Read with Me
Revelation 8:1-6 (NET)
Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth; and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
Lisen with Me
The breaking of the seventh seal does not in itself bring a specific judgment on the persecutors of the church. Instead, it ushers in seven angels who are given seven trumpets, each set to usher in a series of judgments on those oppressors.
The onset of those judgments is foreshadowed by three events. First is a half-hour-long. solemn silence, indicating the solemnity of the impending release of God’s wrath. The unleashing of God’s wrath on a person or a nation is something He does not do lightly, since it dooms not only nations but also individual people. After the long period of praise and worship, with uncounted billions of voices lifted before God’s throne, this absolute stillness was shocking, the most solemn time period anyone could ever imagine.
The second event is the burning of incense before God’s throne, a solemn act of worship. The incense was used as a vehicle to lift the prayers of God’s saints right up to His face. A lot of prayers were being prayed by God’s persecuted people, as is shown by the “large amount” of incense that was given to the angel to burn on the altar.
The final event before God’s wrath is released on the persecutors is a series of “signs”, natural disasters foreshadowing the destruction that is on its way. The flashes of lightning, roars of thunder, and a great earthquake would be instantly recognized by the wise that God was prepared to launch His harsh judgments on the empire. They are not coincidences but are intentionally caused by fire from the altar in heaven being thrown onto the earth, the altar on which the prayers of God’s suffering saints was lifted up before God’s throne.
Now all was prepared. The seven angels stood silently before God’s throne, each ready to blow his trumpet that will unleash the first waves of God’s wrath.
Pray with Me
Father, the thing that strikes me most about this vision is the deafening silence that fell over all heaven as these preparations were being made. Truly it is an overwhelmingly solemn thing to anticipate not just Your judgment, but Your wrath being unleashed. And clearly it is not something You do lightly. As You pointed out, the unleashing of Your wrath destroys not only nations, but individual human beings as well, people who are made in Your image, whom You love, and for whom Jesus died. So, You always try lighter judgments first in an effort to turn the people away from their sins and rebellion before the full weight of Your wrath falls on them. Lord, help us to never pray for Your wrath to be unleashed on our enemies, or even on Your enemies. Help us instead to pray that their hearts will respond to Your lesser punishments so that they can be saved from this dire fate, a fate that even You hesitate to impose. Amen.