The Seven: Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls of the Wrath of God

By Crystal L. Samples

Introduction

Rev 5:1 ESV
(1)  Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Chapter five of the book of Revelation opens with a scene in heaven: God the Father sitting on the throne and Jesus being presented as the only One worthy to open the seals.  From this we may deduce several things:

1.    Everything that proceeds as being from the scroll comes from God the Father as He had the scroll in the beginning.
2.    As the “opener” of the seals, Jesus is taking His place as administrator of the wrath of God contained in the seals.
3.    Thus any speculation that Jesus is riding the white horse of the first seal or that part of the seals don’t belong to God’s wrath is quickly squashed.

The Timing of the Seals

There are four major theories as to the timing of the seals.  The first one holds that the seals, trumpets and bowls begin after the mid point of the Tribulation.  The reasoning for this is that the Antichrist, while revealed at the beginning, doesn’t assume full power until the abomination of desolation or the mid point of the Tribulation.

The second and third theories are similar; one being the all three run concurrently and the second that the seals come first and then the trumpets and bowls are poured out together.  Both of these may be dismissed from reading Rev 8:1 – the seventh seal contains the seven trumpets and again in Rev 10:7 the seventh trumpet unveils the seven bowls.

The most accepted view is that the seals, trumpets and bowls run chronologically – that is – Seal #1 happens before Seal #2, etc and that the seals, trumpets and bowls mark the beginning and end of the Tribulation period – that is Seal #1 starts the Tribulation and Bowl #7 ends it.

The Seven Seals

Seal #1

Rev 6:1-2 ESV
(1)  Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!"
(2)  And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

The first four seals contain the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” That these four happen together and in order is pretty much a given.  Some have suggested that Jesus is the rider of the white horse but since Jesus Himself opens the first seal it is rather illogical that He would be on it.  Secondly note that the crown was “given to him” – in this we see that God permits this rider to conquer – everything that happens is as God intends it.

The imagery of a rider on a white horse was familiar in the Middle East.  When a general would conquer a new territory he would ride through it on a white horse to show the people that he was now in charge.

Seal #2

Rev 6:3-4 ESV
(3)  When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"
(4)  And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

In this seal judgment we see war and violence being unleashed on the earth.  It is possible that as the Antichrist gathers his power base around him that certain pockets of free men remain on earth that are willing to resist initially.  It could be that during this time the Antichrist solidifies his power.

The color of this horse, red, illustrates that bloodshed that will happen during this time.

Seal #3

Rev 6:5-6 ESV
(5)  When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.
(6)  And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"

The black horse brings calamity, famine and death.  Food will be so scarce that the wages for one day (a denarius) will only buy enough food for that day.  The command not to harm the oil and wine stems from a Roman method of taxation and property assessment.  Landowners would cut their vines and olive trees prior to their property being assessed every five years for tax purposes.  This seems to imply during the time of famine that heavy taxation will be implemented.

Seal #4

Rev 6:7-8 ESV
(7)  When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"
(8)  And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

The pale horse (literally “pale green or yellowish green”) brings Death and Hades.  That the red horse brings a violent death by war and that the black horse brings death by famine is understood.  This pale horse may indicate death by less violent means – such as wasting away due to hunger.

It is understood that famine follows war – farmland is often the site of battles and the men that tend the farms are often gone to fight.  A disruption in the food supply will bring about pestilence as people eat less than healthy food.  As this happens and men grow weak and fewer in number, wild beasts will begin to attack human population centers.

There are some different theories on what “a fourth part of the earth” means.  Some suggest that it is only one fourth of the Roman Empire.  Others suggest a literal rendering meaning one fourth of the entire earth.  If the latter is true, and the world population at the time of the Four Horsemen is 8 billion, we would be looking at close to 2 billion people dying before the fifth seal is even introduced.  That is roughly the population of India and China!

Seal #5

Rev 6:9-11 ESV
(9)  When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
(10)  They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
(11)  Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

In this seal, the persecution of the saints is addressed.  Martyrs for the faith are gathered at the foot of the altar waiting for just retribution to be meted out to their persecutors.  God comforts them, gives them white robes and gives them hope as it will be “just a while longer until their number is fulfilled.”

Seal #6

Rev 6:12-17 ESV
(12)  When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,
(13)  and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
(14)  The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
(15)  Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
(16)  calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
(17)  for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

Some of the older commentators understood these cosmic changes as symbolic of the empires of men falling and being destroyed.  Taken literally, such global catastrophes would certainly let mankind know that God is behind the disruptions and the time of the judgments of God is at hand.

There is no warrant in reading this section to assign God’s wrath or the wrath of the Lamb (being One they are the same) to any future event.  By this point in the Tribulation, all men will know that God’s wrath is being poured out – there will be no misunderstanding about it.

Seal #7

Rev 8:1-2 ESV
(1)  When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
(2)  Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

The seventh seal opens the seven trumpets – thus they are to be understood as being consecutive.

Trumpet #1

Rev 8:7 ESV
(7)  The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

The hail and fire remind us of Sodom and Gomorrah – the blood being spilled speaks of defilement and uncleanness.  Perhaps some type of meteor shower that brings pollution is intended here?  It is hard to know for certain but we may assume a great ecological disaster from the statement “all the green grass was burned up.”

Trumpet #2

Rev 8:8-9 ESV
(8)  The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.
(9)  A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Here the disaster relates to the oceans and seas of the world.  An enormous volcanic eruption could produce the above scenario – killing marine life and turning the water blood red.

Trumpet #3

Rev 8:10-11 ESV
(10)  The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
(11)  The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

Wormwood is a bitter tasting plant found in Israel.  It is used to refer to the punishment of God in Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15 and Lamentations 3:15, 19.  More than likely, this refers to an asteroid impacting the earth bringing great destruction.

Trumpet #4

Rev 8:12 ESV
(12)  The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

Something happens – what is anyone’s guess at this point.  This judgment happens in outer space, not on earth yet the effects are chilling here.  Imagine the horror of seeing these major changes in the sun and moon!

Trumpet #5 – Woe #1

Rev 9:1-12 ESV
(1)  And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
(2)  He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.
(3)  Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.
(4)  They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
(5)  They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.
(6)  And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
(7)  In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,
(8)  their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;
(9)  they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle.
(10)  They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails.
(11)  They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
(12)  The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

Notice the use of the words “like” and “in appearance.”  John is trying to describe something that perhaps in the first century was indescribable.  Could it be helicopters or something similar?  Might it be an actual animal that flies?  We simply don’t know.

Trumpet #6 – Woe #2

Rev 9:13-21 ESV
(13)  Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God,
(14)  saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
(15)  So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
(16)  The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.
(17)  And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.
(18)  By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.
(19)  For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
(20)  The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,
(21)  nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

200 million man army – at the time John wrote this – the population of the whole known world was around 200 million.  What country east of the Euphrates could possibly field a 200 million man army?  China today has the ability to make up that army by itself with no help from India, Indonesia or Eastern Russia.

This army – riding on horses that strangely enough sound like tanks – kill one third of the earth’s population.  If 8 billion started the Tribulation and 2 million died at Seal #4, another 2 billion would die here.  This is a mind blowing amount of casualties – in any way you look at it.

Trumpet #7 – Woe #3

The seventh trumpet reveals the seven bowls of God’s wrath.  Notice that this trumpet is never referred to as the “last trumpet.”

Rev 11:15 ESV
(15)  Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."

Bowl #1 – Painful Sores
Bowl #2 – All life dies in the oceans.
Bowl #3 – Freshwater becomes dead.
Bowl #4 – Scorching heat
Bowl #5 – Darkness over the throne of the beast.
Bowl #6 – Euphrates dries up in preparation for the kings of the East leading to Armageddon.
Bowl #7 – Final earthquake before the return of the Lord Jesus.

Rev 16:1-21 ESV
(1)  Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, "Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God."
(2)  So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
(3)  The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
(4)  The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.
(5)  And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, "Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.
(6)  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!"
(7)  And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!"
(8)  The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.
(9)  They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
(10)  The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish
(11)  and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
(12)  The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
(13)  And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.
(14)  For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
(15)  ("Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!")
(16)  And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
(17)  The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
(18)  And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.
(19)  The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
(20)  And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
(21)  And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

The bowl judgments are poured out quickly and the impact is universal.  Of note is the stubbornness of men who refuse to repent even though the world is falling apart around them.  Anyone who could witness and live through all these judgments and still be rebellious certainly deserves the wrath of God.