‘And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.'
It is possible that the silence in Heaven has been utilised for the purpose of putting into action the prayers of God's people. All Heaven has waited in awed silence while this task has been performed. The Lord in His holy Temple has been receiving their prayers and Heaven (Revelation 8:1) and earth (Revelation 7:1) have waited in silence before Him (compare Habakkuk 2:20 - ‘the Lord is in His holy Temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him'). Now the four angels at the four corners of the earth who will hurt the earth and the sea and the trees will be loosed (Revelation 7:1).
While the six seals were only indirectly the judgments of God in that they involved the activities of men, these are the more direct judgments which go alongside them, more intensified and more devastating, and yet more restricted in effect. When were they released? In the days of John and onwards.
The ideas behind the consequences of the seven trumpets are based to some extent on the plagues of Exodus 7. Hail and fire mixed with blood compares with the seventh plague (Exodus 9:22 following), the sea becoming blood compares with the first plague, as does the undrinkable water (Exodus 7:17 following), and the darkness which follows the fourth trumpet blast compares with the ninth plague (Exodus 10:21 following), while the locusts parallel Exodus 10:4. Just as God was then preparing for a great deliverance of His people, and to lead them into the land of promise, so now God is seen as preparing a new and greater deliverance for His people and is leading them into the heavenly Promised Land.
It is very probable that we should see the first four trumpets as resulting from the release of the ‘winds' by the four angels of Revelation 7:1. These winds are to be released to carry out their work on earth with devastating consequences. Each releases something which affects a part of mankind. Every occurrence of such events can be seen as the continual working of these ‘winds' of God.
The First Trumpet Sounds.