Trumpets, Incense and Eternal Happiness – Revelation 8:1-5

Revelation 8:1-2: “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about an half hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.”

In Leviticus 26:18-19, the Lord says, “‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power. I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.”

People have already experienced the judgments released by the opening of the first six seals. Now, with the opening of seventh seal, seven more judgments are released, each one with the sound of a trumpet.

Satan’s servants are cruel. In Revelation 6:9-11, the witnesses of Christ that they martyred ask the Lord how long it will be before He avenges their blood. The Lord urged His martyrs to be patient. He promised to avenge their blood.

There is silence in heaven. It is the quiet before the storm.

When the angels sound their trumpets, calamities happen on the earth.

In Numbers 10:9, the Lord said to Israel, “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.”

In Joshua 6:3-20, the Lord gave to Joshua the battle plan for conquering the kingdom of Jericho.

Jericho had insurmountable walls around it. It was a fortress. The Lord told Joshua to have seven priests and all the men of war march around the city once per day for six days. Seven priests blow seven trumpets each of these days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the walls of Jericho seven times, and then, make a long trumpet blast and shout to the Lord. When they did this, the walls of Jericho collapsed and they conquered the city.

In Judges 7:19-22, God led Gideon and his 300 men to sound horns before a battle.

In 2 Chronicles 13:18, priests sounding trumpets preceded a war victory for King Abijah of Judah. His army of 400,000 defeated an army of 800,000. His army slew a half million enemy soldiers in one day. “The children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.” Like Gideon, they trusted the Lord despite overwhelming odds. The same God who did miracles in the past, will do them again.

Joshua’s mission was to cleanse the Promised Land of idolaters. The mission of Jesus when He returns is to cleanse the earth of Satan and his followers. When Jesus returns to gather His elect to Himself, it will be with the sound of a trumpet.

In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus foretold, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

The sound of a trumpet proceeds the return of Christ to gather His elect people unto Himself.

In Revelation 14:14-20, two harvests are described. During the first harvest, One like the Son of Man, wearing a golden crown, sits on a cloud and thrusts in His sickle, and the good harvest of the earth is gathered. The second harvest involves the vine of the earth being cast into the winepress of God’s wrath, and blood flowing to great depths.

Revelation 8:3-5: “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.”

In Exodus 30:1-6, an altar of incense was one of the items inside the tabernacle of Moses. The top of the altar was square with a horn on each corner. The altar of incense was placed before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. On the other side of the veil was the Ark of the Testimony, where the presence of God abided.

In Exodus 30:7–10, Aaron was instructed to burn incense on the altar morning and evening as a regular offering to the Lord. The altar of incense was called “most holy to the Lord.”

In Numbers 16, 250 Levite priests rose up against Moses and Aaron. Moses told these priests to take censers and put fire and incense in them, and to come before the Lord. The congregation joined behind the rebel priests until Moses told the congregation by the Word of the Lord to separate themselves from the rebels or perish. After that, the earth opened up and swallowed the rebels, their families, and their belongings. Fire from the Lord destroyed the 250 priests.

In the last days, influencers will rise up to turn people away from listening to God’s anointed servants. Like Pharoah in the days of Moses, they will have hard hearts against the Lord and His people. They will make life miserable for Christ followers. Despite God doing many signs and wonders in their midst, they will continue to oppose Him and die in their sins.

Burning incense relates to prayer. In Psalm 141:2, David prayed, “May my prayer be set before you like incense.” In Luke 1:10-13, as the father of John the Baptist (Zechariah) offered incense in the temple, the assembled worshipers prayed. The angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his prayer was heard, and that he would see God’s answer soon.

The angel in Revelation 8:3-5 mixes the prayers of God’s holy people with incense and allows this mix to ascend before God. When the angel takes fire from the altar of incense and throws it to earth, it causes noises, thunder, lightning and an earthquake.

In Revelation 14:18-20, an angel comes out from the altar. He has power over the fire. He cries out to the one who has a sharp sickle to cut down the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of God’s wrath. When he does, blood flows.

When our prayers seem to be unanswered, we may wonder if God is hearing us. In Exodus 3:7, the Lord told Moses, “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”

In Daniel 10:12, an angel told Daniel, “Do not be afraid Daniel, since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”

In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus told a parable to encourage us to always pray and not to lose heart. He spoke of a widow whose judge neither feared God nor people. At first, he would not give her justice, but she pestered him until he did. “Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” The key to victory is faith in God’s Word.

In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus told the tale of two house builders. One was wise and the other foolish. The wise builder built his house on the rock foundation of listening to Jesus and following His directions. His house stood strong during days of tribulation. The foolish builder disregarded the teachings of Jesus. His house collapsed when the storms began.

Those who disregard Jesus may have exquisite looking empires at this moment, but they are living on borrowed time. Their houses are houses of cards. In Revelation 18:10, the mighty ruling empire of the world (Babylon) ends inside of one hour. Babylon is a code word for the kingdoms of this world that live in opposition to Christ and His Word.

In Revelation 8:1-5, God transforms His people’s prayers into fiery judgments on evildoers. In Revelation 21-22, the followers of Christ are enjoying a new heaven, new earth and a new Jerusalem. God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth takes care of them and ensures that they enjoy “a happily ever after” forevermore. Praise the Lord!