“And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.” Revelation 8:1-2
This is part of John’s vision of future events. Heaven is the place where God is continually praised by myriads of angels and redeemed saints. There is joy, there is happiness and loud hallelujahs resound. The altar of God continually reverberates with the prayers of saints poured out like incense. How could it suddenly go silent for 30 minutes?
I think it’s because of the magnitude that the seventh seal has when it finally gets opened. These might be some of the reasons…
The silence is a sign of deep respect and awe in the presence of the Judge of all the earth. Just like courtrooms demand silence when the judge is presiding, so does the heavenly courtroom. “Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near” [Zephaniah 1:7].
“The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).
The half-hour silence in heaven is the result of unhappy reflection on what has just been revealed. When Jesus Christ breaks the seventh seal, the scroll of God’s judgment is fully revealed for the first time. Now all heaven can see God’s plan to judge the wickedness of the earth, destroy the kingdom of the beast, and set things right. All heaven remains silent as God’s righteousness is on display.
At the sight of the full scroll and all the judgments about to fall, the denizens of heaven take their cue from Job who faced with God’s awesome presence said, “I am unworthy, how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth” [Job 40:4].
The silence in heaven is due to the severity of the actions the Lord God is about to take. These judgments are more terrible than anything the world will have ever seen [Mark 13:19–20]. The final catastrophes are about to befall the earth, and silence and stillness fill the time of tense expectation. “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling” [Zechariah 2:13].
All I know is brother, we do not want to be there or in bad terms with the Lord when these things happen.
The seventh seal opens the seven trumpets and the seven vials of God’s wrath. If we thought the seal judgments were horrific, the trumpets and vial judgments are on another scale of intensity so great that total silence was the right response in heaven. Who can withstand the wrath of God? We’re extremely blessed to have a way of escape. I believe the church will go through the tribulation but not the Bride. They are 2 different groups! What are your thoughts on pre vs mid vs post tribulation rapture?
[SIZE=5]The Trumpets[/SIZE]
Rev 8:6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”