chapter 11

chapter eleven

The Seven Trumpets

About this chapter:
a.Gods step by step wrath on the Antichrist nations

The seven trumpets is about Gods step by step wrath on the Antichrist and his nations. Most Bible teachers today believe that the seven trumpets will occur before the middle of the tribulation. But, as we begin to understand what the meaning of the seven trumpets are it becomes very apparent that they will begin their sounding after the middle of the tribulation. And will end their sounding with the seventh trumpet at the battle of Armageddon, which is at the end of the seven years of tribulation.

The seven trumpets hold a mystery that some people have suspected but Gods timing prevented them from being able to understand. Now the time has come for us to understand, and we will learn the mystery of the seven trumpets, and the meaning of the seven thunders in Rev. 10. This mystery has been hidden since the time that God gave the book of Revelations to the apostle John. God told him to seal it up at that time, but now is the time for us to see and understand.

I will begin by telling you that the seven trumpets in the eighth chapter, the seven thunders in Rev.10, and the seven vials of wrath found in the sixteenth chapter are one and the same thing. God has given this mystery to us in three parts, by putting these three together we are able to see what the mystery is. They are all about the wrath that God is going to pour out on the anti-Christ and his nations as a punishment for killing the saints in that part of the world. You must remember that the Antichrist will only conquer 1/4th part of the earth, this area is around the Mediterranean Sea.

God hid this mystery from us by calling these seven acts of wrath on the Antichrist by three different names, and by making the information a little different, it was hard to see. He called these events by three different names to show us the purpose for these events. In the sixteenth chapter he calls them the seven last plagues or the seven vials of wrath, In the eighth chapter he calls them the seven trumpets, in the tenth chapter the seven thunders.

It is easy understand why He calls them the seven vials of wrath, but why did He call them the seven trumpets? God is slow to wrath, and always gives warnings to those in danger of it. As the Antichrist nations begin to kill God's people, God will begin to warn the Antichrist of his pending doom, which will be fulfilled at Armageddon when Christ returns. Each vial of wrath will become a trumpet of warning, not only to him, but to the whole world, as the Church by that time will understand what is going on. We will use these vials of wrath as trumpets to warn the sinner of his coming judgement if he fails to accept Jesus as his savior.

God did a similar thing to Pharoah as He delivered Israel from Egypt's bondage. Revelation 8:2- 6 are the same events as the Revelation 15. Let me share these with you.

Revelation 8:2-6:

And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earhtquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Revelation 15:1-8:

AND I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, GREAT AND MARVELLOUS ARE THY WORKS, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; JUST AND TRUE ARE THY WAYS, THOU KING OF SAINTS. WHO SHALL NOT FEAR THEE, O LORD, AND GLORIFY THY NAME? FOR THOU ONLY ART HOLY: FOR ALL NATIONS SHALL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE THEE; for thy judgments are made manifest. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. and one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Revelation 16:1

AND I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

When you put both of these scenes together you are able to get a full picture. What you see in Revelation 15:1-8 and Revelation 16:1 is the reason for the thirty minutes of silence in heaven. As one of the four beast hands the seven vials of wrath to the seven angels with the seven last plagues, everyone is very still. The moment is very grave and sincere. The people standing on the sea of glass mingled with fire is the reason for this silence. God is answering his promise to the souls under the altar in the fifth seal.

After these vials of wrath are given and the angels are told to pour out their wrath, the seven angels with the trumpets prepare to sound. As each vial of wrath is poured out it becomes a trumpet to the world. The beast that hands the vials of wrath to the seven angels is identified as one of the beast. This beast is the first beast in Revelation 6:1. It is the Lion, The banner of Judah. These people are Jews who live in the eastern part of the world, these are the remnant and the man child from Revelation 12. They are being killed for their testimony of Jesus Christ. No wonder the silence.

In the eighth chapter of Revelation1-5 we also see along with these seven angels with their trumpets another angel. This angel plays a very important role in what is about to happen. In order to understand, we must go to Daniel 12:1-3. You are about to see something that Christians have wanted to understand for almost 2,000 years.

Daniel. 12:1-3:

And at that time shall Mi'-cha-el stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

These scriptures are very important when it comes to understanding the seven trumpets and vials of wrath. In the first scripture God is telling us that The angel Michael will stand up for the children of Israel in the last days, and that during that time the children of Israel will be delivered. The angel Michael is an archangel, and is preparing to go to war with the enemies of Gods people. He is Israel's protective angel. God has appointed him to take care of them. This is the angel with the censer in Revelation 8:3-5.

Revelation 8:3-5:

And another angel came and stood at the altar; having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the Angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

This is the angel Michael who is declaring war on the enemies of God because of their relentless murdering of God's people who refuse to take the mark of the beast. God gives us another picture of Michael in Revelation 10:1-7:

Revelation 10:1-7:

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware to him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and earth, and things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer; But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

This again is the angel Michael and he is in the process of doing what God said he would in Daniel 12:1. He is standing up for Daniel's people, Israel. He is going to war with God's enemies. This is why we see a rainbow on his head. He is about to pour out the wrath of God on the enemies of God's people, and God has put into his remembrance that he is not allowed to destroy the earth with a flood. This is what the rainbow is, a token of the covenant that God made with man, a reminder that he will not destroy the earth with a flood.

He has a little book open in his hand. This book is the book of Revelation, the mystery that God has been giving to John. The thing God wanted us to see was that the book is open. Up until this point John had seen all of these mysteries but hadn't understood their meanings. God tells John, in verse 8 of the 10th chapter, to take the little book from the hand of the angel which stood upon the sea and upon the earth. When John asked the angel for the book the angel told him to eat it up. That it would be sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his belly. When the angel handed John the book he handed it to him open. This is telling us that from that time on John would understand what God was telling him to write. You see God is giving the book of Revelation to John and he is writing it down, but now it will be with understanding as he writes. When John ate the book it was sweet to taste but bitter in his belly. At that moment his eyes were open and it was wonderful to him because he understood that the book he was writing was about God restoring Israel and standing up for them against the devil. This made John feel real good, but at that same moment he also realized that it would be a long time before Israel would be saved, and that when they did come to Christ, it would come during a time of great stress and hardship, many would die. This is why it was bitter in his stomach.

Michael the angel then places his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the earth and cries out with a loud voice, like a lion. God had said in Daniel 12:1 that Michael would stand for God's people. By standing on the land and sea God is showing us that Michael will have authority and power over both. Where ever God wants to use him.

Michael speaking like a lion is another confirmation of the group of people that he will be defending. The banner of Judah is the Lion. Remember in the 15th Chapter one of the beasts gives the vials of wrath to the seven angels with the seven plagues? This angel was identified as one of the beasts. Remember in the first seal in Revelation 6:1? He was identified as one of the beasts, the other three in Revelation 6:3,5, and 7 were identified in order from Revelation 4:7 The first beast was the Lion, but in Revelation 6:1 he was identified as one of the beasts. This is Gods way of hiding this mystery, yet leaving us the means to understand when the Spirit begins to reveal the mysteries. All the Jews who are living in the 1/4th part of the earth that the Antichrist will conquer have been placed under the banner of Judah for Judah's sake. God is showing us that because of the persecution of these people the wrath of God is about to fall on their enemies.

At that moment John heard seven thunders utter their voices. They were speaking. John understood what they said and started to write it down, but God told him to seal it up and not to write it down. What does this mean? In the four Gospels there were several times that God spoke out loud to individuals. Sometimes people didn't hear what He said, they heard thunder instead. This happened and was written for our understanding. When God speaks to us, sometimes it is only a lot of noise, or thunder, because we aren't spiritual enough to hear. Sometimes it's because God doesn't want us to hear at the moment.

The seven thunders that John heard was the voice of God. He understood what God said, but God told him not to write it down, but to seal it up instead. This mystery has been sealed up until now. The only reason I know that this mystery isn't sealed any longer is because I can understand it. I know that I'm not a great man or any kind of special person. Since this is the case, and I can understand what they are, the thunders can not be sealed any longer. They are open to everyone with a sincere heart.

God placed this mystery between the 6th and 7th trumpets to let us know that this mystery plays a role in what is happening. And it does. The meaning of the seven Thunders is this; God told John that the seven trumpets and vials of wrath were the same events, that there were only seven events, not fourteen. That they would also be the seven thunders that John heard. These seven vials of wrath will serve three purposes. First, God will avenge His elect with these seven vials of wrath. Second, each one of these will be a warning to the Antichrist and his people, like a trumpet they will sound a warning. Third, they will be the voice of God telling them and the nations of the world to repent and turn to Christ for salvation. To most of the people of the Antichrist these events will mean nothing, not the voice of God, just the sound of thunder. I hope that as you read this, God will speak to your heart to help Him in the great work that awaits the Church in the future.

Before these events occur, Michael will cast Satan out of his spiritual realm and seal him and his angels out of heaven, This will occur right before the middle of the tribulation. Satan will go into the anti-Christ and try to continue his fight from inside him. He will be the most logical place to go. Satan will then use the Antichrist to wage war against Israel and the born again Christians in that part of the world. Michael prevents the Antichrist from destroying the Jews by helping them to escape. He will swallow the invading army with an earthquake while Israel escapes. But the scripture says that the dragon wages war against the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12)

God is about to save the Jews living in the nations around the Mediterranean Sea, This is the remnant of her seed. While the 144,000 Jewish evangelist go into these countries to reach these people with the Gospel, the Antichrist will begin to enforce the mark of the beast in order to expose the Christians and put them to death. What we are about to see is a moment in heaven before God begins to bring judgement on these wicked nations for what they are doing.

Now, lets put all of this together, lets start with the things in heaven, right before the vials of wrath are poured out.

The seven angels with their trumpets, the seven angels with their seven plagues. The beast that has the face of the Lion has in his hand seven vials of wrath to give to the seven angels with the seven plagues. In front of the throne of God stand thousands of Christians, Jews and Gentiles, who have been killed by the Antichrist. There is thirty minutes of silence as everyone watches. The lion hands the vials of wrath to the seven angels who have the seven plagues. Michael then steps over to the altar with the incense of the prayers of the saints. God's wrath is kindled. Everyone is in great fear The temple becomes filled with smoke. Then Michael takes the censer and fills it with fire from the altar and hurls it into the earth. The scripture then says that there was voices, and thunderings and lightnings, and an earthquake. The seven vials of wrath are about to begin. The voices and thunderings means that God will speak seven times (the seven thunders) through these seven vials of wrath. The lightnings are the seven times that God brings judgement. The earthquake is the one that will be in the last vial of wrath to bring it all to an end.

Michael will be in charge of the angels that God is using in all seven of the events that are about to happen. During this time there will be great spiritual warfare all over the earth. God's wrath will be confined to the nations of the Antichrist until the seventh trumpet and vial of wrath. This earthquake will shake the whole world.

With God's help I will now do my best to explain these seven events that will happen. May God grant you wisdom and understanding to see.

Revelation 8:7:
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Revelation 16:2:

And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast. and upon them which worshipped his image.

These two scriptures are the same event. It is God's wrath on the Antichrist for killing Christians and Jews. This hail and fire mingled with blood falls on the nations of the Antichrist, not the whole world. It will destroy a third part of his trees and green grass.. All that falls is hail and fire. But, it becomes mingled with the blood of the people who take the mark of the beast. It causes very grievous sores on their bodies.

It says A noisome and grievous sore. These sores are caused by the burns they receive from this burning hail. This event warns the rest of the world. The first trumpet has sounded! There will be six more. REPENT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

Revelation 8:8-9:

And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Revelation 16:3:

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.

The number one question is, what sea? It will be one of the seas around the Middle East. It also says that it would be as it were a great mountain burning with fire cast into the sea. Once again, God pours out His wrath on the Antichrist.

I believe that this event occurs during a battle at sea. Two-thirds of the ships that are in this sea belong to the people of Chittim (the United States and her allies). The third part of the ships that are destroyed in this sea belongs to the Antichrist and his nations. The Bible says that it is like a great mountain burning with fire being cast into the sea. This sounds like a small nuclear blast to me. It will destroy every ship, and every person in those ships, who belong to the Antichrist.

It is possible that they, themselves, try to use a nuclear missile on the ships of Chittim, but it backfires. At any rate, the blood in the sea is from these people whom God destroys. This event becomes the second trumpet of God, to warn the lost in the world to repent, and turn to God. Preachers will be using these events to sound a warning of evidence that Jesus is coming soon. The Gospel is being preached all over the world. Israel is being saved, and is in the land that God prepared for her, out of harm's way.

Revelation 8:10-11:

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Revelation 16:4-6:

And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, "Thou are righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy."

This great star from heaven is an angel, the one with the third vial of wrath. He is full of indignation and wrath, symbolized by the fire. The name wormwood means God's bitter wrath.

This event is probably brought on by the two witnesses of Revelation 11:6. These two witnesses have power with God, to turn water into blood. God gives the Antichrist and his people blood to drink, because they have been killing His people. Many of the people of the Antichrist die because of this. Blood will cause the waters to become bitter and poison. If you drink it, you will die. You might be able to drink blood and live, but this blood is out in the heat of the sun, and becomes rancid. A stench of blood! The angel says that these people deserve it. This event is the third trumpet, or warning, from God. God is merciful to give mankind so many signs of His coming. In these same scriptures, it shows us that the rapture has not taken place yet.

Revelation 16:5:

O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be.

The Gospel is being preached all over the world. Three more to go!

Revelation 8:12:

And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Revelation 16:8-9:

And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

This seems to be contradictory, but if we stop and think for a minute, we will see that this is very possible. The trumpets show this as a curse of darkness, and the vials of wrath as a curse of daylight. This seems to be impossible, but if the earth was to stop moving, or rotating, it is very possible.

In the Old Testament, God caused this to happen in two different instances. And, this is what occurs. God stops the earth for a period of time. The sun will be shining over the Antichrist and his people. The night is what cools the day, but without any darkness in that part of the world, it will become increasingly hot!

In the western part of the world, it will be dark for as long as this period lasts. This will cause this part of the world to become extremely cool, causing clouds that blot out the stars and the moon. Part of the earth will experience twilight, neither day nor night, for this period of time. This event will scare people out of their wits! It will be on the news, and fear will terrify people all over the world.

It is a good thing we have a lot of empty churches in America, because the following Sunday morning, every; church in America is going to be packed! This event becomes the fourth warning to the world to repent, but the people of the Antichrist will not. God is saving a multitude of nations, just as He promised Abraham! The wisdom of God goes beyond our wildest imaginations!

Revelation 8:13:

And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Revelation 9:1-11:

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them, it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails; and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Revelations 16:10-11:

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

The angel in Revelation 9:1 that falls from heaven unto the earth is shown as a star falling to the earth. This angel opens the bottomless pit, releasing a horrible smoke. This smoke fills the land of the Antichrist, causing a plague of darkness.

The locusts that come out of this pit are not helicopters, as many would suppose. If they were, they would kill people, but they do not kill anyone. They only torment. They cause great pain and sores from their stings on the people of the Antichrist; they do not harm anyone else.

This is the fifth trumpet, and warning, to the rest of the world to repent, and accept Jesus as their Savior. The Gospel is being preached in a frenzy, and millions of people are being saved! Two more to go!

Revelation 9:13-21:

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Revelation 16:12-16:

And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

This is the sixth trumpet. If you do not accept Jesus at this trumpet, you will not be taken in the rapture of the Church. If you wait for the seventh trumpet, and are not killed, you will not receive a new body until after the thousand year reign of Christ. This trumpet is the gathering of the nations to Armageddon. There will be fierce fighting among the good nations and the bad nations. A third of the people of the Antichrist will be killed in this struggle. A horrible loss of life will be on both sides.

Four angels are released from the river Euphrates, and cause the river to dry up. This makes way for the Chinese army, who comes to help the Antichrist destroy the United States and her allies, who have been pushed back into southern Israel, by the Antichrist nations.

The Chinese come with a two hundred million man army. The situation looks desperate! The three spirits, like frogs, that come out of the mouth of the Antichrist, the dragon, and the false prophet, are the lies they tell to the other nations that they are hoping will come to their support. The situation looks bad, but God is getting ready to do something that will change it!

I want you to notice in Revelation 16:15:

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

This is the sixth warning from God. There will be no more.

THE NEXT EVENT TO HAPPEN WILL BE THE COMING OF THE LORD TO RAPTURE THE CHURCH.

Revelation 11:14-19:

The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; And He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Revelation 16:17-21:

And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Revelation 10:7:

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

If, now, you are having a problem believing that the trumpets and vials of wrath are the same events, then we need to pray. There is no way in the world, that all of these events could be coincidental. The Church is raptured at this point!

The vials of wrath are the same events as the trumpets. It is just the purpose for which it happens that makes the difference. The seventh trumpet is actually the rapture itself. God lifts the Church off the earth while the seventh vial of wrath is poured out.

Revelation 16:17:

And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven saying, IT IS DONE.

At that moment the Church is raptured.

This is the same event as Revelation 14:14-16:

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

God lifts the Church off the earth so that they will not be here when the next events take place.

Revelation 16:18-21:

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Many people die in this earthquake, but not everyone, because there will be millions gathered at this time in the valley of Megido to fight. But, this will be the first time wrath falls on all the nations of the world, upon the very wicked. Many of the wicked die from the earthquake and hail.

Revelation 11:13:

And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The city we are looking at in this scripture is Jerusalem. We know this because Revelation 11:8 says that this is the place where our Lord was crucified.

This is the same earthquake and city as Revelation 16:19:

and the great city was divided in three parts.

The earthquake divides the city and a tenth of the city falls, killing seven thousand people. The remnant (or the people who survived this earthquake) are Gentiles, who will probably get saved during this event, but sadly they missed the rapture of the Church.

But, at least they will be spared at the judgment seat of Christ. These people will probably be allied soldiers fighting for Israel.

In Revelation 11:2, it says that the Gentiles will occupy Jerusalem during the last three and one half years. Remember where the Jews are? They went to America to be fed for three and one half years away from the face of the Antichrist.

They have just been raptured with the rest of the Church. They have also just completed their calling that was to preach the Gospel to the world.

The rapture causes this earthquake. This will happen at the same moment the two witnesses are raptured after being killed by the Antichrist. There is only one first resurrection

Paul also told us in I Corinthians 15:52:

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

This last trumpet that Paul is talking about is the seventh trumpet of the seventh seal. I can see why a lot of people believe that the rapture takes place before the seven year tribulation.

We are not appointed to wrath according to the scriptures, that is true, but, the Antichrist only conquers a fourth of the world. The Christians who are killed by the Antichrist are not killed as a measure of wrath. These people who are killed die as a witness to the great love that Jesus has for mankind.

Revelation 6:11:

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

These Christians die the same as Peter and Paul, who were willing to stand as a witness for Jesus. To our own shame, we look for ways to keep from having to make a stand of our confession of faith, instead of looking for an opportunity to suffer for our Lord. It is rather revealing, is it not?

God is going to spare this great nation of ours from this tragedy. But the wars will have a great effect on our children who die fighting this monster called the beast. Our military will be heavily involved from early in these events.

There are a lot of good people on this earth who feel that they are saved because they try to do what is right. But, of course, we know that God said, "There is none righteous, no, not one." In order to be saved, we must throw ourselves on the mercy of Jesus Christ, and ask Him to save us. HE WILL!

Jesus told Nicodemus, Ye must be born again. When this vial of wrath is poured out, there will be millions of people who are in this condition, believing that they will be saved because they are living a good life. But, they will miss the rapture because they have not come to Jesus and trusted in His blood.

God will be merciful during this vial of wrath, because He will keep as many of these people from being killed as possible. But, anywhere there is a fault line, there will be an earthquake. The nations' cities will fall, many mountains will shake so hard that they will be leveled from the force. Would any sane person want to run the risk?

The great quake happens at the moment of the rapture, and while we (the Church) are eating the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven, hail stones weighing one hundred pounds each begin to fall on the wicked nations, and the wicked in the other nations. God is purifying the earth of His enemies!

Revelation 14:17-20:

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, [Jerusalem], and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. [two hundred miles]

This is the battle of Armageddon. The winepress and the battle of Armageddon are the same thing. I think that it is interesting to know that Goliath, in the Old Testament, was a shadow of this. His name meant exile, and the place he was from, Gath, meant winepress.

Revelation 19:19:

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army."

After eating the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, we will come back, with Jesus, to fight the Antichrist and his armies.

Revelation 19:14-15:

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."

Revelation 6:17:

For the great day of his wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand.

Revelation 19:20-21

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh

End Chapter Eleven