Revelation 8:1-5 "The Seventh Seal (Part 1): The Golden Censer"

Lesson Handout

Introduction

After the Interlude in Revelation 7 which contained the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the great multitude saved during the tribulation, we finally get to open the 7^th seal, which is divided into three parts: the prayers of the saints (1-5) which function as a kind of “prelude” to the trumpets, the trumpet judgments (first four in 6-12), and the first of three “woes” in Revelation.

Verse-By-Verse Notes

Verse 1

• John MacArthur: “The silence of awe and anticipation at the grim reality of the judgments God is about to unleash.”
• This is a moment when heaven glimpses the awesome fierceness of God’s judgment on the earth. It is a solemn silence. See Zephaniah 1:7 & Zechariah 2:13

Verse 2

• The seven trumpets are introduced and the seven angels who blow them.

Verses 3 & 4

• Incense and prayer are closely related in Scripture. See Psalm 141:2 & Revelation 5:8
• These are the prayers not just of the martyred saints, but of all saints throughout the ages.
• The cry of every true believer’s heart is “How Long O Lord?” See Psalm 94:3

Verse 5

• The image of the censer full of fire and the prayers of the saints being thrown onto the earth represents the prayers of the saints finally being answered. Justice and judgment have finally arrived. God is finally setting things right.
• The cosmic disturbances and earthquake here is the announcement of the second wave of judgment which is the trumpets that begin to blow in verse 6.

BIG IDEA: GOD WILL VINDICATE HIS PEOPLE AND ULTIMATELY AND FINALLY BRING JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT TO THE WORLD.