The saints cry to God for justice, and God answers by sending seven angels with seven trumpet judgments. This teaches us that it is right for the saints to pray that God would judge His enemies and advance His kingdom.
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The Prayers Of The Saints
Revelation 8:1-6
8 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might [a]add it to the prayers of all the [b]saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense ascended from the angel’s hand with the prayers of the [c]saints before God. 5 Then the angel [d]took the [e]censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.”
We are in the midst of a study of the Book of Revelation. Since it has been several weeks since we have been in this book, I will go back and give you a quick overview of what we have seen thus far.
Chapter 1: Here we are told that God gave this revelation to Jesus Christ who gave it to His angel to communicate it through symbols to John. We are told that the things in this Revelation must SOON take place. There follows a description of the risen Christ in all of His glory.
Chapter 2 & 3: Seven letters to seven churches. Jesus authors these letters. They are written to real churches which existed in the first century. Jesus informs them that he knows all about their struggles, trials and perseverance and calls them to repentance. If they repent and faithfully follow Him, He points out the eternal rewards which will be theirs.
Chapter 4 & 5: Vision of the Throne Room in Heaven. In chapter 4 the focus is on God the Creator. Chapter 5 is focused on Jesus Christ, the Lion-Lamb who is the only One worthy to take the book and slit its seals. This book is the Purpose of God for the people of this world. The reason Jesus is worthy to open this scroll is because He has overcome! We are seeing here the ascension and enthronement of Jesus Christ as the result of His death and resurrection. It is here that all authority in heaven and earth were given to Him.
Chapter 6: The 7 Seals begin to be slit. The first 4 seals are of various horsemen. Conquest – War – Famine – Death. This has been a reoccurring situation throughout history. Evil men seek to conquer other peoples and lands, and so war, famine, and death take place. The 5th seal reveals the martyrs who have been slain because of their faithfulness to the word of God and the testimony. They are crying out and asking God how long before He brings judgment and vengeance on those who have put them to death. The 6th seal reveals the dissolution of the world, the second coming of Christ and the ensuing terror of the wicked, seeking desperately some place to hide so they will not have to face the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His wrath.
Chapter 7: Here we find the sealing of 144,000 persons, so that they are not harmed by the 4 angels which were sent to harm the earth and sea. I believe these are not 144,000 Jews saved during the final 7 years of earth’s history. Rather I believe these represent all of God’s redeemed throughout history. They are described from a different perspective as a great multitude which no one could count from every tribe, people, tongue and nation. They are described as having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb, and now they are before the throne and serve Him day and night. They will hunger and thirst no more, nor will they suffer for God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
So, what do we see thus far? God is bringing judgment upon the wicked that persecute His church. He is allowing it to come through conquest, war, famine, and death. He is allowing the wicked to kill those who are faithful to Him. But at the same time, these souls are reveling now in the presence of God, worshiping Christ, free from all suffering, misery or pain, but are experiencing eternal bliss and worship of God.
Well, that brings us to chapter 8.
Here we have the seventh seal slit. And it turns out that the seventh seal contains seven trumpet judgments.
This morning we will notice three things taking place in heaven:
1) Silence In Heaven
2) 7 Angels with 7 Trumpets
2) The Prayers Of The Saints
1. Silence In Heaven
“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”
This silence is altogether different from everything we have see up to this point. In chapter 4, we read of peals of thunder and flashes of lightning from the throne, along with four living creatures that never cease to give praise to God, the Holy One. Not only that, but we see the 24 Elders falling down before the throne saying “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”
In chapter 5 we see an ever expanding company of angels and humans singing, praising, shouting and worshiping the Lamb.
In chapter 6, we see the slitting of the first four seals, and the 4 Living Creatures crying out as with a voice of thunder “Come!” When the fifth seal is slit, we hear the loud cry of martyrs pleading with God for vindication and vengeance. When the sixth seal is slit, we see and hear the dismantling of the creation, and accompanying it the terrified cries of the wicked crying out to the mountains and rocks “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”
In chapter 7 we hear the joyous and powerful sound of the whole company of the redeemed, joined by the angelic chorus who add their own enthusiastic praise.
For four chapters we have witnessed great movement of bowing, falling, shouting, crying, and singing. We have heard deafening sounds.
Then we come to chapter 8, and there is complete silence. And this silence lasts not for 30 seconds or a minute, or even five minutes, but for about half an hour! You know when there is total silence, it can feel very eerie. Why this silence? I think it is to make us feel something of the awe and dread that is just around the corner.
In the Old Testament, silence is often the precursor to the coming judgment of God.
Zech. 2:13 “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Zeph.1:7 “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near.”
This is the calm just before the coming storm. This is the anxious anticipation of judgment.
2. 7 Angels With 7 Trumpets
“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.”
“The seven angels.” Who are these seven angels? They are referred to as “THE” seven angels. I’m not sure. They may be the same seven angels mentioned in chapter 16 that poured out the seven bowls of God’s wrath.
“Who stand before God.” They are ready to fly to do God’s bidding at a moment’s notice. They are God’s messengers.
“Seven trumpets were given to them.” These trumpets are not theirs. This is in the passive voice. These angels received the trumpets from someone else – God. God is the author of these judgments. These seven angels are only carrying out God’s orders. These angels may be the agents of God’s judgments but God is the author.
“Trumpets”. Why were trumpets given to them? When we think of trumpets today, we think of musical enjoyment. Maybe big band, or Dixieland or jazz or classical. But in the ancient world, trumpets were not used primarily for that purpose.
Numbers 10:2 “Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for having the camps set out.”
Notice that the trumpets were used to summon the congregation and letting them know when the camps were to travel. There were at least two million people traveling through the wilderness. How in the world could you get the word out when you were going to set out? They didn’t have cell phones, email, texting, sound systems or walkie talkies. But they had two silver trumpets that did the job very nicely.
Trumpets would be used to assemble the people for sacred celebrations, the coronation of a king, to summon the people to move out, or to sound the alarm in time of war.
Numbers 10:9 “When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and be saved from your enemies.”
I think this passage gets closer to the heart of why trumpets were given to these angels. God is announcing war against His enemies, and the trumpets are warning earth’s inhabitants of His coming judgments.
Joel 2:1 “Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; Surely it is near, a day of darkness and gloom…”
I think there is a definite allusion to the conquest of Jericho here. Remember how the people of Israel were to conquer Jericho, which blocked Israel’s entry into the promised land? Well, God instructed the people to march around the city once for six days. On the seventh day, the people were to march around the city seven times, and the priest were to blow the trumpets with a long blast and all the people were to shout with a great shout. When that took place, the walls of the city fell down flat. There were seven priests blowing the trumpets, just as there are seven angels blowing these trumpets. When the seven trumpets were to blow their trumpets at Jericho, other priests were carrying the ark of the covenant. Interestingly in Revelation 11, when the 7th trumpet is blown, the ark of the covenant appears, and a tenth of the city falls. It should also be noted that Jericho’s fall was also in connection to a period of silence. For six days, the people marched around the city but did not make a sound. Coincidence? I don’t think so. God is making a point.
One commentator has put it this way: “Like ancient Jericho, which blocked the entry of Israel into the promised land, Babylon the great must fall before the people of God will find their permanent home in the New Jerusalem.”
3. The Prayers Of The Saints
Before we read of the seven trumpet judgments, we find out why they are being sounded in 8:3-5.
Altar. This is a reference to the golden altar of incense. The Tabernacle was divided into two compartments: the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. A thick veil separated the two rooms from each other. Right in front of the veil was the golden altar of incense. This altar differed from the bronze altar, because animal sacrifices were made on the bronze altar, but only incense was burned on this altar. Remember also that Tabernacle on earth was an earthly model of what the true heavenly Tabernacle is like.
Golden Censer. This is a firepan, or a small shovel that the priest could carry burning coals from the bronze altar with. Every morning and evening the priest would take burning coals from the bronze altar with the censer and carry them to the golden altar. Then the priest would cast incense on the burning coals which would result in a fragrant cloud of smoke ascending heavenward. Why did the priest do this? God told him to! It was God Himself who supplied the recipe for this fragrant incense (Exodus 30). What’s more, it was never to be used for anything other than a perfume to accompany the prayers and sacrifices of God’s people.
The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. So, how can a sinful person offer prayer that is acceptable and even pleasing to God?
Proverbs 28:9 “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”
This golden altar of incense supplies us with the answer. I believe the golden altar of incense, like everything else in the Tabernacle points to Christ. He is our Great High Priest. He is our Intercessor. The golden altar of incense is linked to the bronze altar. Remember that the incense was burned on coals taken from the bronze altar. The bronze altar speaks of Christ’s sacrifice for sin. His work of sacrifice enables our prayers to be sanctified and pleasing to God.
The angel functions similar to a priest. Just as the priest offered the incense in the Tabernacle, the angel offers the incense and adds it to the prayers of the saints in heaven. The only difference is there is no veil keeping people separate from God’s holy presence in heaven.
Much incense was given to him. This is a passive verb. He didn’t already possess this incense. It was given to him by God. But for what reason? Why is God making the prayers of the saints beautiful and pleasing in His sight? Because He intends to answer these prayers.
The prayers of all the saints. Is this describing any and all prayers that the saints offer? I don’t think so. We have already read of prayers being offered in 6:9-11. They are the prayers of the souls of the martyrs. They have been killed because of their allegiance to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Their prayer is “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” This is a prayer for vindication and justice and vengeance. Is God going to answer their prayers? Absolutely! That’s what we see taking place as these seven trumpets are blown. In each of the seven trumpets we see God acting to answer their prayers.
Then. 8:5. Notice after the prayers are offered with the incense, then the angel filled his censer with the fire from the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Notice that the accoutrements connected to prayer in verse 3 (censer, altar) are the very same accoutrements to judgment in verse 5. This tells us that the judgment falling in verse 5 on is coming because of the prayers of God’s people.
Notice also that we saw these same seven angels with seven trumpets in verse 2. Then we have a very similar statement about them in verse 6, with verses 3-5 as an interlude describing the potency of prayer. The only difference between verse 2 and verse 6 is that in verse 6 the seven angels are prepared to sound the trumpets. Why are they now prepared to sound them? Because of the prayers of the saints!
Conclusion
What does this passage teach us?
- The Depravity of Man. Why would I say that? Because in order for the prayers of the saints to ascend to God, they must have the incense from God’s altar added to them. The prayers of an unsaved person are an abomination to the Lord. God is under no obligation to hear any of them. He may decide to hear and answer prayer, but that is His call. Even the prayers of the saints need this heavenly incense added for them to ascend to God. Do you see how dependent we are on Jesus Christ for everything in the Christian life? Yes, we have been justified and declared righteous by God. But our prayers need beautifying. We do not know how to pray as we should. We miss God’s will often. Even the saints need Jesus Christ in order to be able to pray effectively.
If we are ever to do anything pleasing to God, it will be because of Jesus Christ! Hebrews 13:20-21 tells us that God equips us in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ…”
We don’t just need Jesus to pay the penalty of sin and remove God’s wrath. We need Him to enable us to pray, do His will, and do anything that is pleasing in His sight.
- It is not wrong to pray for God’s justice. If it were, God would never answer these prayers. We sometimes think that justice is somehow inferior to other attributes of God like mercy, grace, and compassion. But think about it. Can any of God’s attributes be flawed? If they are, then God is flawed, which is impossible. God’s justice is an attribute of His righteousness. All of God’s attributes are His perfections. In fact, when we get to Revelation 19 we are going to find out that the saints in heaven praise God because of His wrath. It is only down here that we have a problem with God’s wrath. The saints in heaven have no problem with it. Now we see in a glass dimly, but then face to face.
Do you ever feel uncomfortable with some of the psalms of David where He prays for God’s justice on His enemies? We call them the imprecatory psalms. If these prayers were flawed, the Holy Spirit would not have inspired them. We need to learn to praise God for His justice as well as His mercy.
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