When Jesus Christ breaks the seventh seal, the scroll of God’s judgment is fully revealed for the first time.

“The LORD is in his holy temple let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).Ģ) The half-hour silence in heaven is the result of somber reflection on what has just been revealed. “Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near” (Zephaniah 1:7).

Just as earthly courtrooms demand silence when the judge is presiding, so does the heavenly courtroom.

But here are some possibilities:ġ) The silence in heaven for the space of half an hour is a sign of deep respect and awe in the presence of the Judge of all the earth. Scripture does not specify the reasons for the silence in heaven for that half an hour. There is something about the seventh seal that stops every mouth and silences all of heaven. John says that, after this seal was broken, “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” This silence immediately follows the loud and jubilant songs of heavenly worship in chapter 7, making the absolute, sudden silence even more dramatic. Then in Revelation 8:1 Jesus breaks the seventh seal. During this time, John sees an innumerable throng of people before the throne of God, loudly proclaiming in chorus, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10). Revelation 7 is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals. The sixth seal causes people from every segment of society to hide in caves and call to the surrounding mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” (Revelation 5:16–17). The first six seals unleash unprecedented judgment on the earth during the tribulation period. In other words, all judgment has been entrusted to the Son (John 5:22). The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is the only person worthy to open the scroll’s seven seals (Revelation 5:1–5). After the half hour of silence, the seven trumpet judgments begin (Revelation 8:6-9:21 11:15–19). Then, “when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). After each seal is opened, a judgment occurs on earth. The Lamb proceeds to break open the seals one by one. As the apostle John relates an extended vision of God’s throne room, he describes the Lamb on the throne who is handed a scroll with seven seals (Revelation 6).

The seventh scroll book