Seal Seven – Prayers of the Saints

As Ascension approached – we can only hear it if we are silent.

 

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God. Rev 8:1-4

Contained within the seventh seal are the seven trumpets. We could wonder if these trumpets sound the seven different tones of the musical scale; each note carrying the melody to reveal the harmony when the seventh note sounds. Although, the descriptions of the six trumpets seem to be most discordant.

These trumpets give us a real clue about what develops in our consciousness next. Since we are considering how the seventh seal reveals the qualities of our higher faculty of Inspiration then it stands to reason that the faculty of hearing is introduced. What is now added to our faculty of Imagination – our ability to observe spiritually in images – is an extra dimension of sound. We could compare this to the difference of looking at a trumpet and hearing it being played.

The entry of the spiritual faculty of Inspiration into our Imagination could go unnoticed if we are not observant. We certainly would not hear it if we doubted that images can emit sound. Perhaps this is why John tells us that “there was silence in heaven (our higher consciousness) for about half an hour.” Probably the silence is necessary so that we are able to get used to this new kind of hearing.

The silence could also indicate that we have to quieten the babble which continually goes on in our being. For what we are about to hear is a completely different form of sound, on a different wave length. This kind of sound goes unnoticed in our daily lives; like the sound of a stick hitting an object which automatically informs us of the size of the stick. Or the sound of a knock that automatically tells us about the density of the thing being knocked. Many of us don’t pay particular attention to these things because our mind is too full of the day’s events.

Unless we are able to experience silence, we will never experience Inspiration. Silence is a very uncomfortable experience. Try sitting with friends in silence, it is excruciating. Try thinking of nothing, even for five minutes. Then try paying attention to every detail that meets the senses; sound, sight, smell, for just five minutes of the day – especially while you are busy doing something.

Seventh Seal by Rudolf Steiner

Kristina Kaine from The Virgin and Harlot, an interpretation of the Book of Revelation