Feast of St. Cecilia

The legend of St. Cecilia is beautiful and romantic. She is the patron saint of music and I have been a choir member even before I was baptized. Therefore, St. Cecilia has been very dear to my heart. However, her feastday is very close to the Feast of Christ the King. We seldom celebrate her feast.
Let's return to the heavenly court scene. The Lamb has already opened 6 seals. It is now time to open the seventh.
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (Revelation 8:1).
We have to be careful with numbers. Half an hour in heaven may mean any length of time. In the Torah, a day may be equivalent to a year (Numbers 14:34). In Psalms, a day may be equivalent to a thousand year (Psalms 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). Accordingly, this half an hour may mean 12 months divided by 24 hours divided by 2. It will be roughly seven days. That is, half an hour may be equivalent to one week. If one day is equivalent to one thousand years, half an hour would be roughly twenty years and ten months. It is truly a lengthy silence.
Then seven angels with seven trumpets appear. Another angel holds a golden censer stands at the altar. He fills the censer with fire from the altar and throws it on the earth (Revelation 8:5). Then the seven angels begin to blow their trumpets one by one.
The first angel blows the trumpet. Hail and fire mixed with blood fall on the earth, a third of which is burnt up (Revelation 8:7).
The second angel blows the trumpet. A burning mountain is thrown into the sea, a third of which becomes blood (Revelation 8:8-9).
The third angel blows the trumpet. A great star called Wormwood falls from heaven, turning a third of the water into wormwood (Revelation 8:11).
The fourth angel blows the trumpet. One third of the heavenly luminaries (sun, moon and stars) are turned off. An eagle flies in heaven and cries of the woes to come (Revelation 8:12-13).
The fifth angel blows the trumpet.  A star falls from heaven and opens the shaft of the bottomless pit. Smoke rises up from the pit. Locusts which are able to hurt men for five months emerge. The angel of the bottomless pit is king over these locusts. The name of the angel is Abaddon in Hebrew; and Apollyon in Greek (Revelation 9:11).
The sixth angel blows the trumpet. A voice from the altar tells him to release 4 angels bound at the great river Euphrates to kill one third of mankind (Revelation 9:13-15).
Then a mighty angel descended from heaven. He holds a little scroll. He set his right foot on the sea and the left on land. He calls up heaven and swears.
and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there should be no more delay,
but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 10:6-7)
John was told to get the small scroll from the mighty angel who told him that the scroll tastes sweet as honey in mouth and bitter in his stomach (Revelation 10:9). This experience is the same as those experienced by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:1-3). But what does it mean?
John was given a measuring rod to measure the temple. Again, this is the same experience experienced by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 40-42). The outside of the temple was not measured. The Holy City would be trampled by the nations for 42 months (Revelation 11:2). 42 months is roughly 1277 days. Using the conversion scale above, this verse suggests that Jerusalem would be trampled by the nations for roughly 1277 years. Any idea?
The Muslims occupied Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock was completed in 691. Israel started the Six-Day War in 1967 to capture Eastern Jerusalem. Does it make any sense? It is pure speculation.
Back to John. Two prophets were granted power to prophesy for 1260 days (Revelation 11:3). Is there any coincidence?
These two prophets will be killed by the beast which rose from the bottomless pit. They would die for three and a half days and their corpses are exposed for three and a half day. Then they will come back to life (Revelation 11:7-11).
At long last, the long-awaited seventh angel blows the trumpet. The 24 elders sing praises to God.
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail (Revelation 11:19).
So, after all tribulations and trials, a perfect ending comes.

My Lord, grant us wisdom and understanding to know John's vision. Amen.