There was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Revelation

...
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 eyesalve 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 this 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 history.


This book, 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 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} Andas 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 comprehenison 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 He 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 omnious, 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 that 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 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 strifes 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 unrepetent 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 tremendrous 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.
...

...
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...


...
Revelation

Write the things which thou hast seen,
and the things which are,
and the things which shall be hereafter;
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 annoucing and what an announcment 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?


...
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God
and to them were given seven trumpets.
..


...
And another angel came
and stood at the altar
...


The same altar where John saw the souls crying out under the fifth seal? The altar of incense- typifying the prayers of the saints.


...
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.


...
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.


...
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 see 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 the can and will purge the earth.


...
and cast it into the earth
and there were voices
and thunderings,
and lightnings,
and an earthquake.
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, thunderings, lightnings, 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 any one 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.