The Judgments: Seals,Trumpets, and Woes

The judgments depicted in the book of Revelation are the penalty
that mankind will pay for their refusal to believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. John on the island of Patmos near Greece received
the visions of Revelation in AD 96. In the beginning of his vision, he
is specially told to “write the things which you have seen, and the
things which are, and the things which will take place after this.”1
Each judgment is broken into seven parts that bring destruction to
mankind. The number seven refers to completeness in the Bible and
the number three stands for perfection.
The seven seals begin in Revelation 5 when God the Father is
looking for One to open the scroll of seals where it is said,
“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I
looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living
creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it
had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the
seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and
took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.”2
When a person lost their property and became a slave, two scrolls
were made, and the terms of redemption were written on them. The
scrolls were kept in the temple. The first scroll was left open so
anyone could come in and read the debt the man owed. The second
scroll was sealed with seven seals, and when the Kinsman
Redeemer could prove first of all he was a near relative, and secondly
could prove he was able to pay the debt, the priest would bring out the
second scroll. The priest would read the sealed demands for
restitution. The Kinsman would pay the debt and the land would
revert to its original owner, who would then be set free from slavery.
The process of the scrolls was only used for the redemption of land.
There were no scrolls used for the redemption of a wife or a slave.
Now we go back to the beginning of Chapter 5 in Revelation and we
see that the redemption of the wife has already taken place. The wife
is the New Testament Church that Jesus Christ paid for with His shed
blood when He willingly gave up His life on the cross. Jesus will
redeem all of us from the slavery of sin when he returns for the
rapture of the Church. This is when our bodies will be changed from
flesh and blood to flesh and bones. We will have no need for internal
organs anymore because we will be eternal beings. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So, when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and
this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death,
where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”3
The only thing left after the rapture to be redeemed is the earth.
Jesus will redeem the land after the tribulation period some seven
years later. He will return to earth with all the saints and put an end to
ungodly rebellion. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of
the world.4 This will be the first time He sets foot on the earth since
His ascension to heaven. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every
eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of
the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.5 All of creation
groans and travails under the curse of sin. The plants, the animals, and
all kindred nations and tongues await the redemption of Jesus Christ’s
return. He will remove the curse of sin and place Satan in the
bottomless pit.
We read what happened to all of us when God proclaimed His
curse. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and
thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy
desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto
Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy
wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying,
Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of which you were taken. For dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return.6
Now I want you to imagine for a minute what the earth, plants,
and animals will be like when the curse is lifted. There will be a
tremendous change in the weather. There will still be rain, but no
storms. No more hurricanes, no more blizzards, and no more
tornadoes. Where now plants die in the fall, when the curse is lifted,
we will live in an eternal spring. No more dead wood in trees, no
more dying plants and animals. Flowers will bloom perpetually, and
all animals and mankind will live in harmony. “The wolf also shall
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and
the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child
shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones
shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And
the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned
child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”7
The book with the seven seals gives us the terms on which Adam
lost all of creation. John the beloved apostle cried when it appeared
that no one was worthy to open and read the scroll. But one of the
elders said to John, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose
its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne
and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a
Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He
came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the
throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures
and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a
harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the
saints. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the
scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us
to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and
nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall
reign on the earth.”8
We do not know when this Day of the Lord shall come but I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.9 Now,
brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our
gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind
or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as
though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes
first [people will stop worshiping God] and the man of sin is revealed
[Satan’s son], the son of perdition…For the mystery of lawlessness is
already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is
taken out of the way [the Holy Spirit will be removed]. And then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the
breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.10
In these verses the church has already been removed to heaven and
God is prepared to hand over the scroll to Jesus because He has
fulfilled the requirements of the Kinsman Redeemer. Christ and His
Church will soon be ready to rule over the earth and all its inhabitants.
In Genesis it was prophesied that the Redeemer will come out of
Judah and is the Root of David (the creator of David), and the
Offspring of David, the bright and morning star. Jesus Christ is
worthy to open the scroll that contained the seven seals. He is worthy
because He was slain. He was worthy because He has redeemed us to
God. He is worthy because He purchased our redemption at a
tremendous price. He is worthy because He took His blood and paid
the sin debt for every people, kindred, and nation. Then I looked, and
I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living
creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand
times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud
voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and
riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the
earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard
saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits
on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four
living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down
and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever!11
In chapter six the seal judgments are unleashed and are described
in the Olivet discourse found in Matthew 24. In the first seal the
Antichrist is released unto the world, and three-and-a-half years later
the second seal begins the war of the world. The third seal brings
famine and the fourth is the result of the first three, death. Then God’s
people will be persecuted, which will only bring more vengeance
from God. I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there
was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the
earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty
wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every
mountain and island was moved out of its place.12 When He opened
the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an
hour. So, the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared
themselves to sound.13 Even though these things are permitted by God
I believe they are manmade. When Christ gave up His ghost on the
cross our heavenly Father gave up on mankind. God could have
destroyed us at any time, but He didn’t because He is going to let us
destroy ourselves.
When the trumpets sound, one-third of the earth is burnt up. One
third of the sea creatures die, and one-third of the ships are destroyed.
One-third of the water is polluted and many die. One-third of the sun,
the moon, and the stars are darkened. I believe this coincides with the
first nuclear exchange where one-third of the population of earth is
killed. Now the bottomless pit is opened and the fallen angels that
have been bound since the great flood are released. The demon
inhabitants of inner earth go out to punish human beings.
Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven
angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is
complete. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven
angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever
and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God
and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the
seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.13 Now sores
develop on the skin of men, quite possibly from the radiation released
from the previous nuclear exchanges. Everything in the sea is dead
because all the waters on earth are polluted. The sun burns and
scorches people. Smoke and debris bring complete darkness in the
Antichrist’s kingdom. Now the Euphrates River is dried up and an
Asian army of 200,000,000 men approach the Middle East to set up
the final war on earth. The seventh seal produces a great quake,
nations collapse, and one-hundred-pound hailstones fall. This is the
darkest day of earth and man still does not repent from their sins, so
they cursed God. Every island fled away, and mountains were not
found.

1.) Revelation 1:19
2.) Revelation 5:5-7
3.) 1 Corinthians 15:53-55
4.) 1 John 2:16
5.) Revelation 1:7
6.) Genesis 3:17-18 KJV
7.) Isaiah 11:6-9
8.) Revelation 5:5-10
9.) Romans 12:1-2
10.) 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 7-8
11.) Revelation 5:11-14
12.) Revelation 6:12-14
13.) Revelation 8:1, 6
14.) Revelation 1:7-8