Revelation 8:4

Rev 8:4-6. And the smoke of the incense ascended before God — In an odoriferous cloud, with the prayers of the saints — A testimony of God’s gracious acceptance, both of the intercession of the great High-Priest, and of the prayers of his believing people, proceeding from devout hearts; and consequently of the continuance of his protection and blessing to his faithful worshippers. And when the angel had performed this office, in order to show the awful manner in which God would avenge the injury which his praying people upon earth had received from its tyrannical and oppressive powers, he took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar — Not of the golden altar, upon which there was no fire, (except that which was in the censer, and which burned the incense,) but from the brazen altar of burnt-offerings; and cast it into the earth — To denote the judgments about to be executed upon the earth, as in Eze 10:2 coals of fire are taken from between the cherubim and scattered over Jerusalem, to denote the judgments of God about to be executed upon that city; and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings — Which seemed to break forth from the divine presence; and also an earthquake — The violent shock of which seemed to shake the foundation of the world; the usual prophetic signs these, and preludes of great calamities and commotions upon the earth. See Rev 16:19. Accordingly, this being mentioned here previous to the sounding of the trumpets, was intended to foretel that many calamities were approaching, which should afflict the world and the church, notwithstanding the seeming secure prosperity of both, after the Roman empire had become, in profession, Christian. And the seven angels prepared themselves to sound — As the seals foretold the state and condition of the Roman empire before and till it became Christian, so the trumpets foreshow the fate and condition of it afterward. The sound of the trumpet, as Jeremiah says, Jer 4:19, and as every one understands it, is the alarm of war; and the sounding of these trumpets is designed to rouse and excite the nations against the Roman empire, called the third part of the world, as perhaps including the third part of the world, and being seated principally in Europe, which was the third part of the world at that time.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 8:4 . As an agent of God, the angel is commissioned to ratify with Divine approval the petitions of the saints for the end; this involves retribution on the impenitent and hostile world. The prophet is sure such aspirations are in harmony with God’s will.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Our prayers are nothing worth, unless that true and sweet savor of that only oblation be especially and before all things with them, that is to say, unless we being first of all justified through faith in his Son, be acceptable unto him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the smoke . . . which came with the prayers . . . ascended up--rather, "the smoke of the incense FOR (or 'given TO': 'given' being understood from Rev 8:3) the prayers of the saints ascended up, out of the angel's hand, in the presence of Gods" The angel merely burns the incense given him by Christ the High Priest, so that its smoke blends with the ascending prayers of the saints. The saints themselves are priests; and the angels in this priestly ministration are but their fellow servants (Rev 19:10).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. The smoke of the incense - with the prayers] Though incense itself be an emblem of the prayers of the saints, Ps 141:2; yet here they are said to ascend before God, as well as the incense. It is not said that the angel presents these prayers. He presents the incense, and the prayers ascend WITH it. The ascending of the incense shows that the prayers and offering were accepted.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(4) And the smoke of . . .—Better, And there went up the smoke of the incense for (or to, i.e., designed for, and to give fragrance to) the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel, before God. The emblem of the rising column of smoke, in which incense and prayer now mingled, is the token that the prayers of the saints, now rendered acceptable, and no longer premature, are about to be answered. These prayers of God’s people, weak and imperfect as they are, are yet invincible weapons in the hands of Christ’s soldiers, and will be found mightier than any carnal weapons. As Jericho fell without Israel needing to strike a blow, so now the Israel of God will be seen to be omnipotent through true and faithful prayer. The charter of the Church’s power is in the words of Christ: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Joh_15:7). The judgments that follow are not indeed specifically prayed for by the Church of Christ, but they are the results of their prayers, and prove the might of all prayer.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. which came with] Again a misleading gloss: the most literal translation is, and there went up the smoke of the incense for the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the Angel, before God. It went up for the prayers of the Saints, i.e. to consecrate and ratify them, to unite all His spiritual creation in the same supplication, which when thus united must prevail: or “for” may be equivalent only to “with.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the smoke of the incense,.... For the incense being put, as it was used to be, upon burning coals of fire, caused a smoke to arise like a cloud, Lev 16:13; so that the whole house, or temple, was filled with it (d):

which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God out of the angel's hand; alluding to the incense the priest took in his hand, and cast upon the burning coals; and shows how that by the smoke of the incense, or the virtue of Christ's mediation, the imperfections of the prayers of the saints are covered; and how they are it perfumed and made acceptable to God; and so are said to ascend up before him, and to be regarded by him, as the prayers of Cornelius were, Act 10:4; now all this is expressive of the wonderful affection of Christ for his church and people, and care of them; that before the angels sound their trumpets, and bring on wars and desolations into the empire, Christ is represented as interceding for them, and presenting their prayers both for deliverance for themselves, and vengeance on their enemies.

(d) Misn. Yoma, c. 5. sect. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

Ver. 4. The smoke of the incense] The saints’ prayers perfumed with Christ’s odours ascended, that is, were highly accepted in heaven, Act 10:4; Exo 3:9, as well appeared by the answer they had here in the next verse. The Church is said to ascend out of the wilderness of this world with pillars of smoke, Son 3:6. Elationibus fumi, with raised affections, and with strong supplications, wherein how many sweet spices are burned together by the fire of faith, as humility, love, &c. All which would stink worse in God’s nostrils than the onions and garlic of Egypt, did not Christ perfume and present them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the smoke of the incense ... - The smoke caused by the burning incense. John, as he saw this, naturally interpreted it of the prayers of the saints. The meaning of the whole symbol, thus explained, is that, at the time referred to, the anxiety of the church in regard to the events which were about to occur would naturally lead to much prayer. It is not necessary to attempt to verify this by any distinct historical facts, for no one can doubt that, in a time of such impending calamities, the church would be earnestly engaged in devotion. Such has always been the case in times of danger; and it may always be assumed to be true, that when danger threatens, whether it be to the church at large or to an individual Christian, there will be a resort to the throne of grace.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This only denotes the acceptableness of Christ’s intercession, and God’s people’s prayers, through the virtue of that intercession, unto God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Came—Greek, “And the smoke of the incense went up to the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel.” The incense went up to the ascending prayers to perfume and reinforce them.

Before God—The ascending incense was in the theophanic presence.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel"s hand; and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up, etc. (Revised Version). The prayers, accompanied by the incense, and typically purified by it, are received by God. He hears the prayers; and the judgments against the wicked, which follow in the trumpet visions, constitute the answer to them. This makes more probable the view that the following visions are judgments against the world, and not (like the seals) trials to the Church.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the smoke of the incense came up before God, with the prayers of the saints - A token that both were accepted.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

angel’s

(See Scofield "Heb 1:4").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. And the smoke. As the smoke arose before the throne, so the prayers of the saints in the name of the crucified Savior arise to God. The special significance of all this is that in the terrible judgments about to follow, the prayers of the true and faithful saints will still come before God, and his providence will be over them.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

4. θυμιαμάτων ταῖς προσευχαῖς. Primas[288] reads supplicationum orationum.

[288] Primasius, edited by Haussleiter.

4. ἀνέβη … ταῖς προσευχαῖς. The dative here again is quite unlike any other in this Book. The only question therefore as to the sense is, whether we are to understand the words as the goal of the local motion of the smoke, “went up to the prayers,” or as the object of its intent, “went up for the prayers”: the latter seems better. “The smoke of the incense went up before God out of the Angel’s hand, for the prayers of the Saints,” i.e. to consecrate and ratify them, to unite all His spiritual creation in the same supplication, which when thus united must prevail.

ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ. As is well known, these words are immediately followed in C by ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα, the copyist having mismatched some leaves of his original and gone on to Rev 11:3. Of course he did not invent the admirable system of punctuation and paragraphs which he reproduced. It is possible that he may have failed to notice that ἐν. τοῦ θεοῦ ended a paragraph, as we should expect, or at any rate was followed by a stop. It is also possible that he found the 1260 days in his original in both places if, as seems probable, the vision of the incense on the heavenly Altar was shewn to the Seer in preparation for the profanation of the earthly altar at Jerusalem which had long been foretold, Dan 8:11; Dan 11:31; Dan 12:11, and was soon to be fulfilled more completely than in the days of the Maccabees.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which came with the prayers. An awkward rendering, followed by Rev., though with the omission of the italicized which came. The construction is ajnebh went up, with the dative case, to the prayers. "The ascending smoke had reference to the prayers, was designed to accompany them and render them more acceptable" (Winer).

Of the saints [των αγιων] . See on Act 26:10.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.