Heaven is quite a noisy place.

Fantastical creatures, with multiple wings and eyes and a face of an eagle or an ox or a lion or a man, never stop saying: Holy, holy holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.

Elders fall before the throne of God and sing. Ten thousand times ten thousand angels encircle the throne and give praise to God. A uncountable multitude, from every nation, tribe, people and language, stand before the throne and cry out in loud voices: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.

A glorious cacophony, a choir like no other. But then the Lamb of God opens the seventh seal, and all fall quiet.

Silence.

I find quiet peaceful, especially after a busy day with lots of people. Silence in the woods restores my soul, and God speaks in silence. But silence can also warn of danger. In certain situations, silence raises the hairs on my neck. Silence sometimes gives way to darkness.

John writes of silence in heaven for about half an hour. Interesting he noted the time. He did so because silence in heaven is unusual. John watched all of heaven waiting for the trumpet of the Lord to sound.

I imagine I’ll experience a few minutes of silence today, a gift from the Lord. If these moments are broken by heavenly trumpets, I will duck and cover (read the rest of the chapter). Silence is powerful, and even the Lord calls for a few moments of quiet in the midst of his work.

Revelation 8 in week fifty of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Nick Fewings