William Blake, an English poet and artist, drew a well-known picture titled “Angel of the Revelation.” In it, a tall, powerful angelic being towers over John, who is recording his apocalyptic vision. The angel holds a book in one hand and is making a commanding gesture with the other. His feet are burning (like Christ’s in Revelation 1). This is how Blake imagined the significant role that angels play throughout the book (especially chapter 10).

In chapter 8 of Revelation, the seventh seal is opened and there is a half-hour of silence in heaven (v. 1). What is the purpose of this? One reason is preparation. After the seven seal judgments, there will be a second round of seven trumpet judgments (v. 2). Some see the silence as dramatic, increasing the suspense and anticipation. The silence also likely signifies the momentousness of what is about to occur. Finally, silence in the Bible also often indicates another form of respect and worship. For example: “Let all the earth be silent before him [God]” (Hab. 2:20). “Be silent . . . the day of the LORD is near” (Zeph. 1:7).

Next, an angel takes a golden censer or firepan containing incense, representing “the prayers of God’s people,” and offers these prayers as worship to the Lord (vv. 3–5; compare Ex. 30:1–10). Then he fills that same censer with fire from the altar and hurls it upon the earth. The resulting “peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake” symbolize God’s wrath and judgment. This is a kind of poetic justice: The same golden censer that held the prayers of the saints also delivers justice from God’s throne.

The seventh seal, then, mainly introduces the next sequence of seven judgments and reminds us of the book’s central themes of worship and justice.