Revelation 8:1-13 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. I. GOD AND ALL HEAVEN THEN HONOURED SILENCE. The full power of silence many of us have yet to learn. We are told that when Christ was arraigned "He answered not a word." That silence was louder than any thunder that ever shook the world. Ofttimes, when we are assailed and misrepresented, the mightiest thing to say is to say nothing, and the mightiest thing to do is to do nothing. II. HEAVEN MUST BE AN EVENTFUL AND ACTIVE PLACE. It could afford only thirty minutes of recess. The celestial programme is so crowded with spectacle that it can afford only one recess in all eternity and that for a short space. III. THE IMMORTALITY OF A HALF-HOUR. Oh, the half-hours! They decide everything. I am not asking what you will do with the years or months or days of your life, but what of the half-hours. Tell me the history of your half-hours, and I will tell you the story of your whole life on earth and the story of your whole life in eternity. Look out for the fragments of time. They are pieces of eternity. IV. MY TEXT SUGGESTS A WAY OF STUDYING HEAVEN SO THAT WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND IT. The word "eternity" that we handle so much is an immeasurable word. Now, we have something that we can come nearer to grasping, and it is a quiet heaven. When we discourse about the multitudes of heaven, it must be almost a nervous shock to those who have all their lives been crowded by many people, and who want a quiet heaven. (T. De Witt Talmage.) Parallel Verses KJV: And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.WEB: When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. |
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