PONDERING... Do Your Prayers Change the World? (Revelation 8:1-5)

Do Your Prayers Change the World?*

(Note: I really don’t like this title. More on that later. :D)

GIST: God deserves our reverence, hears our prayers, and is coming in majesty to finish His plan.
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 8:1-5

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

We’ve been looking at some fairly lengthy passages of scripture the past few weeks. In part because I want to give you a bit of a break and in part because we’ve come to a natural turning point in the book, we’re going back into more familiar territory and will only be looking at five verses this week! (Brace yourself though; next week’s section doesn’t lend itself to “smaller chunks” as well :D.)

Before diving into this passage, we need to remember the whole “chronology” conversation we’ve been having. I don’t want to get mixed up in the “when”. These seven seals, and the seven trumpets and bowls which follow, are a picture of how Jesus is finishing His plan—defeating sin.

We’ve already seen the first six seals and with them the promise of conquests, wars, sacristy, death, persecution, and judgment. These will not happen once, but will build continually (as we’ll see more clearly next week when we look at the trumpets) until Christ’s ultimate return. Then, last week we saw the awesome picture of Jesus’ saved in Heaven—a promise and encouragement in the face of calamity. Now, we’re back to the seventh seal (which also transitions into the seven trumpets, but, again, is likely not a transition of time, but rather of perspective). So, what we have here is the first picture of the end. We are not given a lot of imagery here. Nonetheless, what we do see is important to realize.

1. God Deserves Our Reverence

1When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 

When you study this passage, it’s often pointed out that this section seems out of place. We’ve had these great images of cataclysmic destruction on earth and perfect serenity and worship in Heaven. Then, we have 30 minutes of silence. Of course, as in all things Revelation, there are differing perspectives here, but they do all share a common theme. The seventh seal is open. This is the end of the cycle, and remember this sealed scroll is God’s plan to destroy sin and bring about the results of redemption. I think this silence is awestruck anticipation. Not only is something absolutely wonderful is about to happen, but Jesus, our Savior, the One who made our salvation possible, is doing it. There is a reverence here that I feel our lives often lack. And there is a clear OT precedent for this, as well.

• Zechariah 2:13 "13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."
• Psalm 37:7 "7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!"
• Zephaniah 1:7 "7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests."
• Psalm 46:10 "10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!""

2. He Hears Our Prayers

2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.

Verse 2 is a bridge verse connecting the seals to the trumpets. As we’ve gone into some detail previously about progressive parallelism, I won’t hit that here, but we can talk more about that next week when we look at the trumpets.

Verse 3, however, brings us the next image. We have silence. There are trumpets being handout out (symbolic of the judgements). Then, as in previous passages, we have temple imagery. Incense is being offered before the throne. As we talked about with the first six seals, this altar (the place of sacrifice) is likely symbolic of Jesus Himself. Incense was offered as a pleasing aroma—something good. What we can’t miss here is the nature or substance of this incense. We’ve seen incense in the throne room at least one other time so far. In Revelation 5:8, we’re told: “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Emphasis added). Then here we’re told, “he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne” (Emphasis added).

I feel like if I try to go too long here I’ll miss the message, so I’m really going to try and be brief. We’re looking at the end coming here. God is about to show up and finish. And right before He shows us this for the first time, He intentionally gives us this picture of prayers rising up to God—coming to Him as a pleasing aroma. Prayers for what? Well, James tells us selfish prayers do nothing because "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (James 4:3), but “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”(James 5:16b-18)

Look at these verses, as well: John 14: 13-14 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.; 2 Chronicles 7:14 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

I think that’s the message here. People who are seeking God’s face are praying for His coming, are praying for His will, are praying for His provision, are praying for His mercy, are praying for His salvation… and He’s listening. I know I spent a lot of time talking about prayer last year, but the plain truth is—we don’t do it. I don’t do it. Not like we should. And we’re missing out.

3. And He is Coming in Majesty to Finish His Plan

5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

I love this. Here’s the answer to our prayers: the end. We’re going to see this imagery again in Revelation, and while it does symbolize judgment, it’s more than that. This is God-imagery (theophany). We see the same kind of imagery throughout the Old Testament. Right before giving the 10 Commandments, for example, we have this picture:

Exodus 19:16-20 16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

So what we have here with this picture is God coming in His majesty to earth. John was steep in the Old Testament, so there are a lot of parallel passages connected here. One commentary I was reading, pointed out the parallel between this and 1 Kings 18 (which, incidentally, I have just been walking through in children’s church). Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal before the people of Israel to prove once and for all who is really God. The false prophets call out for Baal to send down fire, but nothing happens. Then, Elijah prays (see the connection here) and God shows Himself…and judges the wicked.

1 Kings 18:36-40 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

Yeah, people like to skip that last part, but the coming of Christ will be two-fold. Wonderful for those who have given Him our lives and terrible for those who have chosen to reject Him. Remember, He’s coming to finish His plan. Sin will be destroyed forever. There will be no denying His presence or escaping His holiness.

TAKE AWAY?

1. Are you missing out on prayer? I titled this sermon Do Your Prayers Change the World?—which I immediately noted I do not like. But I did that on purpose. We like to think we can change the world. And in reality, we can—if we want the right kinds of changes. Check one of the most misused passages of scripture: Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This is not saying: be happy, and you’ll get stuff. Rather, want God—and you’ll get Him.

This makes me think of one of the sadder passages from Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Huck gives up on praying because he doesn’t ever ‘see anything come of it’, so he figures it doesn’t work. This reflects how so many of us miss out on the whole point and purpose of prayer. Seek Him and you will find Him. Desire His will, and He will give it. Jeremiah 29:13 "13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Matthew 5:6 "6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." So again, are you missing out?

2. What are you anticipating? There was silence in Heaven—reverent expectation. I know I’ve asked this before, but that hasn’t necessarily changed the way I’m living my life either—we need constantly to hold this before ourselves: Are you looking forward to Jesus coming? Or are you afraid of that messing up your life.


*I read and listen to many resources in preparation for these messages. This week, however, I am heavily indebted to a much better preached sermon by Kevin DeYoung for really helping me grapple with this passage. Our outlines are not the same, but his was better. Click his name, or this link to listen to that sermon.