The Revelation of Jesus Christ:
The Faithful Witness

Lesson 9 Silence in Heaven
the book of Revelation 8:1–13

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the book of Revelation
cross references in the book of Revelation
chapter-by-chapter review page
next lesson: So the Four Angels Were Released

This material coordinates with Lesson 9 on pages 54–59 in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

“Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways,
O King of the ages! Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship you, for your judgments have been revealed.”
—the book of Revelation 15:3–4

welcome to our in-depth study of the book of Revelation
We invite groups and individuals to check out the sample first lesson and video from this 23-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. Our online pages link to the free lesson videos, a glossary, cross references in the biblical text, and a chapter-by-chapter review page—and they also include illustrations, maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness has been granted an imprimatur. The study may be purchased from our website shop. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” button on any study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the book of Revelation 7:1–17
In Lesson 8 Salvation Belongs to Our God, four angels at the four corners of the earth hold back the four winds, and another angel announces that no harm will occur until 144,000 servants of God have been sealed. These 144,000 are from the 12 tribes of Israel, but the listing of the tribes doesn’t match other such lists in Scripture—Joseph and Levi are included while Dan and Ephraim are left out. In addition, a great multitude appears before the throne and the Lamb. John is told by an elder that they’ve come through the great tribulation and washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

the illustrations can help with review
At this stage in our study of the book of Revelation, taking time to review what we’ve covered can ensure that everyone’s up to speed before we launch into new (and potentially confusing) material. It’s relatively difficult to keep track of all the different images and their significance. Beginning discussion with review becomes more important as we move deeper into our study. The illustrations that accompany The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness are designed to help readers recall key images at a glance. We hope readers will find them valuable when doing review or when reflecting on passages from the book of Revelation that occasionally show up in the Mass readings.

deja vu & some new things in heaven
Readers should be starting to have a sense that they’ve already encountered some of the images we now are running into in the book of Revelation. In Lesson 9, just when it seemed we might be getting somewhat familiar with the layout of heaven—and are about to find out what happens when the seventh seal on the scroll is opened—the author throws a curve ball in the form of seven angels with seven trumpets. That’s not all. There’s an eighth angel standing by a golden altar that John apparently left out of his previous descriptions of heaven. It’s appropriate to ask a few questions about what’s going on with this golden altar. Can we tell its purpose from its context in the book of Revelation? Does this new altar resemble any other altars described by the prophets or elsewhere in the Old Testament? Click on the image (far right) to enlarge Turning to God’s Word co-founder Tami Palladino’s illustration, which is on page 55 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. The map locating churches that receive letters from Jesus is on page 57 and elsewhere in the study book; it and can be enlarged by clicking on it.

the book of Revelation is all about liturgy (01:05:39)
If the book of Revelation could be said to have a single consistent narrative theme, it’s liturgy, the worship of God. To establish this, the author pulls liturgical images from the Old Testament, which is something that the Catholic Mass also does. In this way the two are similar. In the video for this lesson, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps explains that moving forward in this study, it will become more clear that the book of Revelation isn’t a description of the Mass as much as it’s a picture of John’s vision of heavenly worship. The eighth chapter in the book of Revelation represents a point of climax in the breaking of the seals on the scroll, which begins with silence in heaven—a form of reverence and of anticipation. Relationship with God isn’t always about doing holy things; it’s about being with God. The opening of the seals is important because the book of Revelation is about union with God. The sabbath celebration is a fundamental act of liturgy, the goal of which turns out to be rest with God.


The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study match the Scripture ranges for the sets of questions in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. You can follow along with the video overview as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 9, “Silence in Heaven,” on pages 54–59 in the study book.

pray with the Psalms—that 30 minutes of silence
Some scholars suggest the 30 minutes of silence in heaven after the opening of the seventh seal reflect Jewish liturgical practice, which involved burning incense in the Temple at Jerusalem in the morning and evening to clear the air of odors resulting from the immense number of animals sacrificed each day. It’s interesting to note that during this time, which amounted to about half an hour, the priests in the Temple prayed silently while the smoke from the burning incense moved through the Temple and purified the air. It’s most likely that this practice of praying silently while the incense burns is behind the idea in the Scriptures of our prayers rising to God like incense. In the eighth chapter in the book of Revelation, the silence in heaven is followed by a strong focus on incense being mingled with the prayers of the saints. Afterward, we see the incense in heaven being used in a way suggesting that purification of the earth is at hand. Connecting the practice of prayer with the image of incense rising to God shows up in Psalm 141:2: “Let my prayer be as incense before you, the raising of my hands like an evening oblation.” Prayed at Sunday First Vespers (Week II), Psalm 141 is included as part of Lesson 15 Let My Prayer Be as Incense in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers.

WHAT DO YOU THINK about destruction occurring in thirds?
In the book of Revelation 8:7, the author introduces destruction occurring in thirds, an idea that will recur as we move forward in the study.

?  With the blowing of the first trumpet, a third of the earth or land mass is targeted to be burned. What might the earth represent?
?  Why might fire be the method chosen to bring about this destruction?
?  With the blowing of the second trumpet, a third of the sea is targeted to become blood. What might the sea represent?
?  What might be the reasoning behind why blood is used in the attack on the sea?
?  With the blowing of the third trumpet, a third of the fresh waters are made bitter. What might the fresh waters represent?
?  What might explain why Scripture differentiates between the waters of the sea and fresh waters?
?  Consider why bitterness is used in the destruction of the fresh waters.
?  With the blowing of the fourth trumpet, a third of the light in the skies becomes darkened. What point might the author be trying to make with this fourth trumpet?
?  Consider how the darkening of light in the skies can be associated with the number four.
?  What might explain why there are four areas marked for destruction when the first four trumpets are blown?
?  The concept of bringing destruction about in measures of one-third appears to be related to prophecies found in the fifth chapter in the Book of Ezekiel. What might explain the significance of the sharp sword mentioned in those Old Testament prophecies involving judgment?

Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
To the original audience for whom the book of Revelation was intended, the emphasis on trumpets in the eighth chapter would have suggested the Jewish feast of Trumpets, which commemorates the fall of Jericho. In the present day, the feast of Trumpets is known as Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Many details about the feast of Trumpets are lost on most present-day Christian readers, and these can have a profound effect on the way we view the events of John’s apocalyptic vision described in the book of Revelation.

Rosh Hashanah ushers in a 10-day period of repentance during which Jews attempt to mend their relationships with God through public confession of sins, extensive prayers, and arduous abstinence from food, drink, animal-based clothing, and sexual intimacy. Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) occurs at the conclusion of this liturgical period, and it includes a final plea to God before the gates of heaven are believed to close. Although Yom Kippur focuses on repentance, it’s considered the most joyous day of the Jewish liturgical year because it commemorates God’s forgiveness of the sin of idolatry related to the golden calf. Jews regard Yom Kippur as a time in which they are given the opportunity for a spiritual fresh start.

stopping—you could look it up in our archives
How many places in the Scriptures can you name where the action grinds to a halt? What might these pauses indicate? To learn how halting routine activity can be related to worship, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

be alert whenever there’s a lull in the action
With the emphasis on silence in heaven preceding the seven angels with seven trumpets, the author of the book of Revelation clearly wants to call attention to the lull in the action after the opening of the sixth seal on the scroll. Has there been a similar pattern anywhere else in Scripture? From a numerical perspective, what point might the author of the book of Revelation might be trying to make?

Q&A—distinguishing ‘the day of the LORD’ from ‘the Lord’s day’
A participant in this Bible study was prompted to ask about how to distinguish the difference between the day of the LORD and the Lord’s day.

Q: Exactly what is meant by “the day of the LORD” in Question 8?

A: [Here’s the question for the benefit of those who don’t have access to the study book. Question 8—Read the book of Revelation 8:8–11. When the second trumpet blows, a third of the sea becomes blood. Which of the 10 plagues of Egypt does this echo? If necessary, refer to the book of Exodus 7:14–24. With the third trumpet, a star called “Wormwood” falls. The bitter plant named wormwood has medicinal qualities. According to the Book of Jeremiah 9:13–16 and the Book of Amos 6:11–12, how might wormwood be linked to the day of the Lord?]

In this lesson, the term “the day of the LORD” is used by the Old Testament prophets to refer to Final Judgment, which Christians sometimes call the Second Coming of Christ. It occasionally also is called the end of time. It’s not to be confused with “the Lord’s day,” the name Christians use when speaking about Sunday, the day when Jesus rose from the dead. The two terms never are used interchangeably in Scripture or in official Church documents.

A clue about usage can be seen in the small capital letters designating LORD in “the day of the LORD.” It’s difficult to duplicate small capitals online, so a number of editors either ignore that designation or use all capital letters as we do at Turning to God’s Word. “LORD” (usually indicated with small capital letters) is used in the Old Testament to indicate the name of God, which in Hebrew tradition isn’t to be spoken. “Lord” (with only the first letter capitalized) is used to indicate Jesus Christ. There’s yet a third way in which the word “lord” appears in Scripture, and that’s with no capital letters. When used without capital letters, “lord” indicates any person who holds secular authority. The first letter of “lord” is capitalized, however, any time that title is the first word in a sentence.

Later in our study of the book of Revelation, we’ll examine in more detail the connection between “the day of the LORD” and “the Lord’s day.” Something to start thinking about: How do “the Lord’s day” and “the day of the LORD” share a similar purpose?

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic Bible study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including the passage in this lesson from the book of Revelation 8:1–13.

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons and places mentioned in the biblical text under multiple names or spellings. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the cross references pertaining to it—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page, and it includes links to cross references in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

review previous lessons
As we progress through the book of Revelation, the images become more complex, increasing the potential for confusion. To help participants in our study keep track of what’s happening in the Scripture, we’ve prepared a chapter-by-chapter review of key events and images in the book of Revelation. A link can be found at the top of every online study page that accompanies The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
You can find links to magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This page includes a listing of significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the book of Revelation 8:1–13 (NIV)

round black doveclose with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following short prayer based on this lesson’s text from the book of Revelation.

O God, you reign in heaven.
Help us to embrace silence as a means
of communicating with you.
Grant us spiritual strength to remain faithful
whenever cataclysmic events occur in our lives.
We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ,
whom you sent to open the door to salvation for your people.  Amen.

Lesson 10 So the Four Angels Were Released, the book of Revelation 9:1–21
Lesson 8 Salvation Belongs to Our God, the book of Revelation 7:1–17

you also may like our study of the book of Exodus
You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provides an in-depth look at how significant events in biblical history that occurred thousands of years ago to descendants of Jacob remain relevant and even critical for present-day Christians to understand. The deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and the giving of Ten Commandments are examined along with the development of Moses’ relationship to God. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions and offer support. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online pages of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.