Half an Hour of Silence in Heaven Breaking?

(These are my own personal thoughts and wonders. I am not an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. All views are meant to evoke wonder and pondering, not doctrine.)

Is God beginning to break his silence regarding the Second Coming? If he is do we have the ears to hear it? One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Elder Neal A Maxwell: “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the Universe!” I imagine the three wise men spent much time praying, studying, and pondering upon the signs of Christ’s birth. They had eyes to see and understand the meaning of the signs of the times of their day. What a gift to be some of the first people on Earth to see the Christ child. Let’s examine one of the signs that will happen before Christ’s next appearance: The Breaking of Silence.

In Revelation 8:1: And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half and hour.

Why is the Half Hour of Silence ending important?

Because immediately after the saints are QUICKENED AND CAUGHT UP TO MEET HIM. THE FACE OF THE LORD IS UNVEILED!!!

Doctrine and Covenants 88: (My favorite chapter and lucky number. 😉 )

95 And there shall be ^asilence in ^bheaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a ^cscroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the ^dface of the Lord shall be unveiled; 96 And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened and be ^acaught up to meet him.

Can we determine about how long the half hour of silence lasts?

One of the apostles felt that such a calculation was possible. Here is the way Elder Bruce R. McConkie suggested it could be done: After talking about the half hour of silence, he says:“If the time here mentioned is ‘ Lord’s time’ in which one day is a thousand years, the haft hour would be some twenty-one of our years.” Elder McConkie reached this conclusion based on the following scriptures: “A day with the Lord after his manner of reckoning, it being 1000 years according to the time appointed to that [ whereon thou standest.”And again:”But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that ONE DAY is with the Lord as a THOUSAND YEARS, and a thousand years as one day.” Doctrine and Covenants 77:7 :

7 Q. What are we to understand by the seven ^aseals with which it was sealed? A. We are to understand that the first seal contains the things of the ^bfirst thousand years, and the ^csecond also of the second thousand years, and so on until the seventh.

I copy and pasted this chart from the Church of Jesus Christ website:https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/new-testament-study-guide-for-home-study-seminary-students/introduction-to-revelation/unit-31-day-3-revelation-6-7?lang=eng

This and other charts that have been published include the thought that the 7th seal opens during the year 2000 following the thousand years=1 seal=1 day pattern.

First seal(About 4000 to 3000 B.C.)	White horse = VictoryBow = WarfareCrown = ConquerorElder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles suggested that Revelation 6:1–2 describes Enoch’s day and that the rider is Enoch (see Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1966–73], 3:476–78).
Second seal(About 3000 to 2000 B.C.)	Red horse = BloodshedSword = War and destructionElder McConkie suggested that Revelation 6:3–4 describes Noah’s day, when wickedness covered the earth. The rider of the red horse could be the devil himself or, perhaps, “a person representing many murdering warriors” (see Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:478–79).
Third seal(About 2000 to 1000 B.C.)	Black horse = FamineBalances = High prices for foodElder McConkie suggested that Revelation 6:5–6 describes Abraham’s day, when many died of starvation (see Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:479–80). A person could purchase only enough food to live on with a whole day’s wages, indicating extreme famine prices.
Fourth seal(About 1000 B.C. to the birth of Christ)	Pale horse = DeathDeath and hell = Destruction of the wicked and their reception into spirit prison (see Isaiah 5:14)Elder McConkie suggested that Revelation 6:7–8 refers to the time “of those great kingdoms and nations whose wars and treacheries tormented and overran [Israel] again and again” (see Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:481). These nations included Babylon, Persia, Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome.
Fifth seal(About the birth of Christ to A.D. 1000)	Altar = SacrificeSouls = Martyrs, Christians killed for their beliefsElder McConkie suggested that Revelation 6:9–11 refers to the many early Christians, including most of the original Apostles, who died as martyrs (see Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:482–83). Because these Saints gave up their lives “for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9), they were given “white robes” (Revelation 6:11), symbolic of purity (see Revelation 7:13–14; 3 Nephi 27:19).

The next step is to divide 1,000 years by 24 to determine how long an hour of God’s time would be. Answer: 41.66 years or just under 42 years. So a half hour of God’s time would be 20.83 or nearly 21 years. This implies that the general time frame of the silence could be from 2000-2021AD. And right after that we are caught up to meet him! Granted “next event” or “breaking of the silence” could be a process. But let’s examine the world for signs taking place at the end of 2021 to 2022 indicating that God is breaking his silence:

January 15 2022:

Biggest boom ever recorded

At the start of 2022 the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano erupted! The volcanic blast completely destroyed the uninhabited island of Hunga Tonga Ha’apai  and is now officially the largest explosive eruption of the 21st century. Krakatoa was the largest explosion ever heard but not recorded on August 27 1883 (That’s my only son’s birthday!) The recent Tonga eruption triggered tsunami waves of up to 15m which struck the west coast of Tongatapu, ‘Eua and Ha’apai. Ashfall covered an area of at least five square kilometres.

Tonga blew ejecta well into the upper atmosphere, to the edge of space. It created a cloud that covered an area approximately half the size of France.

The underwater volcano erupted inside a caldera already 500 feet (150 meters) below the sea surface. It deepened its underwater cavity by about half a mile (750 meters).

Remember what happens right after the period of silence? “…saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened and be ^acaught up to meet him.” (DC 88: 96) The target audience is the saints. Did you know that According to the LDS Church, there are over 65,000 LDS members (which would be about 60% of the population of Tonga) in Tonga, which means that Tonga has the highest percentage of Latter-day Saints in the world.

Aug 13, 2022:

A Meteor Explodes with a Loud Boom over Salt Lake

This was a first for Salt Lake Residents! SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — “The National Weather Service in Salt Lake confirmed the source of a loud boom heard over northern Utah, southern Idaho, and part of Wyoming. It was a meteor exploding upon entry of Earth’s atmosphere.“

If you were to google: “Where do the largest percentage of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Live?” You would find this answer:

Outside of Tonga the answer is Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming!

I think God is trying to get the attention of the Saints of the Church of Jesus Christ! Are we listening? Do we have ears to hear?

October 9, 2022:

NASA captures brightest, most powerful explosion ever recorded in the Universe

Astronomers are stunned by what they are calling the BOAT ‘brightest of all time’ gamma-ray burst. (hmm… boat makes me think of an ark) They believe it could be the most powerful space explosion since the Big Bang. This bright blast of high-energy light is the most powerful cosmic explosion ever detected. 

The high-energy emission known as a gamma-ray burst (GRB) likely represents the moment a dying star collapsed into a black hole, triggering a tremendous supernova explosion, astronomers said. The burst even caused Earth’s ionosphere, the upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere, to swell in size for several hours. 

The incredible blast, officially dubbed GRB 221009A, occurred in a galaxy about 1 billion light-years away from Earth. Astronomers used multiple telescopes to glean unprecedented detail, including NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

So if this was the brightest of all time explosion how come I didn’t see it? Well, not everyone has “eyes to see”. Astronomers use telescopes to help their eyes see amazing events. As followers of Jesus Christ we need to place the lens of the Spirit to our eyes to see things that, perhaps, most others do not see.

November 27, 2022:

Mauna Loa, the World’s Largest Volcano Erupts

Headlines the next day:

USA Today: “Hawaii’s Big Island residents prepare for evacuations – if necessary – as Mauna Loa volcano awakens after 38 years of slumber.”

CNN: “Mauna Loa is erupting for the first time since 1984.”

Hawaii news headline: “That was the longest known quiet spell for the world’s largest active volcano.”

This will blow your mind: The meaning of the word “Mauna” in Sanskrit:

In the ancient language of Sanskrit, the word “Mauna” means silence or non-speaking. “Mauna” is introduced in yoga retreats as a daily period of non-speaking or several days of silence.  In Hindu philosophy, Mauna (Silence), refers to peace of mind, inner quietude, holy moments, and the Absolute Reality.

The word “Loa” means expansive. So…

Expansive Holy Silence Just Erupted After Nearly 40 years of Quiet

So by quick Google Search I discovered that Mauna Loa erupting after nearly 40 years is essentially the end of a holy period of silence.  Many news articles highlight how it being quiet for nearly 40 years was very unusual.

In scripture, 40 years is indicative of a time of trial or preparation for big change.  Jesus, Moses, and Elijah fasted 40 days before each received baptism, the 10 commandments, and instruction on how to lead Israel.  Noah’s ark weathered an epic storm that flooded the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.  The children of Israel wandered for 40 years before entering the Promised Land.  Ezekiel laid on his right side for 40 days to “bear the iniquity” of Judea’s sins.

April 3rd and October 1st 2022

Who Has Eyes to See? Who has Ears to Hear?

If I were God and I wanted to break a holy half hour of silence, I would probably do something awesome to let the world know this was happening. Maybe within that year I would sound off the largest explosion ever recorded in the whole universe. Or maybe create a HUGE volcano explosion with the LOUDEST EVER BOOM. That’d be a pretty sure bet. But, it still might not be obvious enough so I’d make sure that the LARGEST volcano IN THE WORLD exploded after a long unnatural silence. Oh, and the name of that volcano would be “silence”. But maybe the world is unaware of the prophecies? So I would make sure that these sounds are all centered in the populations where my Saints live in highest densities, who know the scriptures, so they would be sure to hear it. And then I would hope that they would understand and warn their neighbors. But just in case they missed the signs I would put prophets on the Earth to help point their minds to what is happening.

If God were trying to get us to understand and LISTEN surely we would hear about it in general conference from our inspired leaders right?

We have never before heard the phrase “eyes to see and ears to hear” so many times in one year as we have in 2022. Here are 3 examples:

1. “Steady in the Storms” (Elder Eyring, Spring General Conference 2022):

“The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”^{2 2 Timothy 3:1}Those servants of God have foreseen the times in which we live.  Anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets knows that is true. ”

I think it is important to heed his additional warning: “The perils of greatest danger come to us from the forces of wickedness.”

2. “Put On Thy Strength, O Zion” (Elder Bednar, Oct. GC 2022)

Elder Bednar’s talk is all about preparing for the second coming. He pleads for us to actively “ask, seek, and knock” to discover the truths embedded in the Wedding Feast/Bridegroom parable. And then he blesses us with ,”May each of us seek for and be blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear.”

This bridegroom/wedding feast parable is ABSOLUTELY linked to the the half hour of silence ending. Watch this video from moment 16:45 to 18:50. (watch the whole thing really but that section is most pertinent to the silence in heaven….but really watch the whole thing. It has 1M+ views)

3. “Drawing Closer to the Savior” (Elder Andersen, Oct GC 2022)

He reiterates words from Elder Eyring:

“Toward the end of His ministry, Jesus’s disciples asked Him to tell them of “the sign of [His Second Coming], and of the end of the world.^{1 Matthew 24:3}Jesus told them of the conditions that would precede His return and concluded by declaring, “When ye shall see all these things, [you will] know that [the time] is near.”^{2 Matthew 24:33}

In the last general conference, I listened very closely to the words of President Henry B. Eyring: “Each of us,” he said, “wherever we are, knows that we live in increasingly perilous times. … Anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets knows that is true.”

Bruce R McConkie thought the half an hour of silence would end somewhere near the year 2021.  Something tells me that our modern day prophet and apostles might agree. HE IS COMING SOON!