Seven trumpets
event described in the Book of Revelation

In the Book of Revelation, seven trumpets are sounded, one at a time, to cue apocalyptic events seen by John of Patmos (Revelation 1:9) in his vision (Revelation 1:1). The seven trumpets are sounded by seven angels and the events that follow are described in detail in Revelation 8–11. However, there are also many other messages, events and signs that occur before and after the trumpets that are described in the Book of Revelation, as this is only one section. According to Revelation 8:1–2 the angels sound these trumpets after the breaking of the seventh seal. These seals secured the apocalyptic document held in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne. The trumpets are referred to in Koine Greek as σάλπιγξ (sálpinx, salpinx); this was a straight, narrow bronze tube with a mouthpiece of bone and a bell; they do not closely resemble modern valve trumpets. The final three trumpets are sometimes called the "woe trumpets".
Significance
After the Exodus, God had Moses make two silver trumpets, (Numbers 10:2), later called the chazozra. The traditional sacred horn of the ancient Hebrews was the shofar, made from a ram's horn.
First trumpet
Upon the sound of the first trumpet, hail and fire mingled with blood is thrown to Earth, burning up a third of the trees on the planet, and all green grass.
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This entry incorporates text from “Seven trumpets” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.