The Revelation of St. John (1558) - Page 10

Seven trumpets are given to the seven angels. The censer filled with fire from the altar, the angel casts it upon the earth. Revelation 8.
original Latin: "Septem angelis dantur tubæ. Thuribulum impletum de igne altaris, angelus in terram mittit. Apoc. 8."

To seven angels trumpets shall be given. A censer filled with the fire of the altar is poured out upon the earth. Revelation 8.
original German: "Siben Engeln werden posaunen geben. Ein rauchfaß mit des altars feur gefüllt / wirt auff die erd außgeschüt. Apocal. 8."

This woodcut captures the dramatic transition in the Book of Revelation from the "silence in heaven" to the sounding of the divine alarms. At the top of the image, God sits in majesty as seven angels are handed long, slender trumpets.

In the center of the heavenly scene, an angel stands before a golden altar holding a thurible (a metal censer used for burning incense). According to the text, the smoke of the incense represents the prayers of the saints rising to God. However, the scene quickly turns to judgment: the angel fills the censer with burning coals from the altar and hurls it toward the world below.

The lower half of the woodcut illustrates the immediate earthly consequences: "peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake." We see a coastal city—likely representing the pride of human civilization—beginning to suffer as fire falls from the heavens and ships are tossed in the harbor. This image serves as the preface to the "Trumpet Judgments," where the first four angels will begin to systematically strike the earth, sea, and sky.