Silence

TCBlack

Fame Evangelical Church

Revelation Wide Open • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

Revelation 8:1–6

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Notes

Transcript

Introduction

We move from the sixth seal to the seventh seal in chapter 8. The breaking of each seal has brought some event or symbol: four horsemen representing God’s judgement calls to repentance, the fifth a call for perseverance and a promise of reward in the martyrs beneath the altar, the sixth we witness a sharp distinction between those who fear the presence of God and those who embrace him by faith in the Lamb of God: Jesus Christ.

But now, as Jesus the Lamb breaks the seventh and final seal three more events come into view, or perhaps I should say they cascade forward.

Silence falls (7:1).Seven angels receive their trumpets (7:2).And another Angel with a golden censor comes to the altar of incense before the throne (7:3).

Naturally we have questions. As usual, I am convinced the answer lies not in speculation - often based upon our own experience or conclusions, nor adherence to a theological tradition, but rather in the common knowledge of the church at the time steeped in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Chronology

As we get ready to go forward, I think it is worth noting something about the relationship in time between the seven seals and the seven trumpets. In the sixth seal we see what appears to be the return of Christ in Revelation 6:14-17. In the Seventh trumpet at Revelation 11:15 an angel proclaims that the kingdom of Christ has come. At the same time, as we’ll notice again as we look at the first few verses: the seven trumpets appear to be “nested” inside of the seventh seal.

That leads us to some more questions.

Do the trumpets follow the seals? Or do they simply repeat the seals a different way with a different focus? I would suggest that the appearance of the day of Christ’s wrath at the sixth seal, and the appearing of his kingdom at the seventh trumpet seem to indicate some overlap. But there is sufficient difference between them all that we can clearly say they are not recasting the same events from a different perspective. I think this indicates that the seven seals lead up to the end, while the seven trumpets describe the end. (still yet again we will have to look at the seven bowls of God’s judgement later in the same way which seem to spring out of the seventh trumpet.

All of this to indicate how the chronology of these events seems to play out with not only an increasing severity, but also an increasing frequency. It also speaks not of a directly chronological storyline, but rather one which appears to loop back upon itself at times. This is one of the features that makes creating some kind of calendar of events for the Revelation a fairly impossible task - but again that is not the point of the book. The point of Revelation is not to satisfy our curiosity over how this all ends, nor even to fill in all the details of how the end will come. If it was, There’s plenty of evidence in the rest of the Bible that God knows how to give a clear and precisely worded message to his prophets. The symbolism and the heavy reliance upon the Old Testament Scriptures has a purpose for the church.

The point of Revelation is to be a blessing to the church in her struggle to maintain faithfulness in a fallen world every day, and in a ultimately failing world as God’s final judgement falls. The point of Revelation, like all prophecy is not to seamlessly predict the future (which it does because God brings about the future according to His will) but rather to rebuke, correct, encourage, and instruct God’s people for the day they live in today; and the day the church will be in at the end.

One more time:

The point of Revelation is to be a blessing to the church in her struggle to maintain faithfulness in a fallen world every day.

Would you stand with me and please read Revelation 8:1-6.

Revelation 8:1–6 NASB95PARA

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

Silent Anticipation

We start the passage in verse one with silent anticipation.

The first event is silence in heaven. Immediately I wonder, ...

What is the significance of this silence? Why for 1/2 hour? What is so significant about 30 minutes of no activity in heaven? What about the location is significant?

I have often heard, and thought that it was like the calm before the storm. Like the prolonged intake of breath before the scream of a child. And I think that is only partially true.

But I am forced to consider the time frame. Why is the silence about 1/2 hour? It is, as I think about it, oddly specific. It is also, non specific. The silence is for “about half an hour”. That little conjunction destroys the speculation that we can calculate any kind of difference between so called “heavenly time” and “earthly time”. I read one Historicist commentator who calculates that half an hour in heaven is precisely equivalent to seventy years of Roman history.” [ (Gregg, Revelation, 138) I have no idea truly how one would come to such a calculation. Taking a hyper-literal 1000 years = 1 day leaves you to 20 years for 1/2 hour. Junk like that is meant to be ignored.]

There is no real comfort to be found in looking at the word in use. It appears only one other place in scripture. This word “silence” (Sige) only appears in Acts 21:40 where Paul, arrested at the temple before the crowd tore him apart, motions to the people and a great “hush” fell upon the crowd so that he could speak to them - in Hebrew. The silence in Acts was about allowing Paul to talk. Could it be that this silence is allowing what follows?

Also of note is that the silence in Acts falls upon the crowd. The silence here is specifically located in heaven. But we are not told who is silent, only that it (might we guess everything?) is silent.

Now, for a moment, remember please that this first century Christians who got this scroll from John’s pen were familiar with both the Old Testament, and common Jewish practice.

Alfred Edersheim in his book “The Temple: Its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Jesus Christ” (p.167) tells us that as it was at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1:8-22) when Zacharias was chosen by lot to burn incense in the Holy Place that he would have entered and waited for a signal to offer the incense. It was that time that the multitude of people outside would fall down before the Lord and lift their hands in silent prayer as the offering of incense is very symbolic of our prayers rising to heaven. This fits very well with the opening of the eighth chapter and the seventh seal.

But there is one more thing to consider as we contemplate this silence as it relates to the other seals. Again with the first four verses a voice cries out, “Come” to each of the four horseman. Upon the fifth, the martyrs cry out. Upon the sixth - celestial signs erupt and in response people cry out either in fear or worship.

The silence of the seventh seal seems, by its lack of noise and chaos, to anticipate the sounding of the trumpets more than anything else, even as it is tied to the offering of prayers and incense to God.

So our seventh seal breaks, not with a mere intake of breath before the scream - nor even yet merely as the lull before the storm. Far more, I think, it is the silence of preparation and ceremonial anticipation as seven angels receive their trumpets.

Now why is that important. Moreover you might say, that is the same thing, but there is a difference. One might be called the anticipation of fear the second the anticipation of expectation.

Illustration: Storms

For example when I was a kid - storms were something my whole family enjoyed watching. We would sit out on the porch and watch the storms roll in - with a certain measure of enjoyment as we watched their power unfold. Other’s view storms very differently. When the lightning begins to strike far off and the thunder begins to roll they tuck tail and run inside praying for the assault of heaven to go away. In this case the anticipation of fear is very much different from the anticipation of expectation. Thus when we come to the silence which accompanies the seventh seal it is worth nothing that it is in heaven where God’s will is already being done. It is in heaven where God’s angels, elders, creatures, and saints are celebrating his victory over sin.

The silence is one of expectancy, not of fear. God’s will is about to be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

This is why it’s important. The silence is an encouragement for Christians to, as Jesus says in Luke 21:28: Lift up your heads, because your deliverance is coming.

Luke 21:28 NASB95PARA

But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Passing out The Trumpets

In the next verse we see some angels getting trumpets.

The entire section of trumpet judgments proceeds from 8:2 at least through 12:12 and I think beyond. We will seek to discover the full extent as we work through the text.

John’s attention shifts to another component of his vision there are seven angels. They are described as THE seven angels who stand before God. I’m not sure if this is a technical description. In Luke 1:19 Gabriel rebukes Zechariah’s disbelief saying, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you...” In fact Jewish tradition both recognized and named the seven angels (one of whom was Gabriel) who stood before God.

At any rate we do have these seven angels, again a very symbolic number, who stand before God and they are given seven trumpets.

Throughout History, and certainly in the scriptures themselves, Trumpets were used on the battlefield as well as in times of piece to give signals. Such as summoning Israel as in Numbers 10. They were used to announce religious festivals. in fact one of the festivals celebrated by the Jewish people is called the Feast of Trumpets.

It shows up in Leviticus 23:23-25. In the fall - roughly late September on our calendar, on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, it was a day of rest, and a reminder by blowing trumpets. It was a holy assembly, and an offering by fire was to be presented to the Lord. It was a time of spiritual preparation for the day of atonement on the tenth day of the same month; and the feast of booths to follow on the fifteenth day of the same month.

AGAIN let me repeat that: It was a time of spiritual preparation for the day of atonement.

Remember what I said about Luke 21:28. Lift up your heads, your deliverance is coming.

These latter feasts were high and holy times, but they were also supposed to be both reminders to draw near to the Lord, and a festal celebration of doing so. Perhaps for our sake as the seven angels are given seven trumpets we would be well served to enter into a time of Spiritual preparation, and eager anticipation of God’s redemptive work in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

For an army the trumpet on your side is a call to action. The trumpet on the other side is a harbinger of judgement. Those who have chosen to follow after Christ will hear deliverance in these judgments as they are sealed by the Living God. Those who have chosen against Christ will hear devastation in these judgments.

I wonder, dear listener / reader: what side are you on? Everyone wants to go to heaven, but not everyone wants to humble themselves before God with repentant faith.

The Angel and The censer

We are introduced at the last simply to “another angel”. Almost fulfilling the role of a priest he is holding a golden censer, a metal device for carrying and burning incense. The priest would take a burning coal from the altar of burnt offering, place it in the censer and add incense from the altar of incense. The incense would rise before the veil in the holy place and cover the mercy seat, the location of God’s presence on earth so that the priest would not die.

In heaven the “another angel” (not one of the seven) approaches the altar which we saw in Revelation 6:9, the great altar of burnt offering perhaps under which the martyrs for Christ had been given refuge. He is holding a golden censer which may be significant. The Regular censer was made of brass or bronze (Numbers 16:39) but traditionally the ones used on the day of atonement were gold. (EBD).

To the angel much incense was given. In addition to shielding the priest, the incense was a pleasing scent and it rose, as it were, to heaven as a co-offering with it the prayers of the saints. That is precisely what is described in verse 4.

After the incense and the prayer has been offered to God (verse 4) the angel once again takes coals from the altar of burnt offering and throws it to earth. What follows are very typical signs in the Bible of God’s presence and power: Thunder and lightning, and an earthquake. Much as there is an earthquake in the sixth seal.

Fire From the Altar to the Earth

So what is going on here?

Incense does not make the prayers to go God, Jesus makes us holy enough to pray and the Holy Spirit takes your prayers to the Father (Romans 8:26-28). But the incense goes up as a pleasing fragrance a co-offering as it were with the prayers of all the saints. When the angel fills the censer a second time with fire from the altar, we ought to remember that the fire upon the altar is holy, and is used for example in Isaiah 6 to purge and cleanse the prophet Isaiah. Together with all of the signs of God’s power being cast to earth what do we have?

Both salvation and judgement are falling upon the earth, and now in an increased intensity to follow.

God’s power to save and his power to judge are poured out on the earth.

And with that the seven angels take their place and prepare to carry out God’s judgments.

But remember that all of these judgments have one purpose as seen in Revelation 9:20-21

Revelation 9:20–21 NASB95PARA

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

God is seeking salvation. At the very end, as he sends plagues upon the earth - they are once again earnest - dare I say desperate -pleas to repent. (though God cannot become desperate in the sense of a loss of control).

Dear Christian, these seals, signs, and trumpets are here to encourage you to stay steadfast in the midst of trial, and they are here to call the unrepentant to repentance – if only they will humble themselves before God.

Application

As the prayers of the saints rise to the throne, come now church. Let us cry out to God for justice. Let us cry out to God for the restoration of all things as they should be. Let us cry out for the protection of the persecuted, and the provision of the poor. Let us place our trust in him who will judge, and let us not forget that we too are called - in holy sanctification - to repent and to live in repentance before the Lord.

If you know Him as savior; the seventh seal is both encouraging and filled with anticipation.

If you do not yet know Him as savior, the seventh seal is both terrifying in its heightening of judgement and filled with grace as God once again gives an opportunity while you live to come to Him.

Come, surrender yourself to the Savior and receive the cleansing from sin that he offers.

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