“..That there should be time no longer:  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Rev 10:7

Overview of the Trumpet, Thunder and Bowl Judgments.

The seven seals have prevented the opening of the scroll up till now.  Contained in the scroll are the ominous judgements of God, the last opportunity for the ungodly to repent, as they see the stored up wrath of God being poured out, with increasing intensity, on the rebellious world. These are the judgements of the seven Trumpets, the seven Thunders and the seven Bowls.

Reading Revelation 7-11, followed by Revelation 16, one is struck by the great similarity between the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl. (or ‘vial’ in the KJV). It also seems clear from these four passages that the seventh trumpet and the seventh vial together mark the end of God’s judgement and the coming of the messianic kingdom, the millennium. Rev 10:7 clearly states that the sound of the seventh angel marks the completion of the “mystery of God. ”

The seven thunders and seven vials thus seem occur concurrently with the trumpets, or immediately before the seventh trumpet. They seem to be contained within the timespan of the seven trumpets, as both the thunders and vials occur prior to the sounding of the seventh trumpet. It seems indeed that the seventh trumpet is the final trumpet, the conclusion of the outpouring of the wrath of God.

And the seventh angel sounded [his trumpet]; 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. {11:16} And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, {11:17} 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. {11:18} 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. {11:19} 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. Rev 11:15-19

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. {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. {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. {16:20} And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. {16:21} And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: Rev 16:17-21a.

and after the sixth trumpet:

{10:3} And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. {10:4} And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.  

{10:5} And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, {10:6} And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: {10:7} But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

At this stage the armies of the beast are already assembled at Armageddon, just prior to the seventh vial:

{16:14} For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. {16:15} Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. {16:16} And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The seventh trumpet thus marks the end, that there is ‘time no longer’. Jesus is about to slay the beast at Armageddon and establish His millennial kingdom.

A brief summary of the seven trumpets may now be made as follows:

Trumpet #1: Vegetation Stricken: A third of the earth is scorched, and a third of its grass and trees are burned up, but no fatalities are mentioned.
Trumpet #2: The Sea Stricken: A third of the creatures in the sea are killed, and a third of all ships destroyed, together with inevitable human fatalities.
Trumpet #3: Fresh Water Stricken: A third of the world’s fresh water is poisoned with the probably result of widespread human fatalities.
Trumpet #4: The Heavenly Lights Stricken: No fatalities are mentioned, but severe cold and weather disturbances are likely to cause much suffering and even fatalities.  (cf. Rev.16:10-11).
All four of the above judgments are target “the earth”, or  “the sea” , or, in the case of the fourth judgment, both. (deprivation of light affects all living things).

Now follows an intensification of these judgments, with demonic action introduced. These final trumpet judgments are so intense four that they are given the name “the three woes”.
Trumpet #5: The First Woe: Demon Harassment: The entire unbelieving population of the earth is affected.
Trumpet #6: The Second Woe: Demon Destruction: An entire third of the world’s population is killed.
Trumpet #7: The Third Woe:  The bowl judgments of Revelation chapter 16 which precede it are clearly more dire in their effects than the trumpet judgments which collectively claim the lives of over a third of the world’s population.