We are currently discussing the seven trumpets. First, we examined the seven seals. We see these elements recur in the seven trumpets and the seven vials. These three series of seven represent three perspectives on the end times. In each perspective, the severity increases from start to finish. With each new series, we gain more understanding of the end times. In every series, it becomes clear that God is in control of everything, and that even evil occurs only within His will.
We have already discussed the first four trumpets. God intervenes in human life through His judgments, but all of this serves as a warning: “Repent!”. The trumpets are a sign that God is about to intervene. In the Old Testament, warning trumpets sounded before the fall of Jericho, and they also sounded during the time of Joel among the people of Israel: “Blow the trumpet in Zion!”
So, they sound here in Revelation worldwide, warning the world in the end times: “He is coming, He is coming to judge the earth. Repent!” There are great disasters on earth, affecting creation and making the planet less livable. With the first four trumpets, a third of the earth becomes uninhabitable. How terrible what we read. There is man, who believes he can do so much in his pride. There stands man with all his technology and science, with all his knowledge and skill. But God breaks the world apart; it will never be harmonious and stable. He is coming!
And now, the 5th and 6th trumpets in Revelation 9. In the first four trumpets, God intervened from above; in the next two, the satanic powers from below come into play. They resist God's intervention, but their true nature is revealed through these two trumpets. The consequences of unleashing these satanic powers are terrible and have global impact. With the 5th trumpet, the result is that unbelievers would rather die. With the 6th trumpet, the result is that one-third of humanity perishes. The magnitude of the fall in paradise is immense!
But there is comfort and support even in the terrible things we hear in Revelation 9. First of all, God is above it all. It is He who allows it. But secondly, we also know that God's coming is drawing ever closer. It is like the Exodus: after the ten plagues came the Exodus, redemption, and liberation. And so, it is here. As the end times approach, the intensity of these events increases, but isn't that precisely the sign that redemption, the great and final Exodus, is near? So, when we look to the world around us and, at times, shiver at the things that happen, we also hear the coming footsteps of Jesus Christ. Let us be prepared and long for that moment.