Revelation
Chapter 8
The Seventh Seal and the Censer
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Then, I looked at the seven angels standing before God, who were given seven trumpets.
Another angel came and stood before the altar of incense, with a golden censer. He was given much incense to be offered, with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the golden altar before the throne;
and the cloud of incense rose with the prayers of the holy ones, from the hands of the angel to the presence of God.
Then, the angel took the censer, and filled it with burning coals from the altar, and threw them on the earth: and there came thunder, lightning and earthquakes.
The Seven Trumpets
The seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
When the first angel blew his trumpet, there came hail and fire mixed with blood, which fell on the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up with a third of the trees and the green grass.
When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a great mountain was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea was turned into blood.
At once, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships perished.
When the third angel sounded his trumpet, a great star fell from heaven like a ball of fire, on a third of the rivers and springs.
The star is called Wormwood, and a third of the waters were turned into wormwood, and many people died because of the water, which had turned bitter.
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun, the moon, and the stars were affected. Daylight decreased one third, and the light at night as well.
And my vision continued: I noticed an eagle flying through the highest heaven and crying with a loud voice,
“Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the land when the last three angels sound their trumpets.”
Commentaries
The Seventh Seal and the Censer.
Jesus Christ, the Lamb, opens the final seal. The seven trumpets are about to sound. The Christian community reading the book must open itself, through attentive and receptive silence, to the mystery and judgment of God (cf. Zeph 1:7). An angel conducts a symbolic act: he mixes perfume with the prayers of the saints. Christ demonstrates the power of his intercession through the vulnerability of our prayers.
The Seven Trumpets.
Regarding the Christian view of these plagues, it’s helpful to understand that Revelation draws freely on several inspirational models: the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the plagues of Egypt, and parts of its own vision. Ultimately, it highlights the corrupt power of evil, which acts in opposition to the original creation, like an “anti-creation.” Reading chapter 9 can produce a sense of vertigo; the rise of evil seems to build in intensity. The purpose of such calamities is to encourage profound conversion of the human heart.
The Book of Revelation describes, through symbolic features, the immense power of evil throughout history. For the community that reads it, a time of reflection emerges about the empire of evil that infiltrates our history. However, evil has an origin. It does not come from God, but from an opponent of Him.