REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 8.1

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

                                                                           

Chapter Eight

Judgment Resumed:

The Seven Trumpets

 

 

Introduction

Chapters 8 and 9 contain some of the most terrifying passages in the Bible that will ever happen in the history of the world. They are God's final outpouring of His divine wrath on man's last days on earth. When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he said:

Romans 1:18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

So, Revelation is merely declaring unto you the whole purpose of God (cf. Acts 20:27).

 

Earlier in Scripture, many recorded examples lend proof of how God delivers supernatural judgments on mankind:

1.  By the destruction of the world with a flood

2.  By the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

3.  By the judgments on mankind in divers manners

 

Symbolism

Symbols are also frequently employed in the next section. John's usage of familiar events and expressions exclusive to his day is an attempt to describe futuristic realities. Be reminded that a symbol is one of fact and supported by Scripture. Many of these judgments are reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt during Moses's day. However, never has God judged as He will do so during the time known as the Great Tribulation – The destruction of earth as we know it today. Consider the Seventy Weeks of Daniel (cf. Revelation 6.A. Intro.) being fulfilled. It substantially follows the Rapture or catching up of the Church – the Bride of Christ.

 

God's Redemptive Plan

God is a just God. During the Great Tribulation, the design of God has two purposes:

A.  To bring judgment on those who have

1.  Rejected God

2.  Rejected Christ

3.  Refuse and turn their backs on God's revelation

 

B.  From the standpoint of Israel

1.  To redeem Israel

2.  To bring about salvation to Israel

3.  To fulfill His promise to Israel

a. Abraham's seed would have an everlasting Kingdom (cf. Genesis 17)

 

Prologue

As Chapter 8 opens, the seventh seal will be announced and opened. Thus far, the first six seals were preliminary judgments. Everything following is contained in the seventh seal which has fourteen progressive sequential segments:

a.  Seven trumpet judgments

b.  Seven vial or bowl judgments

 

The seventh seal opens the seven trumpet judgments. Likewise, the seventh trumpet releases the seven bowl judgments, thus allowing the narrative to prolong over several chapters.  However, the Day of the Lord concludes at the close of Chapter 16.

 

Chapter 7 disrupted the narrative and afforded the reader a parenthetical glimpse of events surrounding God's heavenly Throne.  The observation is one of the incredible noisy activities. John audibly hears:

1.  The loud commands from authoritative angels

2.   The voices of 144,000 from Israel were sealed

3.  The loud worship from countless diverse multitudes

4.  The praises from the celestial angels

5.  The worship activity of twenty-four elders

6.  The homage of four living creatures

7.  The intense prayers of the martyred souls of Chapter 6

Imagine all this communication and commotion of praise and worship ensuing round about the Throne of God.

 

 

(Verse 1)

 

And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour.

 

Silence in Heaven

All of a sudden, at the breaking of the seventh seal, everyone is standing in total awe and expectancy as Heaven becomes dead silent, spellbound, speechless, mute, and motionless for thirty minutes.

 

No translation is needed here. It is a literal silence (sigē, a hush silence), relatively similar to the silence before the foreman of a jury reports a verdict or the silence before a storm. Everything in Heaven, Hell, and Earth comes to a complete halt as silence becomes a transitioning point in the narrative from God's grace in Chapter 7 to the continuation of His wrath.

 

By way of comparison:

1.  After the Lamb opened one of the seals, I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beast saying…(6:1)

 

2.  And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say…(6:3)

 

 

3.  And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say…(6:5)

 

4.  And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say…(6:7)

 

 

5.  And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain…and they cried with a loud voice…(6:9-10)

 

6.  And…when He had opened the sixth seal…there was a great earthquake…(6:12)

 

Notice:

7.  And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. (8:1)

 

So, for thirty minutes, a very unusual solemn stillness and a voiceless utterance prevail that is more powerful than words. Imagine sitting in a room for half an hour in total silence that one can hear a pin drop. This may very well be the first time since creation that a deafening silence surrounds the Throne of God.

 

Thirty

About one-half of an hour: Approximately thirty minutes from John's perspective. However, significantly, the number thirty as used in the Bible usually is associated with sorrow, death, and mourning. For example:

1.  Israel mourned over the death of Aaron for thirty days (cf. Numbers 20:29)

 

2.  The death of Moses was grieved for thirty days (cf. Deuteronomy 34:8)

 

3. When Judas betrayed Jesus over thirty pieces of silver, death accompanied both persons:

Matthew 27:3-5 - Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood…And he cast down the pieces of silver in the Temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

 

 

(Verse 2)

 

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

 

Seven

Seven, as mentioned earlier, is God's perfect and complete number. In this passage, John envisions seven high-ranking angels who were given a special assignment to blow the distributed trumpets announcing God's forthcoming wrath.

 

Stand

Also in the verse, notice they stand before God. The word stand is in the perfect tense, indicating they were in the presence of God. The implication is they had been standing for some time waiting for God to give them the command to blow each trumpet. Thus, the heralding announcement is executed in successive order.

 

The Great Day of the Lord

The Great Day of the Lord is at hand. To grasp a better understanding of this forthcoming event, a reading of Zephaniah's prophecy is essential:

Zephaniah 1:14-18 - The Great Day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

 

Commentary

The God of love, mercy, and forgiveness Who desires no one should perish, on the surface, seems contradictory. However, in comparing Scripture, the same God once said to Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 33:11 - Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

 

At this juncture in Revelation's text, God is most likely brokenhearted, and in His thirty minutes of hesitancy, He patiently waits for every last soul to repent and turn from their wicked ways.

 

He is the same God who sent forth His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die as the sacrificial Lamb for the remission of the sins of the entire world, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (cf. John 3:16).

 

Certainly, this same God is greatly saddened that some will not heed the call to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Also, He is the same God Paul and Peter reference in their letters of exhortation:

Acts 3:19 – Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

 

1 Timothy 2:4 – [He] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

 

2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

 

So, in keeping with His promise, God has no choice left but to pronounce justice in retribution upon a condemned world of disobedience. If all those who have lived a wicked life would only repent and forsake their evil ways, they shall be saved from the forthcoming devastation.

 

Also, during the thirty minutes of silence, John sees another angel before the sound of the trumpet. Discover what he does in the next study.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.   How has God delivered judgment in the past?

2.   Why is it necessary for God to adjudicate?

3.   What follows the Seventh Seal?

4.   Why is Heaven silent for about thirty minutes?

5.   Is God justifiable in His actions?

6.   Are God's ways contradictory?

7.   What are the options for man's future?

 

 

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