Revelation 8

Read Revelation 8 at Bible Gateway.

Rev 7:1 -8:12 chiastic structure

1a) Rev 7:1-3a, Four angels held back from harming earth, sea, trees;

1b) Rev 7:3b-8, Until we have sealed the bondservants of God on their foreheads/ The number sealed: 144,000 out of every tribe of Israel;

1c) Rev 7:9-15a, Worship in heaven;

1a) Rev 7:9a, An innumerable multitude of every nation standing before the throne + the Lamb;
1b) Rev 7:9b, Dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands;
1c) Rev 7:10, They cried: “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
central axis) Rev 7:11, Angels, elders, 4 living creatures fell on their faces before the throne + worshiped God;
2c) Rev 7:12, Saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, might be to our God forever + ever! Amen;”
2b) Rev 7:13-14, These arrayed in white robes came out of the great tribulation/ their robes washed + made white in the blood of the Lamb;
2a) Rev 7:15a, They are before the throne of God, they serve Him day + night in His temple;

central axis) Rev 7:15b-17, God + the Lamb provide for, protect, shepherd those arrayed in white robes;

1a) Rev 7:15b, He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them;
1b) Rev 7:16, They will never be hungry + thirsty; neither will sun nor heat beat on them;
central axis) Rev 7:17a, For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shepherds them;
1b) Rev 7:17b, And leads them to springs of waters of life;
2a) Rev 7:17c, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;

2c) Rev 8:1, When He opened the 7th seal, there was silence in heaven for half an hour;

2b) Rev 8:2-6, Incense – the prayers of the saints – before the throne;

1a) Rev 8:2, I saw 7 angels who stand before God/ 7 trumpets were given to them;
1b) Rev 8:3a, Another angel came + stood over the altar, having a golden censer;
1c) Rev 8:3b, Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of the saints;
central axis) Rev 8:3c, On the golden altar which was before the throne;
2c) Rev 8:4, The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand;
2b) Rev 8:5, The angel filled the censer with fire of the altar + threw it on the earth/ Thunders, sounds, lightnings, an earthquake;
2a) Rev 8:6, The 7 angels who had the 7 trumpets prepared themselves to sound;

2a) Rev 8:7-12, Four angels sound four trumpets, harming earth/ trees + sea + rivers + light.

The obvious problem with this structure is the B pair. Why are they paired? They are forced together by their surrounding elements which obviously do pair. We have seen this before, both in Torah and in the rest of Scripture, but it is not common. This is the kind of thing that compels one to deeper study, and in this case, the 2B pair is part of a greater structure covering the entire cycle of seven seals. But also, I believe that sealing the bondservants, and the prayers of the saints, have something to do with each other, and this is Scripture’s way of communicating that to us. I don’t understand their connection – yet. But I have this in my notes for the next time I am studying in Revelation 8.

Revelation 8, The seventh seal
Revelation 8, The first trumpet
Revelation 8, The second trumpet
Revelation 8, The third trumpet
Revelation 8, The fourth trumpet
Revelation 8, The woes to come
Revelation 8, The division of the empire

Return to Revelation Index of Studies

Christine’s book The Revelation of Jesus Christ Revealed, based on these studies but greatly expanded, is now available from Nothing New Press. You may also be interested in reading the Book Extras and joining in on the Discussion.

As well, Revelation in Chiastic Structure is also available.