Why Will the Censer in Revelation 8:5 Be Thrown Down?

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Contract

Because their sins were not first-degree felonies, Jesus offered to die in Adam and Eve’s place, and not only for them, but for the sins of their corporation – the generations of offspring that would be forthcoming. (Romans 5:12) The Father accepted Jesus’ offer. (Psalm 2:7-12) A “blood contract” between the Father and Jesus was signed. In essence, the contract contains these provisions: 

 

(a) At an appointed time, Jesus would die. As an eternal member of the Godhead, He would give up His everlasting life and cease to exist so that all submissive sinners could have His life. Thus, the demands of the law, a life for a life, would be fulfilled.                  

 

(b) Because of Adam’s sin, Earth itself must be cursed so that man’s environment would correspond with man’s decline in health and longevity.                                                          

 

(c) Because Adam and Eve were put under the curse of sin, every child (with exception of Jesus) has come from the womb with a rebellious nature. Fallen man cannot give birth to unfallen children. This means that before anyone was born into the human corporation (the family of Adam and Eve), he or she was cursed with a sinful nature.                                

 

(d) If Jesus was successful in redeeming man (and there was the possibility of failure), the Father promised to resurrect Him from the dead as a gift, the Father would give the world and everything in it to Him. (John 17: 4-8; Hebrews 1:2) Note: A number of pastors claim that Jesus did not die on the cross because divinity cannot die. Jesus disagrees. (Revelation 1:18)                                      

 

Atonement

 

On the very day that Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus came looking for the guilty pair offering the plan of salvation instead of the sword of justice. Keep in mind; the sword of justice will surely come because the stay of execution is not indefinite. The bad news for Adam and Eve was that they had lost their righteous nature, their garden home, their face-to-face communion with their Creator, and the access to the Tree of Life that enabled them to live endlessly. The good news was that their execution had been stayed, and even better, the restoration of everything that had been lost was possible! Jesus carefully explained the situation to two “naked” felons. To make life on Earth possible, Jesus terminated the perpetual forces of life that He established at Creation (this is the meaning of a curse), so that the cycles of sin’s consequences might be shortened. Last, Jesus explained that He was their only hope. If they wanted to regain all that had been lost, they had to put their faith in Him and surrender to His commands.

 

I can imagine Jesus saying, “If you trust me and believe in my future sacrifice for your sins, then you must show your faith by killing an atonement symbol (a lamb) at the times appointed.” Jesus then showed a naked Adam how to conduct a worship service. Adam transferred his sin and the sin of Eve by placing his hands on the head of the lamb and confessing their sins. Then, Jesus * killed the first lamb and took the warm skin of the lamb to cover their nakedness. (Genesis 3:21) Through this marvelous demonstration, Jesus helped the pair to understand the plan of salvation. The penalty for sin, which Adam and Eve were supposed to suffer, immediately was transferred to the lamb. The nakedness of the first two sinners was covered with a robe representing the righteousness of Christ, which would be provided by His future sinless life. I can imagine that when Jesus closed this tearful meeting, He summoned two attending angels to immediately escort Adam and Eve out of the garden. The only things they carried out of the garden were their memories and the robes that Jesus gave to them. As the guilty pair walked away from their lovely home, I am sure they were bent over with anguish and tears of remorse. That first night outside the garden must have been more sorrowful than anything we can imagine.   

 

Of course, the sacrifice of a created animal cannot atone for sin, nor can animal blood wash away the guilt of sin. (Hebrews 10:4) From the beginning of sin, the killing of a lamb was required object lesson demonstrating what Jesus would do for the human race at the right time. Jesus was The Lamb of God and the Father required everyone, who wanted salvation, to kill a perfect lamb at appointed times to demonstrate faith in His promise to give us Jesus! (John 3:16) Many Christians have been led to believe that during a “dispensation of law,” animal sacrifices atoned for sin. The Bible does not teach this. The killing of a flawless lamb was an act of submission to God’s demand and this act, if accompanied with heartfelt sorrow for sin and restitution to the victim, showed faith in God’s promise. (Hebrews 11:4)

 

How Corporate Intercession Works  

 

Adam and Eve’s first son was named Cain. On the basis of Jesus’ contract with the Father, Cain was not killed on the day that he committed his first sin, nor was Cain killed when he murdered his brother, Abel. Let us be clear about this. Corporate intercession was put into place BEFORE Cain was born and this is why sinners have been able to live a natural life span without being destroyed ever since. Unfortunately, our stay of execution has led millions of Christians to believe there will be no execution! This is a great deception. Execution day will surely come. “If anyone’s name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)

 

Back to the Two Altars

 

Previously, the presence of two altars in the earthly temple was discussed, which explained the necessity of two levels of atonement for man’s salvation. The golden Altar of Incense was the corporate altar. The priests did not place offerings for an individual’s personal sins on this altar. The bronze Altar of Burnt Offerings was for the personal sins of individuals. The value of these two altars is seen in their metallic construction. Gold is of much greater value than bronze, so the service at the Altar of Incense is of utmost importance! Both altars were designed as object lessons or teaching aids. (Galatians 3:24) The sacrifices placed on the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering pointed forward to the death of Jesus for individuals. The daily offering of incense and occasional blood* on the golden Altar of Incense pointed backward to the day when Jesus became Intercessor of the whole world – before the first sinful child was born.  

 

* Note: The Bible does not clarify whether blood from the morning and evening sacrifices was applied to the horns of the golden Altar of Incense each day. However, the Bible does reveal that blood was applied to the golden Altar of Incense at special times (Leviticus 4), and that the Altar of Incense was cleansed on the Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16) We also know that a special incense with a delightful aroma was used on this altar each day. This is why it was named the Altar of Incense. (Exodus 30:37)                                                                                                                         

 

6. Holding Back God’s Wrath: The only thing that is holding back the wrath of God against the whole world is the corporate intercession Jesus executes at the golden Altar of Incense. John saw an angel, representing the ministry of Jesus, standing at the golden Altar of Incense. When Jesus is “taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7) the censer at the golden Altar of Incense in Heaven will be thrown down. This indicates that no further atonement will be offered on that corporate altar. God’s wrath will then break out on mankind and millions will suddenly perish in the global earthquake and the judgment events that follow.                                                                                                                   

 

 

“Another angel, who had the golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 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 lightening and an earthquake.” (Revelation 8:3-5) 

 

The easy part to understand in these verses is the physical part. When the censer is cast down in Heaven’s temple, the whole world will experience four physical phenomena. There will be deafening peals of thunder, rumblings [loud voices heard speaking], flashes of lightening all over the sky and a global earthquake. The terror caused by these phenomena and the destruction caused by this global earthquake cannot be calculated. This earthquake will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation, so the casting down of the censer in Heaven’s temple signals the end of corporate intercession.

 

Of course, Jesus does not suddenly annihilate everyone. Instead, He will use His wrath, mixed with mercy, to rescue as many people as possible during the 1,260 days that follow. Then, at the close of mercy (the seventh trumpet), services at the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering in Heaven will be terminated and every sin will have been assigned – either to the head of the sinner or the head of the scapegoat.

 

Summary

 

This study has examined six topics that enable us to understand why the censer at the golden Altar of Incense will be thrown down:

 

1.   The full cup principle

2.   Jesus’ present ministry in Heaven’s temple

3.   The necessity of two altars and two levels of atonement in the temple

4.   Individuals can become a corporation                                                                        

5.   God granted a stay of execution the day Adam and Eve sinned         

6.   The wrath of God has been restrained because of the corporate intercession of Jesus at     

       Altar of Incense on behalf of the entire world.

 

If you understand these six concepts, then you will understand whythe censer will be thrown down and what the consequences will be. One more question. Would you like to know when it will be thrown down? Here is the answer: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come [to the close of corporate intercession] at an hour when you do not expect him [to do so].” (Matthew 24:44, insertions mine) Please think about this: The casting down of the censer (for corporate Earth) is the equivalent to the door closing on the ark in Noah’s day. This is why Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39) According to Daniel 12:11,12, the Second Coming of Jesus is an event that lasts 1,335 days. The casting down of the censer marks the beginning of this event. So, do your best to be watching, working and waiting.

 

 

* Note:  The Bible teaches there are three types of sin and three degrees of guilt in God’s sight.  Briefly, the three types of sin are sins of ignorance (Leviticus 4:13,14), accidental sin (Romans 7:19; 1 John 5:17) and willful sin (James 4:17; Romans 5:12). Of course, the penalty for sin is death and this explains why two goats were used on the Day of Atonement. One goat died to pay the penalty for those who had faithfully transferred their sins to the temple. The other goat, the scapegoat, died as the one responsible for the presence of sin in the temple. Someone has to pay for sin. On the other hand, the degree of guilt is determined by circumstance. For example, if a person is enticed to sin, the guilt of the tempter is greater than the guilt of the victim. (Matthew 18:6) Therefore, Lucifer’s guilt in leading Eve to sin was greater than Eve’s guilt. This also explains why Adam’s guilt was greater than Eve’s guilt. (Romans 1:32) Adam was not deceived by Lucifer, as was Eve. Out of love for Eve, he choose to suffer her fate. Adam did not stand before God and defy an order. Adam tenderly loved Eve and when he saw that Eve had been deceived, he chose to suffer her fate. Adam willfully sinned, but he did not defiantly sin. This is why God permitted the plan of salvation to be invoked on Adam and Eve’s behalf. On the other hand, God patiently dealt with Lucifer’s growing disaffection for many years until the day came when Lucifer defied God’s direct order. The possibility of salvation was not extended to Lucifer and his angels because their sin was premeditated – openly defiant. Even in our courts, we differentiate the sin of murder by degrees of guilt.  For example, first-degree murder is premeditated murder whereas third degree murder is defined as having no intent to murder. Like first-degree murder, second-degree murder is premeditated murder, but the penalty for second degree is lesser than first degree murder because circumstances determine the degree of guilt. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.)  

 

* Note:  It is my understanding that Jesus, on behalf of the Father, killed the first lamb. I offer this explanation because the Father required the life of Jesus for our atonement. (Adam and Eve did not negotiate with God on the plan of salvation.) Jesus is called “The Lamb of God” because the Father required the death of a perfect substitute. On the cross, the life of Jesus did not end because of the weight of sin, or the punishing treatment of Jews and Romans, even though that was their murderous intent. The Father actually took the life of Jesus after Jesus submitted His life to the Father. (Consider these texts! Men did not kill Jesus. Luke 23:46; John 10:18) This matter is wonderfully paralleled in the sacrificial story of Abraham (the Father) and Isaac (the son) on Mount Moriah. (Genesis 22)  

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