Dead Christians fuel Heaven's Doomsday Weapon
The mystery of the Golden Censer (Revelation 8)
In this article we will examine one of the strangest and most amazing prophecies in the Bible: that of the Christian martyrs whose souls are kept under the altar in Heaven, and the “Golden Censer” which God will use to devastate the world, to avenge our deaths.
The Death of the Church
We’ve talked about Jesus breaking of the fourth seal, unleashing the green horse and its rider, called Death. This Satanic institution, priesthood, or global movement has the divine authorization to kill 25% of the world with a variety of methods. The grave follows it. It may very well be some kind of New Age mother earth cult obsessed with population reduction, mysticism, paranormal beings, and miracles that seem to defy traditional Christian thinking. The fourth seal and the remainder of Revelation from this point will deal with future events.
It’s unclear whether the breaking of the fifth seal interrupts the reign of Death, or follows it. When the horrific age of Death and Hades is completed, what will the world look like? It’s easy to slip into “Apocalypse” thinking and assume that the whole world is unrecognizable and desolate, like in movies. But we know that only a fourth part of the world will be killed by the time that the fifth seal is broken, so it’s possible that the other 75% may hardly even notice. But because each seal seems to empower Satan to reclaim and expand authority over the globe, it’s more likely that the 25% who die will compel the remainder to worship Rome or the Satanic elite with new fear and enthusiasm. At the same time, this group may have an effective enough propaganda system to create the sense that there is no conspiracy behind the population reduction, and deceive the world with some other blasphemy altogether. This is one reason why the fifth seal is so fascinating:
(Revelation 6:9-11) And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
Then long white robes were given to them, and it was said to them that they should rest yet a while, until also their fellow servants and their brothers, who were about to be killed as also they were, should complete their course.
Before we analyze the details of this passage, notice that an entire seal of the seven-sealed book is devoted to this one little scene in heaven. That is incredible. Considering that the previous ones spanned hundreds of years and massive worldwide transformations, this seems extremely minute and intimate by comparison. But what does it tell us? Remember that each seal is pre-written by God the Father in the first century already, which means that even the complaints of these martyrs was planned by God, and must happen according to prophecy. God wants there to be angry, impatient Christian martyrs in heaven!
Apparently Jesus needed to break the seal in order to authorize this interaction in heaven, placing the souls of the martyrs under the altar. They are not placed on the altar, as a sacrifice, but rather underneath it, as kindling. Why would Jesus put these particular martyrs there, of all places? Being under an altar doesn’t sound very pleasant compared to sitting on thrones or playing harps. The poor souls were just barely killed by a horrific Satanic conspiracy, and this is their reward? Not quite. They do receive white robes, validating them and welcoming them to heaven, and they will be resting, albeit under the altar.
The Frozen Christians
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Perhaps they are placed as kindling because they are burning with righteous anger, loudly crying out to God, demanding to know how long God will wait to avenge their blood on the people who remain on earth, and participated in the genocide. This speaks to their passion for justice, but also their ignorance. Despite being true saints who call God “holy and true” and are willing to die for the word of God, these martyrs aren’t content. They want immediate retribution. Anyone who believes in the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” doctrine would fit nicely into this category, assuming they can keep the faith until the bitter end. And even those who believe in a Rapture that takes place during or toward the end of the Tribulation might be impatient, wanting God to save their brethren from death and fulfill the promise to spare some believers. However, the answer they receive is not what they expect. They are told that they need to relax and wait a while, “until also their fellow servants and their brothers, who were about to be killed as also they were, should complete their course.” This means that there are still Christians on the earth who haven’t been killed but are about to be, and they must complete their course and be killed before God will avenge them. In other words, there is no Rapture here!
The mystery of the trumpets and golden censer
Remember those martyrs under the altar? They cried out for vengeance, but were told to rest and wait until the rest of the Christians were killed. The church on earth is dies and the 144,000 Israelite elect are sealed in their foreheads (Revelation 7:3-4), God can finally proceed with answering their prayers. God wants to unleash worldwide destruction on a collective people worthy of suffering, not try to enact individual punishments while the righteous are nearby and possibly in harm’s way.
It’s easy to understand the role of “trumpets” in this prophecy, because we need only to think about what the function of real trumpets were in the ancient world. Seals are meant to certify, protect, and hide something important, but trumpets are the opposite: they are very loud, distinct, and are meant to alert or warn people far and wide. Trumpets were used to signal something’s approach. If you heard a bunch of trumpets sound all at once you might expect the arrival of an army led by a dignitary, ambassador, or king, for instance. It’s no coincidence that these destructive angels, as well as the two witnesses, and Jesus will all arrive on earth during the time of the seven trumpets, not before. Even though God’s plans had been a total secret happening in the fog of history before, during the first six seals, the last seal is the unleashing of blatant signs and wonders, given to a post-church, Satanic New World Order about to receive judgment.
(Revelation 8:3-5) And another angel came and stood at the altar [where the souls of the martyrs were], having a golden censer [a temple incense container]; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
How beautiful and poetic! As you’ll recall, the prayers of the saints were already symbolized as incense earlier in Revelation:
(Revelation 5:8) And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls [or vials] being filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
The thing about incense is that it can have a pleasant odor on its own, but it’s really meant to be burned in order to activate. The smoke of the incense burning is what makes it spread and fill an area. Back in chapter 5 the incense is not said to be burning yet, and no smoke is described. Here in chapter 8, however, all of the incense from the previous saints seems to be combined into a giant golden censer, lit on fire from the heat of the martyrs who had been under the altar, and presented to God as a pleasant aroma. Then, taking fire from God’s own altar apparently, the angel turns and throws it to the earth, symbolizing a massive incoming destruction for the inhabitants of the earth!
This object is the combined prayer of all Christians, who want to see the world destroyed and burned with the fire. But it’s no ordinary fire. It is the furious indignation of God and the martyrs, thrown to the earth as a weapon, foreshadowing what kind of fate the earth will have! Just like in a temple, the fire and smoke of the censer will fill the earth and help to purify it before Jesus comes to his kingdom.
So, putting the scene together, we understand why the golden censer scene has to happen immediately after the seven trumpets are handed to the angels. Everything we’re seeing is connected to the murder of the church, the desire for revenge, the preparation of Jesus returning to earth, and the warning judgments that will terrify the wicked world. Meanwhile, the 144,000 elect Israelites are going to be spared this judgment, but witness it firsthand on earth!
(Revelation 8:6) So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound the trumpets.
Now, only after the censor is cast to the earth, can the angels sound their trumpets and fulfill in a physical, literal way what the golden censor just foreshadowed in a spiritual sense.
Conclusion
My interpretation connects many points in biblical prophecy, and it does so while deeply respecting the chronological ordering of Revelation. No other prophecy includes such specific ordering, with specific mention of one thing happening before another. This forces intellectually honest scholars to piece together a whole timeline, not just cherry pick images and events and scramble them together.
As for the “Rapture”, it is reserved for the 144,000 Israelites who are marked in their foreheads and spared the devastation of the “Golden Censer” event. They will witness everything, and as a result will fulfill many Old Testament prophecies about Israel.
When the Golden Censer (ie. gigantic flaming meteor) descends from the sky and impacts, it seems that it will be split into two halves, with one hitting the sea and the other hitting the land. If you’re interested in my interpretation of where this meteor is likely to land, and how it explains all of the subsequent “plagues” and “signs” that are explained in Revelation—such as the sky turning dark, the moon becoming blood red, the oceans turning into blood, and the “bottomless pit”—I’m happy to continue in another post.
For now, the important takeaway is that our prayers matter. God is storing them up. For now, they serve as pleasant incense in Heaven, where the martyrs and “elders” are watching world events below.
Some day, when we all start being killed, our cries for vengeance will burn hot enough to ignite all of it, and then God will use our prayers to build the Doomsday Weapon that will destroy the godless world after we’re gone. It’s beautiful, poetic, and explains why God is withholding His judgments until the time is right. He wants to unleash His full wrath when there are no Christians to be caught up as collateral damage.
So pray! Do it with such zeal that you can light the heavenly incense on fire!