Welcome to the last Chapter 8 in the New Testament. This passage shares the beginning of God’s judgment on earth and the importance of the prayers of the saints.
Seventh Seal: Prelude to the Seven Trumpets
8 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Silence! Would you expect silence as the seal was opened? We shall see that it was necessary.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
These seven angels must hold a high status in the kingdom to stand before God. Can you imagine how loud the trumpets will sound after the silence? But hold tight! Before the Trumpet blasts, the angel with a golden censer comes to the altar with the prayers of the saints.
3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.
Our prayers are mixed with holy incense. Just as the incense the priests used in the temple, just a foreshadowing of what goes on in heaven, our prayers are a sweet smell that rises before our God. What happens when our prayers and the incense come into contact with fire from the altar?
5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
This is where people come up with the term, “Acts of God”, awesome destruction and noise from the heavens. NOW the seven angels can blow the trumpets.
6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck
7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
Vegetation Struck. Hail and fire mixed with blood thrown down from heaven, 1/3 of the trees, and all of the grass burn up. In an account from a woman who encountered Jesus in heaven, green is Jesus’ favorite color. Can you imagine Jesus mourning the need to destroy all that green because of the world’s evil, sinful ways?
Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck
8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
After one-third of the trees and all of the grass on the land were destroyed, something like a burning mountain hit the sea. One-third of the sea became blood: think of the plagues in Egypt when the waters turned to blood. Also, one-third of the living creatures and ships in and on the sea were obliterated.
I will not continue with the rest of the seven trumpets here, but let’s focus on the prayers of the saints that started all of this. We have been crying out for God to fix all that is wrong in this life and avenge the evil on earth for many generations. Those cries for help are piling up in heaven.
Worthy Is the Lamb
Revelation 5:8 When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Golden bowls are full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. We who belong to Jesus are the set- apart, sanctified ones. We are the saints this verse refers to. Our prayers rise up to heaven; at least those prayed according to the will of God do.
Make sure you do not give up on praying the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. We tend to grow weary and disillusioned. This can stop us from continuing to pray, often just before breakthrough comes.
My dear readers, be encouraged. We serve a prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God who is faithful to all generations. Trust him to work on your behalf and keep bringing your concerns before the throne of grace. Evil will not prevail against God’s people. He will keep us through the days of peril and storm as He has done throughout all generations. Remember, Romans 12:19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to [God’s] wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. It is not for us to beg the Lord to act, but for us to pray according to His will and speak out declarations and decrees in the name and power of Jesus. We can’t go wrong using Scripture as the Spirit leads. If we do not take up and use what Christ has bought for us, it will not be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
I remind you; my first major book event is only two weeks away! If you cannot attend, please pray for me to be led by the Holy Spirit.
Last post I told you about reading Chad Gonzales’ devotional Think Like Jesus and today I would like to share another day with you. Day 35: The Father Is Always With Me. 
Yesterday, today, and forever, our God is our help and guide through the deepest waters, the hottest flames, the tallest mountains, the lowest valleys. Jesus is always our grace for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Don’t trust in governments, stay away from the fake news, and fill your life with prayer and God’s Word. Our joy truly comes from no other place but the Lord God Almighty.
Notice this says “every morning”? It includes this morning in that promise and tomorrow. Let us continue to encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and songs of praise. If you don’t have a song of joy in your heart, ask Holy Spirit to provide one. This world is getting darker, but that means our light is growing brighter as we walk in Christ. Our salt is getting saltier as we share what God has done for us! How will others know of the goodness of God toward those He loves if we don’t share His goodness we’ve experienced? If we join in rehearsing all the problems and how the world is ‘going to hell in a handbasket’, we just add fuel to the funeral pyre that’s being built with words and chaos in our nation and around the world. I can see the forces of evil dancing with glee as we devour each other without them lifting a finger!
Notice the things that trip us up: carousing, drunkenness, cares of this life. Translate these to overeating, binge watching, lost in a video game… crisis or drama in your life fed by social media. 
This passage packs a lot in! Do not be 
So, are we to prepare for “Jacob’s troubles”; hide away, buy gold and precious metals, stockpile food, water, TOILET PAPER?? Should we despair, throw up our hands and look for Jesus to come on the clouds? Or are we poised for a third Great Awakening and the biggest revival ever? 
Listening to various prophets and aligning their words with Scripture, I believe we are amid birth pangs. If you’ve ever experienced actual birth pangs, you know they are not steady or intense at first. As labor proceeds, the pains come more frequent, steady and increase in intensity. I’ve had labors last about four hours, although it could have been longer. First labor I had a foot pressing on my rib the entire day before and didn’t go into noticeable labor until my water broke at 11 p.m. and we headed to the hospital and delivered within less than an hour. My fourth pregnancy I started bleeding before I really had any contractions, put in a birthing bed at midnight with erratic contractions until they administered pitocin at 10 A.M. and delivered our third son about an hour later. Before hard, fast contractions, that labor had simmered for most of 12 hours. In these days of increasing pressure and persecution; Spirit labor pains, how should we conduct ourselves as the Body of Christ? Let’s look at some more Scriptures.
Musings along life's journey 