When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:1-5
John has been taken up 'in the spirit [by vision]" and is shown the Lord's temple in heaven. This was the pattern (model) that God gave to Moses for the construction of the earthly tabernacle. Exodus 25:40
Key Points of the Seventh Seal:
In the passage above he relates what he sees when the seventh seal on the scroll is opened.
- Silence in heaven
- Seven angels given seven trumpets
- Another angel with a golden censer
- Altar of incense
Silence in Heaven:
Before the angels are given the trumpets they are to sound there is silence. I'm not sure about the significance of the time period. It strikes me that the events about to happen when the angels sound their trumpets is very ominous. The inhabitants of heaven know what is about to happen, but the people of earth do not. This, I believe, is the reason for the momentary quiet contemplation.
The Angel at the Altar of Incense:
The golden censer is a container, one of the articles involved in the sanctuary service, used to burn a special incense. The censer is placed in the golden altar whereupon the incense is cast on the burning coals. The smoke of the incense rise up with the prayers for God's people on earth. A supplication for the dire times about to take place. The angel at the altar then stresses this point by casting the censer filled with fire upon the earth.
"Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high - its horns of one piece with it. Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it."
Exodus 30:1-3
The Altar of Incense was located in the tent of meeting at the far end of the Holy Place, just in front of the curtain that divided it from the Most Holy Place in which was housed the Ark of the Covenant.
The Daily Ritual:
"Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps . He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come." Exodus 30:7,8
There is one other article involved in this ritual: "He [Aaron] is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain." Leviticus 16:12
As you can see, the sanctuary service in the earthly temple is a mirror of that which occurs in the temple in heaven, just as the Lord had commanded Moses for the Levitical priests to perform.
There is no need to interpret the meaning of the symbolism presented by the sounding of the first four trumpets. To understand the message one only needs to make note of the object being affected. That will be revealed in the next four sections below. Suffice it to say that the angels sounding their trumpets are heralds of impending ecological and environmental disasters to befall planet earth.
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. Revelation 8:7
Here is described a strange weather event; a storm of hail, fire and blood. It is directed at the land areas of earth and results in the partial destruction by fire of living vegetation. There is currently a science-based concern that the earth is experiencing a drastic climate change - a human-caused global warming due to increased emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.
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, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. Revelation 8:8,9
The event foreseen here is directed at the oceans of the world. It has a triple effect: 1) The water in some areas turn a toxic color, 2) It causes the death of many marine species, both plant and animal, and 3) It causes the destruction even of sea-going vessels. How can that be? If global warming is real would it not increase the frequency and intensity of oceanic storms that could wreck ships and cause the loss of human life?
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 - 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. Revelation 8:10,11
The second trumpet affected the worlds oceans but when the third angel sounds it is directed at the fresh water lakes, rivers and springs turning some of them toxic. We know this has been happening for quite some time due to industrial polution of these bodies of water that are so necessary to all life on earth. Water pollution is blamed for the increased frequency of some cancers among human beings.
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. 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!" Revelation 8:12,13
Thus far the sounding of the trumpets have affected the land, the vast oceans and the fresh water regions of the earth. It is not surprising, then, that the blowing of the fourth trumpet is directed at the earths atmosphere causing a reduction of the light coming from stellar objects due to air pollution.
