February 12 - The Seventh Seal (pt. 2)

February 12 – The Seventh Seal (pt. 2)

“Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” (Rev. 8:3-5)

We’re back at the altar.

The angel is sending up incense with the prayers of the saints. There are some passages that have made this image even more beautiful to me.

John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, was a priest in the temple. When the angel told him he was about to be a father, Zechariah was on duty at the temple. This was an incredible moment for him, even before the announcement. His priestly division was on duty, he had been chosen by lot to go into the temple. God had aligned everything just perfectly. But, read on to see what he was doing:

“Once when Zechariahs division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.” (Luke 1:8-10)

How amazing! With the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, Zechariah was burning incense and everyone was gathered together in prayer. Incense goes up with the prayers of the saints.

In Exodus 30:34-38, Moses was given instructions for mixing the incense. “Take fragrant spices – gum resin, onycha and galbanum – and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted an pure and sacred.”

This incense was to be used for the sole purpose of burning in the temple. It was not to be used in any other way. God called for this mixture to be holy to the Lord. “Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people.” (Exodus 30:38)

In Ephesians 5:1, Paul says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Christ’s sacrifice was a fragrant offering.

I love the way God involves all of our senses when we worship Him. Protestants have ceased using incense as part of the traditional worship service, but for centuries, the smells of heavy incense filled worship spaces.

In the Old Testament, the golden censer was used to take the fire from the altar of sacrifice to the altar of incense, which stood just before the Holy of Holies. In heaven, the angel filled the censer and hurled the fire to earth, causing the destruction to begin. This action is a little startling, but it wraps up the prayers of the saints and those martyrs that were under the altar in Revelation 6. Remember their question? “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Rev. 6:10)

Now, God is answering their prayers for vengeance. The time of punishment has come.