Soon!

Here is a link to last week’s series, Soon!

This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

2 Timothy 2:11 & 12 (NKJV)

Here is our study of Revelation 8:1-13.

In the last study of Revelation, all of Heaven was singing and praising God. You can imagine the joy of the saints and angels singing. What could produce such an exultant, thundering roar than that?

Sudden, intense silence.

“When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” 

As we begin our study of Revelation 8, Jesus is about to open the seventh seal. When He does this there will be silence in Heaven for about thirty minutes. The reason is because the saints and all the angels and other created beings of Heaven realize the horror that is about to fall on the remaining world.

Look at the Old Testament prophecy fromZephaniah¹, where the silence signifies judgment.

Be silent in the presence of the Lord God;
For the day of the Lord is at hand,
For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice.
He has invited His guests.

Zephaniah 7:1 (NKJV)

Then there is a stir of activity as seven angels are each given a trumpet.

An eighth angel stands at the altar and is given incense to add to the prayers of the saints. God is about to answer the martyr’s prayers to bring judgment so that sin on earth can finally end and their suffering will be avenged.

God takes joy in the prayers of His people. The Bible describes our prayers as a sweet-smelling aroma. Read this article for more about your prayers. Got questions article spiritual sacrifices

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 

Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.

He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

The angels are standing in the very Prescence of God. They are at the altar in Heaven ready and desiring to do the will of God.

How often do we hesitate to even get up and go to church on Sunday. But the angels don’t hesitate for even a split second, to do the Father’s will. Click the link below to read a short passage on this topic.

Psalm 103:20-22 – Angels

And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.”

Revelation 8:1-4 (NKJV)

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

Revelation 8:5 (NKJV)

I learn more every time I read God’s Word. Now here is something that I never thought about. The judgements that are about to be unleashed in chapter eight are parallels of the plagues on Egypt when Pharoah would not let God’s people leave Egypt. Here is a link to learn more about that. Exodus 5-12 (NKJV)

If you know the story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, then you know about Pharaoh’s hard heart. Even amidst his people’s suffering, this wicked man tested God. However, the story reveals that God hardened Pharoah’s heart. Why would God do that? God is not ever responsible for wickedness. Read this article to understand. It is vital to recognize this to avoid unjustly accusing God, as He is wholly righteous in all His ways.

It is also important to understand that God has been patient beyond measure with you and me and the lost world. Those who accept the mark of the beast in the end had a choice. They chose poorly.

First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

So, the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck

Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck

Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck

Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Next Thursday we will read about the remaining judgments.

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New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1. Summary of the Book of Zephaniah
   gotquestions.org ↩︎