Preparing For The Blasts Of The Trumpets

John goes on to say: "And the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow them." (Revelation 8:6) What does the blowing of those trumpets mean? In the days of Israel, trumpet blasts were used to signal important days or noteworthy events. (Leviticus 23:24; 2 Kings 11:14) Similarly, the blasts of the trumpets that John is to hear will call attention to matters of life-and-death importance.

As the angels got ready to blow those trumpets, no doubt they were also giving direction to a preparatory work one earth. From 1919 to 1922, the revitalized John class was busy in reorganizing the public ministry and building up publishing facilities. In 1919 the magazine The Golden Age, known today as Awake!, had been brought forth as "A Journal of Fact, Hope and Conviction"-a trumpet like instrument that would play a key role in exposing false religion's political involvements.

As we shall now see, each of the trumpet blasts heralds a dramatic scene in which terrible plagues affect portions of the earth. Some of these remind us of the plagues that Jehovah sent to punish the Egyptians in Mose's day. (Exodus 7:19-12:32) These were expressions of Jehovah's judgment on that nation, and they opened the way for God's people to escape from slavery. The plagues seen by John accomplish something similar. However, they are not literal plagues. They are signs that symbolize Jehovah's righteous judgments. -Revelation 1:1.

Next time: Identifying The "Third"