There was silence.—“Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence.” (Jer. 8:14.) “They (the clergy) somehow realize that neither reason nor Scripture supports their false doctrines, and that the wisest method is to keep silent, in the shadow of old superstitions and under the protection of so‐called Christian governments.”—C. 158.
In heaven.—In the nominal ecclesiastical heavens.
About the space of half an hour.—On the scale of a year for a day this would mean but a week, and indicates that, as soon as the full number to complete the Body of Christ have been sealed with the Present Truth, persecution in a public way, and on an unprecedented scale, may be expected to begin almost immediately. (This verse should properly be included in Chapter 7.)
8:2. And I saw.—As the next vision of the grand series. Something never seen until the seventh seal is broken and the Mystery of God finished.
The seven angels.—Instrumentalities suitable for the work to be performed.
Which stood before God.—Featuring the _Reformation_.
And to them were given seven trumpets.—Bugles with which to blow bugle‐ blasts of liberty from the oppressions of the papacy, leading up to and including the final blast of “Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”—Lev. 25:10.
8:3. And another angel.—Not the “voice of the Lord,” mentioned in the preceding chapter, but the corporate body—the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, which Pastor Russell formed to finish his work. This verse shows that, though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the Harvest work. “THE WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY is the greatest corporation in the world, because from the time of its organization until now the Lord has used it as His channel through which to make known the Glad Tidings.”‐Z. ’17‐22; Rev. 14:18; 19:17.
Came and stood.—Waited before the Lord, after the Pastor’s death, ready to do the Master’s will.
At the altar.—The Brazen Altar, the place of sacrifice. (Ex. 38:1‐7; Lev. 16:12, 13.) The fire for the sacrifice at the Golden Altar was obtained here and then carried to the Golden Altar where the incense was crumbled in it.