And when He had opened the seventh seal,
there was silence in heaven about the space of
half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which
stood before God; and to them were given
seven trumpets. And another angel came
and stood at the altar, having a golden censer;
and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of
all saints upon the golden altar which was
before the throne. And the smoke of
the incense, which came with the prayers
of the saints, ascended up before God out
of the angel's hand. And the angel took
the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar,
and cast it unto the earth: and there were voices,
and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:1-5
Silence in heaven what could this mean? It is important to note that this silence precedes the following judgments. Men who were listening to Paul kept silence as he defended himself against accusations (Acts 22:2). Paul in writing to Timothy had this to say: "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection" (1Timothy 22:11). There are times that we keep silence when being confronted, or know that this is not the time to speak. This silence in heaven is but a short time. Could this be a time when the Church is in expectation waiting to see what God was about to do? This what the nation of Israel was told to do: "Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation" (Zechariah 2:13). Trumpets sounded after being delivered to the angels reminding us of the supernatural accompaniment of Divine interpositions: "And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which vice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more" (Hebrews 12:19). Silence, no words spoken, therefore there seems to be an allusion that there is a time when people will be left to their own delusions. The angels now come before God and not only given trumpets to sound the words of God, they were given a golden censer with much incense and with this incense prayers were offered and the smoke from the incense carries the prayers of the saints. This incense was forbidden for personal use (Exodus 30:34-38). Now, this censer full of fire and smoke was cast into the earth and came to the earth vices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. The angels were now ready to sound the trumpet.
A question that must be answered is: are you assure of the promises of God and your salvation through His Son Jesus Christ? Are you resting in those promises? Are you growing in your faith to be able to overcome? Examine now your Christianity. There are three words that sum of Christianity as they are the very essence and substance of Christianity: "CHRIST IS ALL" (Colossians 3:11). If this is not the case then you have much to learn and this is the goal of this blog to increase your faith, not spend time arguing over the differences but to see how what was written applies to us in our everyday life. You must come to God for He is calling and you either answer or not but if you do: "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw night to you" (James 4:8). The word "come" means to "transact," and when you do then God invades you instantly. If this is true of you then you as an Authentic Christian have nothing to fear when reading those terrible words of the coming judgment upon the earth, to those who will not hear.
We ought to be praying: praying intercessory prayers as they are never denied and always accepted. Think on this: the same censer with fire and smoke that came out of it with the prayers of saints is also the same censer that the judgments of God are thrust upon the unbeliever. The time is now to bring to your world the Gospel, to be intentional in bringing the Gospel. To go and speak the Gospel. To study and pray and to act upon that which God has revealed in His word. You do not have to avenge for God, He is able to do His own fighting and when He does it is final, absolute. We on the other hand have a battle of our own and not alone but of our own for we have His sure word, and the power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is not a time for timidity, it is a time to draw upon the strength of Go and go, and take this message of the Gospel to the world.
Jesus came to fulfill the promise of God that He would send a Savior and He did, so then, our worship should be undefiled, holy in origin and in nature. God is holding back for now the judgments that the angels are ready to send to the earth. We do not know when, but we do know that it will happen and until then we have a job to do and that job is not to become so enslaved in this world, with its culture and forget that God uses means to spread His word and as an Authentic Christian you are the means. We are called to be holy and holiness is the balance between yours/my balance between yours/my disposition and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ. Ponder this: God wants to use you: will you choose to serve God?
Whosever causeth the righteous to go
astray in an evil way, he shall fall
into his own pit: but the upright shall
have good things in possession.
Proverbs 28:10
May the smoke of your prayers rise to God
Richard L. Crumb
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