Revelation 8:1
1 And[kai] when[hote] he had opened[anoigo] the seventh[hebdomos] seal,[sphragis] there was[ginomai] silence[sige] in[en] heaven[ouranos] about the space of[hos] half an hour.[hemiorion] KJV-Interlinear
1 And
when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an
hour. NASB
Have you ever been to an
event where there is a large crowd and an announcer asks the crowd to recognize
something solemn and that everyone respect it with a moment of silence?
Can you ever imagine a
huge crowd, that would have something in front of
them, that would cause them, without being asked, to remain silent for thirty
minutes?I would guess that having a
crowd remain silent for even a few minutes would be difficult.
The grim reality of what
is to soon occur, becomes immediately apparent to all who will be in heaven,
and witness to these events, that are now on the brink of execution.
In the first chapter of
this book, we were introduced to the one, the unique person of the universe,
Jesus Christ, the first and the last, the one who controls history, the one who
will bring history, mans rule, and Satan’s rule to a complete halt. The one who will assume the reigns of rule
over the world, and bring an end, through divine judgment, to all evil that has
become unrestrained and totally destructive.
In the second and third
chapters, we were introduced to the Church, the Royal Family, and their (our)
role in history during our dispensation.
Some believers will advance to maturity, but most will fail throughout
our dispensation, which will end with an apostasy that will be second to none.
The Rapture will occur
(door opening), and then in chapter four, we are introduced to the absolute
phenomenal environment of heaven.A
realm of peace, of truth, lacking all adversarial opposition, a place of
clarity and of Gods sovereign power and rule over all things. This is in contrast to that which is going on
back on earth, where there is controversy, adversity, and no clear wisdom in
place with which to govern and operate life.
And then in chapters five
and six, the first six seals were removed from the scroll.
The first five,
demonstrate the phenomenal incompetence of mans rule, and the unbelievable
failure of Satan’s effort to bring in a utopian life to all of mankind. Beginning with false hope
from a false hero (white horse), to uncontrolled crime and violence, to a
destroyed economy, to death and destruction. All leading to the deaths of innumerable believers,
whose souls we heard, from under the alter.
And then the sixth seal,
which reveals a level of violence and horrors so beyond imagination, that it is
nearly impossible to describe them. And yet, people will die with increasing numbers,
pouring (so to speak) into heaven as a result of the horrors that will have
been occurring on the earth.
The seals reveal the
written documentation of a history that will occur. They have thus far summarized that future
record.
And now we will be introduced
to seven trumpets.
Trumpets are used to
announce, to bring everyone to attention, to signal something that is very near
or just about to happen.
With the written record,
there is time to read, to examine, to prepare ones self,
but no indication as to exactly when the events will occur.
With the trumpets, the
sounding of them, means that time is up, the events are fast approaching, entering
in, they have arrived.
And later on when we get to
the bowl judgments, then the bowls being poured out,
are the actual events, occurring in all the fury and power of heaven. And there is no way to stop them until they
have run their course.
In the last chapter, we
noted that the common suffering throughout the Tribulation, of which all of
those who die and enter into heaven will share, will be that they were hungry
and thirsty.Certainly they lacked Bible
doctrine and hungered and thirsted due to the lack of spiritual sustenance, but
too, the common suffering will be due to the lack of food and water. And the lack will not be for just a few hours
or days, but it will go on and get worse over the course of years. That will lead to untold and indescribable
horrors.
However, knowing this, does not mean that this suffering will be the worst,
for the worst has not yet been described in our study. The trumpets will add more detail to the
judgments, and the bowls will add more details beyond that. And there is still the issue of the seven
thunders, which have not and will not be revealed to us.
We who will be in heaven
and those who are on the earth, will not know the
details of the seven thunders, until they actually occur.
But those who are, or will
be in heaven, will understand quickly just what history is all about and what
is about to occur.
John heard a vastness
full of noise, when he first arrived.He
saw and heard an innumerable host of believers (perhaps numbering in the billions),
and of angels (perhaps numbering in the trillions), singing and praising
Christ.
And then silence.
And this silence will
occur until verse five.But it is a
deathly silence, an eerie silence, and it will mark the imminence of what is to
come.
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