1The seventh seal opened. 2Seven angels receive seven trumpets. 3An angel presenteth the prayers of the saints with incense on the golden altar before the throne. 6Four of the angels sound their trumpets, and great plagues follow each sounding.
1AND when he had opened 1the seventh seal, there was 2silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
1 Namely, the last of the book with the seven seals, which the Lamb took out of the hand of Him Who sat upon the throne, Rev. 5:7.
2 That is, there was a silence from speaking, and from the sound of other voices that were heard before; by which silence some understand a stillness from persecution of the church on earth, which continued for a short time after the subjugation of the pagan tyrants by Constantine. Others take this quietness to be an earnest expectation of all the spirits in heaven upon that which would follow after the opening of this seventh seal. And it is also taken by some from the practice, which was wont to be used in the temple at the hour of prayer, when the priests went into the Holy place to offer incense, as the angel will do here immediately, and all the congregation, that was quiet outside, waited for the priests to come out, as appears from Luke 1:10.
2And I saw 3the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given 4seven trumpets.
3 Some understand by these seven angels the entire multitude of the holy angels that stand continually round about the throne of God; because the number seven is a perfect number. Yet this may here also be understood of seven special angels, which were chosen out of the entire multitude to receive this special charge from God. The angels are said to stand before God, here and in Luke 1:19, and do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven, Mat. 18:10, because they have always access unto the throne of God, and are always ready to receive and execute the commands of God. Heb. 1:14.
4 Namely, to proclaim, the one after the other, the judgments of God upon the people, as shall be discussed from the 7th verse to the end of the 9th chapter.
3And 5another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was 6given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with 7thea prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
5 Namely, of another nature, Who comes here in between before the other seven have sounded their trumpets; by this Angel is here necessarily to be understood Christ our Mediator, the Angel of the Covenant and of the countenance of God, Isa. 63:9; Mal. 3:1; Who alone is the Priest of heaven, and offers and presents our prayers with the incense of His merits upon the golden altar, that is, upon Himself, unto God for a sweet smelling savor, as is testified in Rom. 8:34; Eph. 5:2; Heb. 4:14; 9:24; 13:10, 15; 1 John 2:1.
6 Namely, of God His Father, forasmuch as He has ordained Him to be a Mediator.
7 Gr. should give it to the prayers. Some understand this of the prayers of all believers on earth, who continually cry and sigh unto God that His Kingdom might come, and that He would deliver them from the evil one. Others understand this of the prayers of the martyrs in particular, whereof is spoken before in Rev. 6:10; but may indeed be understood of all the prayers of God’s children in general.
a Rev. 5:8.
4Andb the smoke of the incense, which came 8with the prayers of the saints, 9ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
b Psalm 141:2.
8 Or, laid by the prayers.
9 Namely, to be answered by the Father; after which the following judgments of God, as a fruit of this answer, would follow. See Acts 10:4.
5And the angel took 10the censer, and filled it with 11fire of the altar, and 12cast it into the earth: 13and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
10 The Greek word signifies properly incense, but it appears plainly by what follows, that it must here be taken for the censer, as also verse 3.
11 Hereby is suitably understood Christ’s fervent desire, whereby He desires that our prayers, joined with His merits, are pleasant to God, and are answered by Him, John 17:24.
12 Namely, the fire of the altar, whereby, as He always desires what is blissful for His believers, He does likewise desire that the justice of God, His Father, are executed upon the impenitent oppressors of His church; see Psalm 2:12, as this also will appear by the fruits of the sounding of the seven angels.
13 Namely, to signify that the intercession of this Angel was answered, as it is always answered. See John 11:41, 42; 12:28, 29.
614And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
14 As it is noted on the second verse of the foregoing sixth chapter that some expositors interpret the visions of the first six seals of the political changes and troubles that have befallen the world, and especially the Roman Empire, in regard of the oppressions of the church of Christ, unto the times of Constantine, there are also some who understand these trumpets of the following changes and troubles, which the Roman Empire by reason of divers barbarous nations from all parts of the world, at sundry travels and times has endured; whereby the same Empire in the West has been quite subdued, and has been divided into many kingdoms and principalities, which afterward by the spiritual dominion of the bishop of Rome, were in some sort knitted after another manner to the other. Which opinion with the phrases that are used here, and with comparing of such like phrases seems to be also confirmed from the Old Testament; whereof see Isa. 28:2; 30:30; Jer. 15:9; Ezek. 32:7. But seeing it was said before that Christ is here everywhere brought in, not as a Ruler of worldly kingdoms, but as a spiritual Ruler of His church, and that by the mediation and intercession of Christ here, and by His marking out in the former chapter, and in the next chapter in the fourth verse, true believers are kept free from these following judgments and troubles, as Christ also prays for Peter, Luke 22:32, and assures all believers, that they shall not be deceived by the false prophets, Mat. 24:24, whereas they are not free from corporal troubles, therefore it is more appropriate that this be understood of the spiritual state of the church, and of the temporal state of the world only as far as it concerns the spiritual.
7The first angel sounded, 15and there followed 16hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
15 Hereby is properly understood the first arch-heresy, which after a little rest in the church in Constantine’s time corrupted the sound and wholesome doctrine, namely, the heresy of the Arians, who denied the eternal Godhead of Christ, whereunto was joined the heresy of the Macedonians, who, with the Arians, denied the Godhead of the Holy Spirit, and which corrupted a great part of the church.
16 As sound doctrine is compared unto rain, Isa. 55:10, and 11, this destructive doctrine is suitably compared to hail and fire, which causes the earth to wither. And here blood is also adjoined, because it was added with great persecution under the Emperor Constantine and others throughout a great part of the world, whereby a third part of the trees, that is, the teachers and other eminent members of the church were deceived, and the green grass was burnt, that is, the common members, who indeed seemed to flourish in the church, but, having no true root, withered, as Christ speaks of such who fall away, Mat. 13:10, 21.
8And the second angel sounded, and 17as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast 18into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
17 Hereby is understood the second arch-heresy, namely, that of the Pelagians, which rose up about the year four hundred, and assaulted the church of Christ for some considerable time; which is therefore compared to a fiery mountain, because it exalted the free will of man against the grace of Christ, and caused man so to be puffed up by his own seeming holiness and self-conceitedness of his perfection and natural strength in heavenly and spiritual matters, as the Scripture also compares elsewhere such kind of pride unto mountains, Isa. 2:14, 15; Zech. 4:7.
18 This is said in this manner, because this heresy, besides other places, did afterwards conquer many islands, such as Rhodes, Sicily, Britain and more others as histories testify. Conversely, nations are also sometimes in this book called waters, as is declared in Rev. 17:15; and by the ships, which are in it, are oftentimes understood as the particular churches which were corrupted by this doctrine; yet so that Christ still has preserved the two third parts thereof by the diligence of faithful teachers in the sound and orthodox doctrine.
9And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10And the third angel sounded, 19and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
19 Hereby is suitably understood the third arch-heresy, which has had its beginning about the year four hundred and twenty-five by one Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, an eloquent and eminent bishop, who divided the two natures in Christ, and made of Christ two persons, namely, one that was man, and one that was God; for which respect he is called a great star from heaven, burning as a lamp. And though his doctrine seemed to gainsay the Arians, yet he was bitter as wormwood, whereunto also the deceiving doctrine is compared in Heb. 12:15; and it spread itself among many nations, as fountains and rivers are wont to do, until it was condemned by all the churches in the Synod of Ephesus.
11And the name of the star 20is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood;c and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
20 That is, was indeed like wormwood; that is, bitter, for, it makes the doctrine bitter like wormwood and unsuitable for good and wholesome nourishment, though at the first it appeared different.
c bitter, oil-yielding plant*
12And the fourth angel sounded, 21and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
21 Hereby is suitably understood the fourth arch-heresy, namely, of the eutichians, which sprung up about the year four hundred and fifty, quite contrary to the Nestorian heresy, which taught that the two natures in Christ were mingled and confounded, and the one changed into the other, whereby Christ the Sun of righteousness was robbed of a great part of His honor; the moon, that is, the church of Christ, and the stars, that is, their teachers, in a great measure darkened, and the light of its doctrine deprived of its true splendor and brightness, till in the Synod of Chalcedon the same doctrine was condemned as destructive and evil. After this arch-heresy did follow many divisions in Christendom, and especially are followed among the bishops and teachers, and many other vexations and contentions about precedency did arise, which at length rent the churches of the East and West, and brought them into many troubles, from which also in the next chapter greater troubles would arise, as the angel here declares.
13And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!