The blowing of the seventh trumpet represents the third woe (see Revelation 8:13). Given the horrors that accompany the first two woes (the fifth and sixth trumpets, Revelation 9:1–21), John’s reader will be expecting dreadful material in Revelation 10:1–11. The Lord delays the blowing of the seventh trumpet so that he might encourage John and his readers in preparation for this trumpet. Here is the Lord’s mercy and pastoral care for his church. This point is the more significant when we recall that the angels blow their trumpets in response to the prayers of the saints (Revelation 8:3). If the result of prayer is that such horrid calamities break out upon the earth, the temptation is for saints to refrain from praying. The interruption of Revelation 10:1–11 is intended to encourage the saints to continue to pray.
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.