Silence in Heaven

Reflections on Revelation 8:1

I remember as a child having to answer my dad when he asked, "Son, did you do this?" I seldom wanted to answer the question, but I usually had to say, "Yes."

Theater in Samaria, 1975

Then Dad asked, "Why did you do it?" I never knew what to say, and usually said, "I don't know." Well, I usually did know, but I also knew that my reason would never stand up under Dad's judgment. Inevitably, I had disobeyed an explicit command or had known better than to do it. I could never argue with Dad's judgment. I could only accept it in silence.

The same is true when the seventh seal is opened, and God announces his judgment. Heaven is filled with silence. God's judgment is conclusive, no opposition remains, and the wicked are silenced.

But the Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.
-- Habakkuk 2:20 NIV

The defiant, belligerent, and proud will have nothing to say on that day. Those who make excuses and those who cry "unfair" will also be silenced. Those who spurned the Lamb, or ignored him, will not say a word. The judgment of the Almighty is final (Beale, 1999, p. 447 ff.).