Seals & Trumpets

Editor: David Maas
{REVELATION 4 - 11}

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{SEALED SCROLL}
  1. I Came to be in the Spirit - {PDF Copy} - (On four different occasions, John found himself in the Spirit where he was transported to a new location to receive another vision)
  2. Second Division - Outline - {PDF Copy} - (An outline of the Second Literary Division of the Book of Revelation from Chapter 4 through Chapter 16)
  3. The Absent Church? - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation is a message to the Church concerned with its real-life situation as it bears witness in a hostile world – Revelation 4:1-3)
  4. The Throne - {PDF Copy} - (The image of the Throne presents the reader a picture of God reigning over all things at the center of the Creation – Revelation 4:1-11)
  5. The Sealed Scroll - {PDF Copy} - (The One Sitting on the Throne held a scroll sealed shut by Seven Seals, and the universe was searched for one worthy to open it – Revelation 5:1-4)
  6. Worthy is the Lamb - {PDF Copy} - (The central figure in John’s visions is the slain Lamb who alone is worthy to open the sealed scroll and receive sovereignty over all things– Revelation 5:5-14)
  7. Priestly Kingdom - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples reign with Jesus as priests who render service in his Tabernacle and mediate his light and Word in the World)
  8. The Reigning Lamb - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the slain Lamb, the true Messiah of Israel sent by God to redeem humanity and Shepherd the Nations)
  9. The Exalted Lamb - {PDF Copy} - (The sovereignty of Jesus is based on his death and resurrection, the immovable foundation of his present reign in the Book of Revelation)
  10. The Shepherd King - (The Lamb’s reign commenced with his Death and Resurrection. Since then, he has shepherded the nations toward New Jerusalem) - {PDF Copy}

{SEVEN SEALS}
  1. Seven Seals - Overview - {PDF Copy} - (Upon his arrival before the Throne, the slain Lamb begins to break open the Seven Seals that enclose and the Scroll – Revelation 6:1 - 8:5)
  2. The First Seal - {PDF Copy} - (The Lamb now breaks open the first seal, releasing a rider carrying a bow and riding a white horse)
  3. The Second Seal - {PDF Copy} - (The second rider is on a fiery-red horse sent to “remove peace from the earth” by causing men to “slay one another”)
  4. The Third Seal - {PDF Copy} - (The third seal releases the rider on the black horse, producing economic hardship)
  5. The Fourth Seal - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 6:7-8 - The fourth seal releases a rider named “Death” who is followed by “Hades” gathering up the dead in his wake)
  6. First Four Seals - Aftermath - {PDF Copy} - (The first four seal openings occur under the watchful eyes of the Lamb and the four living creatures)
  7. Martyrs under the Altar - {PDF Copy} - (The Fifth Seal opening reveals the souls of martyrs kept underneath the altar as they plead with God for vindication and justice – Revelation 6:9-11)
  8. Sixth Seal - Wrath  - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 6:12-17 - The sixth seal ushers in the Day of the Lord, the time of wrath upon the inhabitants of the earth and all the Lamb’s enemies)
  9. The Great Earthquake - {PDF Copy} - (The final day of wrath is characterized by unprecedented celestial and terrestrial events, including the “great earthquake”)
  10. God's Servants Sealed - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 7:1-3 - God’s servants are sealed before the “four winds of the earth” are unleashed by the four horsemen)
  11. Numbering the Sealed - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 7:4-8 - 144,000 males from the tribes of Israel are numbered and assembled for transit to the Promised Land)
  12. Innumerable Saints  - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 7:9-12 - John now sees an innumerable multitude from all nations standing before the Lamb and the Throne)
  13. Standing Before The Lamb - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 7:13-17 - One of the twenty-four elders interprets the vision of the innumerable multitude standing before the Throne)
  14. The Redeemed of the Earth - {PDF Copy} - (The one people of God is composed of the men and women purchased from every nation by the blood of the Lamb)
  15. Silence in Heaven - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 8:1-6 - The seventh seal forms a transition to the next series, the seven trumpets)

{SEVEN TRUMPETS}
  1. Seven Trumpets Overview - {PDF Copy} - (An overview of the series of seven trumpets and the several intervening events between the sixth and seventh trumpets)
  2. First Trumpet - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 8:7 - The first trumpet unleashes a plague based on the seventh plague of Egypt but with modifications)
  3. Second Trumpet - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 8:8-9 - The second trumpet harms much of the commerce on which Babylon and the “inhabitants of the earth” depend)
  4. Third Trumpet - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 8:10-11 - The third trumpet produces a great star that falls onto the sources of freshwater, embittering them)
  5. Fourth Trumpet - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 8:12 - The fourth trumpet causes a partial darkening of the sun, moon, and the stars)
  6. The Three Woes - {PDF Copy} - (An eagle flying in mid-heaven announces the last three trumpets, the three woes – Revelation 8:13)
  7. Fifth Trumpet - {PDF Copy} - (The fifth trumpet unleashes the first of three woes, and malevolent creatures began to ascend from the Abyss)
  8. Sixth Trumpet - {PDF Copy} - (The sixth trumpet unleashes the demonic horde from beyond the Euphrates to afflict the inhabitants of the earth)
  9. The Little Scroll - {PDF Copy} - (John saw the scroll again, now unsealed and completely open, signifying his call to prophesy once more to peoples and kings)
  10. Sanctuary Measured - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 11:1-2 - The sanctuary must be measured before the city can be inhabited, but first, it must be trampled underfoot)
  11. The Forty-Two Months - {PDF Copy} - (The forty-two months and 1,260 days both refer to the same prophetic period when the saints are persecuted)
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  12. Two Witnesses Testify - {PDF Copy} - (The Two Witnesses must complete their testimony before the Beast is unleashed from the Abyss - Revelation 11:3-6)
  13. The Beast from the Abyss - {PDF Copy} - (The Beast first appears when he ascends from the Abyss to wage war on the Two Witnesses after they complete their testimony)
  14. Two Witnesses Slain - {PDF Copy} - (Persecuted by the impenitent inhabitants of the earth, the Two Witnesses lie dead on the main street of the Great City)
  15. Seventh Trumpet - {PDF Copy} - (The seventh trumpet or second woe ushers in the consummation of the kingdom and the final judgment)
  16. Babylon Then and Now - {PDF Copy} - (The story of Ancient Babylon’s demise is reflected in the sixth trumpet and the sixth bowl of wrath in Revelation)

{RELATED STUDIES}
  1. The Abyss - {PDF Copy} - (The Abyss is the source of satanic attacks against the church even though it remains under the authority of the Lamb – Revelation 11:7)
  2. Martyrs and Overcomers - {PDF Copy} - (In the Book of Revelation, overcoming saints persevere in their testimony for Jesus whatever the cost, even a martyr’s death)
  3. Priestly Slaves - {PDF Copy} - (To be a priestly citizen of the Kingdom of God requires a life of self-sacrificial service to others, not power over them – Mark 10:35-45)

Cosmic Storm - Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash
[Cosmic Storm - Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash]

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Second Trumpet

Editor: David Maas
The second trumpet harms much of the commerce on which human society, the “inhabitants of the earth,” rely – Revelation 8:8-9.  The second trumpet blast upsets the sea, and thereby disrupts a third of all seaborne commerce. In Revelation , the “ sea ” is vital to the commerce on which “ Babylon ” depends, and it is the place from which the “ beast ” ascends. This explains why, at the end of the book, no “ sea ” is found in “ New Jerusalem .” In the symbolic world, it is linked to the “ Dragon ” and the “ beast .”
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The Ruler of Kings

Editor: David Maas
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Jesus, the Faithful Witness, now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations to the Holy City of New Jerusalem . Jesus is called the “ Ruler of the Kings of the Earth ” in the Prologue of Revelation . This declaration is made in the present tense since his sovereignty over the Earth is based on his Death and Resurrection. He does not rule by hereditary right, economic power, or military might, but because of his redeeming death. The slain “ Lamb ” is the one who sits on the Throne. His authority extends even over “ Death and Hades .”
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