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Image of the title graphic for the Sixth Trumpet of Revelation 9 of a horizon view of skies of blues and reds with a vertical laser beam on the right and the words Revelation: Its Ongoing Relevancy and Fulfillment, illustration for the Commentary by Dewayne Shappley on The four angels bound at the River Euphrates released.

Chapter Four of this Commentary

Part 6

The Sixth Trumpet of Revelation 9
Also called "the second woe."

Introduction

  Part 6 is composed of the “Introduction” for the Sixth Trumpet and the “Fourteen Scenes” of the grandiose drama as developed in this Commentary.
I. The 34 verses that reveal the content of the Sixth Trumpet begin in Revelation 9:13-14 with the following words:
“Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth
A painting composed of five angels standing at the Euphrates River, four of them ready to release the powers of the Orient that will bring the Three Plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur upon atheistic and hedonistic multitudes to get them to repent, those forces represented by two hundred million horses with lions heads, racing along the Euphrates in the foreground.
angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’”
They conclude with Revelation 11:14, which says: “The second Woe has passed. The third Woe is coming very soon.”
II. The Commentary on the great drama of the Sixth Trumpet is presented by means of fourteen principal “Scenes.” Scene 5 has two parts, and so does Scene 10. Eight of the twelve scenes are dedicated to the Two Witnesses.
Scene 1. The four angels "bound at the great river Euphrates" are released.
Scebe 2. Out of Asia, two hundred million horses bringing fire, smoke, and sulfur!
Scene 3. The Three Plagues of "fire, smoke, and sulfur," of the Sixth Trumpet of Revelation
Scene 4.  The Seven Thunders of Trumpet 6 of Revelation, the Proclamation of the fulfillment of the "mystery of God" and the end of time, and the apostle John eats the "little scroll" which is "sweet as honey" in his mouth but bitter in his stomach.
Scene 5. 
Part 1. The “rod like a staff” given to the apostle John according to Revelation 11:1 measures the church, its worship, and the worshippers. Timeframe, context, and purpose of the measuring.
Part 2, of Scene 5, of Trumpet 6. Commentary on Revelation 11:2. The “court outside the temple,” the “nations,” and the “holy city” are identified. The timeframe of the “forty-two months” is carefully studied and set. Differences between the “trampling” of Luke 21:24 and that of Revelation 11:2.
The "Two Witnesses" of the Sixth Trumpet. Also called the "Two Prophets."
Revelation 11:3-14
Scene 6 of Trumpet 6. The Two Witnesses (Two Prophets) are identified as Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. They are the Two Olive Trees and Two Lampstands of Zachariah 2. Much biblical evidence is cited. They are represented on earth by their faithful human witnesses, especially by evangelists, elders, teachers, and deacons.
Scene 7 of Trumpet 6 of Revelation. The Two Witnesses prophesy 1,260 days wearing sackcloth. Satan-deceived nations trample over the "holy city" for 42 months. Evidence these two “times” are concurrent, taking place in the “little while” before the Second Coming of Christ. Timeline of events and circumstances.
Scene 8 of Trumpet 6 of Revelation. The WORK of the Two Witnesses is to prophesy and bear witness. How they do their work in the 21st century. The source of their prophecies is explained.
Scene 9 of Trumpet 6 of revelation. The POWERS of the Two Witnesses to consume enemies with fire, shut the sky that no rain falls, turn waters to blood, and smite the earth with plagues proves they are Christ and the Holy Spirit, not Moses and Elijah, Popes, or other church leaders, for human beings are never to avenge themselves, rather love their enemies.
Scene 10. 
Part 1 of Scene 10 of the Sixth Trumpet of Revelation. The Two Witnesses end their testimony in 1,260 days, a period fixed on graphical Timelines of Revelation. No remedy for unrepentant humans left on earth after that period. Why? Their Satanic armor. Limits to God’s marvelous and admirable forbearance and patience.

Part 2, of Scene 10, of Trumpet 6 of Revelation. The War against the Two Witnesses: They are conquered, and some are killed, thus completing the number of the martyrs of Christ. The War of Harmagedon is real, Christ and the Holy Spirit are left silent and as if “dead” when their faithful representatives on earth are overcome.

Scene 11, of Trumpet 6 of Revelation. The Two Witnesses lie dead in the street of the great city for three and a half days. The great city spiritually as Sodom, Jerusalem, and Egypt. Dead bodies not buried. The enemies who kill them rejoice and exchange gifts. Explanations and applications.

Scene 12, of Trumpet 6 of Revelation. The representatives of the Two Witnesses, that is, their spokespeople and defenders on earth, dead for three and a half days, are physically resurrected, and, hearing a voice calling them, ascend to heaven, their astounded enemies literally beholding both events. Last events of the Second Woe.

A graphic of an artistic timeline along a rectangle of shades of blue transitioning to shades of red, showing the transition from the Millennium to the "little while," to Armageddon, and the Second Coming of Christ.
III. For the following reasons, the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Sixth Trumpet is projected for the last stage of the "little while" that comes after the “thousand years” (Millennium).
A. First reason. It is observed that the revelations of the Sixth Trumpet (the Second Woe) end with the lifting up of the “two witnesses… to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them,” and “At that moment there was a great earthquake.” Having taken place thus these events, we are informed that: “The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.” Revelation 11:11-14
Now then, this “third woe,” synonymous with the Seventh Trumpet, marks the end of time, and, concomitantly, the end of the material universe. “…in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:7
When the “seventh angel” blows “his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled.” That is, it comes to its culmination and is finalized. Fulfilled thus the plan God laid out for the human race and the material universe, “There will be no more delay,” the translation of most versions. The King James Version translates: “…there should be time no longer,” and a few others with that or a similar translation. Revelation 10:6.
Since this is precisely what happens when the Seventh Trumpet is blown, we must necessarily anticipate the fulfillment of the Sixth Trumpet prophecies in the particular time period that immediately precedes the fulminating event of the total destruction of planet Earth that occurs almost immediately. Revelation 11:13; 16:17-21. That time period is identified specifically in Revelation 20:1-3 as the "little while." Or, “short time” in many translations. Therefore it appears completely reasonable to project the fulfillment of the Sixth Trumpet prophecies for the “little while.”
B. Second reason. Some parallel elements are apparent in the Sixth Trumpet and the Sixth Bowl of Wrath.
With reference to the “seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God,” we are informed they contain “seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.” Revelation 15:1, 7. That is, it reaches its climax, exploding in the final destruction of his enemies and the ensuing destruction of the material universe.
Guided by such clear information, doubtless, we do not err by projecting for the last stage of the “little while” these “seven bowls” filled with the seven last plagues, for it is precisely then, during those last agonizing days of that somber “little while,” that the wrath of God is consummated.
A vivid painting of seven angels in hues of gold and white with large wings in the act of recieving the seven bowls of the wrath of God which are the seven last plagues, an illustration for scenes of Revelation.
Given, then, that the Sixth Bowl belongs, unquestionably, to the “little while,” if it is also true that some events proclaimed by the Sixth Trumpet are the same as those that transpire when the Sixth Bowl is poured out, impacting the very same place, logically it is to be deduced that the prophecies of the Sixth Trumpet are fulfilled during the “little while.”
Let us take a close look at the similarities between the Sixth Bowl and the Sixth Trumpet.
1. Parallelism of events. 
a) A “battle” is prophesied in the revelations of the Sixth Trumpet and also in those of the Sixth Bowl.
When the Sixth Trumpet is blown, the scene we behold, according to Revelation 9:13-21, is, effectively, of a great battle between, on the one hand, the divine forces of God, and on the other, human beings so deceived and depraved that they will not repent though sorely punished by God, whose motive is not to kill them but to motivate them to drastically change their mindset, recognizing him as the Creator and obeying his good and perfect will for them.
Parallelly, when the Sixth Angel pours out the Sixth Bowl of the wrath of God, Satan’s “three foul spirits,” who are “demonic spirits, performing signs… go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” “And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.” In between these statements, in verse 15, are words that offer an alternative to becoming victims of the “three foul spirits.” They say: “See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed, not going about naked and exposed to shame.”
b) Plagues in both prophecies.
In the first fearful scene that takes place when the Sixth Trumpet is blown, “three plagues” result in the death of “a third of humankind.” Revelation 9:13-19
Parallelly, all the evil things that happen when the Sixth Bowl is poured out on the earth are agglomerated in the category of “plague,” for the Sixth Bowl contains the sixth plague of the seven last plagues. Revelation 16:12-16
2. Parallelism of place. 
When the Sixth Trumpet is blown, "the great river Euphrates" appears in the first scene. Revelation 9:14
Parallelly, “the sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east.” Revelation 16:12
Fully established, then, the parallelism between the Sixth Trumpet and the Sixth Bowl, and considering irrefutable the affirmation that the prophecies of the Sixth Bowl are for the “little while,” it is surely correct to deduce that the prophecies of the Sixth Trumpet should be assigned to the last phase of the “little while.”
Therefore, that is exactly where I would anticipate their fulfillment, and believe the analysis and applications developed in this Commentary support this conclusion.

Text and Document Composition by the author Homer Dewayne Shappley. All rights reserved. The only restrictions on the use of this document are the sale of it in any format and proper identification of its origin.

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Next: Scene 1. The four angels "bound at the great river Euphrates" are released.

hshappley@yahoo.com

Category. Revelation: Its Ongoing Relevancy and Fulfillment. Commentary.

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