The Secret of the Seven Thunders

In the book of Revelation, a sequence of seven seals is followed by a sequence of seven trumpets. The opening of the sixth seal (the darkening of the sun and moon) coincides with the end of Israel’s tribulation and the appearance of the Messiah on the Mount of Olives. Then, at the opening of the seventh seal, the people of Israel have been gathered as a great multitude from all nations, and a selection of 144,000 young men from among them are sealed (Rev. 7).  They are sent forth to proclaim the message of the Kingdom worldwide, with the assurance that none of the plagues that occur during the seven trumpets will harm them. The seven trumpets herald with great intensity the jubilee year (cf. Lev. 25:9), which marks the beginning of the (seventh) Millennium.

The Opened Little Scroll

By Revelation 10, six trumpets have passed. The vision of “the opened little scroll” serves as an introduction to the climax: the seventh trumpet. At that moment, the Kingdom of God will have been definitively established over all nations. The scroll in Rev. 5 and 6 is the deed of purchase for the land of Israel, and the opening of the seven seals effects the actual transfer of the redeemed land. But the “opened scroll” in Rev. 10 pertains to the entire world. That is why the angel holding the scroll stands with one foot on the earth and the other on the sea—he has, so to speak, ‘occupied’ (i.e., liberated) the whole world. And in verse 3 we read:

And he cried out with a loud voice,
just as a lion roars;
and when he cried out,
the seven thunders spoke their voices.

The Seven Thunders

The “loud voice” subtly refers to the “Lion of Judah,” about to extend His reign from Zion over the whole world (cf. Joel 3:16). At the same time, the seven thunders utter an explicit message—they speak. And John notes what they say, because verse 4 continues:

And when the seven thunders had spoken,
I was about to write;
but I heard a voice from heaven, saying,
Seal those things which the seven thunders spoke,
and do not write them.

How curious! In this book of Revelation (which means ‘unveiling!’), John is commanded to conceal what he heard. The content remains hidden or secret. Over the centuries, many self‑proclaimed prophets (William Branham, pastor Leenhouts, and others) have claimed to fill this gap, insisting they were told what John heard in the seven thunders. But is that legitimate? Or should Scripture interpret Scripture here? Verse 7 proceeds:

But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel,
when he is about to sound his trumpet,
THEN the mystery of God shall be finished…

The proclamation of the secret

What would John be referring to with “the secret of God”? What else than that which had just been sealed and was not to be written down?! The context makes it clear. The definite article (“the secret” or “the mystery”) likewise presupposes that the reader is expected to know which secret is meant.

John is assured that “the secret” would be “consummated” at the seventh trumpet. “Consummated” indicates that the secret had already been present earlier, but not yet in full. Logical, for it had to be sealed and kept silent. Once the secret is consummated, it is no longer a secret but revealed. Does this mean that nothing more can be said about this secret, as quite a few interpreters have concluded? In my view, no, because once we arrive in Revelation 11, John describes the blowing of the seventh trumpet and notes the following (11:15):

And the seventh messenger trumpets.
And loud voices occurred in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of this world became our Lord’s and His Christ’s,
and He shall be reigning for the eons of the eons!”

Note: the seventh trumpet sounds, and also loud voices sound in heaven. Is that not exactly what we could have expected? What the voices of the seven thunders had to report was, up to this point, still a secret. But a secret that was to be consummated in the days of the seventh trumpet. And now the seventh trumpet is blown, and guess what? Loud voices sound in heaven! These are the thunders John had heard earlier but whose message he was not yet allowed to make known, because it would have been premature. Now that the seventh trumpet has been blown, it is no longer a secret, and so John also reports what they say. It is the declaration that the kingdom of the world has become the possession of Jesus Christ. From now on, He will be King for the eons of the eons! What in chapter 10 would still have been premature to proclaim (and therefore had to remain hidden), may now be openly declared!

Delen: