SEVEN SEALS, SEVEN BOWLS, AND SEVEN TRUMPETS:

THE INTENSITY OF GOD’S PERFECT

WRATH ON DISPLAY

By Tobby Smith

Introduction

It could be dangerous for a person to take up the subject of a God who judges the unrighteous, but it is nonetheless an accurate picture of the events that unfold, not only in the Revelation, but throughout the canon of scripture. It’s a dangerous subject because one might accuse the writer of being a staunch fundamentalist who spews acid and venom at the strike of a keyboard, but in response to what could be said is that the bible portrays a God that must judge sin. The most spectacular event in the course of human history revolves around God judging sin by punishing His own Son—Jesus Christ, so that many sons and daughters could be brought into the Kingdom of God by faith in His work. Yet, this is considered old, outdated, and seared with fire and brimstone. I call it being biblically consistent.

The idea of a risen Christ who calls down judgment from heaven by the decree of His mouth carried out by His angels has lost much, if not all, of its momentum these days in North American evangelicalism. The judging Christ is considered barbaric, archaic, and does not fit the imaginative happy-hippie, blond haired-blue eyed, Lynard Skynard loving Jesus that Americans have identified with over the last thirty years and have come to love. Nonetheless, it is an accurate biblical picture of a Jesus who resembles a God of perfect vindication and justice.

The topic of this paper exists in the darker sayings of the apocalyptic literature of the Revelation of the Apostle John. More specifically it will deal with intensifying judgments that

fall upon humanity at the beckoning of a Christ who breaks the seals, who calls His angels to blow the trumpets, and to serve the bowls of fury. The focus of this writer will lie explicitly between the breaking of the seals in Revelation 6 to the serving of the final bowl of fury in Revelation 16, yet, the whole canon of scripture will be leaned on heavily for a deeper and more enhanced description of what is happening in these ten chapters of the Revelation. It will be the pursuit of this paper to develop a synthesis between these three depictions of judgment that fall on the world. Out of this synthesis I hope to extrapolate the main themes that are the most striking.

Synthesizing Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls

It goes without saying that in the bible there are repeated examples of three-fold unity and consistency. Take for example the doctrine of the Trinity; the sound idea that God is one, yet He is revealed in three persons as: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Than there are the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which come from different angles of observation, but reveal with unity the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In John’s revelation we have another three fold witness—but it is a witnessing not of the doctrine of the god-head nor is it the teaching about the life of Christ, rather, this is a witness of an intensifying judgment that rains down on a fallen and rebellious world.

The one message that comes out Revelation 6:1-16:21 is that God is going to punish a rebellious people, who refuse to repent and have followed after a demi-god. Nonetheless, there is more. Specifically, there are three themes that recur that are witness to this is punishment. The first theme that is going to be described is the theme that God is the sovereign breaker of the seals. Second, there is a steady examination of the intensity and form of judgment that God unleashes at the sound of the trumpet blast. Lastly, I will point out how God’s wrath is served in the final bowls of fury .

The Sovereign—Seal Breaking God

One of the remarkable features in the book of Revelation is the comforting feeling that God is not anxious or beside Himself with worry or fear; besides that would be a god unworthy of worship. The God that is seen displayed throughout the canon of scripture is a God who is the creator God who has called time into existence and will appoint its proper end. That is the feel that one gets as one comes to the opening of the seven seals in the Revelation beginning in chapter 6.

Context dictates interpretation and it is no different here. What proceeds the text of Rev 6:1 is what is said about the one who is worthy to open the scrolls and so what the reader find is this, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing (Revelation 5:12).” Only the Lamb, the resurrected Christ, is worthy to begin the judgment of mankind. Thus He breaks the first one that unleashes fury on all the earth.

It begins with a succession of horses that are white and red with riders who bring about conquering that is done on the earth. The peace is removed from the earth so that men are given over to kill one another and slay with a sword. If this were not enough the economic scales and the ability to buy some of life’s most basic necessities are thrown out of balance making it difficult for those alive on the earth to survive. Still, nothing compares to the black horse and it rider, Death, which have been given the authority to kill one third of the living of all the earth.

In the shadow of all the violence we have the people of God, at the breaking of fifth seal, who ask the question of Lamb:

“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?" 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.”

They themselves call Jesus the sovereign one, and thus the point of the seals is made before

the breaking of the sixth and the revealing at the seventh seal, the point being that Christ is sovereign Lord who reigns supreme. The conquering of the world, the absence of peace, and even the suffering of the Saints is all within in the sovereignty of Christ. As Jesus was crafting and striking up the band, so to speak, at Calvary in total control of the situation—it hold true in opening of the seven seals of the Revelation.

The Triumphant Trumpet Call

As the final seal is cracked, and all is quiet in heaven for a half and hour, and is open it serves as a gateway to the succession of the next series of judgments. The first four angels step up and blow their trumpets and they signal a barrage of natural disasters that come down on the planet earth. Calamites, like, hail and fire raining down as a mountain being thrown into the sea (something like out of the move: Deep Impact). The effects are devastating and frightening, but is a measured effect with the results that speak to what was accomplished at the Cross of Jesus Christ—namely victory.

The whole point of the triumphant trumpet blowing of the angels is to not only point out that Christ is judging a world that has rebelled against His message of grace and mercy and forgiveness, thereby belittling His and His Father worth. But it is a message of a victory that was purchased at the Hill of the Skull, where victory was accomplished but not seen in full view. That is until Revelation 11:15 where John writes, “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.”

Soup De Jour—Fury

There is much ambiguity from the time the reader of the book of Revelation leaves the trumpet blasts. There is a story line that seems to repeat the course of human history and a the rise of Christ and the fall of Satan. There is a call for the Saints of God to endure persecution and the idolatry that the Beast desires the people of God to commit. As the reader approaches Revelation 15:1 they will notice that all is coming to a close, because John says, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.” This is the final serving of God’s wrath on the earth.

The severity of God’s wrath is bone chilling and spine tingling to say the least. There bowls served up to deliver plagues and sores upon people who curse God and refuse to repent. Darkness, the kind of darkness that befalls a super-nova when it burn into a oblivion, sets upon this world as their kingdom began to fade into black. The Saints at the altar only have one point to make to those who have refused to worship Christ—you’re getting what you deserve! Than with a victory cry an angel declares, “it is done.”

Conclusion

There was a reporter one time that desired to know about prison reforms in Kansas and asked researcher Karl Menneger about what steps would be needed to take in order to begin the changes in the prison system. Menneger gave the reporter a book he had written and said, “Everything you’ll need is right here.” The reporter responded by saying, “I promise to read it.” Menneger shot back, “No you won’t. Besides, even if you did, what do you propose to do about it.” That is exactly the situation that readers and surveyors of this interesting and dark genre of biblical literature are faced with, because the gospel should push people to see God cherished and honored—and to see others in love with Him as well.

I realize the fascination that screen writers and Hollywood executives have with the apocalyptic drama. It’s unfortunate that they don’t see the value in the gospel narrative more often. Could it be that people love to play upon the fears of the unknown that exists in the future? I think that this might be the case. In light of Left Behind and The Late Great Planet Earth there should be, not merely a fascination with millennial jargon, but a real emphasis in coming to know about grace through Jesus and His cross.

When one begins to think about seals that are opened and bowls that are served and trumpets that are blown in victory they could come away scared and frightened. That is not necessarily bad, but Christ offers us comfort in that He has purchased victory for us by His own blood. In effect, that is what the book of Revelation is about: The God who’s Christ wins! The judgments that are handed out and put on display are picture of what is ultimately to come—final judgment, the opening of hell, and eternal bliss in the presence of God.

Some will know doubt exclaim, at such a words written in this paper, that a staunch fundamentalist is busy spewing acid and venom again, all the while not heeding the warnings of Jesus. Before His crucifixion, in the gospel of Matthew 25:13, Jesus said to His disciples, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” People who value their eternal destiny should take the warnings of scripture seriously and make haste to follow Jesus. Quickly cometh the day in which the Lamb will break the seals, when the trumpeters will sound off, and the final feast of the wrath of God is served. I conclude the only way that paper on the book of Revelation should end, with a victorious Jesus who proclaims, “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let the one who hears say, Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Revelation 22:17).” Amen.