Strange Stories: the Trumpets of Revelation

Turning back time in Revelation 8:7-11:19

Identifying the pattern of Genesis 1 in later texts as either a literary device or in the way that God orders human history is extremely enlightening. But watching God run that pattern backwards is utterly terrifying.

There are numerous, although infrequent, examples of such reversals in Scripture. Sometimes they describe the step-by-step removal of the curse of the Law, much like the reversal of the shadow on the sun dial of Ahaz as a sign that the lifespan of King Hezekiah would be extended (Isaiah 38:8). In that case, it was ten steps as an allusion to the removal of the curses of the Law of Moses.

But at other times, they describe the deconstruction of the old order under the judgment God. The new order would thus be, in covenantal terms, “a new heaven and a new earth.”

The seven trumpets in the book of Revelation are a unique example of such a reversal because it runs the pattern forwards and backwards at once.

Since the book is structured after the harvest calendar in Leviticus 23, this section corresponds to the Feast of Trumpets. The imagery is impenetrable unless we use the sequences given to us in the Torah as a lens. Then the entire book, as well as the various recapitulations within it, make perfect sense.

The trumpets here are the apostolic legal witness against Jerusalem, the first-century “harlot city” who was killing the prophets of God as Queen Jezebel had done. That explains why post-Pentecostal Jerusalem is pictured as a pagan priesthood a few chapters later—worshiping a beast like the golden calf, and calling down fire from heaven like the priests of Baal (Revelation 13:12-13). Paul would likely have added that they were also cutting themselves in circumcision as if their flesh were acceptable to God (1 Kings 18:28). Like Jehu, Jesus would proclaim a great feast for Baal in the city and lock the doors (2 Kings 10:18-27). In this case, the pagan feast was the final Passover when all the hardliners from across the empire who had rejected the Gospel were in the city—and General Titus was laying in wait. Having rejected the flesh and blood of Christ, their table became a snare, just as Paul had warned (Romans 11:9).

But that beastly rebellion was not a proclamation but a response to the testimony of Jesus in the Spirit-filled Church—the true priests who had received the indwelling fire from heaven on the Day of Pentecost. That witness is what is described in the sequence of trumpets.

As mentioned, this sevenfold sequence runs both forwards and backwards, depending on how you look at it. It reminds me of the ingenious fight sequence at the end of Marvel’s Dr Strange movie. The destruction of Hong Kong is being reversed—time is running backwards, and buildings, cars, and people are being restored. However, the antagonists and the protagonists are fighting each other in normal time, dodging, and sometimes employing, all of the brutal elements of destruction as they occur in reverse. It is mesmerising to watch, and a brilliant cinematic folly.

https://youtu.be/n7YrfutBMtU

So, the seven trumpets in Revelation weave two threads of the matrix together—dominion and covenant—but dominion runs forwards and covenant runs backwards. The only reason this can work is that the Bible Matrix at its core is chiastic (symmetrical) in shape. What does this mean? A clue is given to us by John the Baptist—“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30).

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As the final, and greatest, Old Testament prophet, his “scroll” was at its end. Almost all of the story had been told, and thus “rolled up.” Even the baptisms that he had carried out would “decrease,” that is, be made inferior. But the scroll that Jesus would open, breaking its seals after His ascension and enthronement, would begin a new story, sending out the four Gospels as warhorses with decrees against the incumbent rulers. The process of increase-and-decrease is also found in the ministry of the third horse (Ascension: Priesthood) which curses the Old Covenant “bread” of priesthood with scarcity and famine but leaves unharmed the royal New Covenant “oil and wine.” Old Israel would die in the wilderness while New Israel would inherit the cities and vineyards of the nations.

The passing of time is like the slow movement of the parchment of the scroll (the Law written on flesh) from one wooden dowel to another. These dowels, upon which the Torah stood and moved, are known as etz chayim, “the tree of life.” But in fact, they represent the two trees in Eden, the priestly Tree of Life (that which man needs) and the kingly Tree of Wisdom (that which man desires). The scroll that passes between them is, in a very real sense, the prophetic ministry of the Church…

For the Jews, even the act of opening a scroll is prophetic. To do so requires a delegation of authority, thus one must be worthy to open it. But when Jesus not only read from Isaiah on the Sabbath but also superseded the written text by claiming to be its fulfillment, the act of closing the scroll also became authoritative (Luke 4:16-21).¹

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The apostles were “turning back time” by calling down the curses of the Law upon the city that was once again murdering the prophets of God. But through this process of deconstruction they were also taking dominion of the inheritance of Israel—all of the promises that pertained to the earthly people now belonged to a heavenly people. The prophets are always God’s “repo men.”

As a simultaneous process of “ending and beginning,” the seven trumpets are a rolling up of one end of the scroll and the unrolling of the other. The story of Israel according to the flesh was over and its sky would be rolled up like a scroll (Revelation 6:14). But the story of Israel according to the Spirit was being proclaimed on earth in the power of that Spirit because the New Covenant scroll—written on vellum without spot or wrinkle—had just been unsealed by the ascended Christ in heaven (Revelation 5:5).

All of this is to explain what was happening during this period of overlap between the old order and the new. The trumpets sequence rolls up the Mosaic order (which was ready to pass away, Hebrews 1:12; 8:13) even while it unrolls the kingdom of Christ on earth.

The Hebrew word for “glory” is a lot like the word for “heavy,” so the rulers of Jerusalem were being judged as lightweights just like Belshazzar of Babylon. Only, in this case, the lampstand (Daniel 5:5) was made of Gentiles and the Babylon was Jewish. The up-and-down of the Trumpets is thus a tipping of the scales in favour of the new Israel—a decreasing amount of stale old worm-infested Herodian “manna” (Acts 12:23) versus a miraculous spiritual increase of “oil and wine” from the Bread of Life (Revelation 6:5-6).

So, for old Israel, the sequence drags them out of Canaan, through the wilderness, and back to Sinai. That is why the process ends with the Ark of the Covenant pronouncing threats as lightning, thunder, and plagues from heaven. Since the Tabernacle elements corresponded to the days of Creation, the trumpets sequence is also a liturgical dismantling of the Temple worship (which is why Peter describes it in cosmic terms in 2 Peter 3:1-13). What does it mean to be “de-created” by God in covenantal terms? It means that it will be as though you had never existed. God was about to wipe the Land clean. The landscape of Jerusalem was so denuded not only of people but also of trees (cut down and used for many hundreds of brutal crucifixions) that it was unrecognisable.

But for new Israel, the Church, the authority of Moses and Elijah, as the two legal witnesses required for an execution (in this case, the Law and the Prophets) which was given to Jesus at His transfiguration, is gradually transferred by God from the old order to the new. The obvious precedent is the removal of the Spirit from King Saul as it was simultaneously given to David. Just so, a troubling spirit was given to the Temple and its rulers—Satan himself (Revelation 12:12). Jesus’ prophecy concerning a house inhabited by worse demons (Matthew 12:43-45) was fulfilled as a sort of antiPentecost. The unrepentant Jews called down fire from heaven and their Baal “obliged.”

Having been cast out of the Sanctuary in heaven (above), he took up residence in the Sanctuary on earth (beside), and after AD70 was cast in chains into the abyss (below).

The Seven Trumpets

Before we start the explanation, here is the Bible Matrix grid. The pattern is drawing on elements from each row—in two directions at once!—so you need this in your RAM.

One more factor that we must take into account is the position of the Land in the sequence. Although it was created on Day 3, it was to be possessed on Day 7. So in Tabernacle terms, the firstfruits of the Land is at step 3 (a promise, like the grapes of Eschol) but the actual Land is at step 7 (the inheritance after the conquest). Since the Tabernacle is cross-shaped and man-shaped, this puts the Land under Adam’s feet (which explains why the priests were not to ascend the altar and expose their “Adamic” nakedness upon the representative sacred Land, Exodus 20:26).

Now, the process of transferring the ministry from the old order to the new means that each peace of furniture must appear twice—at least implicitly—in the pattern. Taking the sacred architectural domains into account explains some of the imagery. The process constructs a new Tabernacle (like the Jew-Gentile “resurrection” Tabernacle of David, Acts 15:16) while it tears apart the old Mosaic Tabernacle, which lost its “head” to the Philistine idolaters due to Israel’s disobedience.

Ark of the Testimony	Trumpet 1	Bronze Altar
Veil	Trumpet 2	Laver
Golden Table	Trumpet 3	Incense Altar
Lampstand	Trumpet 4	Lampstand
Incense Altar	Trumpet 5	Golden Table
Laver	Trumpet 6	Veil
Bronze Altar	Trumpet 7	Ark of the Testimony

Trumpet 1 – Sabbath

In Tabernacle terms, this act calls a Mosaic curse out of the Ark and it falls upon the Land. Israel’s earthly possession of Canaan is revoked.

The hail, fire, and blood reverse and thus invoke the triune office—prophetic authority (the sky above, alluding to the defeat of Adonizedek, evil priest-king of Jerusalem) is removed from this spiritual “Babylon,” then kingly anointing (man beside), and finally even the sacrifices are ended (blood crying from the ground below). The land, trees, and grass repeal the Abrahamic blessings of fertility upon Canaan. Notice that the grass, as “all flesh,” is completely consumed (1 Peter 1:24), so these three items also correspond to the three offices.

Trumpet 2 – Passover

In Tabernacle terms, this act takes the Mosaic covenant (as the Veil), revokes the enmity of the Law (Ephesians 2:6) and throws Sinai, the burning mountain, into the Gentile Sea (the “lake of fire” Bronze Laver).

The sea turning to blood relates to the Exodus (step 2) and the sea creatures and ships relate to Israel’s influence, via the Temple, over her Gentile proselytes (like Hiram, 1 Kings 10:11), whom she had crossed land and sea to make twice the sons of hell (Matthew 23:15).

Trumpet 3 – Firstfruits

In Tabernacle terms, Satan’s fall begins in the court of heaven where Jesus—as the Lamb of God—is finally “bread and wine” or flesh and blood in heaven, and ends on the mountain of Eden where his false prophecies “poison the water” flowing from the Temple to the nations (Ezekiel 47:1-12). The “Wormwood” bitterness is a reversal of the fragrance of the Gospel. In spiritual “Land” terms, it brings barrenness like the spring in Jericho which was healed by Elisha (2 Kings 2:21). This “river” of false teaching—mentioned again in Revelation 12:15—was opposed by the apostles in their letters. In effect, all it did was purify the Church, sorting the true saints from the false ones. Satan, the first false teacher, lost his heavenly position and was given a new earthly one. This time the “woman” would not be deceived because she had a better Adam.

This fall is an ironic “ascension” offering. Satan had finally lost the legal authority he gained as man’s accuser through Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. His curses had been held back through continual animal sacrifices but now He had been replaced in heaven by man’s Advocate, and his legal power was broken. Notice that we see Satan in God’s court when the priest-kings (sons of God) are assembled (Job 1) and also when God restores the mediatory ministry of the Aaronic priesthood (Zechariah 3), but when Jesus inspects the pastors of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, he is nowhere to be seen.

Trumpet 4 – Pentecost

In Tabernacle terms, this act pits the new Lampstand against the old one—Pentecost against the golden menorah. The true Lampstand of Pentecost (as tongues of fire on human lamps) which enlightened the Jews has been rejected by some. In their hardness of heart they were now treating the saints just as they had treated Christ. But there was no more sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 6:4-8).

As Jesus had warned, their eyes were “evil” against their brothers (Deuteronomy 15:9; Matthew 20:15) and eventually their whole body would become full of darkness. Like King Saul, their judgment is confused because they rejected the Spirit and resorted to sorcery (2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; 2 Timothy 3:8).

In terms of Genesis 1, the darkening of the lights in the sky means that their “clock” was about to stop. Unlike Hezekiah, there would be no extension of life, only an extinguishing of the light of their lamps. The true Abrahamic “stars” of Israel would shine in the Herodian darkness (Daniel 12:3; Philippians 2:15; Revelation 1:16).

Once again, a “third” is taken, an ironic “promise” or “firstfruits” of a judgment that would be fulfilled on “Day 7.”

Trumpet 5 – Trumpets

In Tabernacle terms, the “trumpet of the trumpets” results in the devouring of the Land by sulfuric locusts from the pit. The Judaizers take sacred vows to destroy the apostles (Acts 23:12), and they torment them in the five months between Pentecost and Trumpets leading up to the destruction of the Temple—the mustering of Israel’s troops at Trumpets prepared them for the Day of Atonement.

Now the reason why Satan was described as a “blazing torch” at Ascension becomes clear. He is the head of old Israel and the Judaizers are his “body”—a false bride. Instead of being fragrant like Esther (Hadasseh, myrtle) “she” stinks of sulfur. Even worse, the torch and firepot of Genesis 15 are demonic counterfeits. They claimed Abraham as their father but in reality they were the seed of the serpent (John 8:44).

Their description is brilliant meme warfare. These unholy warriors are a mixture of the Babylonian “locusts” in Joel 1, the gathered kings whom Abraham defeated (Genesis 14), unholy Nazirites (with long hair) who vow to murder the saints (Acts 23:12-22), the iron of Philistines (1 Samuel 13:19-21), and the chariots of Pharaoh prohibited by Moses (Deuteronomy 17:16) and traded by Solomon (2 Chronicles 1:16-17).

Satan’s title (Destroyer) is given in both Hebrew and Greek to highlight the nature of the conspiracy as an unholy “intermarriage” between Jews and Gentiles, like that
which occurred between the priestly and kingly “Edenic” family trees before the flood (Genesis 6:1-4).

Trumpet 6 – Atonement

In Tabernacle terms, this act combines the washing of the priests and sacrifices (Atonement) with the crossing of the Jordan and the Euphrates to possess and repossess the Promised Land. The Church was held captive by the Jewish rulers and Jerusalem was now both a city to be inherited (Jerusalem above) and an Egypt/Babylon to be emancipated from (Jerusalem below). The saints are pictured as bold witnesses “dressed in Tabernacle” whose promises are those of David (the lion) and whose warnings are the curses of Moses (the serpent).

The sixth trumpet releases the judgment which was postponed in Revelation 7:2-3—Jesus’ forgiving His murderers from the cross. Like Eve, and the woman in adultery, they had been led astray by their leaders; but the increasing persecution and murder of the saints was high-handed sin and would not be forgiven (Numbers 15:30).

This army is the Lord’s response to the Judaizers—a host of human ev-angels, Gospel witnesses whose message is a fragrant savor of life to some and the sulfur of death to others (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). However, the unbelieving Jews did not repent, and they are described as being just like the Egyptian idolaters.

Trumpet 7 – Booths

In Tabernacle terms the final act gives “the land and the sea” (the entire Jew-Gentile order) to the Church. Just as the Altar and the Bronze Sea were side-by-side in Solomon’s Temple, so here they are both under the “bronze pillar” legs of the ascended Christ who has come to take dominion by crushing the Satanic Jew-Gentile conspiracy under foot.

This is done by a royal decree. The final seal had been the Spirit poured out at Pentecost. John is given this decree as a little scroll, and his seven thunders were to be spoken immediately, not written down. Their power is that of Moses and Elijah, the Law (“do not”) and the Prophets (“look what you did!”) The massacre of the saints is described as a sacrificial “ascension” like that of Jesus. First the head was offered, and now the body was offered, fulfilling the rite in Leviticus 1. Their murder would lead to the “offering” of Jerusalem as an ironic sacrifice (see Zion as an Ascension).

This pause before the final trumpet delegates the Oath and the Sanctions of the Law to John as Jesus’ chosen heir (that is what was meant by him being the “beloved” disciple). John was the representative “Jacob” and the Herods were the representative “Esau” that was being “hated” or disinherited (Romans 9:13). And Jesus was coming as a thief.

The New Testament witness began and ended with Levites named John. They were two cherubim between whom the fiery sword of Pentecost flashed back and forth as a tongue of fire. Just as John the Baptism ate locusts and honey to pronounce curses and blessings, so John eats the “flesh and blood” scroll (Oath) and suddenly beautiful Zion and its Temple are doomed to become terrifying Sinai (Sanctions). Jesus would come soon to touch the mountain to make it smoke (Psalm 104:32; 144:5).

John himself, a “son of thunder,” is the final trumpet. Jerusalem had blasphemed the Spirit—this is not the worst sin, but it is the last sin because it is the despising of the warnings of the prophets. That is why it cannot be forgiven. Just as the Lord came to assess Adam, so John comes to measure the Temple.

Chapters 10 and 11 together work through the same sevenfold pattern as the whole, just like the seven blasts on the seventh day of marching around Jericho. They also do it in reverse like the whole (see Michael Bull, Moses and the Revelation, 140).

The Trumpets sequence, as the testimony of the Apostolic Church, is answered by Jesus’ enemies in the following chapters. The Gospel is the Word from heaven but the liturgical response is to double down and do demonic “Judaism” even harder. See The Dark Trumpets of Revelation and The Seven Bowls of Revelation.

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1. Michael Bull, “Closed Books and Open Doors” in The End of Israel: Jesus, Paul & AD70.