This past week I was listening to a book when the author brought up the verse in Revelation 8 that talks about silence in heaven for the space of half an hour and expressed a couple things that made me immediately go and review these scriptures. The book of Revelation (a singular revelation, not revelations) was written while John was on the Isle of Patmos. It describes events to take place in the last days describing the signs of the times prior to Christ’s return, the tribulations to occur, and the deliverance of the Lord’s people through those events, and the establishment of the millennial rule of Christ. To be clear, I’m no authority on these things and am just sharing some things I find interesting to invite further study on your part.
Here is the verse:
Revelation 8:1 “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.”
The purpose of prophecy is to give us waypoint markers, but we don’t always know what these things mean or when they will happen until we experience them. The prophet Nephi taught this regarding the prophecies of Isaiah (who also wrote about things similar to John).
2 Nephi 25:7 But behold, I proceed with mine own prophecy, according to my plainness; in the which I know that no man can err; nevertheless, in the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass.
This is intentional on the part of the Lord and his prophets. Things are obfuscated so that only those who search, seek, and knock, have things opened to them in advance, but as Nephi wrote, in the days of the fulfillment of these things, everyone will know as they happen that they are being fulfilled.
A Waypoint on The Divine Timeline
Assuming the earth’s timeline matches up as the scriptures seem to indicate with each of the seven seals mentioned opening at the start of each 1,000 years (and it’s not the purpose of this article to prove that out), this seventh seal would have opened around the year 2000 (give or take a little for potential calendar differences which have been debated).
We know from 2 Peter 3:8 that with the Lord, one of his days is as a thousand of our days on earth.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
So if a day to the Lord equals 1,000 years to us, dividing 1,000 by 24 hours in a day, would be approximately 42 earth years in one hour of the Lord’s time, or 21 years for a half-hour (more precisely, 21,002 stardates for you Trekkers…). This would put the verse in Revelation 8:1 in the time frame of 2021, but also note that the verse uses the word “about” so it’s a rough estimation and not meant to be exactly on the half hour. About could be viewed as plus or minus a few years, particularly if the calendar is off, but lets just realize, we’re very, very close.
Greek Meanings
I then went to Strong’s concordance in the Blue Letter Bible site and looked at this verse in the Greek which you can do from any verse in Scripture Notes by clicking the links button by the verse.
The word for half-hour is hēmiōrion (Pron. ha-me-o’-re-on) and literally means half an hour. This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament.
Shhhhhh… Be quiet…
The word for silence is sigē (Pron. se-gay) and means silence, but in the sense of “to hush.” The only other time this word is used in the New Testament is in Acts 21:40 where Paul hushes a crowd so he can speak to them. He’s trying to have everyone be still so they can hear his words, which reminds me of this verse:
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
I can’t help but see that this 21 years isn’t that heaven is silent and unspeaking, but that God is trying to get us to be quiet to he can speak. Man isn’t very good at listening to God, so perhaps what follows the opportunity for silence (repentance) is meant to be the “let me speak a little louder and see if you’ll listen now” stage of events. What follows this verse are the beginning of 3 woes. The first woe are 5 angels sounding their trumpets that bring devastation to the earth. The second woe is tied to the 6th angel, and the third woe to the 7th. I will not go into those in this article.
Doing a search for “silence” in the scriptures yields a few dozen results, a number of which are relevant to this topic of people being silent as the Lord is revealed:
Isaiah 41:1. Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
Habakkuk. 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Zechariah 2:13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
But more particularly clear are a couple verses in modern day revelation in the Doctrine & Covenants.
D&C 38:11 For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven-
12 Which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned; and, behold, the enemy is combined.
Remember, immediately after the silence the 7 angels of destruction are waiting to blow their trumpets and activate the woes upon the earth. The enemy is combined is another way of saying the self-selection process has occurred where some have embraced and upheld secret “combin[e]”-ations and joined themselves to the tares that will be burned. They have no promise of protection.
In an April 1993 General Conference address, Elder Neal A. Maxwell stated:
“Yes, ‘the enemy is combined,’ but when we are combined with the Lord’s ‘chariots of fire,’ then ‘they that be with us are more than they that be with them’! (2 Kings. 6:16-17) Furthermore, the divine promise is that no weapon formed against the Lord’s work shall finally prosper; this ‘is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.’ (Isa. 54:17; D&C 71:9.) I so assure; I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!”
We also have this statement by Wilford Woodruff.
God has held the angels of destruction for many years, lest they should reap down the wheat with the tares. But I want to tell you now, that those angels have left the portals of heaven, and they stand over this people and this nation now, and are hovering over the earth waiting to pour out the judgments. And from this very day they shall be poured out. Calamities and troubles are increasing in the earth, and there is a meaning to these things.
Remember this, and reflect upon these matters. If you do your duty, and I do my duty, we’ll have protection, and shall pass through the afflictions in peace and in safety. Read the scriptures and the revelations. They will tell you about all these things. Great changes are at our doors. The next twenty years will see mighty changes among the nations of the earth. You will live to see these things, whether I do or not. “Wilford Woodruff, Collected Discourses 1888 – 1898, speech given June 24, 1894.
This prophecy was fulfilled and is merely an indication of the judgments of God having already commenced, not that these are THE 7 angels referenced in Revelation 8 and beyond.
Another scripture that is more heavily tied into Revelation 8:1 is:
D&C 88:95 And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled;
The word immediately here is an indication that things will happen rapidly and not be drawn out and delayed, because if they were drawn out, the Lord informed us:
Mark 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
Immediately is on the Lord’s timetable, not man’s understanding of the word that it will happen as soon as the half-hour is complete.
Before we get Woe’d – the Gatherers are Called
So assuming these things are right on the verge of happening, is it any wonder that President Nelson has asked us to become much more practiced at getting personal revelation? The greatest deceptions in the history of the world are about to unfold, even greater than the deceptions of the magicians of Egypt in Moses’ day. Then the greatest plagues will occur, as they did in Moses’ day. Then the greatest exodus of deliverance will occur as the Lord gathers Israel out of every nation just as he did in Moses’ day. But instead of a single Moses, just prior to this event of the silence in heaven being completed and the woes coming forth, the Lord calls 144,000 servants in Revelation 7 to participate in this great gathering.
Rev. 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
In modern day revelation we get this added insight to this calling.
D&C 77:11 Q. What are we to understand by sealing the one hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel-twelve thousand out of every tribe? A. We are to understand that those who are sealed are high priests, ordained unto the holy order of God, to administer the everlasting gospel; for they are they who are ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels to whom is given power over the nations of the earth, to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn.
What’s interesting to me is the possibility that the verses at the end of Revelation 7 may be a reference to the mortal status and privileges of these individuals and their work to bring people to the Church of the Firstborn.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
It’s possible that this is an indication that these people and those they rescue who go through the great tribulations poured out after the half-hour of silence, become sanctified and enter into the Church of the Firstborn in heaven by being translated where the light of Christ provides all the life sustaining energy you need. Therefore they do not hunger and thirst or are affected by mortal ailments and circumstances. God takes away their sorrows such that they only sorrow for the sins of the world (as other translated beings have been promised – 3 Nephi 28:9, 38; 4 Nephi 1:44).
While this interpretation by me is purely speculative, we do know that for us to receive the city of Enoch back to earth to join with the New Jerusalem, Zion must be established and we be like them, which is a translated status.
Moses 7:63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
This is the greatest time in the history of the world and it is our joy and privilege to be here for these remarkable events, to witness the tribulation and come through it to enter the great millennial reign of Christ the King.
(Featured image by avdeev3000 @ 123rf.com)
Deceptions are everywhere! Global Warming and climate change, critical race theory, 1619 project, Book of Mormon Translation, Book of Mormon Geography, revisionist history in the church and America, election fraud and corruption, Covid-19 lockdowns and masks, evolution and the age of the earth, etc. We are in a battle for truth.
As your blog states, Wilford Woodruff stated on June 24, 1894, “The next twenty years will see mighty changes among the nations of the earth.” In Sep 1894, Japan goes to war against China over Korea. Utah became a state in 1896. In 1898, the Spanish American War began. In 1901, President McKinley was assassinated. The first Airplane flew in 1903. World War I began on 28 July 1914.
HOW IS IT DONE – Hope this helps?
One Biblical Week is 7 Years
“Silence for half an hour (Rev.8.1) before God’s wrath begins“. If One hour is 15 days, then One half hour must 7.5 days. Translation, – Biblical time to Gregorian.
The “hour of temptation” (Revelation 3:10) is equivalent to 15 days, if Daniel’s Seventieth Week (1 week) equals 2,520 days. One hour would be 1/168 of a week or .0059523 of a week, which is 15 days.
7 days is 7 Years
360 Days X 7 Biblical Years = 2520 Days for 7 Biblical Years
360 Days X 24 Hours = 8640 Hours for 360 Biblical Days
1 week X 7 days X 24 Hours = 168 hours
1 week = 7 years
7 years X 360 Days = 2520 Days for 7 Biblical Years
one hour or 1 week
(1) hour/168 hours = 0.005952380952381 of a week
2520 days X 0.005952380952381 = 15 days
one half hour for 1 week
(.5) hour/168 hours = 0.0029761904761905 of a week
2520 days X 0.0029761904761905 = 7.5 days
Proof Only
1 week X 7 days X 24 Hours = 168 hours
(168) hour/168 hours = 1 week
2520 days X 1 = 2520 days
So just before the wrath can start, the Rapture must occur, just after Revelation 14:14. This means we have a 7.5 Day wait time after Revelation 8.1 (NKJV).
Interesting take Bill. Thanks for sharing.
Notes: Revealing Revelation by Amir Tsarfati, this book adds some interesting details in chapter 2. Apparently, the military and government have been looking at Wormwood.
All Chapters and Versus come from NKJV.
I have double-checked this document.
You are the first one to see it.
You are bang on Bill :)
And I believe the 7.5 days of silence are just about to start – when they say “peace and safety” 1 Thess 5;3 thank you.
Who do you think could send an angel to the Lord Jesus Christ setting on a cloud with an order – to reap? This, I believe, fills in the statement “only G_D ” can”.
1 Thessalonians 5
King James Version
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Revelation 14:14-15
King James Version
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe
The half hour of silence in heaven began when the Lamb broke the 6th seal (even though in John’s vision he first mentions it after the 7th) and this half hour can be thought of as the transition period between the Lord’s earthly ministry and heavenly ministry.
The seven seals opened by the Lamb and the half hour of silence in heaven relate to events recorded in the Gospels and first two chapters of the Book of Acts.
For the sake of understanding all should be identified.
……………
overview: the first four seals were called out from the throne through the mouths of the living creatures because they were all from the Lord’s youth.
when the Lamb broke the 1st seal is the only time the living creature called out “come” with a “voice of thunder”…. this was about the birth and earthly life of the Lord. the living creature was the one with the face of a man since the Lord became human flesh.
when the Lamb broke the 2nd seal another living creature said “come” and the red horse came with Herod the Great being the rider and seeking to kill the Lord resulting in great bloodshed in Israel… (as you know Joseph and Mary took the Lord and fled to Egypt). the living creature that called this out had the face of a lion.
when the Lamb broke the 3rd seal another living creature said “come” and on this horse was a rider with a pair of scales. the rider was the emperor Augustus and in the scale on one side was Marc Antony and Cleopatra who attempted to rebel against Rome, and in the scale on the other side was Augustus’ sister Octavia the Younger who had been the wife of Marc Antony and mother of his daughter. Augustus chose his sister and when he became emperor declared all of Egypt to be his “private property”, as well as the private property of his successors, which made Egypt different from all other provinces of the Roman empire.
so the compensation that Egypt received from Rome for their wheat and barley was next to nothing …… but meanwhile back in Israel they were exporting olive oil and wine to Rome at a fair value. (there was no famine but the scripture was all about the economic circumstances in Egypt vs. Israel)
now the way i figure things Joseph and Mary were likely running low on funds from what they had received from the magi and whatever else they had had about this time.
it was at this time that the prophecy was fulfilled “out of Egypt i called My Son” …… so the living creature that called this out had the face of an eagle just as when God had brought Israel out of Egypt on eagle’s wing in the days of Moses.
now when the Lamb broke the fourth seal the final living creature said come and the rider on this horse was named “death” and was a representation of the whole Roman empire.
now after Herod the Great was dead his son Archelaus was ethnarch of Judea for over nine years until Augustus became displeased with him and Augustus deposed him, and for the first time Judea came under direct control of Rome which is the point of the scripture mentioning them here.
but with Archelaus now gone we find the Lord for the first time at the age of about twelve in Jerusalem talking about scripture in the temple and as He said “taking care of His Father’s business”….. so the living creature that called this out had the face of an oxen because from His youth the Lord was already plowing the fields.
it was also sometime about this time that Augustus had ordered the Syrian legate Quirinius to take a census of Israel which led to the revolt by Judas of Galilee mentioned in Acts 5:37… but i don’t believe this had anything to do with the Lord’s being in Jerusalem at this time and rather since the scriptures say he was “about twelve” i believe He and His family were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.
side note: no scholar has ever been able to explain Luke 2:1 and 2 saying Joseph and Mary were in Jerusalem for the census of Quirinius at the time of the birth of the Lord when it’s known that the census happened after Archlaus was deposed.
everything in scripture points to Joseph and Mary being in Jerusalem at the time of the Lord’s birth to observe the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
going back to the seals:
when the Lamb broke the 5th seal it talks of the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained under the alter crying out for their blood to be avenged, Christians have died asking for forgiveness of those who killed them so these are the souls of the prophets from old and givers of the law. they were given white robes and told to wait a little while longer until the last of their fellow servants should also be killed. this was accomplished with the Lord’s death.
this is what is spoken of in Matthew 5:17 when the Lord said not to think He had come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but rather He had come to fulfill them. (this is how the Lord chose to sum up his earthly ministry)
we’ll start next with the math for the “half hour of silence in heaven” from the 8th chapter of Revelations.
………………………………….
the math is based on the formula from the 9th chapter of Daniel where each week is made up of 7 days with each day being 1 year long.
we are concerned here with the final 70th week because that is the period of time from when the Lord started His ministry until the faith was opened to the Gentiles.
so we convert those 7 years into days by multiplying 360 times 7 and that gives us 2,520 days.
now using the precedent in scripture from Genesis 2:4 where the seven days of creation were combined together and referred to as “the day the Lord God created heaven and earth” we will likewise call this 70th week (or 2,520 days) a single day.
since we’re looking for a half hour and there are 48 in each day…. we divide 2,520 by 48 which gives us 52.5 days.
so 52.5 days is about a half hour in heaven.
now when the Lamb broke the 6th seal in Revelations the Lord was crucified and scriptures first speak of the consequences of that for those who rejected Him, and afterward the consequences for those who accepted Him.
but between the two consequences in Revelations 7:1-3 the command is given to hold back the 4 winds of the earth until the followers of the Lord are sealed in their foreheads …… thus the clock starts ticking on the half hour of silence upon the death of the Lord.
now some 3 days later the Lamb broke the 7th seal by being raised from the dead as had been decreed from the throne of God through the mouth of His only begotten Son back when He said “destroy this temple and I will raise it up in 3 days.
but a days before this event the 50 days of Pentecost had begun so there was a 1 day overlap of the 3 days the Lord was buried and the 50 days of Pentecost.
that time period of about 52.5 days is our “about a half hour of silence in heaven”.
now during this time the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world was granted all power in heaven and earth and therefore was no longer the Lamb.
the next we see Him is in Revelations 8:3-5 when He is now acting as the “priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (spoken of in Psalm 110) and He “stood at the alter, holding a golden censer, and much incense was given to Him, that He might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden alter which was before the throne. and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the Angel’s hand. and the Angel took the censer and He filled it with the fire of the alter and threw it to the earth”.
and those embers fell on the followers of the Lord who were gathered together in a room in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and they appeared as tongues of fire resting on each one of them and they received the Holy Spirit and were thus “sealed in their foreheads”.
and at that moment the “half hour of silence in heaven” was finished and Peter was given understanding of the words that the Lord had spoken to him that by his mouth the keys to the kingdom of heaven be revealed.
people today don’t seem to realize that when the Lord was here on earth in the flesh all baptisms only happened with Him present as a “witness”.
that is why John 4:2 says “Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples were”.
and the lack of the Lord’s physical presence to act as a witness is the reason why when the 12 apostles and later 70 disciples were sent out healing and casting out demons in His Name, they were not authorized to baptize.
1 John 5:5-8 explains the requirements of a valid baptism but all English translations have a corruption that requires correction to its original form.
Codex Sinaiticus only has the correct version of 1 John 5:6 which should read “this is the one who came by water and blood and the Spirit of Jesus Christ”.
make that simple correction and 1 John 5:5-9 will become a Oneness believer’s best friend.
so the Day of Pentecost was the first time men were granted authority to call upon the Name of the Lord so He would be actively present in the Spirit to both act as the “witness” spoken of in 1 John 5, and also to apply the blood of atonement on the believer being baptized.
you see …. a big part of the silence in heaven was the fact nobody was baptized during these 52.5 days (actually since before the Lord was incarcerated).
but through Peter’s mouth the keys to the kingdom of heaven are revealed when he tells them to “be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ” to invoke His active presence to both witness and anoint the one being baptized with His blood of atonement.
thanks for reading this.
You need to copy this to something like Notepad in order for the carriage returns to form two columns
TIMELINE OF REVELATION 6:12 TO MID POINT OF THE TRIBULATION
Blood Moon as seen from Israel is Note: all dates based in Gregorian calendar
9/7/2025 Gregorian calendar Per Sunday, September 7, 2025
Revelation 6:12.
https://c.tadst.com/gfx/eclipses2/20250907/anim2d-380.mp4
Revelation 8:1 period of silence is 7.5 7.5 Days Result: Sunday, September 14, 2025, and 1/2 Day
days in duration
Rapture Occurs! Revelation 14:14 – Reap Begins on Sunday, September 14, 2025, and 12 Hours
Revelation 11:13 in that hour there was a 15 Days Result: Monday, September 29, 2025, and 1/2 Day
great earthquake, and a tenth of the city
collapsed. Seven thousand people were
killed in the earthquake, and the rest were
awestruck and gave glory to the God of
heaven.
Revelation 14:7 In a loud voice he said, 15 Days Result: Tuesday, October 14, 2025, and 1/2 Day
“Fear God, give him glory, for the hour
has come when he will pass judgment!
Worship the One who made heaven and
earth, the sea and the springs of water!”
Half of Tribulation is 3-1/2 years. 3.5 Years Saturday, April 14, 2029, and 1/2
————————————————————
Total: Saturday, April 14, 2029 and 1/2 Day
Note: one half Day is 12 hours
Apophis/Wormwood arrival: Saturday, April 14, 2029, Gregorian calendar
Reference: .5 Days or one and a half Days or 12 hours
Notes:
Is Apophis ,Wormwood the Apocalyptic Asteroid
APOPHIS – asteroid headed toward earth Saturday, April 14, 2029, which some believe could be the apocalyptic star
“Wormwood” mentioned in Revelation.
On the other hand, it is expected that Apophis will pass by Earth (on April 14, 2029, and 30 March 2036). However,
the asteroid will stay far away from Earth and will not come any closer than 31 ,600 kilometers or 19,600 miles above Earth.
Biblical Date to Gregorian conversion
1 week X 7 days X 24 Hours = 168 hours one hour
1 week = 7 years (1) hour/168 hours = 0.005952380952381 of a week
7 years X 360 Days = 2520 Days for 7 Biblical Years 2520 days X 0.005952380952381 = 15 days
Most people see the versus through words as time found in G5610 below. I submit that this answer is in New Testament (Greek) for “time” or “hour”
G5610 ὥρα ōra hour, time, season, misc.
Any of the words’ hour, time, season. misc are viewed as synonyms.
Old Testament (Hebrew) for “hour”
H8160 שָׁעָה šāʿâ hour
New Testament (Greek) for “hour”
G2256 ἡμιώριον hēmiōrion half an hour
G5610 ὥρα ōra hour, time, season, misc
New Testament (Greek) for “time”
G5610 ὥρα ōra hour, time, season, misc
hour
What Is the Recent Creation View?
The most popular view has been to consider the days in Genesis as literal or solar days – twenty-four hours in length. Most people who believe the days are literal twenty-four hour periods hold to what is known as the Recent Creation View. They believe that the creation.
time – note: does not appear in time.
time
Rev 14:7
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
For the “hour” of his judgment. Becomes, for the “time” or “season” of his creation.
hour
Rev 3:10
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
See how easy it is to slip into (“keep thee from the “time” of temptation).
It’s a number – 15 Days
Now look at where the word hour appears in Revelation. Each point is carefully selected to form a pattern.
Why, this was never random. An earthquake would kill children! So do you think Lord Jesus Christ would allow this.
Revelation 11:13 in that hour there was a 15 Days Result: Monday, September 29, 2025, and 1/2 Day
great earthquake, and a tenth of the city
collapsed. Seven thousand people were
killed in the earthquake, and the rest were
awestruck and gave glory to the God of
heaven.