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Redemption of the Nations

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SYNOPSIS:   The nations and the kings of the earth are found in New Jerusalem because of the redemptive work of the Lamb.
The Book of Revelation presents images that are jarring, paradoxical, and, occasionally, subversive.  They challenge human wisdom and institutional explanations of how God works. His plans to consummate His sovereignty over the earth, overthrow His enemies, and judge the nations are not according to the expectations and desires of the carnal mind. Just as his contemporaries did not understand what kind of Messiah Jesus was, so interpreters often fail to comprehend the Lamb presented in Revelation.
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Third Trumpet

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SYNOPSIS:  The third trumpet produces a “great star” that falls onto the sources of freshwater, embittering them – Revelation 8:10-11.
The description of the third trumpet includes imagery from the first plague of Egypt when Yahweh struck its sources of freshwater. As Moses warned, God struck all the  freshwater sources so the “Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river,” turning their waters “into blood.” Thus, the “fish that are in the river will die and the river shall become foul” (Exodus 7:17-21).
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Second Trumpet

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SYNOPSIS:The second trumpet harms much of the commerce on which Babylon and the “inhabitants of the earth” depend – Revelation 8:8-9. 
The second trumpet sounds, upsetting the sea, thus, disrupting a third of all commerce on it. In the book of Revelation, the “sea” is vital to the commerce on which “Babylon” depends, and it is the source of evil and chaos. In part, this explains why no “sea” is found in New Jerusalem. In the symbolical world of Revelation, the “sea” is linked to the “Dragon” and the “Beast” (Revelation 15:1-5, 18:17-21, 20:13, 21:1).
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First Trumpet

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SYNOPSIS:The first trumpet unleashes a plague based on the seventh plague of Egypt, but with modifications – Revelation 8:7. 
The first four trumpets use imagery from two events out of the history of ancient Israel – The “ten plagues” of Egypt, and the judicial pronouncement by Jeremiah against the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The “plagues” are based on the seventh, first, and ninth plagues of Egypt, the “hail,” “blood,” and “darkness” (Exodus 7:15, Jeremiah 51:25).
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Overview of the Seven Trumpets

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SYNOPSIS: An overview of the Seven Trumpets and the several intervening events – Revelation 8:7-11:19.  
Structurally, the Seven Trumpets follow the same pattern as the Seven Seals. The series begins with the first four trumpets. Like the first four seals, the first four trumpets form a group distinct from the last three. The group is followed by fifth and sixth trumpets. Then, several events interrupt the series before the seventh trumpet sounds.
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Innumerable Multitude - Interpretation

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SYNOPSIS:  One of the “elders” interprets the vision of a vast multitude that “no man could number,” standing before the Throne - Revelation 7:13-17.
In Chapter 5, one of the elders pointed to the Lamb as one who fulfills the messianic role of the victorious “lion of the tribe of Judah.” Likewise, at the end of Chapter 7, “one from among the elders says” provides John with the interpretation of the sealed company, the vast “innumerable multitude” he saw “standing” in celebration before the Throne and the Lamb. Two questions are answered:  Who are these men and women, and, from where did they come?
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