Seven Angels Commissioned with Trumpet Judgments

1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets…6 The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. (Rev. 8:1-2, 6)

A. Silence in heaven: When the seven angels are given trumpets there will be silence in heaven. There will be a dreadful, yet glorious silence in heaven coming from the awful anticipation of the release of God’s judgments due to seeing the seven angels. The certainty of the soon coming judgment causes all to be speechless. There is no adequate response for what will come.

B. As silence fills heaven, so it will cover the earth as Jesus begins to release His final judgments.

20 The LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. (Hab. 2:20)

13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation! (Zech. 2:13)

7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; for the day of the LORD is at hand… (Zeph. 1:7)

10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations… (Ps. 46:10)

C. Sound is associated with the seal judgments. The first four are released by a voice like thunder. The fifth seal describes the intercessory cry from beneath the altar. In the sixth seal, the kings cry out. Here, the terrifying silence of the seventh seal is in great contrast with the other six seals.

D. About half an hour: It took a priest about 30 minutes to offer incense in the temple (Lev. 16:13).

9 The custom of the priesthood…to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 The multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. (Lk 1:9-10)