Seven Trumpets & Seven Bowls

The Book of Revelation speaks of what are called “trumpets” and “bowls”. They are specific events of God’s judgments that will take place at the end of the age. There are seven of each.

We aren’t told how long the trumpets and bowls will last, but we know it will be a brief period of time just before Christ’s Second Coming.

In this article, we provide a comparison chart of these events and discuss how they relate to each other and to the end times. You will also see where the “three woes” fit in and what “the days of the voice of the seventh angel” are. Be sure to have your Bible open while reading our articles, and may God bless you in the reading of His Word!

Trumpets and Bowls Comparison

The trumpets, found in Revelation 8:6-9:21; Revelation 11:14-19, and the bowls, found in Revelation 16:1-21 are not close to each other in the book, yet they are very much linked. The trumpets, occurring before the bowls, refer to ⅓ of something being destroyed, while the bowls indicate more complete destruction. Take a look at the following chart.

You can see in this chart there are multiple similarities between the trumpets and the bowls. Notice that the bowls are intensifications of the trumpets. So while the trumpets are judgments in and of themselves, they are also warnings of greater disaster to come. The full wrath of God does not come until the bowls.

Also, did you notice the first two woes are trumpets but the third woe is not? The first and second woes, Trumpets 5 & 6, are found in Revelation 9. Then we read in Revelation 11:14 that the third woe is coming quickly. But when?

Where and What is the Third Woe?

We are given a hint as to what the third woe is in Revelation 10:5-7:

Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will no longer be a delay, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.

When the seventh angel blows the seventh trumpet, the mystery of God is finished. Everything is done. But before the seventh trumpet is blown, comes “the days of the voice of the seventh angel” – which is where we find the third woe. This begs the question: What are “the days of the voice of the seventh angel”?

What are the Days of the Voice of the Seventh Angel?

Revelation 11:14-18 tells us that God’s wrath (the bowls) come before the seventh angel sounds the trumpet. It is during the “days of the voice of the seventh angel” that the bowls of God’s wrath occur (Rev. 16). So, we can say three things:

1. 1. Before everything is finished, including the third woe, the days of the voice of the seventh angel occur.
   2. During the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the bowls of wrath occur.
   3. We could therefore surmise that the bowls of wrath = the third woe.

And these are the days when the mystery of God is finished. This “mystery” is the reality that there is no longer any delay as to the fulfillment of the things spoken by the prophets of old concerning the end of the age! And when the final disasters are finished, the seventh trumpet announces that Christ begins His reign upon the earth!

For further study see: What is the Day of the Lord? By Got Questions

For More on the Book of Revelation & End Times

Five Reasons Why Revelation is Hard to Understand
When was the Book of Revelation Written?
The Beast from the Sea Part 1 – Seven Heads
The Beast from the Sea Part 2 – Ten Horns
End Time Events: A Brief Overview
War on Israel – Ezekiel 38
The Church’s New Agenda
Will Christians Know Who the Antichrist Will Be?