******* Continuing our prophecy study-- Please
GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of
where we are if you haven't been following this study daily. Thank you
:) We are on lesson number 78. God bless you! ******
Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal,
there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Silence.
Up
until this point there had been a constant revealing of things, one after the
other. John was shown so much and kept busy. Then pointedly Jesus opens the
seventh seal- the final seal on the book that held such importance that it
needed to be sealed by these amazing seals that could only be opened by Christ
Himself.
The
story of mankind since Christ was born was told in the seals. The story of
mankind since Christ was born and until Christ returns. These seals are
Christ's to open because this is His time, time since He came to earth and gave
salvation unto us all. Time foretelling what His people would do with the time,
what would transpire over time, what special temptations would come and what
trying obstacles would exist. Each seal was broken just as each Church was
admonished, each time period foretold and why? So we could look back and see
and know. Of course those living during the first seal might not have been able
to see themselves so clearly, as well as the second, third, fourth, fifth and
so on. Do we- who live in the sixth seal- understand the time we are in? We
should, having the clarity of time in the past and yet there are many who are
blind and unseeing because they refuse the eye salve that Christ has to give,
they refuse the blessing of the Holy Spirit in all truth.
The
book of Daniel was pointedly shut up-
Daniel
{12:9} And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed
till the time of the end.
History
had to take place before this book of prophecy could be understood.
If I
took a book and read it then said the following to you, what would you think-
"I just ate that book right up!"
What
would you assume from such a sentence? That I literally ate a book; paper,
leather, ink, and glue? Even if it had no glue or leather and it was more of a
scroll it's still paper I'm eating, right? People don't literally eat a book
when they say they ate it all up. What they've done is 'read' the book. They've
read it and did so in such away they devoured what was written inside for
enjoyment or for educational purposes it doesn't matter really because they
just read that book so fast it was noteworthy.
Why am
I mentioning this at all? Because the little book of prophecy- Daniel's book
which was sealed until the time of the end would be unsealed at the time of the
end. And we find this in Revelation- a big book of prophecy compared to a book
half its size such as the book of Daniel.
Revelation
{10:9} And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book.
And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly
bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. {10:10} And I took the
little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth
sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. {10:11} And
he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and
tongues, and kings.
When
the book of Daniel was finally opened to be understood it was as if a curtain
had opened upon the Lord's word. Back in the early 1800's this understanding
started to emerge. Such understanding of the book unfolded that many, many
believed whole-heartedly in what was being told to them about this heretofore
undiscovered wealth of prophetic knowledge.
The
book of Daniel-another book of prophecy that clearly is understood in light of
the history that took place before it could be fully comprehended.
In
Daniel you find one revelation, that of the great statue with a Head of Gold,
arms and breast of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, feet of
iron mixed with clay. Daniel begins right in the prophecy to foretell what it
means--
Daniel
{2:31} Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
{2:32} This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver,
his belly and his thighs of brass, {2:33} His legs of iron, his feet part of
iron and part of clay. {2:34} Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without
hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and
brake them to pieces. {2:35} Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the
silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of
the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was
found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth.
{2:36}
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
{2:37} Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee
a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. {2:38} And wheresoever the children
of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given
into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of
gold. {2:39} And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and
another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
{2:40} And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all
these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. {2:41} And whereas thou sawest the
feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as
thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. {2:42} And as the toes of the feet
were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and
partly broken. {2:43} And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. {2:44} And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. {2:45} Forasmuch
as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and
that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the
gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
-- Do
you see? The kingdoms through time until the end of time. We can see clearly
what these kingdoms were and are- having the history of time on our side to do
so but in the time of the King of Babylon they could scarcely understand that
feasibility that there would ever be even a single kingdom other than their own
that would reign. Tell me what kingdom wants to believe they might no longer
exist in time? Do we even want to believe that one day we would have no
distinction of our own? Aren't people still fighting wars even today to possess
their own countries to rule? Yet history reveals there was another kingdom just
like Daniel's interpretation of the dream revealed and then another and
another.
Without
the comprehension of history we could not understand the things we understand
today by the grace of God and mercy of Jesus Christ by the guidance of the Holy
Spirit.
So
here we have John witnessing Jesus opening these seals that are so amazingly
important no other but Him could do so. Seals that depicted time from the time,
Jesus returned to heaven as a human conquering death by God.
Just
as an owner of a diary owns the key to the lock of that diary, Jesus alone
could open the seals and reveal the truth in His word for us in these last
days.
Why
reveal the truth to us? Because before He returns there will be a group of
people alive when He returns and they will be living in Him having never tasted
death at all. These people would be translate by Christ and changed to
immortality in the air as they meet Him when He returns and these people will
know Christ and be known of Christ. These people will understand and know all
that has transpired beforehand and they'll be ready for Christ, prepared by the
grace of God, enlightened through the Holy Spirit in comprehension of all that
is needed to be understood before Christ returns.
As
this seventh and final seal on this special book of Christ's is broken there is
silence in heaven the space of a half an hour, certainly a notable length of
time whether a literal half an hour or prophetic.
Silence.
Perhaps
a calm before the storm.
The
period of transition for God's people being made ready in Him to their being
finally sealed and then the way for Christ's return is complete and the wrath
to follow unfolds.
Silence.
No
more pleading on the behalf of sinners. All testimony is at an end.
Silence.
No
talking. No music. No singing. No sound at all.
Silence
for mankind. No admonitions to give because the time is over to listen, to heed
the warnings.
Some
call silence ominous, a deathly quiet. What do they mean by a deathly quiet?
They mean that the dead know nothing, to them the quiet is forever. This
silence in heaven is only the space of a half an hour but what a noteworthy
half an hour it is.
If at
my birthday celebration I open all of my presents but one and each time I tell
you what present is in the box I've opened you expect that when I get to the
last present to do the same, right? Open it and look then tell you what I've
received. If instead of doing that I open the last present then just simply
stare at it for a half an hour saying nothing to you at all, and you unable to
say anything to me, unable to do anything but wait for time to pass and for me
to reveal what is in that last present how long do you imagine that wait will
feel like to you? Interminable, yes? Yet the wait is for John isn't it? He's
the one being shown these revelations of Jesus Christ. And yet rather than just
pick up after the wait without mentioning it, it was a wait that needed to be
remarked upon and for a reason.
We
were told about this silence a space of a half an hour for a reason. In history
during the lulls not many realize they are in a lull. When the chaos and strife
ends it's with the hope there will be no more chaos- no more strife, not with
the hope that it will reoccur at some point in time. When the lull is over
between strife's only then can you mark it as a lull. This silence in heaven
after the seventh seal is broken is a period of time and the fact it is in
heaven- seen to be in heaven not as an earthy symbol we can only suspect that
the silence is that transitional period before God's wrath is loosed. Perhaps
there is a slight reluctance to have the beginning of the wrath unfold. Think
about it. While it means glory and pure inexplicable joy for many it means the
destruction of many, many more. And while Christ will be able to say He's done
all He could do and be completely worthy in that, the sadness that the next
curtain to rise is the last for a world of un-repentent sinners- sinners that
He died for and would have covered with His blood and made white in His
righteousness if they would only have let him- that sadness has to be
tremendous and beyond anything we could ever hope to truly comprehend. Even if
we give analogies such as trying to convince people on a sinking ship, people
you love with all your heart, to come into your boat which will take them to
safety only to have them refuse, even such analogies fall short of the mark,
far short. Christ would have us all and that same Christ wept at the grave of
His friend Lazarus, even as he prepared to bring him back to life. The emotion
of weeping is a heartfelt sorrow and if Christ wept then how great will be His
sadness for the lost? Like the grief we know as humans it goes through stages
and Christ's grief for the lost will be great but the victory to come will
reign after the wrath of the Father is complete.
Silence.
And
when he had opened the seventh seal,
there
was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev
8:2 And I saw the seven angels which
stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
The
seven angels which stood before God- Remember...
Rev
1:19 Write the things which thou hast
seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
Rev
1:20 The mystery of the seven stars
which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks
which thou sawest are the seven churches.
These
seven angels are standing before God- not in Christ's hand. Are they different
angels? It's possible, yes? Then again the symbolic gesture could be that
because they were in Christ's hand they were His- just as the seven churches
are His people.
Regardless,
seven angels stood before God and to them were given seven trumpets. These
angels weren't in Christ's hand and they weren't standing before the Lamb that
had been slain rather they were before God who was on sitting on His throne.
God's angels.
Given
trumpets. What is the symbolism of a trumpet in the Bible? It's used the most
for making an announcement of a coming event of importance. The same word used
here in Revelation is used in Matthew- 24:31 'And he shall send his angels with
a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.' And in Corinthians- 14:8 'For
if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the
battle?' 15:52 'In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.
An
announcing, and what an announcement these angels will be making. The silence
is over.
Just a
note here, the angels when John saw them didn't have the trumpets already, they
weren't seven angels holding trumpets- the seven angels were given the seven
trumpets. By God?
Rev
8:2 And I saw the seven angels which
stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev
8:3 And another angel came and stood at
the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar
which was before the throne.
The
same altar where John saw the souls crying out under the fifth seal? The altar
of incense- typifying the prayers of the saints.
Rev
8:3 ... having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that
he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which
was before the throne.
The
angel stood before the altar with a golden censer- a censer was used to
transport coals into the Holy Place of the temple where a special incense was
placed upon the hot coals. The incense would make the offerings sweet to God. A
golden censer was used on the Day of Atonement. This angel has a golden censer
and he was given much incense, not just a tiny bit, or just incense of a normal
amount, but MUCH incense- and he was to offer it with the prayers of ALL
saints. All saints.
People
need to realize just how important prayer is, God hears our prayers we might
not believe it to be so and find it hard to imagine someone listening when we
seemingly never get a reply, but our prayers are heard. Here in this vision of
John's he sees the seventh and last seal broken on the precious book only
Christ could break the seals thereof and after a notable silence he watches an
angel stand before the alter with a golden censer and sees him given much
incense to offer it with the prayers of all saints on the golden altar before
the throne of God. The prayers are made acceptable through Christ. The prayers-
your prayers, my prayers are offered before God. Prayers offered - to be
offered they must be made. Prayer is so important and must not be neglected.
Our prayers can't be offered to God if they are not first prayed. Something to
consider in these last days we live in.
Rev
8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which
came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's
hand.
Visualize
it, the smoke of the incense rising up before God out of the angel's hand- your
prayers, my prayers, the prayers of the saints given to God.
Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it
with fire of the altar…
Typically
the censer is filled with coals from the altar of burnt offerings, but here it
would be the fire burning on the altar of incense before the throne of God is
where the fire is taken from. The prayers have ascended in the smoke, they are
no longer there to be offered- they've already been offered and what's left is
the fire. The fire which burned the incense which caused the smoke which held
the prayers of the saints. The fire mingled with the incense making the prayers
acceptable to God. The purifying fire. Christ's righteousness, Christ's
sacrifice alone makes our prayers acceptable to God. After the prayers are
offered only then is the censer- the carrying instrument- the transporting
vessel used again and this time it is filled with fire- not the prayers of the
saints but the purifying fire, the wrathful fire that can and will purge the
earth.
Rev 8:5 ...and cast it into the earth: and there were
voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Rev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven
trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Cast
to earth the fire ignites the cleansing that is to start. Think about it...
The
fire purified the prayers of the saints and made them acceptable to God and now
the fire of purification is cast to earth, it's cast there for a purpose. The
breaking of the seventh seal on that very special book caused a silence, a
prayer offering, all before the beginning of the end. The final seal is broken,
all of God's children, all of God's people still alive on earth at this time
are sealed and under the protection of Christ, and now the wrath will begin for
those who have chosen to shun God, to shun the truths found in Christ and
Christ alone.
After
the fire is cast to earth there were voices, thundering, lightning's, and an
earthquake. Then and only then the seven angels with their seven trumpets
lifted them to sound out.
Amazing!
This vision, this prophecy. Nothing is hidden as so many suppose. There is no
mystery, it's unveiled for us to see, to know, to understand. No wonder those
who read are blessed. We are told this would happen and if we think for one
moment that history which has proven the prophecies real will stop short of
being fully fulfilled, we are in big trouble. Maybe this is a fairytale of
nightmarish proportions to some, maybe it's laughable nonsense to others, but
to those who truly believe in Jesus we could never toss aside something so
important as this message of prophecy given to us to reveal to us what will be
and what our part in it could be should we choose to believe.
Satan
has done a number on people with the fantastical stories he's concocted making
it so that anyone who fancies themselves even a tidbit of an intellectual
cannot believe in these words. He's done his job well but Christ did His job a
million times better and the offer of salvation is real. The offer to live now
for a better world to come, is real. The offer is there for all of us and we
just have to grab hold of it and take Jesus into our hearts, minds, and spirit
and ask for forgiveness, repenting of our sins and the gift of salvation is
ours in Christ, through Christ now and forever.
May
our hearts be open to Christ forever! May our prayers ascend to the Father! May
we be sealed and accounted worthy only by the blood of the Lamb slain to save
us. By His grace and His mercy, in His righteousness alone, by faith all
through love.
Amen.
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