1.  When the seventh seal was opened, what did John say there was?  See Revelation 8:1.

Answer: in heaven the space of
an .

Since Jesus’ return to this earth is the subject of the seventh seal, the silence in heaven may refer to the fact that all the angels are accompanying Jesus as He returns to this earth!  See Matthew 25:31.   The reference to half an hour if taken in prophetic time (a day for a year -- Ezekiel 4:6), would be equal to one literal week.

Now John sees seven angels that are about to blow the seven trumpets.  It appears that the trumpets that are to sound have dual fulfillments.  In the historical fulfillment it appears t hat the Lord is now showing John what has taken place in history leading up to the great event about to take place -- the second coming of Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

In the secondary fulfillment, after the close of human probation, these trumpets depict judgments during the closing scenes of the great controversy between Christ and Satan!

2.  What did the angel with the golden censor mix with "much incense" to offer upon the golden altar?  See Revelation 8:3.

Answer: The of all .

As the high priest in the earthly sanctuary in ancient times sprinkled the warm blood upon the mercy seat while the fragrant cloud of incense ascended before God, so, while we confess our sins and plead Christ’s atoning blood, our prayers ascend to heaven made acceptable by the righteousness of Christ!  Your prayers in Christ’s name are heard in heaven and answered!  See verse 4.

3.  What does that same angel then do after he finishes offering the prayers of the saints mixed with the incense?  See verse 5.

Answer: He it to the and there were , and , and , and an .

The throwing down of the censor refers to a time when the intercession on man’s behalf will be ended!  No longer will the “prayers of the saints” be offered on the altar!  Right now Jesus is ministering as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.  See Hebrews 8:1-3.   He is our heavenly Advocate.  See 1 John 2:1.   But when His work of intercession is over, the decree found in Revelation 22:11 will be issued!  The reference to thunder and lightning and voices indicates that the great event of all ages is about to take place!  But before this event, there will be a recap of historical events that have taken place in the history of the church, and there will also be great signs and judgments in the earth immediately before His return!  This is what the seven trumpets are about!  They cover both the historical period of the church and its final days!

4.  What followed after the first angel sounded his trumpet? Verses 6-7.

Fill In: " and mingled with , and they were upon the ; and the third part of was up, and all grass was up."

The first trumpet symbolizes the Divine judgments that came upon Rome when it set itself against Christ and His followers. Some commentators see this first trumpet as a symbol of the invasion of the Roman Empire by the Visigoths led by Alaric.  This was the first of the Barbarian invasions that played such a part in the fall of the Roman Empire.  The term “third part” repeated in the book of Revelation probably implies a substantial part, but not a major portion.

As we have said, these trumpets may well be prophecies that have more than one fulfillment as did the prophecy of Hosea 11:1.  Hosea the prophet quotes the Lord as saying “out of Egypt I have called My Son.”  Hosea was writing about ancient Israel being called out of bondage in Egypt.  But Matthew applied this prophecy to baby Jesus being called out of Egypt after the death of Herod!  This prophecy had a dual application and fulfillment. The same may be the case for the seven trumpets.  They may also have a secondary fulfillment after the close of probation just before the second coming of Christ!  In that case, this first trumpet might refer to terrible ecological disasters that will poison the earth!

5.  What happened when the second angel sounded?  See verses 8-9.

Fill in: "a great burning with was into the ; and the part of the sea became ; and the third part of the which were in the sea, and had life, , and the third part of the were ."

The historical application of this prophecy refers to the great sea victories Genseric and the Vandals had against the Roman ships.  In 455 A.D., the Vandals destroyed 1100 Roman war ships in one night!

The secondary fulfillment of this prophecy after the close of probation refers to some more great ecological disasters that will affect the oceans of the world.  The reference to blood might symbolize great pollution of the water ways of the world rendering them even more dangerous and poisonous than they are today!  It might be said that the faint sounds of these trumpets are already being heard, and they will become louder and louder as the time of Jesus’ coming nears!

6.  What happened after the third angel sounded his trumpet? Verses 10-11.

Fill in: "there fell a from , burning as it a , and it fell upon the third part of the , and upon the of ; and the name of the star is called ; and the third part of the became ; and many men of the , because they were made ."

The historic fulfillment of this prophecy probably is the Hun invasion of Europe led by Attila the Hun in the fifth century.  The great star called “Wormwood” might be a reference to Attila himself!

The secondary last day fulfillment of this prophecy concerns the pollution of the rivers and drinking waters which mankind needs to survive!  This is already happening today as acid rain is destroying much of the fresh water ponds and lakes around the world!  Many of these lakes, ponds, and streams no longer have any living creatures in them!  This will happen tenfold more severely when the third angel’s trumpet sounds!

7.  What happened when the fourth angel sounded his trumpet? Verse 12.

Answer: “The third part of the was , and the third part of the , and the third part of the ; so as the third part of them were , and the day not for a third part of it, and the likewise.”

The historical fulfillment of this prophecy refers to the great luminaries of the Western Roman Empire -- its emperors, senators, and consuls, which came to an end in the mid and late fourth century!

A secondary last day fulfillment of this prophecy refers to some great signs in the heavens that cause the sun, moon and stars to become partially darkened both day and night!  This may be what Jesus referred to when He said, “the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”  See Luke 21:26.

There is a difference between the seven trumpets and the seven last plagues which we will study in a future lesson.  The seven last plagues culminate in the very last days just before the return of Jesus while the trumpets cover a more substantial period of time in both their historical application which would cover centuries, and their last day application which would cover a short period of time just before Jesus returns.

With all yet unfulfilled prophecy, we must be careful that we are not too dogmatic!  We must take our shoes off so to speak because the place on which we are walking is holy ground!

8.  Before the fifth angel sounded, what did John hear an angel say?  See Revelation 8:13.

Answer: "Woe, woe, woe, to the of the by reason of the other of the of the three which are to ."

Bonus Bible Study On Christian Lifestyle

1.  What we eat, what we drink, the entertainment we choose, and the way we dress has to do with giving glory to God!  1 Corinthians 10:31.

2.  Those who willingly destroy their health and bodies by smoking, drinking, or using illegal drugs, will in turn suffer judgment from the God who gave them life, and who gave His Son to redeem them!  See 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

3.  God gave man a vegetarian diet in the beginning.  Although he did allow mankind to eat flesh food after the flood, He gave specific instructions to not eat certain animals called “unclean.” There were unclean animals before the flood, so they are not something that applied to the Jews centuries later.  These animals are mentioned in Deuteronomy 14, verses 3 through 20. They include the pig, rabbit, dogs, cats, vultures, shrimp, clams, catfish, eels, lobster, etc.  These animals were created for a purpose by the Lord.  Many of them act as the Lord’s sewage system, and were not created to be eaten as food!  When we ignore God’s instructions, we suffer illness and premature death! Genesis 1:29, and Genesis 7:2, and Leviticus 20:25.

4.  God said that He would destroy those who are still eating these unclean foods in willing disobedience when He returns!  See Isaiah 66:15-17.

5.  The Lord tells us not to overeat, or abuse our bodies.  He takes it seriously when we offer our bodies as sickly sacrifices! He wants us to offer our bodies as “living sacrifices.”  See Proverbs 23:2 & 20-21 and Romans 12:1.

6.  The Bible tells us to have a “merry heart,” and to avoid eating too many sweets, and advises us to get exercise!  See Proverbs 17:22 & Proverbs 25:16 & 27, and Ecclesiastes 5:12.

7.  The Word of God instructs us not to drink fermented wine.  In the Bible, grape juice is called wine.  But the Lord tells us not to even look on the wine when it is fermented, and moves by itself, never mind drink it!  Wine is a “mocker” the Bible says.  Jesus wouldn’t even take strong drink to deaden His pain on the cross! He wanted to have a clear mind to save us!  Proverbs 23:31 &
20:1, and Matthew 27:34.

8.  Our body is the “temple” of God, and we are “priests” of the Lord.  In the Old testament, the priests were forbidden under penalty of death from bringing strong drink into the temple.  The Lord cares more about our body temples then He did about the temple of old made of wood and stone!  See Revelation 1:6 & Leviticus 10:9-10.

9.  Regarding dress, we are “ambassadors” for Christ.  The Lord wants us to dress in a manner befitting the uniform of a Christian. We are to be clean and neat in our dress.  See 2 Corinthians 5:20, Isaiah 53:2, and Exodus 19:10

10.  The Lord is not pleased when we wear body ornaments or jewelry.  He told the people to remove these things when He
was about to draw close to them.  The New Testament also instructs believers not to wear “outward adornment.”  See Exodus 33:5-6, 1 Peter 3:1-4, and 1 Timothy 2:9-10.

11.  The Lord also wants us to choose good entertainment, and not watch or listen to that which is ungodly.  Matthew 5:29, 1 Corinthians 10:21, 1 Peter 2:11, and Psalm 1:1.   Philippians 4:8-9 is God’s instructions for all kinds of entertainment!

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