Revelation 8:1-5

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.  And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.  Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

After chapter seven’s description of the work of God to bring salvation through the witness of the 144,000, John’s vision continues to show the opening of the final seal.  This final seal is the most powerful of all because it contains the seven trumpets and the seven bowls.  We have seen judgments up to this point but nothing like what we are about to see.

A DRAMATIC PAUSE: The phrase “calm before the storm” comes to mind when reading this account.  There are times at a sporting event or other occasion that the crowd will observe a moment of silence to honor a fallen soldier or someone else who has passed.  Typically, these observations last about thirty seconds.  This “moment of silence” lasts for thirty minutes.  That would seem like an eternity in today’s world.  This is likely to demonstrate the importance of what is about to take place.  The day of the Lord’s wrath has come and more judgments like were seen in the sixth seal are about to be hurled upon the face of the earth.

A DETERMINED PRAYER: After the silence an angel steps forward with a golden censer in which incense is gathered and with it the prayers of the saints are accumulated.  Christians throughout the history of the church have praying against the injustice that plagues this sin cursed world.  We pray for the glory of God to be revealed upon the earth.  There may be times when these prayers seem to go unanswered because injustice continues to plague our world and God is often reviled and rejected.  We can be assured that all those prayers will be answered.  Injustice will be forever vanquished, and God’s glory will shine brighter that the noon day sun on a cloudless day.

A DECIMATING POWER: The angel throws this censer down on the earth with fire that had been taken from the altar. Thunder, lightning, and an earthquake are the result of this symbolic act.  This is a dramatic presentation of the judgments that are about to fall on the face of the earth.  There are seven angels with seven trumpets that are about to start blowing.  Each trumpet, like the seven seals, contains a type of judgment or catastrophic event on the earth.  The final trumpet will have seven more judgments that are even more severe.  Destruction is about to fall on the face of the earth.  This will provide a stark contrast to the reign of Christ that is coming.

APPLICATION: Pause to contemplate the power and glory of our God.  Pray for God’s glory to revealed on earth and for injustice to be corrected, but don’t be discouraged if those prayers are not immediately answered.  Worship God for His perfect holiness and incredible power.