Revelation 8
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Revelation chapter 8.
We will begin reading in verse 1 and we will just read through verse 5 this morning.
but first we need a quick recap of where we have been.
In chapter 6,
John began to see a vision of the unfolding plan of God for the world.
He saw Jesus opening a scroll comprised of seven seals.
With the opening of each seal, a new vision was introduced.
The first four seals revealed horses and their riders each symbolizing a different reality of life in this age between Jesus’ first coming and his second coming.
The fifth seal revealed the souls of Christian martyrs asking God how long before he would judge the world and bring an end to their persecutors.
The sixth seal revealed that coming end.
We caught a vision of final judgment beginning...,
unraveling the created order and leading to the final destruction of the wicked…,
The wicked cried out with a question, “Who can stand?”
Who can stand in God’s final judgment?
Chapter 7, which we looked at last week, answered that question.
Only the believers in Jesus who are sealed by God’s gracious saving work will be able to withstand the final judgment.
Not only will we escape the judgment,
we will Be invited into the presence of God,
where there will be no more hunger,
no more thirst,
no more scorching heat,
and where every one of our tears will be wiped away by God himself.
and now chapter 8 returns to the seventh of the seven seals Jesus is breaking in order to open the scroll.
The sixth seal ended with absolute chaos,
the beginning of the end,
the crying out of sinners trying to escape God’s coming….,
but now in verse 1 of chapter 8 we have just a singular verse describing the final seal in this round of visions.
Followed by a kind of a transitional vision, which will take us from the seven seals to the seven trumpets.
1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,
4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Lets Pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
May your name be praised in this room, in this sermon.
May your kingdom come in this room as it is in heaven.
May your kingdom come in my heart as it is in heaven.
May your kingdom come in our world as it is in heaven.
And would you please use this sermon to accomplish your will.
Amen.
1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Chapters 5, 6, and 7 were loud.
Four horses of conquest, war, famine, and death,
the voice of the martyrs rising up to God
the earth quaking
the stars falling,
and the rebels against God crying out to the mountains and rocks saying, “Fall on us and hides us from him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb”
But as the seventh seal breaks…
There is a moment of silence.
No objections are heard.
No argumentations are made that God has been unjust in his dealings.
John experiences now total silence as all of heaven simply soaks in the glory of God and the unfolding of his justice.
There are just two truths I want us to meditate upon this morning.
Beginning with this:
Truth #1 God Silences the Pride of Sinners
Truth #1 God Silences the Pride of Sinners
The silence John describes has Old Testament roots.
Silence is often attributed to God’s holiness and specifically his judgment.
Listen to a sampling
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”
7 Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
8 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.
13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,”
declares the Lord God.
“So many dead bodies!”
“They are thrown everywhere!”
“Silence!”
Judgment day will not be day where sinners present their case before God.
We will not talk back to God,
We will not give him a piece of our mind,
We will not clear things up for him,
The apostle Paul makes this point in the book of Romans.
One of the fundamental failures of humanity is our failure to understand our place,
our fallen condition,
and God’s place in his holy position.
In Romans 3, Paul describes our sinful condition in terms of what comes from our mouths,
but in the end our mouths will be stopped.
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
The silence in heaven that John experiences in this seventh seal,
I think symbolizes the silence of every mouth stopped after God’s final word of Judgment.
I am reminded of the book of Job, where for 37 chapters, Job speaks, his friends speak, job speaks, his friends speak.
Some of it good, some of it bad, all of it questioning what God has done and why he has done it…,
and then the book ends with God giving the final word and Job covering his mouth.
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
And the Lord said to Job:
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
Then Job answered the Lord and said:
“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”
So what does this have to do with us?
Whats the application?
Firstly, if you are non-Christian here, you desperately need to recognize this morning that the heavenly courtroom is not one where you will get to make a case for yourself.
There is one way to heaven…, and it is through the salvation made possible through faith in Jesus.
Jesus pays the price for those who trust him…
So if you’re not a follower of Jesus, this morning, of course the application for you is not to try to justify yourself.…
confess to God your need for a savior,
Believe in the savior he provided, Jesus.
Repent of your sin and follow Jesus.
Be baptized,
join the church
join the mission to tell others.
To the believer in the room….
There is something about the book of Revelation that should quiet our grumbling.
Even after trusting Christ for salvation,
we all struggle with an entitlement syndrome,
we think God owes us,
we think we deserve a certain kind of life that matches our definition of success,
we can grumble,
we can complain,
we can make excuses for our sin,
we can busy ourselves with all kinds of stuff,
but what we need this morning and perhaps what we need a lot more often in our life is a little silence…
a silent recognition that God is God
and we are not.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
When is the last time you were silent for a half hour just acknowledging that God has the last word?
Let me encourage you right now to schedule 30 minutes of silence this with God this week.…,
Practice for what one day will be a universal experience.
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Now, Verse 1 marks the end of the seven seals, and verse 2 marks the beginning of a new series of seven visions.
This time in the form of seven trumpets.
2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
This new series of seven will very much follow the pattern of the seven seals we just studied,
and it will be followed up with seven bowls that again will follow a similar pattern.
Trumpets serve a special purpose in the Old Testament narrative.
They serve as warnings.
They warn that judgment is coming.
They warn of enemy warriors on the horizon.
They announce the arrival of a king.
We will think more deeply about these trumpets next time…,
but for now…,
just note that the trumpets that are about to blow serve as warnings for God’s impending judgment.
Though God silences the pride of sinners…,
he doesn’t do so without warning…,
Its not as though God launches a surprise attack upon the Earth at the end of all time,
with no warning,
no time to repent,
no chance to turn to Jesus.
He trumpets his future return in this age…,
He trumpets final judgment with the tribulations of this age,
more on that next week….,
but what I want to focus in on for the remainder of our time this morning is what precedes the blowing of these trumpets.
look with me at verses 3-5
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
In verse 3, we are reminded that these visions are taking place for John while he stands in the heavenly temple.
In this temple, stands an altar before the throne of God.
And upon the altar are the prayers of all the saints….
and these prayers are being offered to God with incense like that of the Old Testament temple.
In the Old Testament temple,
the sweet smell of Incense symbolized the prayers of God’s people rising to God as a pleasing aroma.
David uses this imagery when he talks about his own prayers.
1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Prayer was understood to be an offering in itself, an offering that pleased God…
And here John is seeing that reality in symbolic vision of a heavenly reality.
John sees God accepting the prayers of his people as incense And then responding to those prayers.
Truth #1 God silences the pride of sinners.
Truth #2 God Answers the Prayers of the Saints
Truth #2 God Answers the Prayers of the Saints
What a remarkable reality
The holiness and power of our God is enough to silence us…,
But by God’s grace he invites us to speak.
He invites our communion with him.
he invites us to pray.
Remember that saint is not a special category.
It is a term that simply means set apart one or holy one.
It is a term that refers to every Christian person… every believer in Jesus.
John sees God receiving the prayers of saints as incense before him.
God is pleased with the prayers of his people.
Notice the vision is of the prayers of ALL saints.
Every prayer ever prayed by a believer in Jesus rising up to God like a sweet smelling aroma.
God truly loves, truly receives, truly hears the prayers of all the saints.
This is why Jesus promises reward to those who pray in secret.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
This is what Paul reminds Timothy of in 1 Timothy 2.
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,
2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
What a special thing it is that God is the kind of God who silences the pride of sinners…,
but who also loves the prayers of the saints…
I think that at least one of the reasons for our prayerlessness is that we don’t really believe that God loves to hear from us,
God is not annoyed,
he is not too busy,
he is not rushing us,
Our prayers are incense before him…,
but more than that…,
God actually aims to use our prayers.
That seems to be the bigger emphasis here.
Not only does God love our prayers…, he works through them.
look again at what John sees unfolding.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,
4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The vision is that of the prayers of God’s people throughout all of time being not only heard,
but being hurled back upon the earth like coals from the fire of God’s alter.
Its in response to the prayers of all of the saints that God now responds to the wickedness of the world.
The prayers trigger the justice of God,
The prayers result in the conquering work of His Kingdom…,
Imagine every single time that the Lord’s prayer has been offered up to God by a Christian person over the course of the last 2,000 years.
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
One day God will work through these prayers to bring his kingdom to earth as it is in heaven.
Every prayer for justice,
every prayer for healing,
every prayer for God’s will to be done,
every prayer for God to be glorified,
will be answered in full….
Our prayers will shake the earth either in this life or on the last day…,
but one things for certain, our prayers will not be wasted, ignored, or forgotten.
The very thunder, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and earthquakes accompanying Christ’s return will come in cooperation with the prayers of the saints throughout the ages crying out… Come Lord Jesus!
Even the sufferings of this age will work in tandem with the prayers of God’s people.
Why would God include this in the series of visions handed to John?
Well lets remember the context…,
Certainly John and his first century readers, may have been feeling as though God was not hearing them…,
Perhaps his slowness, felt to them as though God was ignoring them..,
perhaps you feel this as well…,
if thats you…,
I want you to allow the weight and emphasis of this text do in your heart what it was designed to do in their heart.
Be reminded,
that God loves your prayers and he works through them both now and in the end of all things.
Conclusion:
I want us to be a praying church.
I want us to see prayer as a gift,
a divine invitation to participate in the sovereign will of God.
I want the families of this church to be families of prayer.
Fathers, to be men of prayer,
Mothers, to be women of prayer,
I want us to take seriously the commands of Scripture.
17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I read an excerpt this week from Biblical scholar D.A. Carson who wrote a biography of his own father…,
His father was no-name ordinary pastor of a small church…, but I want you to listen to this description of his legacy.
“Dad’s practice in private prayer was to kneel before the big chair that he used and pray loudly enough to vocalize, so as to keep his mind from wandering. Outside the door we could hear him praying, even if we could not hear what he was saying. I can remember countless days when he prayed for forty-five minutes or more; strange to tell, at this juncture I cannot recall days when he didn’t. Jim [my brother] recalls barging in on Dad’s study unannounced, finding him on his knees praying, and quietly backing out. Jim wrote, ‘ But the image has always remained with me especially during my later, rebellious teen years. While walking away from God, I could not get away from the image of my father on his knees, praying fo rme. It is one of the things that eventually brought me back.” - D.A. Carson
From December through January, we have about seven babies being born to church members of St. Rose Community Church…
Let me ask you Dad’s in the room…, will your kids grow up remembering your prayer life?
Will they remember your discipline to commune with God daily…, or will they remember how glued to your phone you were every evening?
I have a lot of growing to do in this area.
I don’t know about you but I need to make some changes.
If Revelation 8: 1-5 is true and God aims to use my prayers on the last day…,
how might he use my prayers today?
They aren’t wasted.
They aren’t pointless.
They aren’t ignored.
We are going to end this morning with a little bit of extra time for quiet prayer.
We are going to close this sermon with something your not used to….
silence…
We are going to take 90 seconds of silence.
90 seconds is nothing…,
but I do want you to feel how long it feels,
because I want you to feel how unused to it you really are.
We are going to have 90 seconds of total silence…,
then Drew will begin to play lightly as we spend a few moments in prayer.
If your here this morning and you don’t know where you stand with God,
or you have questions or you just need someone to pray with ….
We have church members standing on each side of the back door who are more than willing to pray with you….
If you don’t know what to pray here are a couple prayer points:
Pray for Humility
Pray for a more disciplined prayer life this week.
Pray about how you might schedule in 30 minutes of quiet with God each day next week.
Pray for those in the room who are not yet saints because they have not repented and believed upon Jesus yet.
Let’s pray quietly, and then respond in worship.
John uses the seventh seal as a literary device to connect the seals to the seven trumpets, thus rehearsing from another perspective the judgments poured out on this world. John ties the narrative together for us as readers, shaking the kaleidoscope again so that we are given another picture of life on earth before the end of history.
- Tom Schreiner
