Revelation 8v1-5
Notes
Transcript
If you are able, would you stand for the reading of Scripture. Today we are in Revelation 8:1-5
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand. The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Would you pray with me? Go ahead and have a seat.
-
-
Have you ever been so captivated by something that the only response is silence? Often times our response to something great or awesome is thunderous applause or shouting , cheering.
As a nerd, I’ve experienced this in the movie theater at the end of a good movie. When Star Wars the force awakens came out (yes I waited in the theater all day to get a good spot), I was just enraptured with the film. And when the credits finally rolled, with the glorious sound track composed by John Williams, I like the other spectators clapped and shouted.
And that isn’t even a GREAT movie, I was just excited. Some things make us want to cheer.
But there are other movies, I’d argue even better movies that don’t make you cheer, but so moving that you are left silence. In awe over what was shown or communicated.
The movie Interstellar does this to me. Even the recent Dune movies. They leave you in awe and questions and honestly, silence.
Music can do this too. There’s dancing music, and pop music and happy music. But then theres music that is so moving, that you are merely captured by it, and when it ends we are silent. As if to allow the music to reverberate in silence a few moments longer.
There is great power in silence, but it is deeply vulnerable and can cause great anxiety. Especially if we are left with out own raging thoughts.
Instead we tend to fill our lives with noise and fill and fluff. We have a spare few moments, throw on a podcast. We have a free evening, put on the TV. There is a lull in the conversation, take out your phone or excuse yourself.
But I really think that some of the most incredible moments of our lives happen in that silent space.
I think of early mornings (or late nights) holding Chloe and Titus when they were babies, as they finally nod of to sleep. Now THAT is a powerful silence. One that usually ended in sweet forehead kisses and peace.
I think of moments with Ariana both in dating and now in marriage, where we talk and laugh and joke, and then a silence falls over us, but it’s not an awkward silence, but a grateful one. One filled with gratitude and wonder as we enjoy even the time of no words together in full confidence and love.
I think of time spent in prayer, usually with my journal, where I scrawl all my anxious thoughts and feelings to God on the page, and then sit in the silence and warm embrace of his tangible presence.
Silence may be one of the most revealing forces. But it feels unproductive and uncomfortable, so we avoid it.
In a similar vein - prayer seems to fall into that same category as silence.
In the Christian and Missionary Alliance we say that prayer is the primary work of God’s people. And theologically, as good christians, we agree: “yes prayer is important.” But out lived reality often falls short. It feels unproductive. It feels strange. it can feel like nothing is happening, or worse, that no one is listening.
And so often we avoid it. Or we spend say a few hurried words and then turn our attention to something that needs to get done.
In these five verses on revelation we are going to see just how powerful silence and prayers are.
Before we turn back to the text, some context. In revelation 5 a scroll with seven seals was revealed and no one was worthy to open the seals and open the scroll except Jesus our Lord. Then in revelation 6, we saw the opening of the first six seals. The first four were the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The fifth was the cries of the saints under the altar. And the sixth was the great wrath of God and the lamb being poured out on the peoples of the earth.
Then in chapter seven, we had an interlude of the vision of the 144000 and the great multitude around the throne in praise and sheltered by the one sitting on the throne.
Now we get to the seventh seal. Let’s look at Revelation 8:1
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
One may imagine that the seventh seal would be the culmination, and thus the silence may come across as anti-climactic. Where instead I think it ought to be viewed AS the climax.
The nature of the silence and the seventh seal are debated, with some saying that the seal has no content, and instead the seven trumpets ARE the seventh seal.
Others view it as a sense of completion, a lull in the conversation before the next matter at hand.
Still others see it as a sense of hesitancy, as if there is a job to do, but no one wants to volunteer.
To me - I don’t see the seventh seal as empty, but packed, and we will see more when it gets going. But notice first how the silence is qualified - for about a half an hour.
That seems an odd phrase, but scholars I studied like GK Beale point out that this turn of phrase in greek can often mean a sudden thing. Something that caught them off guard. There was a sudden, unexpected hush, that hung in the air, so to say.
It’s as if the silence was brought down SO that the prayers of the saints could be heard. There is a silence so that heaven can prepare to answer the prayers.
and in line with that preparation, we see the trumpets introduced. Look at Revelation 8:2
Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them.
John sees seven angels who stand in the presence of God. Some wonder if these are are the seven archangels according to Jewish tradition found in some non-canonical texts. I don’t find this very compelling, instead I see these linked with the seven angels of the seven churches. Seeing Revelation as one distinct work, and this brings us back to Revelation 1:20, and chapters 2 and three.
I think we are supposed to again see how present the church is in the heavenly temple. What we are participating in, life, and church, is not just some physical reality that some would have you believe. But we are deeply connected spiritually to the supernatural and the church has representation in the heavens in angelic form, but also with Christ who pleads on our behalf as the head of the church.
They are given seven trumpets. We will have lots more to say about the trumpets in the next few weeks, but its worth mentioning some preliminary thoughts here.
The trumpets bring to mind several old testament sagas. From the march around Jericho and the trumpets blasts, to the trumpets in the temple which coincided with worship, to trumpets being used as a call to war an or judgment. I truly I think all are perhaps in mind here.
As the saints pray, the angels prepare trumpets, and it’s both a call of worship and praise, and a response from God to announce great action that he is about to take.
Look now at Verse 3 and 4
Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.
Picture this in context - Jesus opens the seventh seal, and everything goes quiet - all of the praise and worship and proclamations we heard about fades as all of heaven experience quiet.
Seven angels are given instruments, but do not play them,
And now another angel comes, carrying a golden incense burner, and goes to the altar. This is the same altar we read about in Revelation 6:9 where the souls of the slain were under, and they cried out to God to act.
Now this angel with a large amount of incense, which Revelation 5:8 says Are the prayers of the saints, and he takes this large amount of incense and prayers and offers it.
It says prayers of all of the saints.
And the smoke from the incense, with those prayers, goes up into the presence of God from the angel’s hand.
Again context here - church in asia minor, jerusalem destroyed, apostles and mothers and fathers of the faith have largely been killed, exiled, or died from age - and the empire of Rome seems to be winning and pushing dangerous idolatry. Some even in the church have just compromised and given into pagan worship.
These people of God didn’t have a means to fight against Rome and it’s persecutions. They were not an army. This wasn’t a democracy, so they couldn’t get out and vote for a new emperor. Most of these people, especially the ones who refused to compromise didn’t have much money, and wielded very little power.
And yet, even in the messages to the seven churches we see that they were faithful.
They had discovered that they could pray. Prayer gave them access to the true king of the cosmos. And here Jesus through John is revealing to the believers that God not only hears those prayers, but they are like incense, and heaven gives deference to them.
I like this quote by Eugene Peterson in his work on revelation “Reversed Thunder”
“We live in a noisy world. We are yelled at, promoted, called. Everyone has an urgent message for us. We are surrounded with noise: telephone, radio, television, stereo. Messages are amplified deafeningly. The world is a mob in which everyone is talking at once and no one is willing or able to listen. But God listens. . . . Silence in heaven for about half an hour: God listens. Everything we say, every groan, every murmur, every stammering attempt at prayer: all this is listened to. All heaven quiets down.” Eugene Peterson; Reversed Thunder
What a glorious reality that God hears the prayers of his people - but not only hears - but responds to! look at verse 5!
The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Angels are messengers and agents of the Lord - and in response to the prayers of the people of God, God now employs this angels to fill the incense now with fire, and to hurl it on the earth. And we see peals of thunder, rumblings, lightning flashes, and an earthquake. All allusions to the judgement and presence of God from the Old Testament taking full shape.
Heaven responds to the cry of the believers, and earth is therefore affected by the actions in heaven.
Which brings us to the end of our passage today, and the end of the seven seals.
And so, we must now ask our question:
So what?
So what?
So what? What does these 5 brief verses have to do with us? How then should we live as a result?
Friends - Prayer is our so what.
Yes, God is over all and king of all, but in his infinite wisdom, he decreed that the prayers of believers, of his people, are part of the catalyst of his will.
Or again as Eugene Peterson so aptly writes quote:
“When we pray, we participate in doing God’s will as it is in heaven.” Eugene Peterson; Reversed Thunder
We want to see God’s kingdom come? We want to see the spiritual temperature of south eastern South Dakota raised? Prayer is the primary part of that process.
Craig Keener writes: that prayer has the power to shape the course of human history.
Because God is the ultimate agent in the universe. By him all things were made and have been made. And all things are for him and by him. He is the preexistent one over it all - but in prayer, we get access to that reality.
We let the world and our wandering minds silence, and we focus on God.
Why do we struggle so much with this practice and lifestyle that is life with God?
-
-
At it’s core - prayer isn’t talking to God, it’s not even just listening to God. More than anything its attentiveness to God. And in faith, as we read scripture, we see that God is attentive to us too! It’s beholding God as he are being held by him, as Strahan Coleman articulates in his book beholding.
Peterson describes it like this: whenever we concentrate, focus and attend, we pray. Prayer is the coming into awareness, the practice of attention, the nurturing and development of personal intensity before God.
Because God is a personal God! We can know him and be known by him. And in the gospel, we get to move from thinking about God to talking with God. doing life With God.
And God hears us. And if the scripture is true responds to us. Not always in our timing pr in our ways - but he responds.
So What? friends we need to commit to prayer.
In our community groups our first week we were challenged to implement a daily prayer rhythm. A time where we focus our attention on God. That’s a great place to begin! Often in that time, I will pray: “God, be close to my conciencesness today.” I want him to make me aware of himself as I go about the day.
Another practice I have found helpful I learned from Strahan Coleman and it’s called: “Hey God.” It’s a simple way of training our body and tongues to respond to God.
As I go through the day, when my eyes see something that reminds me of God I say: “Hey God.” as a way to acknowledge him. When I think of God and his presence I say: “Hey God.” Whenever my conscience mind realize the reality and presence of God, I try to remember to verbalize it to train myself to be with God. perhaps you can try that.
Habits are good!
I end my day most days with a prayer of examine and I journal my day and thoughts and anxieties before God. Often as I recall what went well or went wrong, I am starkly reminded of just how present God has been in my day, which makes looking for him and praying to him all the more enticing the following day.
But we ought to pray! it’s our primary work.
Join our prayer team email, and when you get the email, spend time and bring those requests and praises to God.
I am at the Coffeehouse at 7am on Wednesday mornings for prayer. Join me and pray for our community with me.
Pray for each other, and pray alone. We don’t have to be weird and babel on and on as the pagans due, to quote Jesus. But a quick direct prayer over each other is a powerful thing.
And don’t shun the silence. Focus on God. Recall his blessings. Bring your emotions. And bring your full attentiveness on God. Be WITH him.
And in faith - know that God hears us and responds to us. He’s infinite. You aren’t bothering him. pray what you got. Pray until you can pray and then pray some more.
Not out of religious duty - but awe and worship that God would save us and welcome us as his children.
So What? Friends can we be a people of prayer as we partner with God to raise the spiritual temperature of south eastern South Dakota? would you pray for each other? would you pray for your elders? would you pray for me?
To close, we are going to pray, but silently.
One of the ways I have found it helpful to pray, especially when I’m disoriented is to let Scripture be my guide, and in the words of Francis chan, to stare at God.
He reccomends using Revelation 4 as a way to help our minds picture the throne of God, and to bring our attention to him. So that’s what we are going to do.
I invite you to pray with me. Close your eyes, and ask God to bring your attention to him. Perhaps you want to open your hands as if to receive from him.
Now I’m going to read from REvelation 4, and I want you to picture this scene, hear the sounds. And at the end I will give us space to bring ourselves and requests to God.
Take a breath, and let’s begin in Prayer by staring at God.
Immediately I was in the Spirit, and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it. The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.
Flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne.
Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side. The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like an ox; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying,
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is to come.
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,
Our Lord and God,
you are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because you have created all things,
and by your will
they exist and were created.
And now, in the presence of the throne of the almighty God, bring your concerns to GOd. bring your praise. Or just spend time with him, being aware of his presence.
Give give, then pray and invite the band up.