Muhammad in Bible Prophecy: Part 5 - The Trumpets of Revelation

The Trumpets of Revelation

Now, the prophecies about Islam in Revelation are centered in the vision of the trumpets.  This specifically refers to the fifth and sixth trumpets.

The vision of the trumpets starts off like this. Revelation 8:2-5

Καὶ εἶδον τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλους οἳ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑστήκασι, καὶ ἐδόθησαν αὐτοῖς ἑπτὰ σάλπιγγες.

 2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

καὶ ἄλλος ἄγγελος ἦλθε καὶ ἐστάθη ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἔχων λιβανωτὸν χρυσοῦν, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ θυμιάματα πολλὰ, ἵνα δώσει ταῖς προσευχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων πάντων ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ χρυσοῦν τὸ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου.

3  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ καπνὸς τῶν θυμιαμάτων ταῖς προσευχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ ἀγγέλου ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.

4  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

καὶ εἴληφεν ὁ ἄγγελος τὸν λιβανωτόν καὶ ἐγέμισεν αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ ἔβαλεν εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐγένοντο βρονταὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ ἀστραπαὶ καὶ σεισμός.

5  And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

We saw in Daniel that prophecies concerning a series of events would begin in the contemporary time period to when the vision was given.  The visions in Revelation were given within a few decades of the destruction of Jerusalem.  I believe the imagery above (altar, censer, incense, prayer) connects the beginning of the trumpets to the services in the temple, which ended when Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70.

The altar is described here in Exodus 30:1-8

ועשׂית מזבח מקטר קטרת עצי שׁטים תעשׂה אתו

1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

אמה ארכו ואמה רחבו רבוע יהיה ואמתים קמתו ממנו קרנתיו

2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.

  וצפית אתו זהב טהור את־גגו ואת־קירתיו סביב ואת־קרנתיו ועשׂית לו זר זהב סביב

3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

ושׁתי טבעת זהב תעשׂה־לו מתחת לזרו על שׁתי צלעתיו תעשׂה על־שׁני צדיו והיה לבתים לבדים לשׂאת אתו בהמה

4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.

ועשׂית את־הבדים עצי שׁטים וצפית אתם זהב

5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

ונתתה אתו לפני הפרכת אשׁר על־ארן העדת לפני הכפרת אשׁר על־העדת אשׁר אועד לך שׁמה

6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

והקטיר עליו אהרן קטרת סמים בבקר בבקר בהיטיבו את־הנרת יקטירנה

7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

ובהעלת אהרן את־הנרת בין הערבים יקטירנה קטרת תמיד לפני יהוה לדרתיכם

8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

Psalms 141:2 connects prayer with the burning of incense in the Sanctuary service.

תכון תפלתי קטרת לפניך משׂאת כפי מנחת־ערב

2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Also, the sixth trumpet ends after the 1260 year prophecy which links the timelines of Daniel and Revelation.  You can see that here.

Revelation 11:1-3, 14-15

Καὶ ἐδόθη μοι κάλαμος ὅμοιος ῥάβδῳ, λέγων· ἔγειρε καὶ μέτρησον τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας ἐν αὐτῷ·

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

καὶ τὴν αὐλὴν τὴν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ναοῦ ἔκβαλε ἔξω καὶ μὴ αὐτὴν μετρήσῃς, ὅτι ἐδόθη τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν πατήσουσι μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο.

2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

καὶ δώσω τοῖς δυσὶ μάρτυσί μου, καὶ προφητεύσουσιν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα, περιβεβλημένοι σάκκους.

3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth….

…………………………………………………………………………..

῾Η οὐαὶ ἡ δευτέρα ἀπῆλθεν· ἰδοὺ ἡ οὐαὶ ἡ τρίτη ἔρχεται ταχύ.

14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

Καὶ ὁ ἕβδομος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισε· καὶ ἐγένοντο φωναὶ μεγάλαι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ λέγουσαι· ἐγένετο ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσει εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.

15 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.

The prophecy of the two witnesses is describing events that happen separate and parallel to the other events in the trumpets.  The focus of the prophecy of the two witnesses in Revelation 11:1-14 is what happens to them after the end of the 1260 days (verses 7-14).  This happens right before the beginning of the seventh trumpet.  This indicates that the 1260 day time period ends during the sixth trumpet.  This shows us that the sixth trumpet begins before 1798. 

Since the trumpets begin with the destruction of Jerusalem and the sixth trumpet begins before 1798, we now have an outline of a timeline for the trumpets.