Silence in heaven before the judgements
End Times Bible #Prophecy: Revelation,
Chapter 8:1-5
In a previous chapter, he described the constant
worship that goes on in God’s throne room. This time, he was shown that prior
to the Lord’s End Times judgments, there will be silence in heaven for half an
hour. It is a solemn silence.
We are acquainted with holding moments of silence to
remember people who passed away, often out of respect for their memory. But we’ve
never had a worldwide moment when that took place. Imagine everything in the
world going quiet for half an hour. I believe the silence in Rev. 8:1 reflects
the great reluctance and deep sadness on God’s part for what He is about to do.
The angels are on standby before being sent to carry out their seven trumpet assignments
on the earth. All of heaven is watching, holding its collective breath at what
is about to take place, events that some scriptures attribute to a dreadful
period in humanity’s history:
Joel 2:31 (NLT) – “The sun will
become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible
day of the LORD arrives.
Acts 2:20 (NKJV) – “The sun
shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of
the great and awesome day of the LORD.
Zephaniah 1:14 (NLT) - “That terrible day of the LORD is
near. Swiftly it comes— a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will
cry out.
According to Rev. 8:3-4, an angel offers incense to
God, along with the prayers of people. We can imagine the prayers of humanity,
pleas for salvation, healing and deliverance, many of them desperately pleading
with their Maker...
Rev. 8: 1-5: “1 When he opened the
seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven
angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 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.
4 The smoke of the
incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the
angel’s hand.
5 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.”
Next: The Seven Seals of Judgment
Salvation and Victorious Living
Today, if you know Jesus, then you too can lead
a victorious life
John 15:4 “Remain in me, and I
will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the
vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
1 John 2:16 (NIV) –
“For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world.
1 John 2:16 (NLT) –
“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for
everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not
from the Father, but are from this world.”
If you do not know Jesus Christ as
Savior,
then you must be born again
The sinless Jesus Christ took on the sins of the world AND
the punishment for those sins so that we could be saved.
Today, if you do not know Jesus, receive His free offer of
salvation and put all your trust in Him.
John 1:29 (NLT) – “The next day
he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
2 Corinthians 6:2 – “
For God says,
“At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.”
On the day of salvation, I helped you.”
Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of
salvation.”
Acts 2:38 (NLT) – “Peter
replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
Background: John the apostle wrote
the Apocalypse during his exile in Patmos. He received what appears to be a
series of visions about far future events. Jesus instructed him to write down
what he saw and send the writing to the seven churches in Asia Minor (region of
Turkey today). John was the last surviving member of the 12 apostles that the
Lord called to lead the church and its mission. Except for John, by now, when
he wrote the Apocalypse, the rest of the apostles had died as martyrs for the
faith. The church, however, continued to grow and spread. Persecution caused
the early believers to scatter from Jerusalem to other parts of the world.
According to church tradition, John lived out his remaining life in Ephesus
after he was released from Patmos.
Shalom!
Diana
Washington-Valdez
Faith
Today Christian Ministries
Exalting
the name of Jesus!
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