Audio Download

Rev 8:1-6 Part 3 – The Seven Trumpets

[Study Aired June 30, 2024]

We concluded our last study by pointing out that because this entire prophecy is addressed to the seven angels of the seven churches therefore the seven angels who blow the seven trumpets are the same seven angels. It is the seven angels of the seven churches which inform the seven churches of the judgments which are coming upon them.

It is these same seven angels who tell us that they are “your fellow servant, and those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” If we are God’s elect, then it is we who are signified by these seven angels to the seven churches. It is these seven angels who are given the priesthood to “perform the service of God” who will have mankind to come to know Him and His son:

Num 3:10  And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

The promise of being kings and priests is not just to the leaders and elders of the body of Christ. That promise is to the entire body of Christ who are all “fellowservants and of [our] brothers who have the testimony of Jesus… and of them which keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book”:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

You and I, if we are fellow servants and of our brothers the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book, are commissioned to “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.” That is the commission given to those who “have been made kings and priest unto God and His Father.” It is the priests alone who have been given this commission. Look at what the scriptures reveal about these “seven priests.”

Heb 9:6  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

That ‘tabernacle’ signifies the house of God. It signifies His temple, and this is now those who are His temple and His dwelling place:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The work of a priest, and therefore our work, is revealed in the spiritual types and shadows of the Old Testament. Just look at how many times we see this phrase “seven priests” in the Old Testament, and look at what these “seven priests” do in “accomplishing the service of God.”

Jos 6:4  And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

Jos 6:6  And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.

Jos 6:8  And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.

Jos 6:13  And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

Jos 6:16  And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.

It is “the… seven priests bearing seven trumpets… going on and blowing with the trumpets” who signify the seven angels who stand before God. It is the same seven angels in Christ’s right hand, who tell us that they are our fellow servants, who keep the sayings of this book and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, who are sent as God’s messengers to God’s seven churches, to blow these seven trumpets to prepare us “go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you.” This is the message of the seven angels with the seven trumpets. If you think the number ‘seven’ simply means ‘seven’, then you know nothing about comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The names of these seven churches, like the names of the twelve tribes, are given only as types of those first-fruit overcomers who are in Christ. The seven churches signify the “complete… one body… which is the church.” The seven angels to the seven churches are all the messengers of God to all who are in the “one body… which is the church,” just as “the seven spirits of God… are one spirit.”

Here are a few verses which demonstrate the spiritual significance of the number seven, but for a more in depth study be sure to read The Spiritual Significance of the Number Seven at this link:

The Spiritual Significance of the Number Seven

Rev 4:5  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

The “seven spirits” of God signify His “one spirit” just as “the seven churches” signify the “one body… which is the church… whether we be Jews or Gentiles”.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’ sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

What is “the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God?” It is “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

How is this mystery made known to His saints? There is only one way; “by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” That is how the apostle Paul learned of this mystery:

Rom 16:25  Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

Gal 1:12  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That is how the apostle Peter learned of this mystery:

Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

That is how the apostle John learned of this mystery:

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John

That is how we will all learn of this mystery. What is this mystery being revealed to us as “the things written therein which we are to keep… the sayings of the prophecy of this book… every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God… [the] all things are yours” of this revelation? Here is that mystery. Here is what this “revelation of Jesus Christ” is:

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

As such we must say these words with our Lord.

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Remember these are the same words we were given in the spiritual type and shadow in the Old Testament at the spiritual type of the founding of the body of Christ, at the blowing of the trumpet at the first Pentecost at mount Sinai.

Exo 19:11  And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

Exo 19:15  And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
Exo 19:16  And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that [was] in the camp trembled.

These seven trumpets announce the war being fought against the enemy in our land. ‘The land’ signifies our bodies which are occupied from birth with many ‘giant’ passions and lusts which are “enmity against God” (Rom 8:2). That ‘land’ and that ‘giant’ enemy are both within. It is primarily within us that “the kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.” The outward fulfillment of that prophecy is secondary to its primary inward application. That outward fulfillment is contingent upon first being applied within against our carnal mind which must precede a new mind, the mind of Christ who will then be qualified to rule the outward kingdoms of this outward world:

Num 10:9  And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

Rev 11:15  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.

These “seven trumpets” warn us that “the third day” is near, and we will soon be meeting our Lord. That is when the fire, which ‘fire’ is the eyes and words of our Lord, begins doing its fiery work in our lives. Remember this verse in chapter one, just before John saw His glorified Lord. Coming to see our glorified Lord is nothing less than being caused to look behind us to hear our Lord’s own voice “as of a trumpet”, which calls us to “go to war in our land against the enemy that oppresses us.” “Then you shall blow an alarm with the trumpets.” Those trumpets are also the voice and Words of our Lord.

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

This all being so,…

What does the fire from the altar which is cast unto the earth signify?

Rev 8:5  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 entire revelation is the words of that “voice, as of a trumpet” which we hear behind us. “The Lord’s day” is revealed to us in the sixth seal which seals away from our view the understanding of the sayings of the prophecy of this book. It is in this sixth seal “that great and terrible day of the Lord” is revealed to us, wherein “every man will say to the rocks and mountains, fall on us and hide us from the face of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath is come.”

Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

That is what the fire from the altar signifies, and that is what the thunderings and lightnings which causes the earth to quake within us all signifies. The altar signifies the cross which we are admonished to take up and follow in the steps of our Lord. The fire from the altar which is cast into the earth is the same spiritual fire of the altar given us in the Old Testament spiritual type and shadow.

Eze 10:2  And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.

We are “the city” and the “fire from between the cherubim” is the Lord’s words and voice which come to us “from between the two cherubims”:

Exo 25:22  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Num 7:89  And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

“The city” is the city of Jerusalem, the Old Testament spiritual type of the “earth” which, in turn, is the type of us all in Adam who claim Christ’s name, but do not want to eat His bread or wear His apparel (Isa 4:1):

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women [“the seven churches”] shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Here is where Jerusalem is called the earth; not just once, but three times.

Jer 22:1  Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

“These gates” are the gates of Jerusalem. “The house of the king of Judah” was in Jerusalem. It is to this city that the Lord makes this plea in this same chapter:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

It is to us that these words are addressed. We are the “earth” into which the coals from the altar are cast, and whose lives are being cleansed by the ‘fire’ that is these coals. That ‘fire’ is always the Word of God, and that fiery Word is in the hearts, minds and mouths His elect.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Christ’s example of dying daily, which He came and set for us, is the fire that tries every man’s works.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

That “voice behind ” us (Rev 1:12) is “Christ in you,” and the “you” that Christ is in signifies “thy fellowservant, and of your brothers, and of those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book”:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

If Christ is in us, then it is we who are commanded… “seal not the sayings  of this book” of which ‘sayings’ we are told to “keep the things that are written therein because the time is at hand.” When it is all said and done, then we will know that this entire prophecy signifies the “war in your land against the enemy [within] which oppresses you…”

1Sa 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD [our own carnal-minded ‘old man’] shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king [Christ in us], and exalt the horn of his anointed.

Num 10:9  And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

Summary

We have seen that the primary purpose and spiritual significance of trumpets in scripture is to call us to meet our God “on the third day,” and to call us to Christ.

Exo 19:16  And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
Exo 19:17  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

“The third day” signifies the day of Christ’s resurrection, and it signifies the day we are “raised with Him to walk in newness of life”.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

We also saw that it is also the function of trumpets to alarm us of the spiritual warfare we are facing in this journey of following our God wherever He goes.

Num 10:2  Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.

Num 10:6  When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

That is what these seven trumpets signify here in the sayings of this prophecy of this book. That is what the fiery words from between the cherbims will accomplish in our lives.

We have seen that the scriptures forbid anyone but the priests, the sons of Aaron, to blow the trumpets to bring the people to God, and to lead them in war. We also saw that it is God’s elect who are the priests, who are the angels to the seven churches, to whom this entire prophecy is addressed. We also saw again that it is these seven angels who represent our fellow servants, our brothers and sisters, and those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Finally, we saw that the fire from the altar is the same fire we see throughout the entire word of God. That fire is the Word of God in the mouth of those to whom He gives the humbling honor of being faithful to His words even unto the death of the flesh.

Next week, Lord willing, we will discover the meaning of the symbols found in the blowing of the first two trumpets:

Rev 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.
Rev 8:8  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;
Rev 8:9  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.