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Chapter 8[a]

The Seven Trumpets. When he broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven[b] for about half an hour.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 8:1–13 The breaking of the seventh seal produces at first silence and then seven symbolic disasters, each announced by a trumpet blast, of which the first four form a unit as did the first four seals. A minor liturgy (Rev 8:3–5) is enclosed by a vision of seven angels (Rev 8:2, 6). Then follow the first four trumpet blasts, each heralding catastrophes modeled on the plagues of Egypt affecting the traditional prophetic third (cf. Ez 5:12) of the earth, sea, fresh water, and stars (Rev 8:7–12). Finally, there is a vision of an eagle warning of the last three trumpet blasts (Rev 8:13).
  2. 8:1 Silence in heaven: as in Zep 1:7, a prelude to the eschatological woes that are to follow; cf. Introduction.