Seven Trumpets - Part 1 Series

1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 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, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 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.

Chapter 7 was an interlude. At the end of Chapter 6, the question was posed, Rev 6:17 “for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Chapter 7 answers that question in an interlude for the world to be given an opportunity to repent and turn to Christ for salvation. God sends 144,000 evangelists, each from the tribe of Israel to minister to the world.

Now as we enter chapter 8, the full fury of the day of the Lord has begun with the opening of the seventh and final seal of the scroll, which is the title deed to the universe. The first 6 seals were somewhat simple. They were opened and an event took place. Now the seventh seal is opened, and it leads to an unveiling of 14 more judgments: 7 trumpets and 7 bowls.

Many commentators believe the opening of the 7 seals ushers in the second half of the tribulation period, known as the Great Tribulation. The seventh seal is opened. You have seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet is blown, you have seven bowls. And so they really – the last fourteen judgments, bowls and trumpets, are contained within that final seal.

Verse 1 is a continuance of the scene in Heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ standing in the throne room, having been given the scroll. The first thing it tells us is that when Jesus breaks the seal, there is silence in heaven for 1 half-hour.

Now the first thing you should remember is that John’s description of heaven is that it is a place of continual, non-stop, day and night worship:

8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. (Revelation 4:8–10)

At the opening of the Seventh Seal, everything stops in heaven.

It’s kind of an interesting turn of events when you think about it. Mankind has often complained about the silence of God when in reality God has never stopped speaking. Now, heaven is truly silent.

23 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed. (Deuteronomy 28:23–24)

It’s interesting that John measures the time in his vision experience as about half an hour. Absolute silence in that large crowd of innumerable angels running into the millions, absolute dead silence for half an hour would seem like an eternity. The margin of suspenseful expectancy seems to us brief, but it must have seemed to him very long. Some have even suggested that it is a brief half-hour for a few more on earth to repent before the next wave of judgment hits, a brief half-hour of agonizing suspense. So when the Lamb opens the last seal, all of those in heaven know what it means. It means the end has come. The final judgment is about to be unleashed. There are no more seals.

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. (Zephaniah 1:7)

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. (Zechariah 2:13)

Rev 8:2 “Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” These angels have been worshiping God since the time of their creation. Now, remember, the angels are divided into all kinds of ranks and orders. The New Testament talks about angels who are powers. There are varying ranks and orders of angels, dependent on God’s purpose and design as He created them.