You may not have noticed, but something is missing

The action that began prior to this chapter involved a magic scroll secured with seven seals
- six of those seals have been opened (chapter 6)
• but now in chapter 7, there’s no mention of the seventh seal
• instead, we have come to an interlude before returning to the seventh seal
- this will happen again (after six trumpets sound, then there's a delay before the seventh)
• while I’m at it, “After this” is not chronological
◦ it does not refer to the next thing that happened as in a sequence, but the next thing John saw
• he’s not marking days on calendar, he’s "changing channels"
◦ John says, “Let’s see what’s happening over here”
- then he takes us two places:
• in verses 1-8 we see what is happening on the earth 
• in verses 9-17 we see what is happening in heaven