The Seventh Seal and the Prayers of the Saints
Revelation 8:1-5
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Revelation
Rev.8.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Και: CONJ
- οταν: CONJ
- ηνοιξεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- σφραγιδα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εβδομην: ADJ,ord,acc,sg,f
- εγενετο: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,sg
- σιγη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- ουρανω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- ως: ADV
- ημιωριον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
Parallels
- Habakkuk 2:20 (verbal): Both texts demand silence before God in his sanctuary—'let all the earth keep silence before him' echoes Revelation's 'silence in heaven.'
- Zechariah 2:13 (verbal): Zechariah's 'Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD' parallels the heavenly silence motif and may reflect the same cultic/eschatological summons to hush.
- Psalm 46:10 (thematic): The command to 'be still' and recognize God's sovereignty corresponds to the hush in heaven as an attitude of awe and divine revelation.
- 1 Kings 19:11-12 (thematic): Elijah's encounter where God speaks in a 'still small voice' after wind/fire/earthquake resonates with Revelation's sudden, expectant silence preceding divine action.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
- When he opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Rev.8.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ειδον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl,neut
- αγγελους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- ενωπιον: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- εστηκασιν: VERB,perf,act,ind,3,pl
- και: CONJ
- εδοθησαν: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,pl
- αυτοις: PRO,dat,pl,3
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl,neut
- σαλπιγγες: NOUN,nom,pl,f
Parallels
- Luke 1:19 (verbal): Gabriel identifies himself as one 'who stands in the presence of God' (or 'before God'), echoing the title 'angels who stand before God' in Revelation 8:2.
- Daniel 7:10 (structural): Vision of the heavenly court where countless attendants 'stood before him'—a comparable tableau of celestial beings assembled in God's presence.
- Job 1:6 (thematic): Early Old Testament scene where 'the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD,' paralleling the idea of heavenly beings standing before God.
- Numbers 10:1-10 (thematic): God commands the making and use of trumpets to summon assemblies and signal action—background for the motif of trumpets being given for divine purposes in Revelation.
- Joshua 6:4-5 (thematic): Use of trumpets in the conquest of Jericho, where trumpet blasts accompany divine intervention and victory—parallels the trumpets in Revelation as instruments initiating God‑sent judgments.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I saw seven angels who stood before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
- Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Rev.8.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Και: CONJ
- αλλος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- αγγελος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ηλθεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- εσταθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- επι: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θυσιαστηριου: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- εχων: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,sg,m
- λιβανωτον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- χρυσουν: ADJ,acc,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- εδοθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- θυμιαματα: NOUN,nom,pl,n
- πολλα: ADJ,acc,pl,n
- ινα: CONJ
- δωσει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- ταις: ART,dat,pl,f
- προσευχαις: NOUN,dat,pl,f
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- αγιων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- παντων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- επι: PREP
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- θυσιαστηριον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- χρυσουν: ADJ,acc,sg,n
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- ενωπιον: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θρονου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Exodus 30:1-10 (allusion): Gives the instructions for the altar of incense in the tabernacle — background for the golden altar and the burning of incense before God.
- Psalm 141:2 (thematic): Directly links prayer and incense (“Let my prayer be set before you as incense”), reflecting Revelation’s equation of incense with the prayers of the saints.
- Luke 1:9-11 (verbal): Zechariah stands to burn incense in the temple and an angel appears by the altar — a close narrative/imagistic parallel to an angel at the incense altar.
- Revelation 5:8 (verbal): Speaks of golden bowls/harps and incense which are the prayers of the saints, using the same symbolic identification of incense with believers’ prayers.
- Revelation 8:4 (structural): The immediate continuation of 8:3 — explicitly states that the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up before God, tying the angel’s action to the prayers’ ascent.
Alternative generated candidates
- Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne.
- Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and a great quantity of incense was given to him, that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne.
Rev.8.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ανεβη: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- καπνος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- θυμιαματων: NOUN,gen,pl,n
- ταις: ART,dat,pl,f
- προσευχαις: NOUN,dat,pl,f
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- αγιων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- εκ: PREP
- χειρος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- αγγελου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- ενωπιον: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Revelation 8:3 (verbal): Same pericope: an angel with a golden censer is given much incense to offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar—explicitly links incense and saints' prayers.
- Revelation 5:8 (verbal): The twenty‑four elders hold golden bowls of incense which are described as 'the prayers of the saints,' a direct identification of incense with prayer.
- Psalm 141:2 (140:2 LXX) (verbal): Prayer is metaphorically likened to incense and evening sacrifice ('Let my prayer be counted as incense before you'), a background motif for Rev 8:4's imagery.
- Exodus 30:7–8 (thematic): The priestly practice of burning incense before the LORD as a continual offering provides cultic background for the image of incense ascending before God.
- Luke 1:10 (allusion): The crowd was 'praying outside at the hour of incense,' reflecting Jewish association of the incense ritual with times of public prayer—parallel to the motif of prayer-as-incense in Revelation.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up from the angel's hand before God.
- And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the angel's hand.
Rev.8.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ειληφεν: VERB,perf,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- αγγελος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- λιβανωτον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- εγεμισεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- πυρος: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θυσιαστηριου: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- εβαλεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- εις: PREP
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- γην·και: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εγενοντο: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,pl
- βρονται: NOUN,nom,pl,f
- και: CONJ
- φωναι: NOUN,nom,pl,f
- και: CONJ
- αστραπαι: NOUN,nom,pl,f
- και: CONJ
- σεισμος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
Parallels
- Isaiah 6:6-7 (verbal): An angel takes a burning coal from the altar to purify—direct verbal parallel to an angel taking fire from the altar/censer in Revelation 8:5.
- Exodus 19:16-19 (structural): Thunder, lightning, thick cloud and a great earthquake accompany God's appearance at Sinai—structurally parallels the cosmic upheaval surrounding the angel's act.
- Joel 2:30-31 (thematic): Prophetic signs of fire, blood, and cosmic disturbances before the Day of the LORD echo Revelation's images of fire and heavenly commotion.
- Revelation 6:12-14 (structural): Later Revelation passage describing sun darkened, stars falling and mountains moved—the same tradition of cosmic signs and earthquake tied to divine action.
- Psalm 18:7-8 (2 Samuel 22:8-9) (verbal): The LORD's coming described with smoke, fire, hailstones and the earth shaking—verbal and thematic echoes of fire from the altar and resulting thunder/voices/lightning/earthquake.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed voices, thunder, lightning, and an earthquake.
- Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there came voices and thunder and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; to him was given much incense, that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there followed voices and peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.