Revelation 8:1-5 – The golden censer

In Revelation 6, we have seen the opening of the first six seals then an interlude in chapter 7. The vision of the 1444,000 and the sealing of the redeemed provided confidence of victory in impending tough times. Assurance of protection has been given in place of terror. We have also caught a glimpse of the glorious future and where history and the redeemed are heading. Perhaps in the breaking of the seventh seal God’s purpose, the climax of history, the end of all things could at last be made known. And now it seemed as if the moment has arrived. And in the light of the anticipation what took place may seem like an anti-climax. But many things had already happened that make a pause necessary.

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Just try to stand in the shoes of John. Having heard and seen so many things, a half an hour of silence would indeed be deafening for him. In the deafening silence, there surely must be a great sense of awe and expectation. Know it or not, silence is the presupposition of hearing. It underscores for us the importance of drawing near in silence if we are to have an enhanced receptivity to what Christ is saying. The surprising shush in heaven should tell us something colossal, and powerful and totally pivotal is about to happen. It certainly is, but the way must be prepared. To begin with, we are introduced to the next series of seven – the seven trumpets.  

Trumpets we know have been used in the Old Testament for various occasions. It had been used to call for worship, to call the people into battle, to assemble the people, to sound the alarm of impending dangers. And the sounding of the seven trumpets is to herald the coming of the great plagues. Before the first trumpet can even sound, something else must take place. An angel appears, carrying a golden censer. In Revelation 5:8 we have already been told of the prayers of the saints that rose as sweet incense before God. As the angel appears with the censer, more incense are added to the prayer of the saints. It appears that the prayers and the incense are not exactly the same thing. Perhaps the prayers are like the fuel on which the incense will burn. The prayers of the saints and the martyrs at the altar are now coming before God.

There is another aspect to consider concerning the silence mentioned in verse 1. The praises take a short pause for the prayer ascended from earth to God be given a proper hearing. See it this way, the seven trumpets and what they will bring are in part in answer to the prayers of God’s people. While God has a plan for humanity, it does not just mechanically happen. He works in tandem with human. The sequence of divine judgement needful for evil to be dealt with and for God’s new world to materialize don’t just happen mechanically. We all, the redeemed, must work in collaboration with God for that to happen. God is committed to work in the world through human, especially with the redeemed. Hence our prayers, yours and mine, matter even when we don’t fully comprehend everything in these divine-human collaboration. In fact they constitute a vital part in this divine-human co-operation.

The prayer on earth as we have discovered, is presented by the golden censer, the answer is given in the same way. After offering the incense, the angel now fills the censer with fire from the altar and throw it upon earth. All we will ever hear from heaven will be fire, until evil is finally judged, condemned and eliminated. Throughout the book of Revelation, we will see that “…peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake” will mark the close of each section. It is first mentioned in Revelation 4:5. Here it closes the seven seals. It will be seen in Revelation 11:9 after the seven trumpets have sounded and again in Revelation 16:18 after the seven bowls have been poured out.   

Having been brought into a vital relationship with God through Christ, we all have our parts to play in the transaction between heaven and earth. So let’s not neglect to pray, more so as we draw close to earth’s final hour!