Posttribulationism and the Seals, Trumpets, Bowls in the Book of Revelation

Bible Prophecy Daily

Dr. Alan Kurschner gave some context to one of the most common interpretations of the posttribulation view, where the seals, trumpets, and bowls occur roughly at the same time. Indeed, many posttribs believe the corresponding elements are the same events; i.e., the seventh trumpet is the seventh bowl. The posttribulation interpretation necessarily forces a framework upon the book of Revelation because of a deep-seated presupposition that they hold. The presupposition is that the depiction of the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19, with Christ appearing in the sky with his heavenly armies, indicates the beginning of his parousia. Yet, many posttribs recognize this causes a discrepancy because the book of Revelation shows the day of the Lord's wrath unfolding before the battle of Armageddon during the trumpet and bowl judgments. In other words, how can the parousia begin at the battle of Armageddon but at the same time affirm that his judgment does not begin before his parousia? They also recognize the discrepancy of affirming that God's people have been resurrected between the sixth and the seventh seal in Revelation 7 and, at the same time, claiming that the resurrection occurs in association with the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19 that they say initiates the parousia. How, then, do they attempt to reconcile these problems? Enter the concurrent-recapitulation interpretation of posttribulationism. Since this issue is important and a very common point of disagreement between prewrath and posttrib, Dr. Kurschner argues that the concurrent-recapitulation interpretation is not only implausible but contradictory. In addition, he shows that the consecutive-progressive framework is the most natural, intended interpretation to the relationship of the seals, trumpets, and bowls. Seals, Trumpets, Bowls – At the Same Time or One After the Other? Consecutive-Progressive The prewrath position interprets a sequential chronological framework for the seals, trumpets, and bowls. That is, the seal-trumpet-bowl septets (sets of seven) will happen in a consecutive-progressive fashion, with each septet consecutively following each other. For example, the trumpet septet cannot begin until the seventh seal is opened; and the bowl septet cannot begin before the seventh trumpet is blown. The last judgment element of the day of the Lord’s wrath will be the seventh bowl. Accordingly, the seventh seal and the seventh trumpet serve as transitions to the next set of God’s climaxing judgments, culminating with the seventh bowl. Concurrent-Recapitulation Posttribulationists subscribe instead to a concurrent-recapitulation framework with the septets occurring at the same time with the judgment elements giving different emphases or perspectives. For example, it is said that the sixth seal, sixth trumpet, and sixth bowl describe the same event from a different angle. Accordingly, the last element in the day of the Lord’s wrath describes the seventh of each septet; thus, the seventh seal, seventh trumpet, and seventh bowl are the same event from different perspectives. And there are those posttribulationists who hold that it does not describe the exact same event, but they affirm that the three elements occur roughly at the same time. For all practical purposes, the main point is that both of these posttrib interpretations do not view the trumpets and bowls occurring after the seventh seal is opened. It is noted that this debate does not hinge on whether each judgment element within the septets succeed each other; that is not the issue. The main question is: Do each of the three septets themselves succeed each other (consecutive) or do they simultaneously unfold (concurrent)? Dr. Kurschner's aim is to demonstrate that the concurrent view is flawed. He argues for the consecutive nature of the three septets, showing that the seventh seal does not depict the culmination but the introduction to the day of the Lord v...