The Seventh Seal Revelation 8:1 5 Fairview Presbyterian Church August 1, 2010 Review: the changing vantage points of Revelation Let us begin with a brief review of the vantage points we have encountered so far in our study of the book of Revelation. Recall the important point that Revelation is not intended to be read linearly. Rather, it tells a single story, from several differing vantage points. The dramatic story of Revelation shifts at various points. The book gives us a panorama. It retells the same story, but from different perspectives. To keep things clear in our understanding it is helpful to take note whenever the vantage point changes. The book begins with John s vision of the risen Christ, standing in the midst of the seven lampstands. We are told that the seven lampstands symbolize the seven churches of Asia Minor. The next vantage point, chapters 2 3, is the seven letters, seven personal messages, given by Christ to each of the seven churches. The vantage point shifts again for chapters 4 and 5, when John sees the throne room of heaven and he watches as Christ ascends the throne. It is a scene of Christ s coronation. The cry goes out, Who is worthy? to take the scroll of human history from the hand of God. Jesus Christ is worthy. He takes the scroll. He is the King of kings, the Lord of Lords: to him all authority on earth and heaven has been given. In chapter 6 the vantage point changes again, as the Lord Christ begins to break the seals on the scroll. The first and last seals speak of Christ s work in the world. I will say more about them in a few moments. But the intervening seals reveal hardship, persecution, martyrdom coming upon God s people, the church. In chapter 7, the vantage point shifts once more, to declare the message that God s people have been sealed by him. They belong to him. He holds onto them. They are secure even in the midst of the terrible things that can happen to them in and by the world. These five verses from chapter 8 are the transition, the bridge, between the vantage point of the seven seals and the next vantage point, the blowing of the seven trumpets. In these verses Christ opens the seventh, the last seal. And in these verses we are given the first vision of the seven high angels to whom are given the seven trumpets with which they will blow a word of warning to an unrepentant world. These verses tell us that in the midst of life s trials and troubles, God hears our prayers. In the midst of life s trials and troubles, God hears our prayers When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. During my college years, my roommate, Alex, once said to me, Did you know that there will not be any women in heaven? Incredulous, I replied, Where did you get that idea? He said, It s in the Bible. Look it up, Revelation 8:1. When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. It s a wonder Alex ever got married.
A recurring Bible theme is that when we come into God s presence, the appropriate response is silence and awe. Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near. Zechariah 2:13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. The message is that we stand silent before God s authority. But what are we to make of the silence in heaven at the breaking of the seventh seal? This verse tells us that heaven is watching as the events of Revelation unfold. Heaven is spell bound as God s purposes are revealed. Throughout the book of Revelation we see God taking initiative. He commands. He speaks. He instructs. He gives blessing. God s initiative requires a response. God s people are to react. How do God s people respond to God s action in their midst? They do so through prayer. The silence of heaven is intended to suggest prayer. The silence is setting the stage for prayer, as we shall see in the next verses. The common theme of these five verses is prayer. We live in a noisy world. There is much that fills up our attention, our ears and our eyes. Prayer is offered in silence, when we turn from the noise of the world and turn to the presence of God. When the first seal was broken, we saw that it revealed Christ riding out to conquer. The message of Christ s gospel goes forth into the world. After this, the opening of seals two through six brought persecution and calamity to the world. Hardship is in the world, especially for those who seek to follow Christ. However, as we turn to the seventh and last seal, a message of comfort is reaffirmed. In the seventh seal we have a message of prayer. As is made clear in verses 4 5, the seventh seal shows Christ interceding for his people. The message of Christ frames all that unfolds in this world. The trouble and tragedy of the world is framed between Christ as conqueror and intercessor. Yes, in the world is great tribulation, sorrow, loss and difficulty. But Christ s saving message is going forth. His is the highest name in all creation. He prays for his people, keeping them safe. It follows that a key message of these verses, and it is a message we have seen before in Revelation, is that God is in control. God is in control 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. When we look at the rest of chapter 8 and chapter 9 we will examine the meaning of the seven trumpets in detail: for our purposes at present we note that these seven high angels are each given a trumpet. In v. 4 another great angel is given the incense he will burn. He does not bring an offering of his own initiative. The incense he burns is given.
We have encountered this theme before in Revelation 6:4, 8 (the Pale Rider is given a sword) and 7:2 (the four angels are given authority to harm the earth). The message is that nothing happens in earth or heaven that God does not initiate or permit. God is sovereign over his creation. God is in control. Terrible things may unfold, but God remains on his throne, in charge of it all. In chapter 6 we encountered the breaking of the seals, revealing the theme of the persecution of God s people. In chapters 8 and 9 we will hear the trumpets of judgment and warning blow. The breakings of the seals were revelation. The sounding of the trumpets are proclamations, warnings given to an unrepentant world. In the messages of the seals and the trumpets we encounter a world full of trouble. Nonetheless, in between the seals and the trumpets, in chapter 7, we encountered the message of the seal of security placed upon the foreheads of God s people. God s people are marked as belonging to him. Whatever trial may come, they are God s. They will not be lost. Whether the unveiling of seals of persecution or the blowing of trumpets of judgment, assurance is given to the church that it remains secure in all that unfolds. God hears our prayers. God is in control. Thirdly, Jesus Christ prays for us. Jesus Christ prays for us 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, Incense is always a symbol of prayer. Smoke rises up to heaven. Incense has a pleasing aroma. Prayer is the ultimate activity of the unseen world. God s people pray and, apart from the words spoken if the prayer is said aloud, nothing in the material world appears to happen. Incense burns and it disappears into the heavens above. In the same manner our prayers ascend to the throne of God. The angel is given much incense which he takes and mixes with the prayers of all the saints. What is this imagery intending? As always, it is best to follow the analogical principle and allow scripture to interpret scripture. In Romans 8:26 27 we read, 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We pray as best we can. We do not know how to pray as we ought. Our prayers are imperfect. The promise is that we are helped by God in our weakness. This is what we see as the angel mixes the incense he is given with the prayers of all the saints. The Spirit intercedes for us. Christ intercedes for us. And that is a very comforting thought. In the midst of the trial and trouble of life, God hears our prayers. God is in control. Christ intercedes for us. These verses affirm again that God hears the prayers of his people.
God hears our prayers 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. What do Christians do in times of difficulty? They pray. What do Christians do when life is not fair? What do Christians do when illness hits, or tragedy happens, or the world seems turned upside down? They pray. The angel takes the incense, mixes it with the prayers of the saints, and together they rise into the heavenly realm, into God s presence. God hears our prayers. He knows our needs. He is aware of our weaknesses and burdens. Prayer is the means given to us to access God. When we pray, we stand in God s presence. Prayer is the primary way available to us to be in relationship to God. In prayer we acknowledge our needfulness and we experience God s strength given to us. Many in our world wish to find God. They wonder why God is hidden. Why is he unseen? Yes, God is unseen, but God is not unavailable to us. The touch point for us is prayer. Secular folk do not pray. What is the secular answer to prayer? What is the nonbelievers alternative to prayer? Counseling. When a crisis hits a community, the school board or city government quickly moves to offer counseling services to the folk affected. There is a place for counseling, to be sure, but remember that the secular world can only offer the advice and guidance of a counselor and nothing more. They do not see, or comprehend, the value and power of prayers offered to the God of the universe. For this reason, they are left to relying solely upon what resources they can claim from the world around us. A Christian, on the other hand, has access to the founder and creator of the universe. When we are ill, we pray to the great physician, the one who designed our bodies. When perplexed, we pray to the God who set the stars in the sky and the earth on its course. When we wonder what our place is in life, we lift our voice to the one who holds the scroll and unlocks its meaning. When our children are born we pray prayers of thanksgiving to the one who gave them life and knit them together in the womb. And when we grieve the death of a loved one, our prayers ascend to him who holds the keys to death and Hades. God hears our prayers. Lastly, importantly, these five verses end with an affirmation that our prayers are God s intended means to influence and change the world. Our prayers are God s intended means to influence and change the world 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. Verse 5 is a surprise. The first time you read through Revelation and read that the angel takes the censer, fills it with fire, and tosses it upon the earth, our natural
response is to think, Wow, I was not expecting that. What are we being told in this image? First, the last part of the verse is a clear reference to God the Father s law giving authority. The words reflect what happened when the Israelites camped at the base of Mt. Sinai. Exodus 19:16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Though it is the angel who is performing the act of throwing the censer to the earth, the message is that this is an act of God. God gave the law at Sinai. God now sends this censer to the earth. What is happening? First the angel takes the censer and the incense and the prayers of the saints rise into God s presence. God hears the prayers and responds. God s response is seen in the next action of the angel. He fills the censer with fire and casts it upon the earth in judgment. What this is telling us is that the prayers of the saints result in the divine warning and judgment that is to come upon the world. The judgments about to fall, what we will read about in the trumpet warnings of chapters 8 and 9, are God s answer to the prayers of his people. There is a mystery to prayer. Certainly, God is all knowing, omniscient. God is all wise. We do not change God s mind by our prayers. We do not counsel God in our prayers. God does not require our advice. But in our prayers our relationship to God is deepened and strengthened. We are nourished in our relationship to God by our prayer time. In his providence, God has determined that prayer is a powerful means by which his will will be enacted upon earth. The letter of James highlights this truth. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. Our prayers are how God intends to work through us to change the world. God does not have to work in this way, but he chooses to do so to the glory of his name. Like I said, it is a mystery as to how God works through prayer. We have in the book of Revelation a very clear illustration of how is at work, shaping the world, through the prayers of his people. In the ancient world one of the worst punishments that might be imposed upon someone was banishment, being sent to an isolated spot and being required to remain at that location, isolated from the normal social connections of family, friends and faith. John, the author of Revelation, was under banishment. He was exiled to the island of Patmos. He was sent there by the governor of Ephesus in order put an end to his spiritual influence. John was a bishop, a key leader in the church, forced to live in isolation far from the churches he loved and served.
Even in isolation, John set aside time for prayer and worship. On a particular Sunday John was praying as he worshipped. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. John is given the vision that became our book of Revelation. In his prayer, John touches and is touched by the throne of heaven. Remember, the governor of Rome who sent John into exile did so intending to end and cap John s spiritual influence. He wished to see John cut off, isolated, and ineffective. The best way to do that, short of executing John, was to send him into exile. Yet in the centuries since John s banishment, who do you think has had more influence upon our world: John the Revelator or the forgotten governor who sent him to the island of Patmos? It is a mystery. Yet God uses prayer to influence our world. He uses your prayers, my prayers, and our prayers. This is an astonishing truth. Say Amen! Somebody.
8 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.