In the trumpet and bowl judgments we find some of the most frightening images in the Book of Revelation. It is vital that we understand these visions within the symbolic categories in which they are written. We must also understand how these visions are shaped by Old Testament imagery and how they would have been understood in their immediate first century context.

The book of Revelation is structured around a series of sevens. In chapter one we’re introduced to seven stars and seven lampstands. Chapters two and three consist of messages to seven churches. Before the throne of Majesty is what John describes as the seven spirits of God which is a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit in the fullness of his ministry. In chapters 6 through 16 are described seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls each describing the judgment of God from various vantage points.

Both the seals and the trumpets are grouped by four and then three. The first four seals form a single unit, the four horsemen. The fifth, sixth, and the seventh seals function on their own: the fifth seal (the martyrs praying beneath the altar), the sixth seal (the final destruction of the fallen creation), and the seventh seals (the silence in heaven). Likewise, the first four trumpets form a unit, which are reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt. The fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets follow as individual units (three woes).

The seals and the trumpets both rely heavily on Old Testament imagery and events. The four horsemen are drawn from the prophet Zechariah while the first four trumpets are drawn from the ten plagues in Egypt. And like the plagues visited upon Egypt, the trumpet judgments are, in part, pleas for sinners as well as God’s people to repent. While God spiritually protects his people through judgment, having sealed them with his Holy Spirit (chapter 7), he allows them to go through the judgments that they may be both sanctified and serve as his witnesses in the world.