In the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
, seven trumpets are sounded, one at a time, to cue apocalyptic events seen by
John of Patmos
John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. The text of Revelation states that John was on Patmos, a Greek island where, accordin ...
(
Revelation 1:9) in his vision (
Revelation 1:1). The seven
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s are sounded by seven angels and the events that follow are described in detail from
Revelation Chapters 8 to
11. According to the angels sound these trumpets after the breaking of the
seventh seal. These seals secured the apocalyptic document held in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne. The trumpets are referred to in
Koine Greek as σάλπιγξ (sálpinx,
salpinx
A salpinx (; plural salpinges ; Greek σαλπιγξ) was a trumpet-like instrument of the ancient Greeks.
Construction
The salpinx consisted of a straight, narrow bronze tube with a mouthpiece of bone and a bell (also constructed of bronze) of ...
); this was a straight, narrow
bronze tube with a mouthpiece of
bone
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...
and a bell; they do not resemble modern trumpets. The final three trumpets are sometimes called the "woe trumpets".'
Significance
Before the invention of the brass
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
, God had
Moses make two silver Trumpets (Numbers 10:2), but the traditional sacred horn of the ancient
Hebrews
The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...
was the
shofar
A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying ...
made from a
ram
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
's horn. The Angel sounds his trumpet, Apocalypse 8.
Beatus Escorial.
First trumpet
Upon the sound of the first trumpet, hail and fire mingled with blood is thrown to Earth, burning up a third of the trees on the planet, and all green grass.'
Second trumpet
With the sounding of the second trumpet, something described as "a great mountain burning with fire" plunges into the sea and turns a third of the oceans to blood. Soon after, a third of all sea life and a third of all ships will be destroyed.' Some speculate that the "great mountain" will be an asteroid cast from the heavens.
Third trumpet
With the sounding of the third trumpet, a great
star called
Wormwood falls to the Earth, poisoning a third of the planet's
freshwater sources, such as
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
s and
springs. Many will die from the bitterness of its taste.'
Fourth trumpet
Following the sounding of the fourth trumpet, a third of the light that shines from the Sun, moon, and stars becomes dark from the celestial bodies being "struck." This catastrophe causes complete darkness for a third of the day, even through night hours.' This is the final trumpet that sounds before the three woes, also known as the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets.
Fifth trumpet
The fifth trumpet is the "first woe" of three. Before this trumpet sounds, an angel (translated as an eagle in some versions) appears, and warns, "Woe, woe, woe, to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"'
The fifth trumpet prompts a personified star to fall from heaven. The star is given the key to the
bottomless pit. After opening it, the smoke that rises out of the pit darkens the air and blocks the sunlight. Then, from out of the smoke, the locusts are unleashed. The locusts are scorpion-tailed warhorses that have a man's face with lion's teeth. Their hair is long and they fly with locust-like wings. They are adorned with golden crowns and protected with iron breastplates. They are commanded by their king,
Abaddon
The Hebrew term Abaddon ( he, אֲבַדּוֹן ''’Ăḇaddōn'', meaning "destruction", "doom"), and its Greek equivalent Apollyon ( grc-koi, Ἀπολλύων, ''Apollúōn'' meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of de ...
, to torment anyone who does not have the seal of God on their forehead, by using their scorpion-like tails. It is also made clear to them that they must not kill anyone during the five months of torment.
Preterist views
Robert Witham, a Catholic commentator, issued his two-volume Annotations on the New Testament, in 1733. Commenting on Chapter 9, he offers two preterist views for identifying the locusts with scorpion tails.'
# The locusts may have represented the incursion of the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
and “those barbarous People” who interrupted the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
during the time of
Decius.''
[Witham. Annotations, vol. II, p. 463]''
# The locusts may have represented the Jewish heretics who denied Christ. Most notably,
Theodotus,
Praxeas
Praxeas was a Monarchian from Asia Minor who lived in the end of the 2nd century/beginning of the 3rd century. He believed in the unity of the Godhead and vehemently disagreed with any attempt at division of the personalities or personages of the ...
,
Noetus,
Paul of Samosata
Paul of Samosata ( grc-gre, Παῦλος ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, lived from 200 to 275 AD) was Bishop of Antioch from 260 to 268 and the originator of the Paulianist heresy named after him. He was a believer in monarchianism, a nontrinitarian ...
,
Sabellius
Sabellius (fl. ca. 215) was a third-century priest and theologian who most likely taught in Rome, but may have been a North African from Libya. Basil and others call him a Libyan from Pentapolis, but this seems to rest on the fact that Pentapolis ...
, and
Arius.''
''
Sixth trumpet
After the fifth trumpet blast, the sixth one sounds.' This is the "second woe", where four angels are released from their binds in the "great river
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
". They command a force of two-hundred million mounted troops whose horses exude plagues of fire, smoke, and
brimstone from their mouths. The mounted horsemen wore breastplates with the color of fire,
hyacinth, and brimstone. The horses are with lion's head and their tails, as well, are like a serpent with a head. The plagues exuding from the horses will kill a third of all mankind.'
Seventh trumpet
The sound of the seventh trumpet signals the "third woe." This is the final trumpet and the final woe. Loud voices in Heaven will say: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever. " '
Interpretations
In
Christian Eschatology, all the first six trumpets are used to serve as a wake up call to the sinners on Earth and a call to repentance. Each trumpet blast brings with it a plague of a more disastrous nature than the one before it. The trumpet is used to build anticipation and tells the reader that an alert, announcement, or warning is about to take place. The seventh trumpet does not bring a plague with it. Rather, it is sounded so that glory is given to God and His kingdom is announced.''
''
The
Preterist understanding is that these blasts are like war trumpets against apostate Israel of the time period and that they correspond to events in the Jewish Wars. For example, the second trumpet is the nation of Rome depicted as a mountain, symbolic for great nations in the Old Testament, and its destruction of Galilee and the Sea of Galilee becoming full of blood and dead bodies.'
Concerning the second trumpet blast,
Futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...
Christian apologists speculate that the "great mountain burning with fire" that plunges into the sea, in Revelation 8:8,' is an
impact event by a possible
Near-Earth object.'
Christians who follow the
Posttribulation rapture
The post-tribulation rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined resurrection and gathering of the saints (Post-tribulation believers believe the "rapture" for the event) coming is after the Great Tribulation.
Doctrine
The post-tribulation ga ...
doctrine, argue that the seventh trumpet is the last trumpet mentioned in I Corinthians 15:52,' and that there is a strong correlation between the events mentioned in Isaiah 27:13,' Matthew 24:29-31,' and I Thessalonians 4:16.' These parallels are used to support the doctrine of the rapture occurring the tribulation. Therefore, Posttribulationists see the rapture happening during the seventh trumpet. The nature of the 7th trumpet shows that "time is no more, and that the mystery of God is finished, Rev. 10:6,7. At the 7th trumpet, Jesus rules and reigns forevermore,' He has taken His great power and reigned,' and He rewards the righteous, and judges the wicked.' Both Jesus and Paul declare that when Jesus comes, His reward is with Him, and He rewards everyone according to their works, Rev. 22:12,2 Tim 4:1.
According to the
Bahá’í Faith, the first woe is the advent of
Muḥammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
, the second woe is the advent of
the Báb, and the third woe is the advent of the promised day of God; the manifestation of
Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. The seventh angel or trumpet refers to "human souls who have been endowed with heavenly attributes and invested with an angelic nature and disposition" who will joyously proclaim and announce the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, the promised Lord of Hosts.
There are some scholars who describe a part from the finale from
the second symphony by
Gustav Mahler, as the seven trumpets, actually played by four
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, bass drum, cymbals and
triangle, which are offstage.''
[Floros, C. (1993). ''Gustav Mahler. The Symphonies'' (p. 69). Amadeus Press.]''
See also
*
Events of Revelation (Chapter 8)
*
Seven seals
The Seven Seals of God from the Bible's Book of Revelation are the seven symbolic seals (, ''sphragida'') that secure the book or scroll that John of Patmos saw in an apocalyptic vision. The opening of the seals of the document occurs in Rev Ch ...
''References''
{{reflist, 30em
Angelic apparitions in the Bible
Biblical phrases
Book of Revelation
Christian terminology
New Testament words and phrases
Prophets in Christianity
Seven in the Book of Revelation
Mythological musical instruments