I believe the seventh seal contains the seven trumpet judgments. The silence in heaven probably symbolizes the more intense nature of the judgments to come.

Trumpet #1: fire and ice
The earth, trees, and grass are actually worshiped today by many people. God doesn’t destroy all of it, but only a third. Even in judgment, God still shows mercy.

Trumpet #2: salt water woes
Yet another object of worship is damaged. Many people think we evolved from sea creatures, yet they consider them more worthy of life than humans. Go figure.

Trumpet #3: fresh water woes
Wormwood means bitter, and since people die from drinking it, it’s probably poisonous.

Trumpet #4: God adjusts the dimmer switch
There is no known astronomical process that would account for all the stars losing 1/3 of their output at the same time.

Trumpet #5: God "bugs" people
The Abyss is a bottomless pit. How can a pit be bottomless? Think of a sphere, like a ball. Where’s the bottom? It depends on how you hold it. There is no bottom, only a center and an outer limit. The locusts could be specially created animals, demons, or even some type of helicopters. Their leader is Satan, so my guess is that they are demons.

Trumpet #6: God gets personal
Now all-out war is waged, on top of all the natural and cosmic disasters. Some people think the army mentioned here is China. Who else could muster 200 million troops, unless many nations combined their armies? The symbolism could mean demons or weapons of war. Notice that people still don’t repent, even when they know they’re evil and are suffering terribly because of it.

The little scroll
The symbolism of sweet and sour could mean that God’s judgments are sweet to believers, who are getting vengeance at last, and sour to unbelievers for obvious reasons.

The two witnesses
The 42 months equal 3 1/2 years, half of the seven-year Tribulation. Who are the two witnesses? My personal opinion is that they are Enoch and Elijah, the only two old testament people who didn’t die. Others believe they are Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets. From this and other scriptures, I believe the city mentioned here is Jerusalem. Notice that the survivors, who are Jews, finally glorify God.

Trumpet #7: heaven cheers
Notice at the end of verse 18 it says God will destroy those who destroy the earth. God had told Adam to manage the earth and cultivate it, but man has abused it instead. Now God not only ruins the earth but also the people who helped ruin it.

Some people will believe anything but the obvious truth. Even when humanists are shown "impossible" things, they will not believe in the supernatural.

Destroying one third shows that God gives people more chances than they deserve. Even though God knows people won’t repent, he’s still proving a point to Satan— that God gives people a free will and plenty of time to make the right choice. God doesn’t have to guess whether people will repent; he knows. But there are things he does here on earth just to prove things to the angels (see Job 1). As with Pharaoh, God can harden someone’s heart— but only after he gives them a chance to exercise their free will. No one is predestined to choose either heaven or hell, but once the choice is made (and God determines how long we have to make that choice) God can force people to do his will, especially if they have rejected him.

The woman represents Israel (same imagery as in Joseph’s dreams in Genesis). The dragon is Satan and the stars he flung to earth are his angels, the demons (see verse 9). The son the woman gives birth to is the Messiah, Jesus. The 1,260 days and the "time, times and half a time" equal 3 1/2 years, the second half of the 7-year Tribulation. The place in the desert where the Jews will be safe during that time is Petra, an ancient city carved out of stone on the south end of the Dead Sea. (Remember Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? The place they went to where the holy grail was located is, on the outside at least, the actual city of Petra.)

According to my commentaries, the two beasts represent part of an "unholy trinity". The beast out of the sea represents Gentiles, and the beast out of the land represents Israel. These beasts combine the features of those found in Daniel’s prophecy. Notice that it says the beast out of the sea seemed to have had a fatal wound that was healed. Some believe this means that the ancient Roman empire has come back to life. But it could also literally mean the beast fools people into thinking he has risen from the dead, counterfeiting the one thing Christ did that no one else can. Satan and his people have been trying to learn how to raise the dead to prove that Satan is as powerful as God. Since he realizes he can’t do this, he has to deceive people into believing he did it, so they will worship him as God. Besides, in Rev. 13:14 it says the wound was by the sword, and ancient Rome really fell by self-destruction; the Barbarians merely pushed down the corpse.

The beast out of the earth is the false prophet. He pretends to be holy (lamb) but speaks lies (dragon). He makes everyone receive his own "seal", the mark of the beast. It is likely to be some kind of personal account number which is required to do any kind of business, and he will probably do away with cash completely. This beast is probably the actual Antichrist, since he is a Jew. The first beast is the world ruler (secular), while the second is his "prophet" (religious).

Next John is shown a vision in heaven of the 144,000 Jews who were sealed earlier. Then he sees three angels. The first spreads the gospel, whose emphasis in the Tribulation is to worship God rather than the antichrist. The second speaks of Babylon, which we will discuss later. The third tells of the eternal doom of all who have received the mark of the beast. Then another angel with a sickle harvests the earth. This refers to the Battle of Armageddon, since it takes place "outside the city (Jerusalem)". Now God is ready to pour out the last seven judgments on mankind.