2. A VISION Revelation 8:3-6 3 And another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer;--The verses of this paragraph present a vision of worship after the manner of the Jewish tabernacle service, which is declared to be a figure of the "true tabernacle." (Hebrews 8:2; Hebrews 9:1-11.) Therefore this was an appropriate way to represent a worship scene, and would be understood by all because they were familiar with that method of worship. Christians who knew the typical nature of Jewish worship would not be sur-prised when John described this pictorial scene in heaven. There was the brazen altar of sacrifice in the outer court, and the golden altar of incense in the holy place of the tabernacle over against (in front of) the mercy seat in the most holy place. Incense was offered in the holy place at the golden altar, but the fire was obtained from the brazen altar. (Leviticus 16:12-13.) and there was given unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.--All along in the visions John saw God upon the throne in heaven. The golden altar which he saw in this vision was before the throne; hence, no doubt that the vision was in heaven. (See also Revelation 4:1.) In Revelation 5:6 the golden bowls of incense were said to be "the prayers of the saints," probably meaning that incense typically represented prayer. In the text above is a similar worship scene, but it is said the angel should "add it" unto the prayers of all saints. Perhaps the idea is that incense was symbolically represented as bearing their prayers up to God. The thought in both passages is substantially the same. While the priests were inside the temple burning incense, the people were outside praying. (Luke 1:9-10.) Hence, appropriately the incense was repre-sented as prayer or as bearing the prayers up to God. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand.--Here it is said that the incense went up "with" the prayers of the saints, but the margin says "for" the prayers. This will harmonize better with the words in 5:8, and show that incense is an emblem of prayer. In the seventh chapter we have the sealing of the servants of God, after which the four angels were to let loose the destructive winds which would hurt the earth. These referred to the terrible disasters that would occur when the first four trumpets would sound. This vision of the saints' prayers ascending to God evidently means that they were pleading for mercy and help to sustain them in such fearful times as were about to come upon them. At least the vision was designed to encourage the saints to perseverance in prayer as a means of preserving their faith. The evident general purpose of all these visions was not only to warn the saints of dangers that had to be met, but also to prepare them for successfully meeting any difficulties that might come to them. 5 And the angel taketh the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth:--Here the .censer, but no incense, was filled with fire from the brazen altar and the angel cast it upon the earth. "Much incense"--many prayers--had been offered to God, but in spite of all of them the destructive powers represented by the four winds had to come. This is here symbolized by casting the coals of fire upon the earth. and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake.--Casting down the coals of fire indicated fearful judgments that were to fall upon the earth, which, as viewed in these symbols, was limited to that part controlled by the Roman Empire at that time. The disturbances in the material elements here mentioned mean that these judgments in the form of commotions, destruction, and bloodshed were doing their deadly work. They are symbols which are more fully described in the visions of the first four trumpets in the following verses. They are not to be taken literally, but there is no reason why the word "prayers" here should not be thus understood. Again we have evidence that literal expressions may be used as a part of a description which, in the main, is symbolical. 6 And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets pre-pared themselves to sound.--Trumpets were used to give warning or announce some events. (Joshua 6:16 Joe 2:1; Joe 2:15 ; 1 Corinthians 15:52.) The silence of verse 1 had ended, the coals of fire had been thrown upon the earth and the angels pre-pared to sound. As each trumpet was sounded there appeared before John the vision of dreadful disasters. What do these pictures represent? Who were primarily affected by them? Here again the expositor stands on treacherous ground, and should move with special care and caution. Having already accepted the view that Revelation portrays the history of the church from the time John saw the visions, including also the nations with which it came in contact, we are forced to say that these trumpet visions referred to the church and the Ro-man Empire. Constantine placed imperial approval upon the church--Rome and Christianity were allied. During the reign of Theodosius, A.D. 381-395, Christianity triumphed and Paganism was de-stroyed. Gibbon says: "The zeal of the emperors was excited to vindicate their own honor, and that of the Deity: and the temples of the Roman world were subverted, about sixty years after the conversion of Constantine." (Decline and Fall, Vol. III, p. 131.) It was between the endorsement of Christianity by Constantine and the destruction of Paganism that the seal-ing of the servants of God was in progress, as mentioned in chapter seven. After the destruction of Paganism in the Roman Empire, the next important period in her history ended with the fall of the empire itself in A.D. 476. The view of several commentators is that the visions that appear at the sounding of the first four trumpets refer to the destructive pow-ers which accomplished that end. This not only seems the most plausible, but harmonizes best with the general principle of interpretation that both the church and Rome must be included in any view that is correct. Therefore the four outstanding pow-ers that came against the Roman Empire after the death of Theodosius, A.D. 396, must be the ones signified by the four symbolic trumpets.