What
Happens Next?
For
the purpose of explaining Revelation 8:2-5, let
us proceed under the assumption that the seven
angels were given seven trumpets in the spring of
1994. So, the four angels in Revelation 7:1-3
have been waiting to hurt Earth for
several years. We know they are waiting because
(a) the five phenomena described in Revelation
8:3-7 have not occurred at any time in history,
and (b) the first four trumpets judgments have
not fallen. Therefore, the four angels in
Revelation 7 are presently waiting for the
service described in Revelation 8:3-5 to occur.
“Another
angel [that is, not one of the seven angels],
who had the 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 [of Incense] 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 lightening and an
earthquake.” (Revelation 8:3-5, italics
and insertions mine)
The
golden altar in front of God’s throne is the
Altar of Incense. We know this because the golden
altar in the earthly temple was the Altar of
Incense (Hebrews 9:3,4) and it was positioned
before the Table of the Presence (Exodus 26:35;
40:5) that represented God’s throne.
Further, the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering was
located in the outer court and it was covered
with bronze. (Exodus 38:2) To understand the
significance of the service conducted at the
Altar of Incense in Heaven’s temple, we have
to first understand how the Altar of Incense
functioned in the earthly temple because the
tabernacle Moses built was a copy and shadow of
the true temple in Heaven. (Hebrews 8:1-5)
Four
Prerequisites
The
special service in Revelation 8:3-5 marks the
close of corporate mercy and the beginning of the
Great Tribulation. You need to understand and
synthesize four prerequisites to understand why
this service is conducted at the Altar of
Incense:
1.
Corporate Mercy
Before
sin began, God commanded Adam and Eve to obey
this law: “And the Lord God commanded the
man saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden
thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of
it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.’” (Genesis
2:16,17, KJV)
Adam
and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Neither person defiantly
sinned against God, although they did sin. On
the basis of love for Adam and Eve and their
future offspring, Jesus interceded. God’s
law demanded immediate death, but instead of
killing the guilty pair, Jesus went to the Father
and offered to die – not only in their
place, but also on behalf of their future
offspring. The Father consented and on that very
day, Jesus became “subject” to the will
of the Father for the next 6,000 years. (Psalm
2:7-12, John 6:38, Hebrews 5:4-7) The emphatic
point is that Adam and Eve were not immediately
executed. Jesus mediated a “stay of
execution” and Jesus has been holding back
God’s wrath for 6,000 years. Many people do
not understand this intercession. Even worse,
they do not know that the intercession will soon
end.
Jesus
intercedes for sinners on two levels, the
individual level and the corporate level. Both
levels are separate, distinct, and important to
understand. For example, corporately speaking,
the world became corrupt in Noah’s day. When
a majority of the antediluvians grieved away the
Holy Spirit, the world went beyond the
possibility of repentance. Jesus told Noah that
since a majority of mankind was beyond
redemption, He was going to destroy the world in
120 years. Jesus commanded Noah to build an ark
and Noah went to work. Noah informed the world of
God’s coming wrath and Noah encouraged
people to enter the ark and be saved. When the
appointed time arrived, the flood came and
destroyed all but eight people. Even
thought God was angry with the corporate
behavior of mankind, He extended mercy to individuals
by offering refuge in Noah’s ark.
When
it comes to understanding God’s goodness and
grace, it is important to distinguish between
corporate mercy and mercy for individuals. God
can be angry with a nation like Israel and at the
same time be happy with individuals like Daniel.
Consider this: There were tow altars in the
wilderness tabernacle. Individuals used the
bronze Altar of Burnt Offering (located in the
courtyard). Families brought their sin offering
to the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering each day.
However, the golden Altar of Incense (located
inside the tabernacle) was only used for corporate
atonement. (Leviticus 4) Every evening and
morning, priests offered atonement for the nation
of Israel on the golden altar. Because there was
continual atonement, sinners were not immediately
executed when they sinned!
Notice
how corporate grace aligns with grace and mercy
for individuals. If an individual sinned in July
and his family’s turn at the Altar of Burnt
Offering came in November (services at the Altar
of Burnt Offering were rotated monthly according
to tribe), the sinner knew that his death would
be “stayed” because corporate
intercession provided a period of grace for
individuals. This grace gave sinners time to make
atonement if they wanted to make atonement.
Because
Jesus has been corporately interceding for the
whole world for the past 6,000 years, life on
Earth has continued for the offspring of Adam and
Eve. God’s corporate grace has given
billions of sinful individuals a chance to
discover their need for a Savior. Once a person
discovers Jesus as his Savior, he then realizes
the wonderful corporate grace extended to him
while he was in darkness. Out of joy and
thanksgiving and praising God for the grace that
He has provided, the sinner repents of his sins
and offers himself as a living sacrifice unto the
Lord.
At
times, God dealt with Israel corporately, as
though the whole nation was an individual. For
example, God imposed the Babylonian captivity on
everyone in Israel when a majority in Israel
became hopelessly defiant and rebellious. Even
though God punished the nation as one man, there
were some individuals who pleased God, men like
Ezekiel, Daniel, and Daniel’s three friends.
Nevertheless, God raised up a destroyer, King
Nebuchadnezzar, to destroy Jerusalem and His
temple. Of course, the Bible clearly indicates
that God deals with individuals, too. You may
remember the punishment of Achan (Joshua 7),
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16), and King
David who was punished for having an affair with
Bathsheba. (2 Samuel 11). Individual consequences
were not limited to Old Testament characters. God
also punished Ananias and Sapphira for their
rebellion against Him. (Acts 5)
Summarizing,
the first thing that we need to remember about
the special services at the Altar of Incense in
Revelation 8:3-5 is that the Altar of Incense
concerns corporate intercession. The casting
down of the censer indicates the cessation of
corporate intercession. When the censer is
cast down, God’s destructive wrath will be
released throughout Earth. This is why the seven
trumpets occur after the censer is thrown down.
God’s corporate wrath begins when corporate
mercy ends.
2.
The Role of Prayers and Incense
Have
you ever heard the expression, “Well, that
just stinks!”? The idea behind this
expression is that something went wrong and the
consequences stink, that is, they are offensive.
This may come as a surprise, but sinners dressed
in their finest clothes are a stench in God’s
nostrils. This stench is not body order, but our
unrighteousness. God’s heart is totally
selfless and pure, and our hearts are just the
opposite, totally selfish and impure. Sin cannot
be washed away with water. Pilate did not wash
away his guilt in the death of Jesus by washing
his hands. (Matthew 27:24) To teach Israel that
even in their finest clothes, their hearts were
still a stench in God’s nostrils, God
required the offering of a special fragrant
incense each evening and each morning.
“Then
the Lord said to Moses, ‘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 and pure and scared.
Grind some of the powder and place it in front of
the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I
will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.
Do not make any incense with this formula for
yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. Whoever
makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be
cut off from his people.’” (Exodus
30:34-38)
The
Jews gathered around the temple when evening and
morning services were offered because they
reasoned that their petitions would be more
favorably presented if they ascended with the
sweet fragrance of holy incense. Think about
this: If you petitioned a great king to grant a
very important request, obviously a fragrant
atmosphere would be more favorable than a smelly
one! The practice of burning incense with
corporate offerings explains why the angel in
Revelation 8:3-5 was given much incense to burn
on the Altar of Incense. God’s people on
Earth (a dear group of stinkers) will be
desperately praying for God’s help when
Revelation 8:3-5 occurs, and the angel will add
much incense on the Altar to “sweeten”
their petitions – and the Lord will not
disappoint.
3.
The Use of Censers
In
Bible times, small metal pans or censers were
used to carry fire from one place to another.
Since there were no matches or butane lighters,
it was a lot easier to carry fire around to start
a fire. (Genesis 22:6) Thus, censers were rather
common household devices in Bible times. Censers
were also used in the temple for the purpose of
carrying fire during atonement services.
Notice how a censer of burning coals was used on
the Day of Atonement: “He [the high
priest] is to take a censer full of burning
coals from the altar before the Lord [the
Altar of Incense] and two handfuls of finely
ground fragrant incense and take them behind the
curtain. He is to put the incense on the fire
before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense
will conceal the atonement cover [The
atonement cover was a removable lid on the golden
box that held the Ten Commandments. Two figurines
of angels were attached to this lid and God’s
glory radiated as a brilliant light from between
these two angels. This light radiated] above
the Testimony [the Ten Commandments are often
called “the Testimony” in the Old
testament and the smoke from the incense
protected the priest from this brilliant light],
so that he will not die.” (Leviticus
16:12,13, insertions mine)
The
fire on the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering in the
courtyard burned continuously. (Leviticus 6:13)
Priests sustained this fire around the clock.
However, there is no evidence in the Bible that
the fire on the golden Altar of Incense was
provided or sustained by man. I understand that
God Himself ignited and sustained the fire on the
Altar of Incense and this made that fire holy
or set apart. In other words, the fire on the
Altar of Incense was God-made and the fire on the
Altar of Burnt Offering was man-made. I mention
this point for two reasons. First, the “strange”
fire that Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu,
used were most likely taken from the Altar of
Burnt Offering. Evidently, they came before the
Lord with man-made or “unholy” fire to
burn incense. This action was a defiant sin and
an insult to God. God responded to their
impudence by killing them. (Leviticus 10:1,2)
Second, I believe that God ignited and sustained
the fire on the Altar of Incense because this
perpetual burning fire represents Jesus’
unilateral and perpetual intercession for
humanity. In other words, corporate grace has
nothing to do with the efforts or desires of
mankind. Corporate intercession is God’s
gift to all sinners. The perpetual burning fire
on the Altar of Incense represents His grace, His
perpetual love for us that never goes out.
Summarizing,
the priests used fire in the temple services and
carried it in censers to burn incense. The
casting down of the censer indicates the
atonement service conducted on the Altar of
Incense is finished. Since the Altar of Incense
is limited to matters of corporate mercy, the
casting down of the censer indicates the end of
corporate mercy.
4.
The Termination of the Daily
There
is one more topic that will secure the conclusion
that Revelation 8:3-5 marks the end of corporate
mercy. Daniel 12:12 says, “From the time
that the daily [service] sacrifice is
abolished [in Heaven] and the abomination
that causes desolation is set up [This
abomination that causes desolation points forward
to a universal death decree that will be set up
to kill all of God’s saints on the 1,290th
day of the Great Tribulation.], there will be
1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for [patiently
endures] and reaches the end of the 1,335 days
[allotted for the Great Tribulation].”
(Insertions mine)
The
tabernacle on Earth was a copy and shadow of
Heaven’s temple. According to Hebrews 8:1-5,
Jesus serves in Heaven’s true tabernacle
as our High Priest. This wonderful truth
enables us to understand things about serives in
Heaven temple that would be impossible to
otherwise understand. For example, since there
was a daily service in the earthy temple, there
must also be a daily service in Heaven’s
temple. The daily service in the earthy temple
consisted of two routines. The first routine
centered around corporate atonement. Every
evening and morning, the priest presented an
atonement offering before the Lord on the Altar
of Incense. The priest conducted a second routine
at the Altar of Burnt Offering. During daylight
hours, people brought their sin offerings to the
Altar of Burnt Offering. Both services were
considered perpetual, continual or “daily.”
The
book of Daniel mentions “the abomination
that causes desolation” two times. The first
mention points to the destruction of Jerusalem in
A.D. 70. (Daniel 11:31, Matthew 24:15) The second
mention (Daniel 12:11) points to a daily service
that will end in Heaven’s temple and 1,290
days later, a universal death decree will be
imposed on God’s saints. How do we know that
Daniel 12:11 is speaking about the daily service
that occurs at the Altar of Incense in Heaven’s
temple?
Rule
Three of apocalyptic prophecy requires that we
examine the context. The context in Daniel 12
clearly concerns the end of time. Consider the
two verses in chapter 12: “At the time
Michael [Jesus], the great prince who
protects your people, will arise [indicating
that His mediation for mankind has been
completed. He will stand up – a position
that kings takes when moved by indignation]. There
will be a time of distress [the last seven
plagues – the seven bowls] such as has
not happened from the beginning of nations until
then. But at that time your people [who are
alive] everyone whose name is found written in
the book [of Life] will be delivered [from
the martyrdom of the fifth seal]. [Then, at the
Second Coming] Multitudes who sleep in the
dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting
life, others [including those who
participated in the crucifixion of Jesus will be
raised] to shame and everlasting contempt.”
(Daniel 12:1.2, insertions mine)
Now
that we know the context in Daniel 12 is the end
of days and the Second Coming, consider the final
words in Daniel 12: “He [Gabriel] replied,
‘[Daniel, you have been shown things
about the distant future.] Go your way [go
about your business], Daniel, because the
words [of this prophecy] are closed up and
sealed until the time of the end. [There will
be many difficult centuries for the saints.] Many
will be purified, made spotless and refined, but
the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of
the wicked will understand [these visions],
but those who are wise will understand [how
these words apply to them]. From the time that
the daily [service in Heaven] is abolished
and the abomination that causes desolation [a
universal death decree for God’s people]
is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is
the one who [patiently] waits for and
reaches the end of the 1,335 days [for he
will see Jesus coming in the clouds of glory
without seeing death]. As for you [Daniel],
go your way till the end [of your life]. You
will rest [with your fathers in death],
and then at the end of the [1,335] days
you will rise [with all God’s saints] to
receive your allotted inheritance.’”
(Daniel 12:9-12, insertions mine)
Because the context in Daniel 12
is the end of the age, it should be rather easy
to see that “the daily” in verse 11
points to an event that is 1,335 days before the
Second Coming. Moreover, if there was a daily
service on Earth at the Altar of Incense, then
there has to be a daily service in Heaven at the
Altar of Incense because services in the earthly
temple parallels services in Heaven’s
temple. We already know that corporate mercy will
end when the censer is cast down and God’s
wrath (the seven trumpets) will follow,
therefore, the timing of the daily in Daniel
12:11 is the same as the casting down of the
censer in Revelation 8:3-5.
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