The Interpretation of the Seven Trumpets in Oecumenius’ Commentary on the Apocalypse

Among the ecclesiological and Christological readings of the seven trumpets in early Christianity, Oecumenius’ exegesis of this pericope stands out. He posits that the trumpets signal the eschatological events that must ensue after the second coming of Christ, particularly the punishment of sinners and the renewal of the earth. This article explores Oecumenius’ exegesis and explains that he conceives the first, fifth, and sixth trumpets as symbols of the punishment of sinners and the second, third, and fourth trumpets as depictions of the renewal of the earth. Moreover, this article argues that this unique interpretation of the trumpets stems from Oecumenius’ incarnational reading of the Apocalypse. Since he understands the seventh seal as the second coming, the trumpets must represent events at or after this event due to their subsequent placement in Revelation. Furthermore, Oecumenius reads intertextually each trumpet with a text that was long established in early Christianity as a proof text of either the punishment of sinners or the renewal of the earth, reading the meaning of the latter into the former. Therefore, what Oecumenius’ original reading of Revelation 8-9 achieves is that the trumpets are added to the list of biblical testimonia that witness to the events that must happen at the eschaton.