Revilation 8: - April 27,2023
Revelation 8
New International Version
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
8 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
The Trumpets
6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
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Daniel 12
New International Version
The End Times
12 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise[a] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. 6 One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”
7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time.[b] When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”
8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”
9 He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
11 “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
13 “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”
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Joel 2
An Army of Locusts
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.
3 Before them fire devours,
behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
behind them, a desert waste—
nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;
they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face turns pale.
7 They charge like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
like thieves they enter through the windows.
10 Before them the earth shakes,
the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
Rend Your Heart
12 “Even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the Lord your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
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1 Enoch
20:1 These are the names of the angels who watch.
20:2 Uriel, one of the holy angels, who [presides] over clamor and terror.
20:3 Raphael, one of the holy angels, who [presides] over the spirits of men.
20:4 Raguel, one of the holy angels, who inflicts punishment on the world and the luminaries.
20:5 Michael, one of the holy angels, who, [presiding] over human virtue, commands the nations.
20:6 Sarakiel, one of the holy angels, who [presides] over the spirits of the children of men that transgress.
20:7 Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who [presides] over Ikisat, (31) over paradise, and over the cherubim.
(31) Ikisat. The serpents (Charles, p. 92; Knibb, p. 107).
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Chat-GPT
The significance of the half hour of silence in heaven when the seventh seal is opened in Revelation 8:1 is not entirely clear. However, there are several possible interpretations that have been suggested by biblical scholars and theologians.
One interpretation is that the silence represents a pause or a moment of solemnity before the final judgment begins. The opening of the seventh seal is a significant event, as it marks the beginning of the final judgments that will come upon the earth. The silence in heaven may represent a moment of reflection and preparation before the full weight of these judgments is unleashed upon the earth.
Another interpretation is that the silence represents a time of waiting or anticipation. In other parts of the Bible, silence is associated with waiting for God to act or for a prophetic word to be revealed (see, for example, Habakkuk 2:20 and Zephaniah 1:7). The silence in heaven may represent a period of waiting for the next phase of God's plan to unfold.
A third interpretation is that the silence represents the awesome and overwhelming nature of the events that are about to unfold. The judgments that are described in the following chapters of Revelation are horrific and catastrophic, and the silence may represent a moment of awe and reverence before the power and majesty of God.
Overall, the significance of the half hour of silence in heaven is a matter of interpretation and may have multiple meanings depending on one's theological perspective.
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Elon Musk Speaking about AI
I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I were to guess like what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with the artificial intelligence. Increasingly scientists think there should be some regulatory oversight maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it’s like yeah he’s sure he can control the demon. Didn’t work out.
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BizTech
Thanks to artificial intelligence, humans are about to have an identity crisis.
So argued Rohit Ghai, CEO of RSA Security, kicking off the cybersecurity conference that the company started in 1991 (but no longer runs).
“Stated very simply, AI will cause us humans to be totally confused about our role in this world,” Ghai said in his keynote address. “We face a looming identity crisis.”
It makes sense. The striking strides made in recent months by advanced chatbots, proving they can do everything from write poetry to discuss the state of cloud computing and much more (one even declared its love for a New York Times reporter) certainly has many observers wondering about the long-term utility of the human race.
Ghai argued that humanity’s identity crisis would soon cause challenges for “the humans in the identity control center”: cybersecurity professionals.
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