In a similar way, the eight Kingdom Parables of Matthew 13 overlap in their timing. Two parables may cover the same time frame, but address different aspects of the Kingdom. The Parable of Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price are similar, but deal with different aspects of similar events. The former dealing with Israel in the land, the latter with Israel among the nations.
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
-Revelation 8:1-6
With that possibility in mind, allow me to post a chart I made many years ago. I will then address a few things in this chapter.
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Matthew
24
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Seals
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Trumpets
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Vials
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For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
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And I saw, and behold a white
horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and
he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
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The first angel sounded, and there
followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth:
and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
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And the first went, and poured out
his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the
men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image
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And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come
to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom
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And there went out another horse that
was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the
earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a
great sword.
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And the second angel sounded, and
as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the
third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures
which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships
were destroyed.
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And the second angel poured out his
vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living
soul died in the sea.
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there shall be famines
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And when he had
opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I
beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances
in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A
measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and
see thou hurt not the oil and the wine
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And the third angel sounded, and
there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell
upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And
the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters
became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made
bitter.
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And the third angel poured out his
vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
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and pestilences
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And when he had opened the fourth
seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked,
and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the
earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the
beasts of the earth.
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And the fourth angel sounded,
and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon,
and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened,
and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I
beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a
loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the
other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
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And the fourth angel poured out his
vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And
men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath
power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
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earthquakes, in divers places
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And when he had opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth?
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And the fifth angel sounded, and I
saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of
the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke
out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were
darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke
locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of
the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the
grass of the earth... but only those men which have not the seal of God in
their foreheads.
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And the fifth angel poured out his
vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and
they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because
of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
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For as the lightning comes out of
the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered. 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
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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 casts her untimely figs, when she
is shaken of a mighty wind... the great day of his wrath is come; and who
shall be able to stand?
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And the sixth angel sounded, and I
heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which
are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed,
which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to
slay the third part of men; and the number of the army of the horsemen were
two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
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And the sixth angel poured out his
vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that
the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean
spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth
of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 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.
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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.
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And when he had opened the seventh
seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
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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 nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the
time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou should give
reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear
thy name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the
earth… and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an
earthquake, and great hail.
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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. 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… 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.
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Sorry for the small font. You can use the general concept to make your own chart.
There seems to be some pattern here. Some of the items are more obvious than others. There seem to be parallels between Matthew 24 and the Seven Seals on the one hand and between the Seven Trumpets and the Seven Vials (Bowls) on the other. And they all seem to culminate in the coming of the Lord.
In the last verse from Matthew, we see reference to the "tribes" mourning. We think of the prophecy in Zechariah of Israel weeping when they see the one whom they have pierced (Zech 12:10). Matthew and the Revelation are heavily on Jewish ground.
We also think of the passage in 1 Thessalonians which concerns the Lord coming in the clouds (as he left in Acts 1, as promised by the angel seen there). We've looked at that "Rapture" passage in detail elsewhere (see link below). We also note here the voice of an archangel as well.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
-1 Thess 4:15-17
I'll just insert here a thought from E.W. Bullinger on this chapter for your consideration.
Revelation chapters 6 and 7 present the six seals, the sixth carrying on to the end. The seventh seal contains a new series of judgments under the seven trumpets (Revelation 8:7, Revelation 8:11, Revelation 8:14) and the seven vials (Revelation 16:1, Revelation 16:18, Revelation 16:21). The seventh seal thus embraces the period of both trumpets and vials (Revelation 8:7, Revelation 8:18, Revelation 8:24), and is immediately followed by the Apocalypse (Unveiling of "The Word of God": see App-197), the Son of Adam (App-99). The first six trumpets relate to the earth, the seventh to heaven (Revelation 11:15). The seven are divided into four and three, the last three being woe trumpets. The judgments and woes now to be set forth are just as real, as literal, as the judgments predicted and fulfilled in the past history of Israel; Exodus 34:10. Deuteronomy 28:10. Isaiah 11:15, Isaiah 11:16. Micah 7:13-15.
-E.W. Bullinger (Notes in the Companion Bible, Revelation 8:5)
Next time we will look at the trumpets, woes, and vials (bowls) with a wide lens. Below are some previous studies of the second coming you might want to read.
