Revelation 8:5

 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth.  And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

·        These prayers that were now accepted in heaven produced great changes upon earth.  (MH)

·        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  (DG)

Leviticus 16:12  Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.

Exodus 20:18 Now all the people witnesses the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

Revelation 8:4

 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.

·        Prayer and incense are often associated in the Bible.  (DG)

·        The idea is that just as incense is precious, pleasant, and drifts to heaven, so do our prayers.  (DG)

Exodus 30:8  And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

Leviticus 16:12  Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.

Revelation 8:3

 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.  He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

·        It took the priest about a half hour to offer the incense

·        The prayers of the saints themselves stand in need of the incense and intercession of Christ to make them acceptable and effectual (MH)

Exodus 30:1  You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.

Psalm 141:2  Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Revelation 8:2

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

·        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.  (DG)

·        These seven trumpets will sound as God’s battle-alarm during the great tribulation. (DG)

2 Chronicles 29:25-28  … So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

Joshua 6:4  And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark.  But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

 

Revelation 8:1

 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

·        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 impending judgment causes all to be speechless. There is no adequate response for what will come.

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

Jeremiah 8:14 Why do we sit still?  Assemble yourselves, and let us enter the fortified cities, and let us be silent there.  For the LORD our God has put us to silence and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

Psalm 31:18  Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

Revelation 7:16-17

 “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

·        All their wants are supplied (MH)

·        In this He deals with them as a tender father who finds his beloved child in tears, he comforts him, he wipes his eyes, and turns his sorrow into rejoicing.  (MH)

Psalm 23:1-2  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Isaiah 49:10  They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them; for He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them.

Revelation 7:15

 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple.  And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

·        They are happy in their employment, for they serve God continually (MH)

·        They are happy in their freedom from the inconveniences of this present life (MH)

Leviticus 26:11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.

Isaiah 4:5, 6  then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night.  For over all the glory there will be a covering.  And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.