Print Version

Revelation 8

In Revelation 8 we find the seventh seal opened, which describes a fateful event in the Sanctuary above, just preceding the outpouring of God's wrath through the seven trumpet plagues.  This seal is very significant in that it signals the closing judgment and end of probation (testing) for the entire civilization.  

The Revelation test is clearly revealed in the book.  Humanity is divided by individual decisions: whether one accepts the mark of the beast and thereby gives allegiance to Antichrist, or instead, he waits for the true Savior of mankind in spite of threats, persecution or even death.  The appointed time of the end is the period set aside by God for this great and final testing.  When completed, every single individual will be in one camp or the other, on God's side, or on Satan's.  

When the Seventh Angel sounds, the moment of testing will be complete.  The line is drawn in the sands of time, and Michael will stand "for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets, and your saints," (Revelation 11:15, 18).  This is the anticipated ending of God's mercy, as in the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-29), when those who persist with an unrepentant heart will be cut off from among the people.  

Revelation 21:11 reveals the ending judgment in Heaven, and the Court's decree just before Christ returns in brilliant glory to lighten the world: "Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. Behold I am coming soon [just days]! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."  Revelation 8, the focus of Lesson 14, takes us to the moment in time and that proclamation, which then leads to the release of God's wrath in the seven trumpets.

As we have noted in the Insights in Prophecy Series, John wrote repeatedly about the events of the sevens.  The seventh seal is opened to the seven angels who prepared to execute seven trumpet plagues; when the Seventh Angel sounds His trumpet, Heaven declares that the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, and He will reign.

In Lesson 12 we studied that Revelation 6:12-17 and the sixth seal opens at the Second Coming of the Lord.  We will eventually discover that the sixth trumpet (9:13-18) and sixth plague (16:12-16) also point to the stirring up of military armies and the eventual Armageddon confrontation at the Second Coming.  However, the seventh seal (8:1-6) and the seventh plague (16:17-21) are Sanctuary events which release the Mighty Angel (Christ) to begin the Day of the Lord events at the seventh trumpet (10:1-7), all of which must occur before the Great Day of the Lord at the Second Coming--the day when all enemies will be destroyed. 

How do we know the events of the sevens precede the sixth seal, trumpet and plague?  Because both the Father (He who sits upon the throne) and His Son will leave the throne room together and make their way to Planet Earth (Revelation 6:16; Luke 9:26) to finalize the plagues and controversy.  Therefore, the seventh seal must be opened before the sixth seal, and the Seventh Angel must sound His trumpet and pour out His vial plague before the other six angels perform their duties.  

This challenges the commonly held view that the book of Revelation is in its entirely a neatly arranged chronological presentation; in other words, the events of each chapter must, of necessity, follow the one just before it.  Nonetheless, the prophetic Word of God is, more often than not, less neatly arranged.  A review of Old Testament prophecies shows us that the same theme is often repeated through various symbols and languages.  For example, a prophet's revelation about Day of the Lord would be scattered throughout his prophecies, but it would be up to the student to find the passages and blend then back together into one.  

So it is with John's Revelation.  Although the overall presentation leads one from beginning to end, within the prophecies there are "insertions" of passages that offer additional explanation; therefore, we often find an overlapping of events throughout the book.  The student must look for commonalities between the various passages, much like piecing a puzzle back together.  For example, when an individual sees the four worldwide phenomenon--"peals of thunder, rumblings [voices], flashes of lightning and an earthquake" we can be quite sure we have located a specific point during the end-times calendar; a mile-marker, we might say, or a reference point.  

The events of the sevens is one such reference point, and is associated with perfection or completeness; hence, the seventh seal of the Appointed Times & Season Calendar points to the pinnacle, or turning point, of the great controversy between good and evil--the Day of Atonement, better known as the first day of the Day of the Lord, the days when the mysteries of God will be finished.

1. Revelation 8:1 points to when Christ opens the seventh seal. What happens in Heaven that is so unique?

The seventh seal events are so solemn that countless millions of Heaven's inhabitants hush in silence.  Time is slipping away, and eternity is at stake.  The Day of the Lord is about to begin.  The few minutes that remain indicates that time is running out for every man, woman and child on Planet Earth.  

Silence Precedes Judgment

We cannot overlook the call for silence both in Heaven and on earth.  Heaven will halt in silence in respect for God's two witnesses who will have just been slain in Jerusalem's streets, while the earth makes merriment over their slaughter, as we will study in Revelation 11.  The silence is also a signal of terrible events to come, like the calm just before the storm.  

Prophecy states that a day will come when the whole earth will be silenced just before the Day of the Lord begins.  Zephaniah 1:7 says, "Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the Day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated [set aside; distinguished] those [guests] He has invited."  

The saints called to silence: Psalms 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.  Lamentations 3:26, 28 adds, "It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord ... Let him sit alone in silence." David writes, "Search your hearts and be silent," (Psalm 4:4).