Revelation 8: The 7th Seal, Silence, then the Sound of the First 4 Trumpets (Part 8)

We now come to Revelation 8, and the opening of the 7^th seal. It is at this point that I want to briefly stop and reiterate a point that I have alluded to before: the importance of reading Revelation, not as some “secret code” that tells the future of the end of the world, but as a coherent literary work. It fits together and makes sense. At the end of chapter 11, I’m going to provide a visual overview of what we have covered in Revelation 1-11. Hopefully, after going through it the way we are doing now, the chart will solidify the coherent unity and message that John is trying to get across.

For now, though, let’s just briefly retrace our steps, starting in Revelation 4 (after all Revelation 1-3 really act as sort of a prologue—the real action begins in chapter 4). So, in chapter 4 we are given a glimpse of God’s throne in Heaven, and in chapter 5 we see the situation: there is a scroll that only the slain Lamb (i.e. Christ) is worthy enough to open.

Then in chapter 6 begins the opening of the seven seals. The first four (i.e. the four horsemen) fit together to reveal the truth of Rome (or any empire really) bent on conquest: ultimately it brings war, famine, and death.  The 5^th seal is extremely important because we see the souls of the martyred saints under the altar in Heaven. They ask, “How long?” and are given white robes and are told, “Wait until the full number are killed.” Then with the 6^th seal we see the coming of the Day of Wrath of YHWH—the lightning and earthquakes echoes YHWH at Mount Sinai, and God on His throne in chapter 4.

Chapter 7, though, serves as a bit of a break in the action. Before the 7^th seal is broken, we see the 144,000—the great multitude—sealed with the seal of God. They are called the servants of God, they are wearing white robes, and they have come through the great tribulation. This is true Israel—the Jews and Gentiles together who have suffered and died bearing witness to Christ. And the thing to remember is this is the full number of whom God told the martyrs under the altar about back in the 5^th seal.

So now that the full number is known, it is time for the 7^th seal to be opened—and that brings us to Revelation 8.

Revelation 8:1-5: Silence in Heaven
The thing to remember here is when the 7^th seal is opened, the next round of seven emerges—the seven trumpets. In other words, the seven trumpets are the stuff of the 7^th seal. In any case, in 8:1-5, when the 7^th seal is opened, we are told there is silence in Heaven for “about a half an hour,” during which time an angel with a golden censer is at the altar (you know, the Altar of Souls from the 5^th seal), and he is filling the censer with the prayers of the saints (you know, those martyred saints who are…under the altar).

So what’s going on here? Remember, back in the 5^th seal, the martyred saints were praying for God’s vengeance on the world. Here, with the incense rising from the altar, the symbolism should be clear. The incense is symbolic of their prayers, and it is rising up to God—God is listening to their prayers. That’s why there is silence in Heaven. It’s as if God told all of Heaven, “Shhh! Stop all that singing praises stuff! I’m listening to the prayers of my servants!”

The next thing that happens is that the angel then takes the censer, fills it with fire from the altar, and hurls it down to earth: and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and a great earthquake” (8:5). Can you guess what this means? If you guessed that this is symbolic of God answering the prayers of the saints by beginning to bring His wrath on the earth, you’d be right! And remember, whenever you read that kind of “thunder, lightning, earthquake” language, think, Mount Sinai, Throne of God—God is about to act.

Revelation 8:6-13: The First Four Trumpets
With that, the next cycle of seven begins—this time, it is seven trumpets. And, just as with the seven seals, the first four fit together. These first four trumpets are filled with Old Testament imagery that you might be able to figure out fairly easily. And, lest I be redundant, what these four trumpets describe is not a future picture of literal, natural catastrophes that will take place during a future seven-year tribulation period.  They do not encourage the reader to look forward into the future, but rather backwards in the past, to God’s judgments upon evil nations who had oppressed Israel in the Old Testament, namely Egypt and Babylon.

The four trumpets unfold in the following manner:

Notice that whereas the destruction associated with the first four seals was 1/4 of the earth, the destruction associated with the first four trumpets is 1/3 of the earth. (Keep that in mind for later on).

The point of the imagery here with the first four trumpets should be obvious now. When seen in the context of Revelation, these trumpets reveal that God will indeed answer the prayers of His servants, and will bring His wrath and judgment upon the evildoers of this world…just as He has done in the past. God’s redemption of His people, and His judgment on their oppressors go hand in hand.

Just as God saved Israel from Egypt, brought His wrath upon Egypt, and brought His people to the Promised Land, so will He do again with True Israel in Christ—only this time the stakes are much higher. This is the Ultimate Exodus from the evil powers of this world into the Heavenly Promised Land—the New Jerusalem in the New Creation.

Simply put, our history as God’s people finds its roots in the Old Testament story of the Exodus. That is the picture we must have if we are to understand the biblical concept of salvation.  Our salvation isn’t some abstract thing: “I’m saved!” Well, okay, but what does that mean? What does it look like? With the Exodus, we are given a concrete example as to what God’s salvation is about and looks like: He is in the business of saving His chosen people (not just “individuals”) from the oppressive and evil powers of this world, and bringing them into the Heavenly Promised Land. Our salvation is the Ultimate Exodus.

Next time, we will look at chapter 9, and the 5^th and 6^th trumpets.