{"id":23182,"date":"2018-08-01T17:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/?p=23182"},"modified":"2018-07-28T17:33:12","modified_gmt":"2018-07-28T11:33:12","slug":"scroll-and-trumpets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2018\/08\/scroll-and-trumpets\/","title":{"rendered":"Scroll and Trumpets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Reading Revelation 6-7, we might unthinkingly assume that four horsemen, the martyrs, the sealing of the 144,000 are things contained in the book. That can\u2019t be true.<\/p>\n

This is a scroll, and you can\u2019t read the contents of a sealed scroll until all<\/em> of the seals have been opened. The things revealed as the seals are opened prepare<\/em> for the reading of the book, but they aren\u2019t the book\u2019s contents.<\/p>\n

Revelation is a vision, but it\u2019s not nonsense. If there\u2019s a sealed book in a vision, it acts like a sealed book. It can\u2019t be read until it\u2019s opened.<\/p>\n

When the seventh seal is opened at the beginning of chapter 8, there\u2019s a pause, silence in heaven for a half hour. During the pause, seven angels come out from heaven, each with a trumpet. When they begin to blow the trumpets, the world starts falling apart.<\/p>\n

We might think that the trumpets proclaim the contents of the now-unsealed scroll. But that\u2019s not right either.<\/p>\n

The scroll reappears in chapter 10, when a \u201cstrong angel\u201d comes from heaven, clothed with a cloud and a rainbow around his head, to hand the book to John. John eats the book, which is sweet to his taste and bitter in his stomach, and then he is commanded to prophesy.<\/p>\n

What will he say? He\u2019s going to prophesy the contents of the book that he\u2019s just eaten, the book that has just been gone into his inner parts. Because a man speaks from his inner parts, from his belly.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t learn the contents of the book until we get to chapters 11 and following. Up to that point, John has not seen things that \u201cmust shortly come to pass.\u201d He sees things that have happened a short time ago. But once he receives the book, eats it, and begins to speak, then Revelation kicks into prophetic gear. Only then do we discover how God is going to vindicate His witnesses.<\/p>\n

So what are<\/em> the trumpets? We have an anchor for these visions, the ascension of the Lamb in chapter 5. The following chapters describe events that follow the ascension of Jesus.<\/p>\n

The Lamb has ascended, and has taken and opened the book. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and before the words of the scroll are spoken there\u2019s a trumpet fanfare. The trumpets command attention; they call the world, and especially the people of the land, to listen to what the Lamb\u2019s book says.<\/p>\n

They prepare the world, and the people of the land, for the proclamation of the contents of the book.<\/p>\n

The astonishing thing is that the Lamb remains silent. He doesn\u2019t say a thing and He doesn\u2019t read the book. Instead, He hands over the book to John.<\/p>\n

The voice that announces the contents of the heavenly book is a human<\/em> voice. Jesus entrusts the proclamation of the world\u2019s destiny to a man.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Revelation 6-7, we might unthinkingly assume that four horsemen, the martyrs, the sealing of the 144,000 are things contained in the book. That can\u2019t be true. This is a scroll, and you can\u2019t read the contents of a sealed scroll until all of the seals have been opened. The things revealed as the seals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":19828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-nt-revelation"],"yoast_head":"\nScroll and Trumpets<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reading Revelation 6-7, we might unthinkingly assume that four horsemen, the martyrs, the sealing of the 144,000 are things contained in the book. 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