As we come to Revelation 8-9, the dark clouds on the horizon grow darker. It is difficult to even read through these chapters, more difficult to preach them, and more difficult still to contemplate their occurrence. We were introduced to a scroll in Revelation 4-5 that seems to represent the purposes and plans of God. That scroll is taken by the Lamb, Jesus, the only one worthy to open the scrolls. The scroll was sealed with 7 seals, and the first 6 were opened in Chapter 6. These seals were troubles on the earth as human conflicts, wars, famine, and death swept across the pages of human history. The 5th seal was the awful reality of believers martyred because of the word of God and the testimony they had given. The 6th seal was a variety of natural catastrophes as if creation itself was coming apart. After the interlude of Chapter 7, the vision comes back to the last seal, the 7th seal. The 7th seal introduces a new group of “7’s”, 7 trumpets, and these trumpets announce an escalation in the great convulsion of good versus evil.