Silence

Silence


One of the Bible’s major themes is the fear of the Lord.  When we understand who he is, then we rightly revere and worship him for his supremely gracious character, a character proven by his deeds on our behalf.  And when we understand his almighty power—that our very existence and our deliverance from his judgment and wrath depend on his mercy—then “the fear of the Lord” becomes not only reverence but also “fear itself,” a holy and healthy fear which “is the beginning of wisdom.” (Prov.9:10)
A related theme in the Bible is the day of the Lord, or Judgment Day.  Because it lies in the future, Judgment Day is a subject of prophecy.  As with some other prophetic subjects, Judgment Day often has both a near-term and an ultimate reference in Scripture.  The near-term reference might be a catastrophic flood which will kill off most of the human race, or a military siege by the Babylonians which will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, or a later siege by the Romans which will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple yet again.  In all such cases, though, the ultimate reference is a point in history at which God will intervene personally and drastically to end history as we have known it, take his people and transform them, and judge and destroy his enemies.  (The choice, by the way, of which group you are in is up to you.  Which group do you want to be in?  You do have to choose, and there is no third option.)
Another related theme in the Bible is our silence before the Lord.  For instance, Psalm 46:10:  “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  The Hebrew for “be still” can be understood in the sense of “calm down”:  Calm your fears and anxieties; I am God, and I am in control of all things, including your circumstances.  Or the Hebrew could also reasonably be translated “Shut up!” We can understand easily enough why God has to shut us up. We are, in our teeming millions, forever gossiping, laughing, yelling, arguing, boasting, cursing, cheering and jeering.  God has always had to do drastic things to get our attention.
So the word of God repeatedly tells us to be quiet.  “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” (Hab.2:20)  “Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” (Zech.2:13)  And as Paul puts it in the New Testament, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Rom.3:19)
At least one of these admonitions relates our silence to the day of the Lord:  “Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near.” (Zeph.1:7)  And later on in Scripture this command receives a solemn fulfillment (though the fulfillment is still prophetic, since it hasn’t happened yet).  This occurs in the book of Revelation.  In the fifth chapter of Revelation there is a tumultuous celebration in honor of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God: “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” (Rev.5:11-12)  Then in chapter 7 the redeemed people of God join in the great celebration:  “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” (Rev.7:9-10)
Imagine the sound of more than a billion people, together with who knows how many billions of angels, singing their hearts out and blowing trumpets and clashing cymbals.  (By that time, presumably, we will have better ear drums.)  But, now, notice what happens next:  “When he [Jesus] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Rev.8:1)
We are accustomed, in public gatherings, to being asked to observe “a moment of silence.”  Such moments usually last less than a minute; if they last a full minute, it seems like half an hour.  Now imagine a full half hour of utter silence, all those billions of voices suddenly and absolutely hushed. Why? Because Jesus had just opened the seventh seal, commencing Judgment Day.  This will be one time when God won’t have to call us to silence.  This will be the most solemn moment in all history, when history as we know it will come to its disastrous end.  This will be “the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” (Joel 2:31)  The pause before the Judgment begins will be a long half hour.