1 AND when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8 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 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.
10 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.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

1And when hee had opened the seuenth seale, there was silence in heauen about the space of halfe an houre.

2And I sawe the seuen Angels which stood before God, and to them were giuen seuen trumpets.

3And another Angel came & stood at the altar, hauing a golden censer, and there was giuen vnto him much incense, that hee should offer it with the prayers of all Saints vpon the golden altar which was before the throne.

4And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints, ascended vp before God, out of the Angels hand.

5And the Angel tooke the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voyces, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake:

6And the seuen Angels which had the seuen trumpets, prepared themselues to sound.

7The first Angel sounded, and there followed haile, and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast vpon the earth, and the third part of trees was burnt vp, and all greene grasse was burnt vp.

8And the second Angel sounded, and as it were a great mountaine burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood.

9And the thirde part of the creatures which were in the Sea, and had life, died, and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

10And the third Angel sounded, and there fell a great starre from heauen, burning as it were a lampe, and it fell vpon the third part of the riuers, and vpon the fountaines of waters:

11And the name of the starre is called Wormewood, and the third part of the waters became wormewood, and many men dyed of the waters, because they were made bitter.

12And the fourth Angel sounded, and the thirde part of the Sunne was smitten, & the third part of the Moone, and the third part of the starres, so as the third part of them was darkened: and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

13And I beheld, and heard an Angel flying through the midst of heauen, saying with a loude voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth, by reason of the other voyces of the trumpet of the three Angels which are yet to sound.

 

1 When he broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw that the seven angels who stood before God were given seven trumpets. 3 Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with burning coals from the altar, and hurled it down to the earth. There were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 The seven angels who were holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 When the first one blew his trumpet, there came hail and fire mixed with blood, which was hurled down to the earth. A third of the land was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all green grass. 8 When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a large burning mountain was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, 9 a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were wrecked. 10 When the third angel blew his trumpet, a large star burning like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The star was called "Wormwood," and a third of all the water turned to wormwood. Many people died from this water, because it was made bitter. 12 When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them became dark. The day lost its light for a third of the time, as did the night. 13 Then I looked again and heard an eagle flying high overhead cry out in a loud voice, "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth from the rest of the trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to blow!"

v 1. When the seventh seal was opened, it was greeted with awful silence, the only silence mentioned in this book. This reprieve in judgment lasts only a literal half hour. All in heaven stand in awe, as they expected other judgments to immediately fall, as when other seals were opened.
The opening of the seventh seal marks the mid point of the tribulation period (Though it could be after the opening of the sixth seal) and is like a lull before the storm. (illus. in the 30s the evening so still ordinary voices could be heard about a block, then that night a tornado.) Ps 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. Out of the seventh seal, which gives a view of the last half of the Tribulation, came the seven trumpets. Out of them came the seven vials, each thing increasing in intensity. They do not follow the seventh seal but are a part of it.

v 2. Seven arch angels are each given trumpets with which to usher in judgments. They may have been assigned their position when angels were created in the first day of creation, right after God stretched out the heavens, Ps. 104:1-5. God made his angels spirits and later laid the foundations of the earth, probably the third day, when God made dry land appear. Their trumpets are not the trump of God. Neither were they for music but to convey a message as the trumpets of O.T. Israel. The first six seals revealed judgments as a result of man’s unrestrained wrath. The first six trumpets reveal Satan’s practically unrestrained activity. God has allowed Satan limited authority over natural forces as in Job 1 & 2. The bowl judgments are from the hand of God.

v 3. A mightier angel than the seven appears before them, acting as a high priest. This angel is not Christ because He is on the throne holding the seven sealed book. He brings the incense, which is the life and works of Christ that make the prayers for deliverance and vengeance effective.  It gives these prayers a sweet smell which pleases God. This was symbolic, as Christ is the only mediator between God and man. The prayers are made in His name. The prayers which the elders held, Rev. 5:8, are mixed with these. Prayers of suffering saints that had appeared unanswered, are also here.

v 4. Wise men brought frankincense to Christ, who became our sacrifice.  As the high  priest offered incense mingled with prayers, the angel offers prayer of saints with incense before heavens golden altar.

v 5 The censer of sweetness becomes a vessel of wrath as he casts the fire of judgment to earth. The indication is that God has heard and is finally answering. Suffering saints are vindicated as God takes vengeance on those who don’t know Him, 2 Thess 1:6-8. The silence is broken by  thunder and lightning (without rain) and  violent earthquake. The voices must be from the terrified on earth instead of voices in heaven.

v 6. Verse 5 was just a prelude to judgments to follow. The angels with trumpets have waited a long time for this moment and they prepared to sound.

v 7. First trumpet. Hail, fire, blood and a third of foliage destroyed. The devastation of the Yellowstone forest fires are nothing compared to this. This miracle of fire and blood may be blood red water with fire from a comet or volcano, with updrafts generating hail. The fires on an earth plagued by drouth will be so intense that a third part of forest and prairie will be consumed. This will be a rebuke to environmentalists that are making nature their god.

v 8. Second trumpet. A great burning mass, possibly a nuclear device of man, but probably a meteorite or some other heavenly body that poisons the water with it’s gases, a direct act of God. It is cast into the sea, a third of which becomes at least a blood red color.

v 9. A third of sea life dies, and the impact of the object will cause such gigantic tsunami waves that a third of ships will be destroyed. This will be worldwide, but men still rebel against God.

v10. Third trumpet. The first object from space was solid and caused an impact, but this burning object disintegrates, spreading it’s poison over a third of the rivers and aquifers, and causing many deaths. 

v 11. Wormwood is a deadly, bitter liquor ingredient known as absinthe. It was in the stupefying drink which Christ refused at Calvary. It is also used in making a poisonous product in France. In Jer. 9:15 wormwood represents bitterness and sorrow. Loss of life in the last two judgments may have been limited, but many people die as a result of the poisoned water sources. 

V 12. Fourth trumpet. A third part of sun, moon and stars darkened resulting in 16 hour days. Luke 21:25,26 warned of these heavenly signs and men’s hearts failing for fear. See Matt. 24:22 for troubles so great people couldn’t survive 24 hour days. Scientists can not understand this phenomenon, but God who created all things does. This no doubt cooled the earth, but what other effects we do not know.

v13. Four of the seven trumpets have sounded with serious results, but another angel  pronounces triple woe (the first woe), because the next three trumpets are going to be so much worse. Some ancient manuscripts call this angel an eagle. Ass of Num. 22 could speak, so could an eagle. Judgment falling as an eagle dives for prey. Or an ngel with the appearance of an eagle, as a face of one living creature was of an eagle.