seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 8:1 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.
Ok then, I definitely need to look at the commentary.The seven angels who stand before God: According to Jewish tradition, there are seven angels who stand in God’s presence. Apparently, based on this verse, that traditional idea was accurate.
And to them were given seven trumpets: In the Old Testament, trumpets sounded the alarm for war and threw the enemy into a panic, or they called an assembly of God’s people. These seven trumpets will sound as God’s battle-alarm during the great tribulation.
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth: As God’s people pray for the resolution of all things, their prayers were touched by the fire from the altar in heaven, and then “thrown” back down to earth. All things will not be resolved on this earth until judgment comes, and when the prayers of God’s people “come back” to earth, they bring the groundswell of judgment (noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake).
John saw the Vision. He wrote it down so that he could share it. Then some prayerful soul translated what John wrote. Then Biblical Scholars decided what it meant. Ignorant old women, preachers and book sellers spread their own impressions on the meanings in the book all around but people see things like a Golden Censor and Heavenly Altar and they feel overwhelmed with human ignorance and stop reading. Consider a device that would hold the burning ash of incense. Consider the holes in it that are supposed to let the scent rise. Consider what that sensor, in Heavenly Size, hurled at the earth, would look like to the ignorant sinner who has been hiding in a cave. Is it another meteor? Is it a big hunk of planet? Is it a satellite falling to earth after being shot down with a rocket? Is it the weapon of WWIII? What will humans think when they see it?
Now consider, John says the incense is prayers. Remember, there are a lot of humans, more than we can count, who are in Heaven. Some are the martyrs of old... and some are newbies... all cleaned up healed and spiffy. With so many crying out for their loved ones... who didn't accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior... I'm pretty sure the prayers for their redemption would fill the censor with bitter tears.
Bitter tears don't belong in Heaven. They should be thrown back... right? Is this when the humans in Heaven realize and accept that their loved ones are not going to join them? Is the golden censor filled with all of the angst and anxiety expressed by those humans who have come to realize their loved ones missed "the Call"?
Silence though.... I haven't said anything about the half hour of silence.
Oh, come on.... You know what a "Moment of Silence" is.
John says they had a "Half Hour of Silence". There must have been a whole lot of humans who didn't make "the Call". Shall we bow our heads and join in a "Half Hour of Silence" for those who say the Bible is a work of fiction and Jesus was just a bastard baby who threw a temper tantrum in the Temple and was hung on a Cross for His crime. Shall we bow our heads and join in a "Half Hour of Silence" for all those priests who abused the children or skewed the Gospel to meet their financial or social needs, or just plain out lied constantly because Mom wanted them to be a preacher even though they did not really accept Jesus as their Messiah.
Will we join the "Half Hour of Silence" all healed and spiffy, or will we be the ones hiding in a cave on earth worrying about the next wave to be hurled at them? There will be a lot of humans who will miss "the Call". It will take a good "Half Hour of Silence" to "say their names".
Will you join the "Half Hour of Silence"?
