Revelation 8

Six seals have been broken on the scroll only the Lamb can open. Now the Lamb opens the seventh and last seal, and we watch as the Lord shows the earth his righteousness.¶

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

Revelation 8:1 (ESV)¶

Silence in heaven¶

When the scroll is fully opened, all of heaven goes silent — maybe to mourn what is about to take place, maybe out of reverence. It doesn't say why, and it's okay not to have explanations for everything. But until now there has been almost no silence in heaven — angels speaking, creatures praising, proclamations. Now there is stillness. This brings to mind "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10), and Moses at the Red Sea: "The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent" (Exodus 14:14). I have felt lately like my inner conversation with God has been absent — but the truth is God hasn't gone anywhere; I just let other things grow louder than his voice. I need to learn to be still and listen — not passively, but actively waiting with expectation, which is an act of faith and worship. Heaven goes silent because God is about to do something, and all of heaven is eager to see the King purify the world.¶

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

Revelation 8:2-4 (ESV)¶

The trumpets and the prayers of the saints¶

Seven angels receive seven trumpets. Trumpets in Scripture assembled God's people, announced feasts, sounded for battle and warning, called to repentance, and were used for worship — and these trumpets will be all of the above: the announcement of God's righteousness and judgment, a war cry against the wicked, a call to repentance the world will refuse, and the announcement of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The last time seven trumpets were handed out, the walls of Jericho fell, and the message was: your time has come to an end. So too here. And before the judgments fall, the prayers of the saints are offered with incense — as prophesied in Malachi 1:11, the incense we offer is our prayers, a sweet aroma and a pure offering. Our prayers play a part in what the Lord is doing; before his judgment is poured out, our prayers are what is thrown on the earth. Let us be a praying people (Hebrews 4:16).¶

The first four trumpets¶

Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

Revelation 8:6-7 (ESV)¶

As we go through these, two questions help us meditate: Can God do this? And what is the purpose? On the first — once a friend, asked whether he believed God created the world in six days, answered me, "I can't believe in a God that couldn't." That stuck with me. If God created the world, sent ten plagues on Egypt, flooded the earth, and washed away all my sin by the blood of his own Son, then he can indeed burn up a third of the earth. How he does it is irrelevant, like asking how Jesus walked on water — the fact is he walked on the water.¶

Notice these judgments only touch a third — another grace, giving opportunity for those affected to turn from their rebellion. And the purpose: the first four trumpets destroy a third of what God made in the first four days of creation, showing his ownership; and God touches the very things those who reject him have made into their gods (Romans 1:25). The earth and trees (the second trumpet's "great mountain... thrown into the sea" — the only other "great mountain" in Scripture is Daniel's stone that becomes a mountain and fills the earth, Daniel 2:31-35, suggesting the final fall of all the kingdoms of the world); the sea and ships (the world's commerce and comforts — imagine the global economy if the ports closed); the fresh waters made bitter (Wormwood — the most essential resource, recalling the Numbers 5 test of an unfaithful wife: God declaring the world has been unfaithful to its Creator); and a third of the sun, moon, and stars darkened (recalling the plague of darkness on Egypt, Exodus 10:21-23, while the Hebrews had light). God will show the world how much it relies daily on what he provides and cannot replicate.¶

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!"

Revelation 8:13 (ESV)¶

God is testing the works of man, manifesting his power, revealing himself in a way that makes it impossible to claim ignorance. We often think that if God simply showed himself, people would believe — but Scripture shows people who saw and still did not believe, and others who simply heard a warning and repented. The same will be true in the last days: though they see and hear and experience all of this, many will not repent.¶