Chapter 7 introduced additional information between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals. Now the chronological progression of judgments resumes. The scene John saw continues to be in heaven.
John continued to relay the revelation of the trumpet judgments that he had received to clarify God's future plans for his readers. John was still viewing things happening on the earth.
"In this chapter there are more occurrences of the words as' and like' than in any other chapter in the Bible, which shows how difficult it was for John to describe the scene which he saw in the vision."320