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Revelation 8 · a question people ask

"there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (8:1). Why is there silence in heaven?

In the text

Here is what the chapter says. "When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." (8:1). Then John saw "the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them" (8:2). The book doesn't say why there was silence, or what it means, and these notes don't either.

The verses

“When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.”
Revelation 8:1-2 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Revelation 8

Revelation 8: Silence in heaven

When the censer is thrown on the earth, "Thunders, sounds, lightnings, and an earthquake followed." (8:5). John used the same words of the throne: "Out of the throne proceed lightnings, sounds, and thunders." (4:5). Here they come in the other order, with an earthquake.

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Last reviewed October 12, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions