What’s worse? 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets or 7 Vials?

“And I saw in the right hand of him (Jesus) that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with SEVEN SEALS (capitals mine). And, I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

Revelation 5:1-2

“And the seven angels which had the SEVEN TRUMPETS (capitals mine) prepared themselves to sound.”

Revelation 8:1

“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the VIALS (capitals mine) of the wrath of God upon the earth.”

Revelation 16:1

Sometime after the coming Rapture of the Christian Believers out of this world (check out my post The Rapture – God’s Promise) there will be a “peace” covenant signed by the anti-christ and Israel finally recognizing Israel’s right to their God Promised land. It is believed this time will also see the rebuilding of the third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. We are told specifically in the Bible this agreement will mark the beginning of the worst seven year time period in recorded history which is referred to as The Tribulation. Most Biblical scholars consider “THE” Tribulation to actually be made up of two distinct periods. The first Tribulation period goes from the signing of the “peace” covenant to the Abomination of Desolation (when the anti-christ enters the rebuilt 3rd Jewish Temple and demands to be worshipped as God). The second half, also known as the Great Tribulation, goes from the Abomination of Desolation to Armageddon and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

Matthew 24:21-22

The last half of the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, is going to be a very, very rough time! Never in the history of the world has it been as bad as it will be. No “…wars, and rumors of war, famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places” will be this bad!  Remember, Jesus said those things only “…are the beginning of sorrows.” It will be SO bad that if God did not shorten the number of days (in the second half, the Great Tribulation which we know to be exactly 3 1/2 years or 1260 days – Revelation 12:6) everyone on earth would die! God’s Wrath on this sinful world is long overdue. With the Believers of Christ now with Jesus in Heaven after the Rapture, God will bring His Judgement on an unbelieving, unrepentant world. But in His Mercy, He tells all of us beforehand what exactly will be coming in much the same way Noah told the people of the world a great flood was coming or the angels told Lot about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. And unless they repented, they would die.

In the Bible the number 7 always refers to completeness. Thus, we know from the Book of Revelation, God’s Wrath will be poured out on this world in the last 7 years, during the Tribulation period. His Wrath is lumped into 3 distinctly different categories – Seals, Trumpets and Vials – and each have 7 different parts to them. It is believed while the Seals will take place in the First Half of the Tribulation, the Vials will occur during the Great Tribulation, the Second Half.  It looks like the Trumpets are spread out over the entire seven years. I would now like to address them as they are presented in the Book of Revelation in their numerical sequence:

The Seven SEALS of God’s Wrath

1. Revelation 6:2 – “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” It appears an individual will arise and will be given a bow but NO arrows. This would indicate he will attempt to conquer the world in a “cold war” way, possibly through persuasion. I believe this points directly to the beginning reign of the anti-christ and his one world government concept.
2. Revelation 6:4 – “And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”  No question this second horsemen will cause war to break out on earth. Notice he was given a sword, not a bow without arrows, and took “…peace from the earth.” Apparently, ideological persuasion DID NOT work and he must now use brute force on the world to get them to accept his one world government concept.
3. Revelation 6:5-6 – “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and wine.” Most believe this third seal points to a coming famine, particularly for the poor people as “oil and wine” are told to not be touched indicating the ruling elite will not be affected. Famines during and after war are not uncommon as energy and resources are placed on winning the battles, not growing food.
4. Revelation 6:8 – “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” In an earlier post (The LAST Rodeo – the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), I discussed how a “pale” horse can also be translated as a “green” horse (as it is translated in other parts of the Bible). Green is the official color of Islam and this could very well point to a war started by the followers of Islam (Ezekiel 38 & 39?). Most believe the “power” give to him through war and hunger will result in the killing of one fourth of the entire world’s population. With today’s population exceeding 7 billion people, this means approximately 1.7 billion people will die. It is estimated 60 million people died during World War II. This will be 30X that number!  Whether the one fourth refers to the number of people on the earth or the geographical land mass doesn’t matter. A LOT of death and destruction is attributed to to the “pale” horse, the Fourth Seal.
5. Revelation 6:9 – “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain FOR THE WORD OF GOD (capitals mine), and for the testimony which they held:” We are told in many verses in the Bible that in the Last Days Believers would be severely persecuted for their Christian beliefs. For those NOT previously Raptured but who come to believe in Jesus during the Tribulation, they may be killed for their faith BUT will still go to Heaven, be given white robes and told to “…rest yet for a little season” until it is time for Christ’s return.
6. Revelation 6:12 – “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Can you imagine the thoughts of those still alive on the earth when they see wars, famines and the murder of people espousing their belief in Jesus killed and now they see and feel an earthquake powerful enough to move mountains and islands? You would think MAYBE they would finally repent and realize there actually is Truth to what the Bible says. Probably not!
7. Revelation 8:1-2 – “And when he (Jesus) had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.” In God’s Grace, He takes a very short break from continuing His Wrath on this world. I see similarities here with the Creation where God created everything in six days and then rested on the seventh. Maybe it is time for man to reflect on what he has just gone through and repent? Probably not!

The Seven TRUMPETS of God’s Wrath

1. Revelation 8:6-7 – “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 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.” There is a noteworthy debate whether one third of all green trees and grass are burned because of a nuclear war or some sort of climate change. I prefer the former idea as it seems to match better with “…hail and fire mingled with blood.” Either way, you can be assured the Wrath of God continues!
2. 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 were in the sea, and had life, died: and the third part of the ships were destroyed.” Kind of sounds like a comet hitting the ocean causing one third of it to turn red like blood, which therefore also kills a large part of the fish life within it and destroys a third of the ships at sea.
3. Revelation 8:10 – “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 water; 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.” I find it interesting the word “wormwood” is mentioned 7 times in the Hebrew Bible (remember, the New Testament of the Bible is NOT in the Hebrew Bible) and always refers to bitter or curse. I also think it is fascinating the Ukrainian word for wormwood is Chornobyl, which by the way is also their word for the town Chernobyl, where one of the greatest nuclear disasters of all time occurred. Perhaps the coming nuclear war will cause one third of the drinkable waters to become radioactive, killing those who drink from them. Check out Wikipedia for more interesting information on Wormwood.
4. 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 of it, and the night likewise.” What is amazing is the very next verse (Rev. 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 inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, WHICH ARE YET TO SOUND (capitals mine).” It ain’t over! There is a warning to all. If you think the first 4 Trumpets were bad (or the 7 Seals), you have 3 more to go!
5. Revelation 9:1 & 3-4 – “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, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke 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.” Here we learn a comet, or something like it, will hit the earth causing a huge plume of smoke. Out of the smoke will come locusts that will have the power (sting) of scorpions. Their sting will not kill man but anyone that has the Mark of the Beast (meaning, is worshipping the anti-christ and has not repented to God) will face incredible agony for they will “…be tormented five months”. It will be so bad they “…shall seek death and shall not find it…” Read Rev. 9:7-11 for a full description of what the locusts will look like.
6. Revelation 9:14-15 – “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.” In my last post, 200 Million Soldiers from the East are NOT going on Vacation to Israel! I go into more detail of the make-up o this army of 200 million soldiers (either Muslim or Chinese) marching towards Israel and the battle of Armageddon. Suffice it to say, they are destined to kill one third of mankind! Again, pretty rough times!
7. 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.” Again, some similarities to the six day creation of the world and the seventh day of rest. With the seventh Trumpet we see Jesus has returned to finally retake control of this world, to eradicate sin and begin His 1,000 year reign on earth. While we as believers look forward to that day, the unbelievers will wail and gnash their teeth when they see Jesus descending because 1), they will know without doubt Jesus IS the Son of God and is REAL, and 2.) their doom is sealed for eternity!

The Seven VIALS of God’s Wrath

1. 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.” As the world enters the Second Half of the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation, God painfully inflicts ALL with a “sore” those who have taken the mark of the beast (with which they can buy or sell ANYTHING) or who freely worships the anti-christ for his seemingly godly like signs and “miracles”.
2. 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.” I think it is important to compare this event with that of the Second Trumpet where one third of the waters became like blood and one third of the creatures in the sea died. With the pouring of the second vial ALL the waters are infected and ALL things in the water die. It is getting worse the further into the Tribulation man goes!
3. Revelation 16:4 – “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains and they became blood.” Before we saw where one third of the food supply of the ocean dies in the sounding of the Second Trumpet. Here ALL the drinking water becomes “blood”, not LIKE blood. It becomes blood! I doubt there will be many actually asking for a Bloody Mary drink when all drinking water becomes blood.
4. Revelation 16:8 – “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.” Think of this. Here we have water turned to blood followed by severe heat. What would you do IF YOU KNEW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS? Would you blame God? Would you call Him names? You would if you had taken the mark of the beast and worship his image. So sad and why it is so important to get the Word out to the unbelievers that they may hopefully remember God has told us what He will do to an unrepentant world in the Last Days. At this point IT IS STILL NOT TOO LATE TO REPENT!
5. Revelation 16:10 – “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 pain and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Darkness here could refer to continuing sin on the kingdom of the anti-christ mixed with ALL the previous Judgements. Again, in their worst imaginable adversity, mankind still will not repent. Instead, they continue to call God names for what they have literally brought upon themselves.
6. Revelation 16:12 – “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.” Directly corresponding to the sixth Trumpet which causes the Euphrates River to dry up and prepares the kings of the east with 200 million soldiers to invade Israel for the Battle of Armageddon, God appears to have finally reached the end of His Patience. Man has not repented regardless of all the pains and sorrows He has given them as repayment for their unrepentant sins. The final countdown to Armageddon has begun!
7. 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, from the throne, saying, It is done.” Where have you heard “It is done” before? As Jesus Christ was dying on the Cross at Calvary His very last words were, “It is done.” Jesus came to this world as the Sacrificial Lamb and willfully allowed Himself to die for OUR sins. When He uttered those last words, His mission was complete. When He said it again here He was basically saying “You had your chance to accept My gift to you and you instead elected to continue to worship the anti-christ regardless of the terrible things I have bestowed upon you. Therefore, it is over. “It is done”.”

During this seven year time period on the earth mankind will see the worst time period in human history, a time which will never again be repeated. God told us beforehand what He would do to this world and to those who did not accept His gift to us. Over these seven years the world will see that God is always true to His Word. For them it will not only be painful, it will be scary! For all Believers however, Jesus also said:

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; AND THEY SHALL NOT ESCAPE (capitals mine). But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

1 Thessalonians 5:3-4

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

We are not in darkness. No matter how bad the Last Days will be for the Unbelievers, for those of us who do Believe, we can take an incredible amount of comfort in knowing God’s Plan allows for all to escape His Wrath by simply accepting Jesus’s sacrifice for our sins and in sincerity asking Him to come into our lives so that we may spend eternity with Him in Heaven. It is with this overwhelming comfort I will continue to try to spread His prophetic Words through these posts and also ask for you to help share His message, so we may all do as we are instructed by Jesus to do and that is to “…therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

May God Bless you!