christ, there is a period of time on the earth which is known as “the Tribulation.” This will be a time of horror and judgment upon the earth that will be unmatched by any other time in human history.

Understand that God is seating on His throne with a scroll having seven seals in His hand. Each time a seal is opened, judgment will be poured out on the inhabitants of the earth.

All the Born Believers that have been living holy lives will be evacuated in the rapture just before the tribulation begins. And all those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ will be left behind, and God will then unleash His wrath on such inhabitants of the earth in a wave of three sets of judgments during the 7-year tribulation period, namely:

1. The seven seal judgments,

2. The seven trumpet judgments, and

3. The seven bowl judgments. The bowl judgments are the final set of judgments before the Second Coming of Christ. 

Last week we looked at “the seven Seal Judgments.” Today, we shall look at the seven Trumpet Judgments. Each trumpet will be blown by a different angel, and each one will pronounce a different judgment upon the earth, and they will intensify as each subsequent trumpet is blown during the Great Tribulation. 

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

Revelation 8:6 says, “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”

Here, John was seeing 7 angels and each angel had a trumpet in his hand. Each of the seven trumpets will be blown by a different angel, and each one will pronounce a different judgment upon the earth, and they will intensify as each subsequent trumpet is blown during the Great Tribulation. 

At the sound of each trumpet, a different judgment is going to proceed from heaven to inflict the inhabitants of the earth. There will be silence in Heaven for 30 minutes before the trumpet judgments begin in Revelation 8:7. 

“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour” (Rev. 8:1).

The trumpets and the ensuing judgments are as follows:

1. The First Trumpet. The first trumpet brings devastation to the earth itself. Hail, fire and blood rained from heaven (Ex. 9:22-26; Ezek. 38:16-23).

“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth…” (Rev. 8:7a).

This will inflict serious pain on the inhabitants of the earth. “…and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up” (Rev. 8:7b).

The first trumpet will have a significant impact on world population. We are talking about the loss of crops, we are talking about imbalance in the world ecosystem, we are talking about famine because when the vegetation is burnt up people will have nothing to feed on. 

2. The Second Trumpet. The second trumpet is targeted at the seas and oceans.

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea (ocean) became blood. 9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed” (Rev. 8:8-9).

This second trumpet will also have a devastating impact on the people on the earth: one third of the creatures in the seas will die, one third of ships and those in them will be destroyed, and this will surely hinder business transactions between one country and the other.

3. The Third Trumpet. The third trumpet will affect the water supply which brings death to many people.

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter” (Rev. 8:10-11).

Here the world water supply is going to become poisonous, undrinkable, and whosoever drinks this water will die.

This star called “Wormwood” is likely a biological bomb, because the water will be polluted and everyone that drinks it will die. This will happen in the first half of the tribulation when the Arab nations, backed by Russia, war against Israel and the league of European nations.

4. The Fourth Trumpet. The fourth trumpet will attack the sky affecting the sun, moon, and stars. The weather will be extremely cold because one third of the sun will be drastically affected.

NLT puts it this way, “Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night" (Rev. 8:12).

The first 4 trumpet judgments will affect the earth, but the last three will affect mankind directly. The earth, seas/oceans, water and sky will be affected by these first four judgments. These are the things required for life, and God is affecting them as judgment for those who have rejected Him. 

After blowing the fourth trumpet, there will be a brief pause before the last three trumpets are blown.

“As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in mid-air call out in a loud voice: ‘Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!’” (Rev. 8:13).

In the middle of judgment God pauses. He decides to give additional warning of what is to come and at the same time give people an opportunity to repent. Remember that God brings judgment because He is a just God. In order for God to be who He is, He must judge sin. Yet even in the judging process, God still offers opportunity for repentance because that is His heart. What a merciful God we serve!

5. The fifth Trumpet (Rev. 9:1-12, NLT). The pit will be opened and the demons will be loosened to torment for 5 months those on earth who have rejected God. 

Surprisingly, they are allowed to torment people, but those who they torment won’t die. What an incredible time of torture and pain. Ironically the ones who are protected are those who had the seal of God on their foreheads.  

We see here that God will give these demons power. These demons take on the form of something that looks like a locust. Those people that wish to die at this point will not be allowed to die because they have to experience the torture of these tormenting demons. The agony they suffer will be like that of a scorpion sting. There is no sting as painful as a scorpion sting. These demons have been empowered and authorized by God to go and inflict pain on the inhabitants of the earth.

However, the people that placed their faith in Christ will be protected from this tormenting demons. 

In spite of the destruction brought about by these trumpet judgments, only one third of the world will be affected.

6. The Sixth Trumpet (Rev. 9:16-20, NLT). With the sixth trumpet, four angels will be released along with an army of 200 million which is probably a demonic army, and they will proceed to kill one third of all the people on the earth. 

Instead of turning to God in repentance, they will dig in with their defiance even more. The heart of man has grown so hard that even among great calamities and death they refuse to turn from sin and turn towards God. No matter the tortures they are going through, they will continue to reject His love and compassion. This shows you the danger and power of a hardened heart. That is why the Bible warns against hardening your heart because there are dangerous consequences associated with it.

7. The Seventh Trumpet. There is now one more set of judgments God will release before the battle of Armageddon is set up and Jesus returns with the saints. This last set of judgments are called “the 7 Bowl Judgments.”

At the sounding of the 7^th trumpet, the seven bowl judgments will be put in place. This will be God’s last and final attempt to try and get some of these hardened sinners to repent and turn to Him for eternal salvation. 

In Scripture, seven is the number of completion, so the announcement associated with this trumpet falls right in line. Here is what happens when the seventh trumpet is blown:

“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

With this trumpet the announcement of Christ’s reign is made as we move to the completion of this period. While the tribulation doesn’t end right when this trumpet is blown, it is getting close. There are some major events left to play out but we know this trumpet is blown closer to the end of the Great Tribulation.

In all honesty if you are in Christ there is nothing for you to be afraid of. If for some reason, you should ever get fearful, always remember whose side you are on and know that when it is all said and done, we win.

Beloved make haste to spare yourself from these terrible judgments by being genuinely Born Again and living a holy life.

Today, you have the great opportunity to change your eternal destiny. You are not going to escape the trumpet judgments because you are acting nice. You are not going to escape it because your name is in a church register. You will escape the trumpet judgments only on this condition: (1) you MUST be Born Again (Jn. 3:3), and (2) live a holy life (Heb. 12:14).  So hurry, and make peace with God right now! 

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Head Pastor)