Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I now can sing Since I've been redeemed I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock I faith in Christ my Redeemer King I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock Then row row, pillows, row O for a heart to praise my God A heart from sin set free A heart that's sprinkled with the blood so freely shed for me.
A heart resides submissive my dear Redeemer's throne Where only Christ is heard to speak Where Jesus reigns on hope.
O heart in every thought renewed and full of love divine perfect and right and pure and good.
Thy nature gracious or impart Come quickly from above Write thy new name upon my heart Thy new best name of Lord.
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Welcome to the Voice of Hope. I'm your host, Anthony High. We're currently studying the Book of Revelation.
In previous episodes, the scenes in heaven have been filled with thunder from God's throne, the voices of angels, and countless people praising the Lord together.
But when we come To Revelation chapter 8, something unexpected happens. Heaven becomes silent.
For many believers, life includes moments of silence.
We pray, wait, and wonder how or when God will respond.
Revelation 8 gives us a glimpse of this foreboding silence and intense expectation as God prepares to respond to the history of the world.
So join us as Pastor J. Mark teaches on heaven's ominous silence in Revelation, chapter 8.
[00:03:11] Speaker C: A few years ago, my wife and I were traveling for Heralds of Hope and we had the privilege of visiting the great state of Montana.
Now, normally when we take these trips, we're hosted by people from the local church where we're scheduled to present the work of the ministry.
And this trip was no different. We arrived at our host's home in time for the evening meal.
We didn't have a program scheduled for that evening, and so after dinner, the host said to me, would you like to take a ride up into the mountains? And I quickly said, yes, of course. And we were soon bouncing along in a side by side ATV along a gravel mountain road.
After we had climbed for a while, we got to a place where the host parked the atv. And we got out.
And at the particular height where we were, we could look out over the mountain peaks that extended as far into the distance as the eye could see.
And it was just, it was an awe inspiring view.
As I stood there soaking in the beauty of God's creation, something forced its way into my consciousness.
And at first I couldn't place it, but eventually I realized what it was.
It was the silence.
Now I live in a Very rural part of the state of Pennsylvania, and it's quieter where I live than in many places. But this stillness that I was experiencing there in the mountains of Montana, that was something completely new to me.
No human noise whatsoever, no automobiles, no airplanes, no neighbor hammering on his shed. None of that.
That silence was almost as amazing as the vista that was spread out before my eyes. And I will never forget that experience.
But, you know, I thought about it. There are many people who fear silence.
As a pastor, I've tried this experiment.
At some point in my sermon, I paused to allow people to reflect and meditate on the point that I had just made.
At 15 seconds, people are wondering if I lost my place in my notes.
At 30 seconds, they're starting to fidget in their seats. And if the silence goes on longer than that, almost everybody seems uncomfortable.
If you pay attention at all to today's culture, you know that many people are constantly wired for sound.
You see them earbuds, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, and more. They're everywhere.
And now, even when I go to pump gas into my vehicle, the station is either blasting music over some outdoor speakers or the screen on the pump is shouting at me to try and sell me something.
I sometimes just want to smash it. I don't do that, of course, because it's not my property, but that's how I feel.
I think most people avoid silence because it fosters thinking. And many of them can't think or don't want to think because thinking means reflecting on their loneliness, their rejection, their pain.
Thinking means confronting hard questions like where did I come from, why am I here?
And where am I going?
And so the noise becomes an avoidance mechanism. It becomes an escape, I would say even a form of medication.
In our study of the Book of Revelation, we've come to the opening verses of chapter eight, and they describe something in heaven that we haven't encountered before.
I've titled my teaching for this episode Heaven's Ominous Silence.
Let's discover more about it as I read the text. Revelation chapter 8, verses 1 through 5.
Here is the word of God.
When he opened the seventh seal. There was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
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.
And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from The angel's hand.
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.
An ominous silence accompanies the opening of this seventh seal.
And so together let's learn the details of why it happened and what it meant to John's readers and to us today.
The first detail I suggest is the silence imposed when the angel opens that seventh seal. It's immediately followed by a 30 minute silence.
Now that's interesting, because God dwells outside of time. 30 minutes to him, that's nothing. He is eternal.
So this specific mention of 30 minutes has to be for our sake as human beings.
Think about this with me. If we review John's visions up to this point, we see a very different picture.
In Revelation chapter four and verse five, we have the peals of thunder emanating from God's throne. In 4, 8, the four living creatures are praising God unceasingly.
In verse 11 of that same chapter, the elders add their voice to the chorus of worship and praise.
And there are numerous other examples. But let's move to the one in the previous chapter.
In Revelation 7, 9, 13, John saw this innumerable multitude that was clothed in white robes and crying out with loud voices, blessing and thanking God.
After all that enthusiastic activity, all that loud worship, that unceasing praise, thunder and lightning and voices, silence.
Silence imposed. Total silence.
That's completely unexpected.
After all, at the end of chapter six, with the horrors outlined in the breaking of the sixth seal, we would normally expect that the opening of the seventh seal would be more dramatic.
But instead of that, in the words of the original text, there came a silence.
This profound stillness is dramatic.
No elder or angel speaking, no chorus of praise, no cries of adoration, no thunder from the throne, and a temporary cessation of revelations.
And so naturally the question arises, why?
What's the reason for this silence?
Could it be the magnitude of what is coming next?
Because when the judgment about to happen becomes visible, as this seventh seal is broken and the scroll is unrolled, both the redeemed and the angels are reduced to silence because they're anticipating the awful reality of the destruction that they see written on that scroll.
I think the half hour of silence is the calm before the storm. It's the only proper response to God's wrath. The psalmist put it this way. In Psalm 76, 8, 9, the earth feared and was still when God arose to judgment.
This is the silence of foreboding, a silence of Intense expectation.
The shock and awe campaign against the rebellious nations is about to begin.
And all heaven collectively holds its breath.
Each moment of this half hour, I imagine, must have increased John's agonizing suspense.
This hushed crowd in heaven awaits the greatest event of human history since the fall of mankind.
This seventh seal ultimately unveils the seven terrible trumpets and seven bowl judgments that lead up to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The next detail then, is the silence employed.
You know, some people see silence as a waste of time, but in God's economy, nothing is ever wasted.
The silence was prolonged and it was profound, but it was certainly not pointless.
In this interlude, John is first introduced to the seven angels.
The definite article indicates that these angels are a select group.
We could call them princes of angels. And John sees them standing before God, and each one of them is given a trumpet.
According to Jewish tradition, I learned that there are seven archangels, or special messengers of God. And since these angels stand before God, they are sometimes called the angels of the presence.
That idea echoes Isaiah 63, 9 in all their affliction. He was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them.
And then in Luke chapter one and verse 19, the divine messenger who was announcing the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zacharias, said, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.
What about the trumpets that are given to these angels?
Well, as you might know, trumpets played a significant role in Israel's history.
They were used to call the Israelite camp together or to muster troops for battle. You can find that in Numbers, chapter 10, verse 2 and also verse 9.
Trumpets were used in religious festivals.
They were used to acclaim new kings, and they were used in worship.
And then Zephaniah 1:14, 16 associates trumpets with the day of the Lord.
Paul's epistles tell us that a trumpet will announce the rapture. 1 Corinthians 15:52, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
And this chapter associates the trumpets with the judgments of the day of the Lord.
I think there are some convincing reasons to connect this scene we're looking at here in Revelation and Joshua, chapter six, which is the conquest of Jericho as Israel entered the promised land.
If you remember, in that event, seven priests bearing seven trumpets or shofars marched around the city on six successive days.
In our text, seven angels who appear to be priestly representatives are given seven trumpets to blow.
As Joshua and the Israelites circled the city, the priests blew the trumpets but the people remained silent.
And here too, these angels remained silent until the appointed time. That begins later in verse six.
Interestingly, in the account of Jericho, there was also silence just before the final blast of the trumpets on the seventh day.
That silence was directly linked to the climactic final trumpet judgment which led to the fall of Jericho.
So these seven angels with the seven trumpets are about to break the pregnant silence of that half hour. But not yet, no. As John continues to watch, another angel appears. And he's not one of the seven.
He must fulfill his duties before the others begin to sound their trumpets.
This angel came and took his place at the golden altar that is the altar of incense.
And the further description of this altar as before the throne assures John's readers that the altar of incense was the earthly counterpart to this heavenly incense altar.
The earthly altar was the item of furniture in the tabernacle and later in the temple that was in the holy place. And it was the closest thing to the holy of holies.
Again, Luke chapter one records the experience of Zacharias offering incense on that altar. That's when the angel appeared to him.
Here in our text, the angel holds a golden censer in his hand.
Now, a censer was a shallow pan that held live coals that were taken from the brazen altar that is the altar of sacrifice.
Those coals signified that atonement for sin had been made in the temple worship. The priest would carry this pan of live coals and and then sprinkle the incense on them that ignited the fragrant combination of spices and the smoke rose in clouds above the altar. It signified the acceptance of the prayers of God's people.
Now, this text could be taken to mean that the angel is given a large quantity of incense to add to the prayers of all the saints.
But Greek scholar Robert Mounts renders the sentence this.
He was given much incense to offer consisting of the prayers of all the saints.
Regardless of that detail, these prayers ascend from the golden altar before God's throne.
But what are these prayers for? What are these prayers of all the saints and why are they being offered? Now, these prayers most likely include all the prayers of the righteous from Adam to the final days that are described here in the book of Revelation.
And they ascend in one final concerted effort to reach God's ears.
Now, that doesn't mean that God has ignored them before. He doesn't ignore the prayers of his people.
It simply means he knows the proper time for judgment.
If you think back to the story of the persistent widow that Jesus told you. Get that sense.
The clouds of incense assist the prayers on their way to the heavenly throne.
In the immediate context, those prayers were for Satan to be destroyed, for sin to be defeated, for their deaths to be avenged. If you think back to Revelation, chapter 6, verses 9 to 11, and the souls that were under the altar, they were prayers for Christ to come.
And so as the angel added his incense to what was already burning on the altar, the smoke of the incense, the prayers of the saints, it all went up before God out of the angel's hand.
I believe these prayers undoubtedly include the cries of the believers in John's day. They were a suffering church, as well as the tribulation saints against their persecutors and all who blasphemed God and Christ in that time.
It's their prayers affirmed by the heavenly incense which God has provided that show he agrees with the cries of the saints as they come into his presence.
And out of this the seven trumpet judgments will be released.
So there is a sense of anticipation as these prayers rise before God.
They will be answered shortly.
God's wrath and his people's prayers are connected.
The question of chapter six, verse ten, how long?
Is soon to be answered.
And the actions of this angel lead us to the final detail of Heaven's ominous silence.
That final detail is the silence is broken as the smoke of the incense goes up. The scene changes dramatically.
As John watches, this angel turns, retakes the censer, fills it with fire from the brazen altar and hurls the contents violently onto the earth in response to the prayers of the righteous. Those who have rejected the atoning work of Jesus Christ will now suffer the wrath of God Almighty in its fullness.
There are voices, thunder, lightning and an earthquake that accompany this terrifying action.
What a startling end to these 30 minutes of silence.
Now, we're not given any details about the earthquake, but I would assume that it is at least as powerful as the one associated with the sixth seal in chapter six and verse 12.
And following this earthquake will come the horrors of the trumpet and the bowl judgments.
By the end of those judgments, God's purging judgment of his creation will be finished.
As you know, the Bible and prophetic scripture in particular is filled with symbolism and vivid imagery.
This act of throwing burning coals to the earth is emblematic of divine wrath.
God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah is probably the most well known illustration of this.
Psalm 11, 5, 6 tells us the Lord tests the righteous, but the wicked, and the one who loves violence, his soul hates. Upon the wicked he will rain coals, fire and brimstone, and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.
Here in John's vision, this isn't a generic judgment. These burning coals are cast on behalf of innocent people.
In some way this specific judgment is related to the cries for justice from those holy martyrs in Revelation, when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
And they cried with a loud voice saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth.
Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were, was completed. That's Revelation 6, 9, 11.
In this vision of the opening of the seventh seal, the little while longer is now coming to an end.
There will be no more delays for justice. The long awaited time of retribution for faithful martyrs has finally arrived.
You know, the unbelieving world rejected Jesus when he came, and it rejects the life giving message of the gospel. Now it will continue to reject the truth even during this future outpouring of God's wrath and judgment.
Having gone on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, wicked people have nothing to look forward to except a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. That's Hebrews 10:26, 27.
But for those who repent of their sins and come to saving, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed reality is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I leave you with these verses from 1 Peter 4.
For the time has come for judgment to begin at God's household. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful Creator.
[00:22:50] Speaker A: In love the Savior is seeking the soul who's gone astray with longing heart he is pleading Will you return today?
He's only a prayer away he's only a prayer away with love so true he waits for you and is only a prayer away.
His arms in loving compassion are open now to receive the soul who seeks his mercy O come today and believe he's only a prayer away he's only a prayer away with love so true he waits for you and is only a prayer of hope Way.
It is not far to the Savior no matter where you may roam
[00:24:43] Speaker B: he's
[00:24:44] Speaker A: waiting now to receive you in love he'll welcome you home he's only a prayer away he's only a prayer away with love so true he waits for
[00:25:11] Speaker C: you
[00:25:15] Speaker A: and is only a prayer of.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: Thank you J Mark the silence of heaven is not wasted time.
During that quiet moment, the prayers of God's people rise before his throne like incense.
The prayers for justice and deliverance are not ignored.
God hears them, and in his perfect timing he will respond.
For those who trust in Jesus Christ that truth brings hope. God is still working and his purposes are moving forward. But revelation also reminds us that God's patience will not last forever.
The same Lord who hears the prayers of his people will one day bring justice on the earth.
That's why the invitation for the gospel is so important.
Through Jesus Christ, forgiveness and new life are freely offered to anyone who will turn to him in faith.
If today's message has encouraged or challenged you, we'd love to hear from you.
Our email is hopeheraldsofhope.org or you can call 866-960-0292 or write to Heralds of Hope, 6183 Lincoln Highway, Harrisonville, PA 17228. If you'd like to dig deeper into revelation, we invite you to order a Revelation of Jesus Christ by J.B. smith and Dr. Yoder at heraldsofhope.org store.
To explore more Bible teaching and encouragement, visit heraldsofhope.org programs. There you can listen to the voice of Hope whenever you like.
Keep your eyes on Christ and your heart anchored in hope.
Thanks for listening to the Voice of Hope.
[00:27:59] Speaker A: Calms my dread withheld my body endows with blessings O my la.
On pathways narrow with him I go I shun not hardships m my rod he is my staff to joy of those my soul doth bow a faithful shepherd.
I.
