1 When the Lamb 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 they were given seven trumpets.

3 Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.

4 And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel.

5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

— Revelation 8:1-5

Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near.

— Zephaniah 1:7a

… Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

— Revelation 5:8

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and peace from Jesus Christ to you.

In Revelation 8, John recorded that the opening of the seventh seal by the Lamb was met by silence in heaven for about an hour. It seems that all heaven breathlessly awaited the unfolding of God’s final actions. Such silence before God is appropriate, as Zephaniah proclaimed, “Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near.” After the silence, the Lamb opened the seventh seal and John saw the seven angels, standing before God, were given seven trumpets to announce that God is about to activate His pure and perfect anger and judgment against sin as He establishes righteousness and justice in the world.

Before the judgment began, another angel takes a golden censer and offers incense on the golden altar, along with the prayers, represented by the incense, of God’s people. Here, the smoke of the incense and prayers of God’s people went up before God from the angel’s hand. This priestly act is followed by a startling one as the same angel hurls the fiery censer, toward the earth for God to start His judgment. The connection between the saints’ prayers and God’s judgment may surprise us. The prayers of God’s people seem to prompt the unleashing of divine judgment. The prayers of God’s people are very critical as God’s sovereign plan mysteriously incorporates the prayers of His people. Let’s pray in the spirit all the time to hasten the carrying out of God’s plan and purposes.