(1) And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. (2) And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
I pause at the very entrance on this Chapter, to observe, that the silence which is said to have been in heaven, by the space of half an hour, at the opening of the seventh seal, is not to be supposed, (indeed it cannot be supposed), as if there was any pause in the presence of God and the Lamb in heaven. This would not correspond with all the other accounts in scripture, which are given of that blessed place. We are told that the glorious multitude, cease not night nor day, praising God and the Lamb, Revelation 4:8. But it is spoken rather of the Church, which is sometimes, and not unfrequently called heaven, and the heavenly Jerusalem coming down from heaven, Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 21:2. And the silence of half an hour, seems only to have been a short prelude while the Angels were preparing to sound their trumpets, and the Angel at the altar offered incense.
The period of the history of the Church, which appears to correspond to this vision, according to the best calculations, seems to have been towards the close of the reign of Constantine. The Empire was become Christian in profession, and, as such, might be said to have peace from Paganism, and this is perhaps represented by silence for half an hour. But this was only a calm, before a tremendous storm. For, as soon as the Angels began to sound their trumpets, the awful persecutions, which arose from intestine wars, and springing out of damnable errors in doctrine, brought greater evils, than all the opposition from heathens.