In our passage today the Lord opens the final and seventh seal on the scroll.
Revelation has long been one of my favorite books of the Bible and I've studied it many times, but something stood out to me this time that I've never noticed before. When John observes the Lord opening the first four seals, he refers to Him as "the Lamb". But when John observes the Lord opening the last three seals, he merely refers to Him as "He". Of course Christ, the Lamb, is still the One opening the seals on the scroll, because earlier in our study we were told that He was the only One worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. So why does John suddenly stop referring to Him as "the Lamb" during the opening of the final three seals?
I think there's a reason for this change of terminology, but I can't find any references to it in any of the books or commentaries I own or in any online commentaries. I have a theory about it though. The events which occur following the opening of the first four seals are caused by the Antichrist and the war he brings. We previously learned that extreme price inflation, famine, disease, and the loss of many lives occurred as a result of that war. Although the opening of the first four seals represents the beginning of the Lord's judgment on the world, the terrible things that happen after the opening of the first four seals are caused by the man of sin and are not caused directly by the Lord Himself. The Lord allows the Antichrist to perpetrate deception upon the world and to tyrannize the world's occupants, but the bad things that happen when the first four seals are opened are primarily of human and worldly origin. The things that happen after the opening of the last three seals are of heavenly origin. As the Lord opens these three seals, we see Him more in His role as "judge of all the earth". (Genesis 18:25) He is not acting in His role as Lamb here, but as Judge. He still is the Lamb to all who place their trust in Him, but He is the Judge to those who persist in rebellion and who maintain an unrepentant heart. To John, Christ will always be the Lamb of God who took his sins away, but right now John is seeing Him bring judgment on the world, and I feel this may be why he doesn't refer to Him as "the Lamb" during the opening of the final three seals. To those who reject the Son of God, thereby treading Him underfoot and treating His sacrifice as an unholy thing, the author of Hebrews gives this word of warning about the coming judgment: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:29-31)
"When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them." (Revelation 8:1-2) Up til now in our study, heaven has been a noisy place, filled with songs and shouts of praise. But when the Lord opens the seventh seal to release what is most commonly called "the trumpet judgments", all sound stops. It's a breathless silence. It's a waiting silence. It may even be a shocked silence. Many scholars believe that the things to come are so dreadful that the action in heaven comes to a halt while its inhabitants observe---not just a moment of silence---but a full thirty minutes of silence. Dr. John Walvoord, one of the leading and most highly respected experts on Biblical prophecy, says about the silence of verse 1: "It may be compared to the silence before the foreman of a jury reports a verdict; for a moment there is perfect silence and everyone awaits that which will follow." (From The Revelation Of Jesus Christ, page 151.)
Another theory for these thirty minutes of silence is that its purpose is to create a pause during which the prayers of God's people can be offered to Him like incense on the altar of heaven. As long as man has existed, the people who belong to God have prayed to Him for relief from their enemies, for Him to judge the wicked and reward them with the penalties their dark deeds deserve, and for His kingdom to come. The Lord is about to answer these prayers to the fullest. He is going to bring judgment against wickedness. He is going to set up His eternal kingdom in which there will never again be death, sorrow, crying, or pain. (Revelation 21:4) John tells us this is what happens next: "Another angel, which had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar, He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up before God from the angel's hand." (Revelation 8:3-4)
The saints of God do not have to bring a sacrifice to the altar. The sacrifice has already been made for them by Christ. Instead they bring their prayers---the prayers of the redeemed---and these prayers smell like the finest of incense to a holy God. Their prayers are pleasing to Him. Their prayers are acceptable to Him, and as He always does when prayers are pleasing and acceptable to Him, He answers them. We know it because, after accepting and approving the prayers offered with incense upon His altar, the Lord allows the angel to do this: "Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake." (Revelation 8:5)
When the Lord Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, part of that prayer included this request to be made of God: "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God's will is always done in heaven, but His will has not always been done on earth. Man has often rebelled against the will of God. But here in the book of Revelation, we see His will being done on earth. We see His kingdom come. After the kingdom comes, nothing that goes against the will of God will ever happen. That is when no tear will ever fall again. That is when no sickness or death or pain will ever again befall mankind. Those who have trusted in Christ will live forever with Him and will hear His voice from the throne saying, "I am making everything new!" (Revelation 21:5)
No comments:
Post a Comment