Rev 8, 1-7 Seven angels who stood before God

Revelation 8

(Rev 8, 1-7) Seven angels who stood before God

[1] When he broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. [2] And I saw that the seven angels who stood before God were given seven trumpets. [3] Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. [4] The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel. [5] Then the angel took the censer, filled it with burning coals from the altar, and hurled it down to the earth. There were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. [6] The seven angels who were holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. [7] When the first one blew his trumpet, there came hail and fire mixed with blood, which was hurled down to the earth. A third of the land was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all green grass.

(CCC 325) The Apostles' Creed professes that God is "creator of heaven and earth". The Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes "all that is, seen and unseen". (CCC 326) The Scriptural expression "heaven and earth" means all that exists, creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond, deep within creation, that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes the one from the other: "the earth" is the world of men, while "heaven" or "the heavens" can designate both the firmament and God's own "place" - "our Father in heaven" and consequently the "heaven" too which is eschatological glory. Finally, "heaven" refers to the saints and the "place" of the spiritual creatures, the angels, who surround God (Ps 115:16; 19:2; Mt 5:16). (CCC 327) The profession of faith of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God "from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is, the angelic and the earthly, and then (deinde) the human creature, who as it were shares in both orders, being composed of spirit and body" (Lateran Council IV (1215): DS 800; cf. DS 3002 and Paul VI, CPG § 8).