The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (300 page)

7:12 Blessing . . . and might:
The seven acclamations signify that God deserves the totality of praise from his creation. 
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7:14 great tribulation:
A time of unprecedented distress triggered by the opening of the seals (6:1-17; Dan 12:1). Some link this with the "great tribulation" that Jesus warned would engulf the Roman world in connection with the violent conquest of Jerusalem (Mt 24:21); others link it with the Domitianic persecution of Christians near the end of the first century.
See note on Rev 3:10
.
they have washed:
The blood of Christ whitens the robes of the saints (6:11). • The rite of priestly ordination in Israel included the purification of priestly garments with blood (Lev 8:30). The sacrificial blood of Jesus likewise consecrates believers for service in the heavenly temple (5:9-10; 7:15). 
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7:15-17
The unending benefits of heaven. • These blessings correspond to Isaiah's visions of the messianic age: God's sheltering presence (Is 4:5-6), immunity to hunger, thirst, and heat (Is 49:10), and the divine consolation that wipes away every tear (Is 25:8). 
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7:15 his temple:
The heavenly sanctuary of God (11:19).
See note on Rev 4:1-5:14
. 
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8:1 silence in heaven:
Recalls the
liturgical
silence that fell over the Jerusalem Temple when the priests offered incense and the multitudes prayed quietly in the outer courts (Lk 1:810). Jewish tradition also speaks of an
angelic
silence in the heaven when Israel prays and when the judgments of God are about to fall (Hab 2:20; Zeph 1:7). Here an angel offers the prayers of the saints with incense (Rev 8:3-4) just before curses descend upon the earth (8:7-9:21; 11:15-19). 
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8:2 the seven angels:
Seven archangels minister in the presence of God according to Scripture (Tob 12:15) and Jewish tradition, which names them Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, and Remiel (
1 Enoch
20, 1-8; 81, 5). They are known as the angels of the Lord's presence (
Testament of Levi
3, 7; cf. Lk 1:19). 
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8:3 prayers of all the saints:
Like priests on earth, the angels in heaven are liturgical ministers as well as covenant mediators between God and his people. They are vested like priests according to 15:6, and here they offer as incense the petitions of the faithful. The company of
all
the saints probably includes those in heaven, such as the martyrs (6:9-11) and the multitudes (7:13-14) who praise God for his mercy and plead for the judgment of the wicked. • The Communion of the Saints is the basis for the intercession of the saints. Just as the faithful pray for one another on earth, so the faithful departed pray for us as they look down from heaven (CCC 954-56).
the golden altar:
The heavenly counterpart to the altar of incense in the Temple (2 Chron 4:19; Lk 1:11).
See note on Rev 4:1-5:14
. 
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8:5 threw it on the earth:
An act of divine judgment on the earth. • The gesture recalls Ezek 10:2, where a heavenly messenger scatters burning coals over Jerusalem. 
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Word Study

Shelter
(
Rev 7:15
)

Skēnoō
(Gk.): a verb meaning "to dwell" or "pitch a tent". It appears once in the Gospel of John and four times in Revelation. Its usage is inspired by memories of the Tabernacle pitched in the wilderness during the Exodus period. For a time, this large tent served as the place where Yahweh dwelt among the people of Israel (Ex 25:8; Lev 26:11). From John's perspective, the Tabernacle was a prophetic sign of the incarnate Christ, whose humanity is a sanctuary filled with the glory of his divinity (Jn 1:14). Revelation uses the verb to describe God spreading a tent of protection over the saints (Rev 7:15) so that he might dwell with them (Rev 21:3) and they in him (Rev 13:6; cf. 21:22). Thus, the same verb that expresses the mystery of God dwelling on earth in the Gospel of John (bodily sanctuary) also expresses the mystery of God's dwelling on high in Revelation (heavenly sanctuary).

8:7-11:19
The seven trumpets blast the earth with sevenfold judgment. The second of three cycles of chastisement in Revelation, the trumpets wreak havoc more severe than the seven seals (6:1-8:5) but less severe than the following seven bowls (16:1-21).
See note on Rev 6:1-8:5
. • The first four trumpets, which devastate a third of the land, sea, freshwater, and sky, are modeled on the Exodus plagues that ravaged Egypt: recall the fiery
hail
(8:7, seventh plague, Ex 9:23-25), the sea made
blood
(8:9, first plague, Ex 7:20-21), the
darkened
sky (8:12, ninth plague, Ex 10:21-23), and the
locusts
(9:3, eighth plague, Ex 10:12-15). 
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8:11 Wormwood:
The name of a bitter plant that symbolizes the sorrow and distaste of human affliction (Jer 9:15; Lam 3:19).
made bitter:
I.e., undrinkable. • This plague recalls but reverses the story in Ex 15:22-25, where God made the bitter waters sweet. 
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8:13 Woe, woe, woe:
A prophetic warning that judgment is about to rain down upon sinners (Is 5:8-23; Amos 5:18; Nahum 3:1). These woes correspond to the plagues unleashed by the final three trumpets (Rev 9:12; 11:14). 
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9:1-12
The fifth trumpet unlocks the abyss, releasing volcanic smoke and swarms of warrior locusts. These are demonic forces let loose to torture and terrorize the earth. Four restrictions are placed on this first woe:
(1)
vegetation is to be left unharmed (9:4);
(2)
only the wicked are to be targeted for torment (9:4);
(3)
victims are not to be killed (9:5); and
(4)
the plague is to end in five months (9:5). Limitations such as these suggest that God is administering remedial or corrective punishment that is aimed at bringing about repentance (9:20-21). • The prophet Joel once described an invasion of locusts that overran Judea in OT times. As in John's vision, he compared them to an army of war horses (9:7; Joel 2:4) with lion's teeth (9:8; Joel 1:6) and wings that sounded like chariots (9:9; Joel 2:5). This, too, was a plague from the Lord intended to induce repentance (Joel 2:12-16). 
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9:1 a star fallen:
A demon or fallen angel (8:10; 12:4, 9).
the bottomless pit:
Or "the abyss", which corresponds to the Hebrew
Sheol
and the Greek
Hades.
In the cosmology of Israel, this is the gloomy underworld where the spirits of men sink down after death to await the final Judgment (20:13; Ps 9:17; Wis 16:13-14). It is also the dwelling of infernal spirits that crawl up to bring death, destruction, and deception into the world of the living (11:7; 20:1-3; Lk 8:29-31; 2 Pet 2:4). Christ has authority over this realm because he holds the "keys" to the abyss and can order angels and demons to lock and unlock it at his discretion (1:18; 20:1). 
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