Revelation 8:1,2 - There was silence in heaven

8:1

We now come to the seventh seal, though this seal actually just leads into another series of seven, the seven trumpets. The seven trumpets are much more severe than the seven seals. We could take this as the seven seals showing what things are like in general, with the seven trumpets (and the later seven bowls) telling of more climactic times. This sort of interpretation is lent weight by the fact that there is “silence in heaven for about half an hour”. Some take this to mean that God is listening to the prayers of His people, but a more likely explanation is that it is because of the climactic nature of the events that are about to unfold.

8:2

There were seven angels standing before God, and they were given seven trumpets. This signifies that there is something special about to happen. Before the nature of this event is revealed, there is a further aspect of how things work in heaven that will be revealed.