"Heaven is Silent--The Trumpets Are Coming" Revelation 8, When The Lamb Stands, seriesby Sharon Clemens

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SILENCE IN HEAVEN

“When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Revelation 8:1

       Up to this point, heaven has been anything but SILENT. What does it mean when even the four Living Creatures cease their “holy, holy, holy…” No music of the harps, no booming thunder or crashing lightening from the throne, no songs of the redeemed and angels…just stark silence. The silence is for a specified period of earth time—one half hour. Larkin notes that this is not long when engaged in something pleasant. But when we do not know what is going to happen, even a few seconds seem to be hours. The suspense of the silence is intense.

       Wiersbe notes that this is more of the “lull before the storm,” a pregnant pause in preparation for the awful judgments yet to come in the Trumpets and Bowls. Heaven does not take the coming judgments lightly.

“Be silent before the Sovereign Lord for the Day of the Lord is near.” Zephaniah 1:7

       For centuries, God’s people have been praying, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done!” and now those prayers are about to be answered in the remaining judgments. The Seals described Satan’s global take-over. The Lord responds with His personal intervention in the Trumpets and Bowls. He targets natural creation, then human creation. What is begun in the Trumpets is intensified in the Bowl Judgments. There is no respite once the Trumpets begin. Even so, the appearance of the seven Trumpet angels is probably a relief to John after the suspense of the silence [Revelation 8:2].


PRAYER IS NEVER WASTED:

            * Rev. 8:3-5—The effective fervent prayer of the righteous avails MUCH according to James 5:16. In the ceremony that introduces the Trumpet Judgments, we find this to be true in a startling way.
            * During the Tribulation, we find that the accumulated prayers of the Saints are remembered and caught in golden bowls held by the twenty-four elders, the completed Church in heaven [Revelation 5:8].
            * Now, the heavenly incense brought to be offered at the altar in the Temple of Heaven is mixed with the prayers and the smoke of this offering ascends before God. The glowing coals of the offering are then thrown to the earth, resulting in noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. The silence is over and the Trumpets begin, motivated by the prayers of God’s redeemed.

       As the Trumpets and Bowls are unleashed, a strange and strong similarity to the plagues of Egypt in Moses’ day emerges. Although The Revelation is a book of symbols, Dr. McGee reminds us that a symbol is a symbol of a fact. It is logical that if the plagues of Moses were literal, then the plagues of the Tribulation are also literal. The literal meaning of the symbols will ultimately become clear. [McGee, pp. 82-83]


GOD REPEATS HISTORY

       Five of the nine plagues of Egypt are repeated in the Revelation judgments for a reason. The plagues were the Lord’s curse on the objects of natural creation the Egyptians worshipped—the water of the Nile, frogs, locust, insects. In poetic irony, the Egyptians were unable to defend themselves against the plagues because they would be killing their gods.

       Today, man continues to worship natural creation rather than the creator in the form of extreme environmentalism and pantheism. In poetic justice, the Lord uses creation in order to administer His wrath upon man. Man is becoming the servant of the environment rather than the master as God intended. [Study Exodus 7 through 10]

       We also learn from the Egyptian plagues that the people of Israel were protected but the Egyptians were not. Exodus 9:22-26 describes the Seventh Plague which parallels the First Trumpet Judgment. The hail destroyed everything in the field, both man and beast and every herb and tree. “Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.” The Lord may make special provision during the Tribulation for those who are the elect just as He makes special provision for the 144,000 Sealed Jews in chapter 7 and for the remnant that flees to the wilderness to be protected for three and one-half years [Revelation 12:6]. The Lord also commands the King of the demonic locusts in Revelation 9:3 not to harm vegetation or any man except those who are not sealed by God.


INTRODUCTION TO THE TRUMPETS

What is the significance of trumpets in this next series of judgments? God’s Word records three important uses for trumpets:

    1. Trumpet blasts were used to call the people together.
    2. Trumpets were used to announce war.
    3. Trumpets were used to announce special times or festivals. [Exodus 19:16-19; Amos 3:6; Joshua 6:13-16; Zephaniah 1:14-16; 1 Kings 1:34, 39]

            * The number 7 represents COMPLETE authority in judgment. Sounding 7 trumpets certainly would announce a declaration of war, as well as the fact that God’s anointed King is enthroned in glory and coming to judge His enemies [Psalm 2]. As trumpets declared defeat to Jericho, they will ultimately bring defeat to Babylon, the last great city of man [Revelation 18]. The use of the Trumpet symbolism will also be an effective and familiar reference for Israel as they resume center stage in God’s history.
            * Some have speculated that the Rapture of the Church will take place during the Tribulation because of the Trumpets in Revelation 8. They cite 1 Thessalonians 4:16, a Rapture passage, which states “the trumpet call of God” will accompany Christ’s taking–out of the Church. The Rapture passage in 1 Corinthians 15 also mentions “the last trump” as a signal for the Rapture. However, there are many occurrences of the trumpet sound in Scripture. The Rapture is the calling out of the elect of the Church Age; the trumpet of the Rapture signals the completion of the Church Age. There are many completed events in God’s plan of the ages. For example, When Israel moved out of their encampment in the wilderness journey in the Old Testament, they responded to a series of trumpet signals. The final trumpet meant “move out.” Not every mention of a trumpet means it must be the Rapture event.

The basic principle found in scripture is that those redeemed by Christ in this age are delivered from the wrath to come [1 Thessalonians 1:10]. The Church is not found in The Revelation because the Church is in heaven. He has already taken the Father's wrath upon Himself for our sins. If you have not yet believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, repented of your sins and placed all your faith in Him, do it now. The Door of the Church Age may soon close.

The Trumpet Judgments begin with environmental devastation and end with a demonic invasion of the earth. Prepare to HOLD ON.

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]