Blessed Are Those: A Journey through Revelation – Part 9

When Heaven Goes Silent  - Rev 8:1-13

Crosspoint – Dave Spooner – March 2nd, 2025

Intro:

• I trust that through this series, your understanding of God, who He is, and what He is doing has given you perspective of God’s wisdom, love for who He is, and resolve to continue in the faith as your roots grow deeper and your life grows stronger.
• I hope your mind has been captured by the images in this book and the truth that they convey. I hope your emotions have been moved as you comprehend the greatness of God and His plan. I hope your questions are being answered as we continue to see how God deals with evil and redeems those He loves.
• The text from last week (Rev. 7) contains precious promises that I hope you cling to. God seals, preserves, and shepherds those He loves and will wipe away all the tears from our eyes. We will see these promises and images come up again and again in this book, with the unveiling and unfolding plan for all of creation.
• As I have stated before, the book of Revelation is written in a circular fashion, like a drill that keeps drilling down, and down, and down again until it is all the way through, with each pass going deeper and farther than the one before. Today, we are going to start our second pass as we have gone through the opening of the seals. In this pass, we are going to hear the blowing of trumpets and what they reveal and unleash.
• In our chapter for today, the hope is that we grow in our understanding of the preciousness and power of prayer and grow in our understanding of the mercies of the judgments of God, resulting in a greater hope and strength in our hearts and minds as God works among us through His Spirit. May God grant us ears to hear and eyes to see.
• Now, in chapter eight, we are finally at the breaking of the seventh seal. If you remember from the breaking of the sixth seal, heaven and earth were in mourning and fleeing (Rev. 6:12-14), and the inhabitants of the earth were hiding in caves from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” (Rev 6:17). What is this going to be all about as all creation is bracing itself for what comes next?

Rev 8:1-5 NIV

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.

 Prayer Matters

 After all of this build-up, the first thing we hear is silence. Instead of a deafening thunder that fills every space, there is a deafening silence that extinguishes all noise. And perhaps if there was any sound permitted, I imagine it would be the sound of the coals crackling in the fire on the golden altar as the prayers of the saints fill the place like incense.

• After all of the noise, from the booming and rumblings of thunder, the crying out of powerful angels, the sounds of galloping horses, and the songs of myriads and myriads of saints and angels combined with all creation, after the seventh seal is broken, there is silence. And this is a long silence, “about half an hour.”
• Could you imagine during a service, or a play, or a performance someone taking center stage with all the spotlights pointed on them, and then they just sit there in complete silence? After about 10 seconds, it would start to become uncomfortable. After 20 seconds, people would start thinking that surely something had gone wrong. After about a minute or two, people would become fidgety and start looking around. And if it went on for 3 to 5 minutes, people would start to get up to leave. In a production or a play or even a movie, every silent second feels like an eternity. Yet in heaven, with all eyes fixed on the throne, with no one moving or making a noise, there is silence for about half an hour.
• Why this “sound of silence” when everything stops? What is this all about, and why is this happening? Heaven is silenced to allow the prayers of the saints to be heard. These prayers are like incense that permeates a place. The longer it is lit, the stronger the scent becomes until it saturates every fiber of a place. And this is happening at the very center of the throne room of the cathedral of God Almighty.
• These are the “how long O Lord” prayers of the saints of all the ages in response to the brokenness, and fallenness, and sinfulness of the world. These are the prayers of the broken, and the abandoned, and the abused. These are the anguished prayers of suffering. The Bible itself and our lives at times are filled with these kinds of prayers.
• How long will the wicked dishonor God, love what is worthless, and seek lies (Ps. 4:2)? How long until we’re healed and no longer engage in actions that provoke God’s discipline (Ps. 6:1-3)? How long will it appear that God has forgotten us and is hiding His face while the enemy exalts over us (Ps. 13:1-2)? How long will the Lord look on before He delivers (Ps. 35:17)? How long will the righteous be attacked (Ps. 62:3)? How long will the enemies of God scoff and revile His name (Ps. 79:5)? How long until God answers the prayer of His people (Ps. 80:4)? How long before the Lord returns and has pity on His servants (Ps. 90:13)? How long will God allow the wicked to exult and gloat (Ps. 94:3)? How long must God’s servants endure persecution (Ps. 119:84)? How long until God begins to avenge the blood of the martyrs (Rev. 6:9-10)? How long until suffering and sorrow, tears and testing, destruction and death will be no more? (adapted with help from Preaching the Word Commentary on Revelation, 197).
• Know that every tearful, anguished, groaning prayer you have ever prayed has been heard. There is silence in heaven . . . for these prayers to be heard. How long, O Lord? Until the One on the throne is fully infused with the incense of the intercessors, saturated with the smoke of the prayers of the suffering saints, and says “Prepare the trumpets.” Then the angel will replace these incense prayers with the fire from the altar. The fire that has ignited these prayers is the same fire that is hurled down on the earth in great power and judgment.

Rev 8:6 NIV

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

 So why trumpets? Why not a voice or even a gavel or something like that? Because in the Bible, trumpets were primarily blown as a warning and announcement of upcoming judgment (Joel 2:1, Ez. 33:3-6).

Num 10:8-10 ESV

The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.

 It is also good for us to remember the previous time when seven trumpets were blown in the Old Testament. The original hearers of this passage surely remembered the connection to the fall of Jericho recorded in Joshua 6. God’s people were told to march around the city in silence for seven days, and on each day, the only sound that was heard was that of trumpets. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times, and as the final trumpets were blown, they were to shout as the walls came tumbling down. That event foreshadowed the main event when God will no longer delay and will display His judgments for the final time.

 Rev 8:7-12 NIV

The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

 8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

 10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

 12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

 Merciful Judgments

 Why do I call these “merciful judgments?” Because they only affect a third of the earth and do not destroy the whole thing. These merciful judgments come as a warning to give time and opportunity for those on the earth to repent of worshiping anything that is not Almighty God and to turn from their sins and wicked ways (Rev. 9:20-21).

• We see these same judgments on the environment and elements that humans depend upon for our survival—the earth, the seas, the waters and the heavenly lights—in the seals, trumpets, and bowl judgements. And these are the same judgments that came on the land of Egypt at the time of the exodus (see Exodus chapters 7- 9, especially Ex. 7:14-24, 9:13-35, 10:21-29). That exodus of God’s people from the slavery and cruelty of Egypt was a foreshadowing of the ultimate exodus of the slavery and cruelty and the curse of all the earth. Just as Pharaoh continued hardening his heart, so too do the people of all the earth.
• Every person on this planet is dependent upon God. He is the One who gives us plants and animals to eat. He is the One who gives us the fish of the sea to eat. He is the One who allows us to move upon the earth. He is the One who gives us water to drink. He is the One who gives us air to breathe, and light to see by, and gravity to hold us down, and the power to hold us together. He is the One who gives us our very soul. And with one word, He can take it all away.
• We, as humans, are delusional to think that we can exist without Him. We are delusional to think we are the rulers of this world with the right to do whatever we want in our own sovereignty for our own glory and satisfaction without penalty or accountability. God, in His judgment, shows us His power over all things to give us an opportunity to enter into and experience His mercy if we cry out to Him in repentance of our sin (see Heb. 12, Rom. 1). All of these judgements come because of sin and are mixed with an opportunity to repent and acknowledge the goodness, greatness, and grace of our just and all-powerful and merciful God. To glorify Him, to obediently follow Him and to enjoy Him forever.
• If we refuse to do these things, to repent from our sins and turn to God, it will only get worse for us. God will bring judgment on our bodies and souls. Before this next phase of judgment of the unleashing of the demonic powers, there is a warning that comes to the inhabitants of the earth.

 Rev 8:13  NIV

As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

Woeful Warnings

 If things have gotten hard enough, what comes next is truly and fully demonic. If people fail to realize the goodness and the glory of God from His control over the natural world and everything we need to survive, then they will choose to come out from under His protection from the powers of the supernatural beings. God in His continued mercy, like an eagle that flies over all the earth, warns people of the “woes” that are coming to the “earth dwellers,” people who live for this world and who are not connected to or concerned with God and His purposes and His glory. God will judge them for their refusal to honor Him as God and give thanks to Him—in spite of His hope that they would turn from their darkness and run to His light.

Conclusion

• From our passage this morning, there are three primary applications: First, remember that your “how long, O Lord” prayers are always heard in heaven. Even though it seems like there is no response, a response is sure to come. Know that He hears and know that He will respond at just the right time in just the right way. Keep on praying. Second, turn to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb of God, God’s Son, for your salvation, the forgiveness of your sin, and for His mercy. Run to Him and turn from sin. Commit yourself to knowing Him, and following Him, and serving Him. Third, all those who know Him, continue to glorify Him, stand in awe of who He is, and thank Him for His goodness and grace as we wait and say “come Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

Benediction

May you stand in awe of the God who hears every prayer, holds every tear, and reigns in perfect justice and mercy. May His grace strengthen you, His truth sustain you, and His Spirit embolden you to walk in faith until the day He makes all things new. Amen.

Our prayer team is available to pray with you after the service near the “Prayer” sign at the front of the sanctuary and also in the prayer room, next to the offices.

uestions for Growth Groups

1. Silence in Heaven (Rev. 8:1)

What do you think the significance of the half-hour silence in heaven is? How does this moment of silence impact your understanding of the weight and importance of prayer?

2. The Prayers of the Saints (Rev. 8:3-4)

The passage describes the prayers of God’s people rising like incense before Him. How does this imagery shape your view of prayer? How does knowing that God hears and treasures our prayers encourage you to persist in praying, even in difficult seasons?

3. How Long, O Lord?

Many Psalms and Revelation 6:9-10 include the cry, “How long, O Lord?” Have you ever experienced a time when you wrestled with this question? How can you encourage others who are waiting for God’s justice and intervention?

4. The Role of Trumpets in Scripture (Rev. 8:6-12)

Trumpets in the Bible often signal warning, judgment, or a call to repentance (Joel 2:1, Ezek. 33:3-6, Joshua 6). How do these trumpet judgments serve as both an act of justice and an act of mercy? What warnings might God be giving today that call people to repentance?

5. God’s Sovereignty in Judgment (Rev. 8:7-12)

The judgments in this passage affect only a third of creation, showing that they are limited in scope. What does this teach us about God’s patience and desire for people to repent? How does this challenge our view of God’s justice and mercy?

6. Woe to the Earth Dwellers (Rev. 8:13)

The eagle’s warning of “woe” signals an intensification of judgment. What does this tell us about the consequences of rejecting God? How should this impact the way we engage with those who do not yet know Christ?

7. Living in Light of this Passage

In light of this chapter, how should we respond to God’s justice, mercy, and call to prayer? What specific steps can you take this week to deepen your prayer life and remain faithful in waiting for Christ’s return?