Revelation 8:5 Commentary and Bible Study

Now the scene changes. The period of silence has ended. What happens next must be interpreted as heaven’s response to the prayers of the saints, for it is the same angel who just offered up the prayer of the saints. God is very angry and the people of the earth are about to feel his anger. The angel takes fire from the altar for a very different purpose. That fire from the altar which burns to destroy the sacrifice will not burn any less fiercely to destroy the enemies of God. If God has poured out his undiluted anger on his only Son because of his uncompromising commitment to justice and the enforcement of his law, he will certainly not spare those who despise his offer of mercy and continue in their rebellion. The same fire from the altar that burned for the salvation of the elect, will now burn for the destruction of the wicked.The censer filled with fire is thrown to the earth as an indication of what the earth can expect to follow. That symbolic gesture should give the earth great cause for alarm. Immediately afterwards various fearful disturbances begin to take place. These are tokens of God’s anger. Let the earth tremble because of what it has done to the saints and because of how it has disdained his law. The destruction of the earth which follows is implemented through angels, but originates in the heart of God. The Lord has heard the prayers of his people. Though he bears for a long time with their complaints, it is not because he is unmoved by their sufferings. The Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for his people. He does so with great sympathy. He has added his prayers to theirs, asking the Father to keep them from the evil one and bring them to heaven where they may see his glory. He has urged them not to exercise vengeance themselves because vengeance belongs to God. But God’s vengeance will now begin to come.