Sky Trumpets

Since roughly 2005, folks have reported hearing the eerie sound of "sky trumpets." In 2015, the phenomenon began receiving widespread attention and reporting. In my home state of Virginia, reports of sky trumpets come from Virginia Beach, Prince William County, Gloucester County, southwestern Virginia and more. According to the New York Post, The Guardian, and other news outlets, there was an uptick of trumpet sounds in 2020, especially from places affected by harsh Covid-19 lockdowns.

Some call the strange noises the “sound of the apocalypse” after the Seven Trumpets in the Book of Revelation. Are the unexplained sky trumpets a precursor to the doomsday predictions in the Bible?

The Seven Seals

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ opens the “Seven Seals.” When he opens the first six seals, some sort of calamity occurs on Earth. For instance, when he opens the first four seals, the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” appear. The first horseman is the Antichrist who rides a white horse; the second horseman rides a red horse and represents war; the third horseman sits atop a black horse and smites the earth with famine; the fourth horseman rides a pale horse and his name is Death—and Hell follows him.

sky trumpets the sound of the apocalypse

When Christ opens the fifth seal, it releases the cries of the martyrs; they demand vengeance. The opening of the sixth seal unleashes earthquakes and natural disasters such as the world has never seen. The rulers of nations, the billionaire class and so-called elite of the world hide in caves alongside the poor and wish to die rather than face the “wrath of the Lamb.”

The seventh seal is different; when Christ opens it, nothing happens. Silence falls on Heaven for half an hour. When the silence lifts, seven angels, each holding a trumpet, prepares to sound them. The sounding of the first trumpet burns a third of the planet. After the second trumpet, a “burning mountain”—probably an asteroid—falls to the sea killing a third of marine life and wiping out a third of the world’s ships. When the third trumpet sounds, a falling star poisons a third of the freshwater sources on the planet. A third of the light from the sun, moon and stars goes dark when the fourth angel blasts his trumpet.

The Three Woes

The blowing of next three trumpets unleashes things so horrible, the Bible calls them the “three woes.” The fifth trumpet signals the angel of the abyss, Abaddon, to lead a swarm of locusts to torment humankind. These are no ordinary locusts; they sting like scorpions and their sting is so painful, those afflicted “will long to die, but death will elude them.” As a side note, author Hal Lindsey popularized the notion that the locusts are in reality military helicopters in his 1970 book The Late Great Planet Earth. According to Lindsey, John the Revelator described the helicopters in the only way he knew how having never seen such advanced technology. Some believe Lindsey’s theory helped birth the popular “black helicopters” conspiracy theory.

The sixth trumpet releases four angels bound in chains. These angels command an army of 200 million and they kill a third of the earth’s population. Revelation 11:15 tells of the seventh trumpet:

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (New International Version)

Since 2020, we have been facing the Covid-19 pandemic. As 2021 came to a close, it literally rained fish in Texarkana, Texas. Many feel we are on the brink of World War III with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Food shortages are looming. In Matthew 24:6–8, Jesus said:

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

So, are we doomed? Is the end near? Maybe. But then again, wars, hunger, disease and natural disasters have always been with us. Since the beginning of time, prophets have predicted the end of the world—yet here we are. Besides, the Book of Revelation can be interpreted in dozens of different ways as can sky trumpets. They are not literally telling us we are on the brink of the apocalypse—right?

I cover sky trumpets and other mysteries in my book Strange Tales from Virginia's Foothills to the Coast. Make sure you grab your copy!

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