The Days of Creation in Reverse Order.
Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. – Rev 8:3-4 NLT.
As we have stated before, Revelation draws heavily on stories from the Old Testament. The trumpets have clear references to several things. The first is the story of the destruction of Jericho as recorded in Joshua 2:2-5. If you were to take the time to read this story you would find 7 priests carrying 7 ram’s horn trumpets around the city seven times on consecutive days. On the seventh day they went round the city 7 times blowing the trumpets. At the blowing of the seventh trumpet, they were to give a shout and the wall fell.
The climatic moment of day seven at the siege of Jericho was preceded by six days of silent marching followed by seven priests blowing seven trumpets which was an anticipation of the sounding of God’s ultimate warning on day seven. The silence may also have anticipated the silence in heaven prior to the sounding of the trumpets in Revelation 8:1.
If you remember the story, Rahab and those sheltering with her were to be spared. This is a picture of how trumpets can be a sign of salvation or of judgment. Salvation to those in Rahab’s house but Judgment to the inhabitants of the city. It must have been a terrifying omen to those witnessing the spectacle of the procession circling the city every day, then the seven circuits on the seventh day. Three things we can gather from this story. The trumpets signified: salvation, judgment and victory for the people of God.
Chapters 8 and 9 are also a clear reference to the Feast of Trumpets, one of the seven yearly sabbaths (or holy days) in the Hebrew calendar. The Feast of Trumpets, to a Jew, was a warning that the day of Atonement (Judgment) was just around the corner. In the chiastic structure (V shape) of the narrative, the trumpets stand opposite the 7 last plagues of chapters 15 & 16 and follow the same pattern. The only difference being that the trumpets are partial judgments (1/3rd) and the plagues are universal. It is also interesting to notice that both the trumpets and the plagues follow the days of creation backward. This, in effect, is de-creation. That the creation story is being alluded to is fundamental here. On day one, the earth is created, day 2 the water, day 3 the land is separated from the water, Day 4 the sun moon and stars are created. Day five is the winged animals and water creatures, day 6 is the land animals and man and women. Day 7 is rest. The trumpets follow this order in reverse. The creation is going backward. The difference in the plagues is that is says “there was no rest…”
As we reflect on where we have been so far, I am reminded of Revelations companion book – Daniel. In a series of visions that span his lifetime, Daniel goes over the same historical period 4 times, each time giving more detail and a different perspective on the same events. Revelation is doing the same. The 7 churches, the 7 seals, and the seven trumpets cover the same period from different angles.
It might be helpful for you to view my slide share on “Sanctuary scenes in Revelation”