The "7" Seal Judgments

Revelation 6

Before the Seals are opened, it must be understood that they can not start until the man of sin confirms the peace pact for "7" years. The "70th" week of years that Daniel prays about and Gabriel gives enlightenment concerning them following his prayer, recorded in Daniel Ch 7. More information concerning the antichrist can be found in Daniel Ch 7-12.

SEAL ONE

1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

This should be a no-brainer, but let's look at it in context. The Lamb of God opened the seal!! Since He opened the seal, He is not the one riding this horse, it is the antichrist! He comes onto the world scene as a "savior" confirming an existing "7" year peace pact. It is not until the midpoint that he calls himself a god, and sits on his throne in Israel as the antichrist. Up until this point, he doesn't know he is the antichrist. 2 Thessalonians 2 gives more in depth context of the son of perdition.

SEAL TWO

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

The revelation of the antichrist becomes more profound as we enter the tribulation period further. The red has direct symbolism to blood and bloodshed. He will develop into a man of blood as Cain was and all other antitypes of the antichrist with Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian zealot as an almost exact embodiment of him.

SEAL THREE

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."

Justice has been removed from the earth completely! As a result of this and the world food system that was unstable as a possible result of el nino's and la nina's, there is famine spreading across the world.

SEAL FOUR

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Now we have 25% of the earth population taken, some 1.5 billion people who die because of all the events up to this point! War takes some, famine takes some, disease takes some. This is not actually believed by many other rapture positions as a serious event. It is denied or at least limited in its description as a judgment and called or labeled as this is from man. Therefore those who take a post tribulation rapture or a pre-wrath rapture see the last week of years as violent, filled with wars, no longer just rumors of them, and many people die as "colateral" damage. Would it be nothing or insignificant if the entire country of China and its people were removed from the earth in death?

SEAL FIVE

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Martyrs from the tribulation, men and women who committed their lives to Jesus are killed. They are immediately sent into heaven and reside under the altar where they rest for a little while until the completion of the remaining martyrs comes to pass. As we see from Hebrews 11, The Hall of Faith, at the end of the chapter is the completion of the body of Christ, each and every last member of the bride is gathered, and then the wrath of God, the wrath of the Lamb is poured out into the earth and on the sons of disobedience.

SEAL SIX

12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

Here is the great description of the 6th seal, literal and very real. Because of its similarity of language to Joel's description and something that Jesus mentions in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, many have concluded that the rest of the judgments and wraths of God are now going to be simultaneous and end here with a rapture. This may not all be simultaneous, but the context of these texts show this to be the case, then God's wrath is poured out after Yashua, the Christ returns at this point for His now complete bride! The details of a "cusp" of days, 75 days, from the difference between a normal 3 1/2 years which is 1260 according to Daniel 12, and the time when all are totally and forever blessed who are with Him and rule as priests and kings for 1000 years, the 1345 days, a difference of 75 days.

PARENTHETICAL INSERT

(A View of the "7" Year Tribulation)
by the 144,000 Jews who are sealed

Revelation 7

1 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

Events seem to come to a halt as the seal of the 144, 000 takes place. Notice they are Jews from 12 tribes. The make-up of these tribes has led many to speculate, but what is clear is they are literal Jews.

2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Here we have the multitude that stands before the throne in heaven proclaiming the Lord's greatness and His goodness! Only the Lord saves! Does this show the church in heaven? Yes, and pay close attention to the depth of explantion of Hebrews 11 as the last martyr is brought into the body of Christ. We have being added to the church, the martyrs who accept Jesus in the tribulation who are being placed under the throne of God. The beauty of the bride will be seen as worship around the throne continues, and the church, the whole church is made ready as the bride for her Groom.

11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
"Amen!
Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen."

13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" 14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Marrying the Lord, rather than being Laodicean and lukewarm in nature is commitment, the mark of the beast during the tribulation period will mean sure death to many with eternal life with Him as an everlasting reward. Now pay attention to what John shows us next.

Revelation 8

SEAL SEVEN

1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Here there is established time within this seal. This verifies the separation of something, it is probably the 75 days of "cusp" mentioned earlier from Daniel 12 when the wrath of God is poured out. Now as a vision, this scene does not mean or establish a chronology, it shows the order of John seeing these things. This helps us understand why the pre-tribulation masses are so dogmatic because if they lose this point, they lose their whole basis for their argument. Consider a movie that goes back and forth in a person's lifetime, reminiscing at times, and seeing the hope of one's future at other times, although in order of the movie itself it is after, the context shows us when and what the events that are shown will take place and so does John. John now talks about what he sees, the seven trumpets and their angels, but this doesn't hold us to the chronology which is given to us by Yashua in Matthew 24 and Mark 13.

2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

Now we have the seven trumpet judgments being readied for their individual happenings. The tribulation is about to get worse, if that were possible!

3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, 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 to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

The silence is almost deafening as the Lord shows John the scene of the seven trumpets. When we look at these in the next text, we see they happen before the sixth seal is complete, and at the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, it is the voice of the arch angel, and the kingdoms of this earth belong to Yashua.