Our Present Age

and how it will end

 

Chapter 14 – The 7 Trumpets and the 7 Bowls of Wrath

Rev 8:1 tells us that the first trumpet cannot sound until the seventh seal has opened.

Rev 8:1 When He opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

Before the wrath of God can be poured out, all the prayers of the saints need to first rise up with the smoke of the angel’s incense and be received before the throne of God at the opening of the seventh seal. This is when all the servants of God will be permanently sealed with God on their foreheads, and is a crucial part of God’s Salvation plan, as it appears that salvation will no longer be possible after the first trumpet sounds.

All those who are not Raptured (referred to as the tribulation saints and also as the 2 witnesses), will now be supernaturally protected by God and His angels during the events of the 7 trumpets and the 7 bowls of wrath. When the Day of the Lord arrives, the bridge between the natural and the supernatural will be crossed, and it will then become a normal part of every-day life for people to see and perform miracles, as in “with the spirit of Moses” and as in “with the spirit of Elijah”. The reason that I say “as in with the spirit of Moses and as in with the spirit of Elijah” is because the Old Testament prophets who performed all those miracles were doing so without the presence of the Holy Spirit. As we know that the Holy Spirit was not sent to the world until the day of Pentecost in 33 AD, we also know the Holy Spirit is removed when the hand of restraint is removed on the Day of the Lord.  

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is to your advantage that I go away : for if I do not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.
    

2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
    

I believe that the opening of the seventh seal holds the key to the timing of the Rapture. I believe that it is during the seventh seal when the Rapture takes place, and then after that is when God’s wrath will begin. The opening of the seventh seal of Rev 8:1 is also directly tied to the holding back of the 4 winds of Rev 7.
     

Rev 7:1-4 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." And I heard the number of those who were sealed.

Each of the 7 trumpets is a harbinger for each of the 7 bowls of wrath.

	7  TRUMPETS	7 BOWLS (VIALS) OF WRATH
1st	Hail and fire, mingled with blood, is thrown down to the earth (Rev 8:7)	A grievous sore comes upon men who have the mark of the beast and who worship the beast (Rev 16:2)
2nd	A meteor hits the ocean – a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea (Rev 8:8)	The sea becomes as the blood of a dead man and every living creature in the sea dies (Rev 16:3)
3rd	A star named Wormwood falls from heaven burning light a torch, and falls on the rivers and springs of water (Rev 8:10-11)	The rivers and springs of water become as blood (Rev 16:4)
4th	One third of the day does not shine, and also one third of the night (a 24 hour day turns into a 16 hour day – Rev 8:12)	Bowl is poured out on the sun, and power is given to the sun to scorch men with fire and great heat (Rev 16:8-9)
5th	A fallen star is given the key to a pit that releases locusts (demonic entities enter the world through one or more portals – Rev 9:1-11)	Bowl is poured out on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom becomes full of darkness (Rev 16:10)
6th	An army of 200 million inflicts worldwide plagues (Rev 9:13-21)	Bowl is poured out on Euphrates; its waters are dried up; the way of the kings of the east are prepared for the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty (Rev 16:12-16)
7th	Christ has conquered the kingdoms of this world, and it is now time for the dead to be judged (Rev 11:15)	Bowl is poured out into the air, and a loud voice is heard saying, “It is done!” (Rev 16:17)

  
Because the events of the seventh trumpet end with Christ’s victory after the Battle of Armageddon, it is impossible for the events of the first bowl of wrath to begin after this. This supports the way that I have created the chart above which shows each trumpet as being the harbinger for each corresponding bowl of wrath.