The seven trumpets are the contents of the seventh seal (Rev. 8:6—9:21; 11:14-18). The first four trumpets will be the intensified supernatural calamities to damage all the sources of natural provisions for men’s living. All the provisions for us to live on earth were prepared by God, but all these will be damaged with the first four trumpets. The first trumpet will be God’s judgment on the earth: hail and fire mingled with blood will be cast to the earth; the third of the earth, the third of the trees, and all the green grass will be burnt (Rev. 8:7). The second trumpet will be God’s judgment on the sea: a great mountain burning with fire will be cast into the sea; the third part of the sea will become blood, the third part of the living creatures in the sea will die, and the third part of the ships will be destroyed (Rev. 8:8-9). The third trumpet will be God’s judgment on the rivers: a great star, called Wormwood, will fall out of heaven, burning like a torch, and will fall upon the third part of the rivers and upon the springs of waters; the third part of the waters will become wormwood, and many men will die from the bitter waters (Rev. 8:10-11). The fourth trumpet will be God’s judgment on the sun, moon, and stars: the third part of the sun, of the moon, and of the stars will be smitten; the third part of the three lights (the sun, moon, and stars) will be darkened, the day and night not appearing for the third part of them (Rev. 8:12). The third part of the day will be dark. The moon and the stars will not shine for the third part of the night. This is God’s judgment to damage the sources of the natural provisions for men’s living.
The fifth trumpet, which is the first woe, is God’s judgment on men to torment men by Satan collaborating with Antichrist (Rev. 8:13—9:11). There will not be much difference in time between the sixth seal, in Revelation 6:12-17, and the first five trumpets, in Revelation 8:7—9:11. Joel 2:30-31 proves this. The sixth seal and the first five trumpets are linked together as a group, covering the first two times of the supernatural calamities: the first time is to shake and damage the inhabitable earth and heaven with its hosts (Rev. 6:12-17); the second time is to judge all the sources of natural provisions for men’s living (Rev. 8:7-12). They will take place nearly at the same time in continuation.
After the sounding of the fifth trumpet, Satan as a star will fall out of heaven to the earth to release “locusts” from the abyss (the bottomless pit) to torment men by stinging as scorpions for five months (Rev. 9:1-5, 7-10). Furthermore, Antichrist, the angel of the abyss, will be the king over the tormenting locusts, with the name of Abaddon (destruction) in Hebrew, and Apollyon (destroyer) in Greek (Rev. 9:11). Antichrist will be both the destruction and the destroyer. He will come up from the abyss just to destroy man. In those five months, men will seek death and long to die, but by no means will they find it, because death will flee from them (Rev. 9:6). Today we do not want death. In that time men will want death, but they will not find it.
The sixth trumpet, which is the second woe, is God’s further judgment on men by two hundred million cavalry troops killing the third part of men (Rev. 9:12-21). After this trumpet is sounded, the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates are loosed to kill the third part of men within thirteen months and one day and one hour by two hundred million cavalry troops (Rev. 9:14-16). The cavalry troops will kill men by fire, smoke, and sulphur proceeding out of the mouth of their horses and by the tails of their horses, which are like the tails of serpents (Rev. 9:17-19). The rest of the men who have not been killed by these plagues will not repent of their idolatry, murders, witchcrafts, fornication, and thefts (Rev. 9:20-21). The fifth trumpet and the sixth trumpet will last for more than one and a half years. After the sixth trumpet and before the seventh trumpet is another insertion related to the rapture of the saints and the second coming of Christ. This insertion is concerning Christ’s coming down out of heaven to the air.