Trumpets-Interlude, Part 1

Outline: Seven Trumpets - Interlude, Part 1
Passage: Revelation 10
Discussion audio (43m)

The sequence of the sounding of the trumpets is interrupted by an angel that flies into John’s vision. As with the interlude that occurred during the opening of the seven seals, this interruption occurs between the sixth and seventh trumpets. The interlude can be seen as describing something different, yet closely related to the events of the sixth trumpet.

The text can seem rather confusing upon initial reading, but many of the images and allusions are quite similar to those that have already appeared. When we carefully examine the similarities and allusions, the overall picture that emerges seems quite reasonable. As we have emphasized in the past, Revelation is less about the details and more about the big picture of where God is leading his people.

In this installment we take up the first part of the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. The overall message is that the time has come for the plan of God for the world is to be revealed. The end of time that Daniel saw is now present. God’s servants are commissioned to carry the message of and about Jesus to the world. This message is sweet, because it is a message of hope, but also bitter, as God’s servants identify with Jesus in his experience of the rejection of his message.