Revelation 8:1
“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”
The implication here is, when the judgment of what is about to happen becomes visible (by the opening of the seventh seal), both the redeemed and the angels are reduced to silence. This half an hour of silence is the calm before the storm. It is the silence of intense expectation, of awe at what God is about to do.
The seventh seal contains the seven trumpet judgments and the seventh trumpet contains the seven bowl judgments. The full effects of opening all seven seals include all seven trumpet judgments and the seven bowl judgments: 6 seal judgments + 6 trumpet judgments + 7 bowl judgments = 19 specific judgments in all.
At the opening of the seventh seal, 6 judgments (the six seals) have passed and 13 remain (six trumpets and seven bowls within the seventh trumpet). Therefore, heaven went silent for the span of a half an hour in awe of what was about to happen.
The Truth
"But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20)
