The standard teaching on the 6th Seal, 7th Trumpet and 7th Vial in Revelation has always been that these are three separate events. However, recently I've begun to believe that they are three different descriptions of the same event.
Of course, the only way this would be possible is if you understand that the Seals are an overview, like being out in space and seeing the United States land mass on the spinning blue marble called earth. You can see the mountains, rivers and clouds, and at night even the lights of the large metropolitan areas.
The trumpets are a closer look at what is happening, and would be like flying over the landscape on the US in a helicopter. You can see what happening in a lot more detail, and actually notice that there are lights in areas outside the metropolitan areas visible from space.
The Vials would then be a close up look at the lightbulb or candle emitting the light. Close enough to reach out and touch and get burned.
If that's the case, then there should be some descriptions in these three events that are the same. Well there are:
6th Seal:
Rev 6:12-17 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Two Witnesses Earthquake:
Rev 11:11-13 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. Could this actually be describing the rapture of the saints?
And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
7th Trumpet Sounds:
Rev 11:14-19 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
7th Vial
Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Are these three describing the same event? All three describe an earthquake:
Seal: a great earthquake
Trumpet: and an earthquake
Vial: a great earthquake
Other things described as occurring in the Seals, the Trumpets or the Vials:
Sun darkened - 6th seal,
Moon as blood - 6th seal
Stars of heaven fell unto the earth (meteorites?)
Mountains and islands were moved out of their places - 6th Seal, 7th Vial
Lightnings - 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Voices- 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Thunderings- 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Great Hail- 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Mentions wrath has come/it is done: 6th Seal, 7th Trumpet, 7th Vial
Now above you can see that three of those items are only mentioned in the 6th Seal: sun darkened, the moon into blood, and the stars falling. However, you can see that throughout the rest of the Bible the Day of the Lord mentions those three things.
Day of the Lord:
Sun darkened - Isa 13:10, Mat 24:29
Punish wicked (wrath?) - Isa 13:11
Moon darkened - Joe 2:10, Mat 24:29
Stars fall from heaven - Mat 24:29
Moon into blood - Joe 2:31
Earthquake - Joe 2:10
Sound of trumpet:
Mat 24:31, Joe 2:16 (description of rapture?)
I would suggest that you study the following scriptures that describe the Day of the Lord:
DAY OF THE LORD...
WHAT "DAY" IS IT?
Eze 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
The Day of the Lord
Zep 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 6th Seal
Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: Matches what's happening in the Vials where the vials are pouring out on the wicked
Isa 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Isa 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Day of Wrath/Anger
Isa 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Lam 2:21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied.
Lam 2:22 Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD's anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.
Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
Psa 110:5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
Zep 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Job 21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
Psa 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
Pro 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Now notice what Jesus Himself said:
Mat 24:29-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
That is describing the rapture of Believers!!!
Of course, the only way this would be possible is if you understand that the Seals are an overview, like being out in space and seeing the United States land mass on the spinning blue marble called earth. You can see the mountains, rivers and clouds, and at night even the lights of the large metropolitan areas.
The trumpets are a closer look at what is happening, and would be like flying over the landscape on the US in a helicopter. You can see what happening in a lot more detail, and actually notice that there are lights in areas outside the metropolitan areas visible from space.
The Vials would then be a close up look at the lightbulb or candle emitting the light. Close enough to reach out and touch and get burned.
If that's the case, then there should be some descriptions in these three events that are the same. Well there are:
6th Seal:
Rev 6:12-17 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Two Witnesses Earthquake:
Rev 11:11-13 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. Could this actually be describing the rapture of the saints?
And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
7th Trumpet Sounds:
Rev 11:14-19 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
7th Vial
Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Are these three describing the same event? All three describe an earthquake:
Seal: a great earthquake
Trumpet: and an earthquake
Vial: a great earthquake
Other things described as occurring in the Seals, the Trumpets or the Vials:
Sun darkened - 6th seal,
Moon as blood - 6th seal
Stars of heaven fell unto the earth (meteorites?)
Mountains and islands were moved out of their places - 6th Seal, 7th Vial
Lightnings - 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Voices- 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Thunderings- 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Great Hail- 7th trumpet, 7th Vial
Mentions wrath has come/it is done: 6th Seal, 7th Trumpet, 7th Vial
Now above you can see that three of those items are only mentioned in the 6th Seal: sun darkened, the moon into blood, and the stars falling. However, you can see that throughout the rest of the Bible the Day of the Lord mentions those three things.
Day of the Lord:
Sun darkened - Isa 13:10, Mat 24:29
Punish wicked (wrath?) - Isa 13:11
Moon darkened - Joe 2:10, Mat 24:29
Stars fall from heaven - Mat 24:29
Moon into blood - Joe 2:31
Earthquake - Joe 2:10
Sound of trumpet:
Mat 24:31, Joe 2:16 (description of rapture?)
I would suggest that you study the following scriptures that describe the Day of the Lord:
DAY OF THE LORD...
WHAT "DAY" IS IT?
Eze 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
The Day of the Lord
Zep 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 6th Seal
Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: Matches what's happening in the Vials where the vials are pouring out on the wicked
Isa 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Isa 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Day of Wrath/Anger
Isa 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Lam 2:21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied.
Lam 2:22 Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD's anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.
Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
Psa 110:5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
Zep 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Job 21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
Psa 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
Pro 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Now notice what Jesus Himself said:
Mat 24:29-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
That is describing the rapture of Believers!!!
