The seven trumpets are the contents of the seventh seal. The first four trumpets are the judgments on the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the sun, moon, and stars (8:7-12). As a result of the judgments in the first four trumpets, the earth will no longer be a suitable place for people to live in. The fifth trumpet, the first woe as judgment on men, will be the beginning of the great tribulation (8:13—9:11). As we shall see, the great tribulation will be terrible. The sixth trumpet, which is the second woe as a further judgment on men, is a part of the great tribulation (9:12-21). The seventh trumpet is quite complicated. It consists of the eternal kingdom of Christ, the third woe comprising the seven bowls, the judgment of the dead, the rewarding of the saints and of the God-fearing people, and the destruction of the earth’s destroyers (11:14-18). The third woe, which is the second item of the seventh trumpet, will be the closing of the great tribulation. After this, there will be the rewarding of the prophets, the saints, and those who fear God’s name. Throughout the generations, these three categories of people have been produced. The prophets mostly come from the Old Testament, the saints mostly come from the New Testament, and those who fear the name of God will be produced during the great tribulation. The seventh trumpet includes the reward the Lord will give to these three classes of people. The seventh trumpet also comprises the judgment of the dead and the destruction of the earth’s destroyers. The destroyers of the earth are Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet, and all their followers. Hence, the seventh trumpet includes everything from the end of the tribulation to eternity.
The seven bowls, a part of the negative contents of the seventh trumpet as the last plagues of God’s wrath on men, will be the ending of the great tribulation (15:1, 6-8; 16:1-21). The seven bowls, like the seven seals and the seven trumpets, are composed of a group of the first four and then the fifth, sixth, and seventh. This grouping is meaningful. Certainly the writer of the book of Revelation must be God. Who else would have had the wisdom required to write it? If this book was written according to John’s imagination, then John must be God. The book of Revelation is surely composed in a marvelous way.
The book of Revelation has five sections: the introduction (1:1-8), the things seen (1:9-20), the things present (2:1—3:22), the things to come (4:1—22:5), and the conclusion (22:6-21). In the introduction we have the revelation of Christ and the testimony of Jesus. Although Revelation includes God’s economy, God’s economy is not the crucial focus of this book. The two crucial items which are the focus of Revelation are Christ and the church, that is, the revelation of Christ and the testimony of Jesus. Following this introduction, we have the things seen—the seven lampstands and the Son of Man with the seven stars. Then, in chapters two and three, we have the things present—the seven local churches. The next section, covering the things to come, has two parts. The first part (4:1—11:19) consists of a general view of the things to come from Christ’s ascension to eternity future. In the second part (12:1—22:5) we find the details of the important things covered in the first part. These two parts resemble Genesis chapters one and two. In Genesis 1 we have a general record of God’s creation; in Genesis 2 we have the details of God’s creation of man. In the same principle, in 4:1 to 11:19 we have a general view of all the things to come, and in 12:1 through 22:5 we have the details of the important things to come. Do not consider the last eleven chapters as a continuation of the first eleven chapters, for the general view of the things to come concludes at the end of chapter eleven. Following all the details of the things to come unveiled in the second part of this section, we have 22:6-21 as the conclusion to the book of Revelation.