The Sounding of the Trumpets
November 2, 2021
Lesson 7: The Book of Revelation
THE SOUNDING OF THE TRUMPETS
Revelation 8:1 – 11:19
1. Revelation has three series of sevens: seven seals (6:1 – 8:10), seven trumpets (8:2 – 11:19), and seven bowls (15:1 – 16:21). How does the transition work from one to the next? How does this add to the dramatic effect of the book?
2. As the unleashing of divine wrath against the Roman Empire begins, why are the judgments signaled by these trumpets only partial (i.e., by one-thirds)? What does this call to mind about the character of God? Cf. 2 Pet 3:9.
3. When the Lamb of God opens the seventh seal – the transition point to the trumpets – there is a brief time (i.e., “about half an hour”) of eerie silence. What is the point? Then a total of eight angels come into view. What does the eighth angel bring with him? How does this relate to what is about to happen with the sounding of the trumpets?
4. The first four trumpets have something of a collective message about how sin has an impact on Planet Earth itself. What does this tell you about the nature of sin? What does it say about the fulness of the redemption Jesus will provide? Cf. Rom 8:20.
5. What is different about the final three trumpets? The first four have affected the environment. What do the final three touch?
6. Why is the episode of the little scroll a “mixed blessing” to John? That is, what is “sweet” about it? What is “bitter”? Perhaps it is the specific foretelling of the fate of the Two Witnesses of Chapter 11 – where faithful testimony to the gospel results in the apparent death of the witnesses. How does pagan Rome react to their deaths? What happens next?
7. The sounding of the seventh trumpet signals the final overthrow of Rome. Why would there be no more “partial” judgments against the wicked and persecuting empire?
Revelation is highly regarded as a work that takes seriously the power and nature of sin, portraying unrighteousness not just as personal immorality but rather as systemic evil and social injustice. In this regard, Revelation usually is recognized as offering the most sustained political critique of an “anti-God society” anywhere in the New Testament: a society is “anti-God” when it uses its power to enslave others, when it becomes prosperous by making others poor, when it revels in self-adulation, or when it becomes cavalier about justice, ignoring the suffering of the innocent and allowing or perpetuating violence against the righteous. And, in a basic sense, an anti-God-society is one that claims for itself the prerogatives of authority and power that belong to God alone. (Mark Allan Powell)
1. Revelation has three series of sevens: seven seals (6:1 – 8:10), seven trumpets (8:2 – 11:19), and seven bowls (15:1 – 16:21). How does the transition work from one to the next? How does this add to the dramatic effect of the book?
2. As the unleashing of divine wrath against the Roman Empire begins, why are the judgments signaled by these trumpets only partial (i.e., by one-thirds)? What does this call to mind about the character of God? Cf. 2 Pet 3:9.
3. When the Lamb of God opens the seventh seal – the transition point to the trumpets – there is a brief time (i.e., “about half an hour”) of eerie silence. What is the point? Then a total of eight angels come into view. What does the eighth angel bring with him? How does this relate to what is about to happen with the sounding of the trumpets?
4. The first four trumpets have something of a collective message about how sin has an impact on Planet Earth itself. What does this tell you about the nature of sin? What does it say about the fulness of the redemption Jesus will provide? Cf. Rom 8:20.
5. What is different about the final three trumpets? The first four have affected the environment. What do the final three touch?
6. Why is the episode of the little scroll a “mixed blessing” to John? That is, what is “sweet” about it? What is “bitter”? Perhaps it is the specific foretelling of the fate of the Two Witnesses of Chapter 11 – where faithful testimony to the gospel results in the apparent death of the witnesses. How does pagan Rome react to their deaths? What happens next?
7. The sounding of the seventh trumpet signals the final overthrow of Rome. Why would there be no more “partial” judgments against the wicked and persecuting empire?
Revelation is highly regarded as a work that takes seriously the power and nature of sin, portraying unrighteousness not just as personal immorality but rather as systemic evil and social injustice. In this regard, Revelation usually is recognized as offering the most sustained political critique of an “anti-God society” anywhere in the New Testament: a society is “anti-God” when it uses its power to enslave others, when it becomes prosperous by making others poor, when it revels in self-adulation, or when it becomes cavalier about justice, ignoring the suffering of the innocent and allowing or perpetuating violence against the righteous. And, in a basic sense, an anti-God-society is one that claims for itself the prerogatives of authority and power that belong to God alone. (Mark Allan Powell)