Revelation: Silence in Heaven

 Revelation: Justification by Faith

Silence in Heaven

Revelation 8:1

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

At the seventh seal, we see silence in heaven. After this, in Revelation, we encounter the seven trumpets, which bring judgments.
We will later see that these trumpets, although not necessarily in chronological order with the seals, are certainly sequential in thought.
In the sixth seal, the day of wrath was announced, and in the seventh seal the judgment is finally present — and for God’s people, this means deliverance.
Zephaniah says:

Zephaniah 1:7-13
Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.
And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice—“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud.
On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills.
Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off.
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’
Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.”

Zechariah 2:12–13
And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”
Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

God has risen from His temple. Jesus has laid aside the garments of the High Priest to take up those of a Judge. For the wicked, this means terror; for Judah, God’s people — in other words, spiritual Israel, every sincere Christian — this means deliverance.
This is accompanied by a solemn silence. It is the time for the great return that has been so long anticipated: The Day.
God has a Kingdom, and it is time for Him to take possession of what rightfully belongs to Him.

The half hour is one of those things I can’t tie a definitive conclusion to. I do not know why exactly half an hour was chosen here. But the idea of silence is clear at least.


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