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Revelation describes an angel offering incense with the prayers of the righteous, a moment that follows common Jewish apocalyptic traditions of angels mediating prayer between God and people, such as in 3 Baruch.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
3 Baruch 12
Greek Apocalypse of Baruch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And as I was talking with them, look, angels came carrying baskets full of flowers. 2 And they gave them to Michael. And I asked the angel, Lord, who are these, and what are they bringing here? 3 And he said to me, These are angels (who) watch over the powers. 4 And the archangel took the baskets, and threw them into the vessel. 5 And the angel said to me, These flowers are the merits of the righteous. 6 And I saw other angels carrying baskets which were (neither) empty nor full. And they began to mourn and did not dare to approach, because they did not have the full rewards. 7 And Michael called out and said, You angels, come here too, bring what you have brought. 8 And Michael was deeply saddened, as was the angel who was with me, because they did not fill the vessel.
Date: 1–200 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Revelation 8:3
New Testament
1 Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. 4 The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Date: 92–96 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... It is well known that in the centuries prior to the turn of the eras, the angelology and demonology of Judaism underwent considerable development and we find in the apocalyptic texts a rather complex set of ideas relating to these opposing angelic groups. The order of holy angels is arranged according to a strict hierarchy and each class of angel has its set function. To choose only a few examples, there are angels responsible for the natural elements and astral phenomena (compare 1 Enoch 60:11-23; 2 Enoch 4:1-6:1; 19:2-6; Jubilees 2:2), angels who pray on behalf of humans (1 Enoch 39:5; 47:2; Revelation 8:3-4), recording angels who keep a record of sins (1 Enoch 89: 61-4; Testament of Abraham 12:12), angels who administer eschatological punishment (1 Enoch 53:4-5; 55:3; 56:1-4; 62:11; 63:1; 2 Enoch 10:3; Testament of Levi 3:2; Testament of Abraham 12:1-2), personal guardian angels (Jubilees 35:17; Daniel 3:6; 3 Baruch 12-13) and guardian angels of the nations (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; 1 Enoch 89:59-62; Jubilees 15:31-2). At the very top of this hierarchy and closest to God are the archangels, four in number according to some traditions (1 Enoch 40:2-9; 54:6; 71:8) or seven in number according to others (1 Enoch 20:1-7; 81:5; 90:21-2). This class of angel has a variety of functions, including the imprisonment of the fallen angels (1 Enoch 10:4-5) and the consignment of them into the fiery furnace on the day of judgement (1 Enoch 54:6). Normally it is one of these who takes the purported author of the apocalypse through the heavenly regions and explains the heavenly secrets ..."
David Campbell Sim, “There Will Be Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth: Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Gospel of Matthew” (PhD diss., King's College London, 1993), 35.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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