Seven trumpets and two scenes.

We are now at chapter eight of Revelation, the seventh seal has been broken, and we are at the throne of God. Seven angels are given trumpets to blow while another angel fiddles with stuff on the altar.

There is a nice fire on the altar, and the angel filled a censer with fire and coals, and then hurled it down upon the earth. The blowing of the trumpets gives us a detailed look at where the fire goes.

The pattern in this series of seven events, and in the one to follow, is the same as the pattern introduced when the seven seals were broken. One through four represent physical creation; five is the human position; six is the Christ position; seven is the God position.

The first four trumpets show the effect of the fire upon the four elements of creation, earth, sea, water, and air, in that order. This does not seem to be the four elements of earth, air, fire and water that we spoke of earlier in relation to the four living creatures, but don't be too hasty.

To the Hebrew mind, the sea is the symbol of chaos, very much the same agent of creation as fire, as it was seen by the Greeks. And the heavenly bodies, which you and I would think of as fire, were representations of things that were in the air.

This is nothing more than my conjecture, but it seems to me that John was continuing to combine what was the best "science" of his day, the product of Greek philosophical inquiry, with the lessons of his own faith tradition.

At any rate, the first four events in this series apply to four aspects of creation, as do the first four seals. And when the fifth trumpet blows, we are shown how this fire from heaven affects humans. This is found in Revelation 9, verses one to 12.

Verses thirteen to twenty-one of chapter nine describe what happens when the sixth trumpet blows. This is still the scene where creation is being torn asunder, but this time, the four angels are told to release the four winds to do their work. Humankind, in these verses, as a part of creation, is being torn asunder.

But just as in the last series, John doesn't want us to become too gloomy about what is going on. At just the same place as in the series of seals, he turns our attention away from the really frightening things.

Do you see why it is so important to read Revelation in sequence, and pay just as much attention to the interludes as to the "real action"? John is establishing a very delicate and graceful balance for our proper understanding of the message he was to pass on to us.

Chapter ten is the first scene John gives us in this series, and it is autobiographical. How do I know that it is? For one thing, he tells us in the scene. He is part of the action. Note that the mighty angel he sees is straddling chaos and order, with one foot on earth and one in the sea. The subject is prophecy, and his introduction to being a prophet. Notice how he describes the process. Prophecy involves two main functions. Receiving the message is sweet. Transmitting it sours the stomach. Chapters one through three of Revelation are his receiving the message. Chapters four through twenty-two are his gut wrenching transmittal of it.

The first fourteen verses of chapter eleven are the second scene by which John wants to prepare us for what is to come. Now that we have his account of his call to prophesy, we have his instruction of the way of the cross. Christ showed us his way of dealing with the enemy. We face our opposition and confront them with truth. Not even death will defeat us when we stick to the pattern Christ showed us.

The rest of chapter eleven details the blowing of the seventh trumpet. A short proclamation from heaven accompanies this trumpet blast, and a longer one from the twenty-four elders. Read them over, because they are important.

Now, let's remember where we are. We are in the eternal place, but in following the movement of the lamb into history, our attention has been drawn off to the extent that we forget where we really are. We get wound up in this scroll of life. John, wise pastor and teacher that he is, stops every so often and reminds us where we really are.

John, the prophet, must give us the wonderful answer he has been given. But he must try to give it to people like us who haven't even asked the question yet. So he presents the whole panorama of the creation. He presents it in sevens, because earthly experience is all presented that way. It has been so since the beginning...Genesis.

Remember too, that wrath is about to happen; wrath - the natural consequences of what we have done, both individually and as a race of beings. He wants to tell us that wrath is not fun. Wrath is real. We are accountable, even though accountability may have been held off for a time. But he also wants us to know that according to Gods plan, this process of wrath has a purpose, and as soon as we align ourselves with that purpose, we will be among the numberless multitude.

Seven bowls of wrath are waiting, but in the interest of maintaining that very delicate balance between keeping the dramatic pressure strong enough to get the message through, but not so strong that we just close the book, John takes our attention to another realm.

Next, we look at two very entertaining dramas, but dramas which convey a lot of information.

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