1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. Revelation 5.1-3
Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." Revelation 5.5
“Worthy are You to take the book [scroll] and to break its seals; for You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5.9-10
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5.9-10
Revelation chapter 5 reveals the 7 sealed scroll that no one is
worthy to open but Christ.
Revelation chapter 5.9-10 reveals Christ's worthiness due to his sacrifice and
redemption of man.
According to Roman Law, legal documents pertaining to life
and death were sealed 7 times. Some
believe the scroll is the “title deed” to the earth. Man lost that claim due to sin, but Christ’s
death gives him the right to reclaim it for mankind. It is the title deed to the world to come.
5 For He has not put the world to come,
of which we speak, in subjection to angels.
6 But one testified in a certain place, saying:
"What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet."
For in that He put all in subjection under him,
"What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet."
For in that He put all in subjection under him,
He left nothing that is not put under him.
But now we do not yet see all things put under him.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor,
that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2.5-9
The seals are revealed in chapters 6 and 8. These must be opened for the possession of
the earth.
The sixth seal reveals the cosmic events at the end of "Great Tribulation" that precede the coming of Christ.
The 7 trumpets, Revelation chapters 8, 9, 11, are judgments that mostly
precede the sixth seal, they announce the end is near and are afflictions to
turn people to God.
The 7th trumpet (11.15) announces the kingdom.
The bowls of wrath in Revelation chapter 16 will complete the wrath of God (15.1) and are discriminatory, afflicting those having the mark of the beast.
The events shown in Revelation chapter 6 onward are concerning future events after John’s time (4.1).
The 7
seals seal the scroll that Christ alone has been found worthy to open according
to chapter 5. His worthiness is
explained in that He was slain and has redeemed men and has taken possession of
them to reign on earth, 5.9-10. The
scroll could very well be the revelation of this coming reign of Christ on
earth. The seals, as they are opened,
reveal the events that precede that coming kingdom.
As each
seal is opened, there is revelation of events that are to come. Some spread the seals out over that last 7
years before Christ’s return called “The 70th Week of Daniel,” and
they may associate the first 4 seals, the four horsemen, with the prophecy of
Christ in Matthew 24.6-8, usually assigning this to the first half of the 7
years. Some believe Christ is being descriptive of the character of the whole age we live in, while the seals apply specifically to the 70th Week. The 5th seal would
correspond with Matthew 24.9-14. Others place the seals entirely in the
second half of that 7-year period, called “the great tribulation.”
Dr. John Walvoord
in his commentary on Revelation speaks of the remarkable similarity of the
seals with Matthew 24.4-31. Yet in his
commentary on Matthew, he suggests that Matthew speaks of the general characteristics
of the age between the 2 comings of Christ.
Walvoord
writes, “Many have assumed that the events of earth in chapters 6 through 19
coincide with the seven years of Israel’s program culminating in the second
coming of Christ. Expositors of this point of view have usually taken for
granted that the book gives a panoramic view of the entire seven years even
though there is no explicit proof of this in the book itself. There is some evidence, however, that the
events pictured in the seals, trumpets, and vials are instead a concentrated
prophecy of the latter half of this week, i.e., a period of three and one-half
years, designated as a time of wrath and the great tribulation, and
constituting the introduction to the second coming of Christ. Evidence for this is presented as the
exposition unfolds.”
It is
usual to see the seals, trumpets, and bowls as distinct and sequential, though
some believe there is repetition or overlap of the events contained in them.
6:1-2: the
first seal: we see the white horse and conquering rider. Some actually believe this is Christ. If that were true, then there definitely
isn’t any sequence here. Ladd believes
it is with reference to that which is associated with Christ, being the advance
of the gospel of the kingdom, that unlike the 3 that follow which involve
trouble and evil, it is the one positive note. Some might see it as the second coming of Christ.
Others
believe it is the antichrist, which would work better from a sequence aspect. This role of antichrist could precede the
beginning of “great tribulation,” being
his advance before what begins that period.
Daniel
speaks of a “little horn” who is believed to be the antichrist or “beast” who
will conquer and have a world authority before the coming of Christ. Daniel (7.7-8; 19-25) speaks of this ruler who
will subdue other kingdoms, and he will persecute the saints. This corresponds
with Revelation 13.3-8 concerning the beast as an individual with great
authority.
Yet why
identify a personal rider here and not on the next three? The rider could simply signify the existence
of war, and maybe war that results in nations being subdued by others—changing
the world as we know it, and one of the causes of so much death.
The seals
being opened is a dramatic episode to reveal what is coming upon the
earth. Each seal gives revelation of
events that will greatly reduce the world’s population and maybe prepare for
the role of the antichrist. If that is
true, it seems this would place them more in the first half of Daniel’s Week,
because in the second half, he has authority and controls the economy.
6:3-4: The red horse and its rider take peace from
the earth. If the first horseman is conquering, and this involves war, then
what is this one that involves killing? Some may
say the first one is about conquering without war, but I think this red horse could speak of anarchy or civil
unrest in the midst of wars brought by the first horse.
We see a
parallel again with the words of Jesus in Matthew 24.10: “ then many will be offended, will betray one
another, and will hate one another.”
6:5-6: The third horse and rider reveal the
scarcity of food. This could be due to
forces of nature. Drought, flooding,
storms, pestilence, etc., could be the cause, but the preceding events of war
and anarchy could make food scarce.
When food
is scarce, it becomes very expensive. A
quart of wheat is one person’s day’s sustenance. 3 quarts of barley the cheaper grain. A denarius was a day’s wage, 12 times the normal cost.
The
statement not to harm the oil and wine might suggest natural disasters are
involved for the scarcity, though only affecting the grain, causing poverty and
partial famine but not starvation. These
speak of staple food items. It's going
to be a hard minimalist existence. It
may be these conditions that prepare the way for the martial law like control
of the beast during great tribulation.
6:7-8: The fourth horse and rider portray death and
hades. Death is a condition while hades
is the place or abode of the dead. It
says that death is caused by sword, hunger, and beasts. It appears the first 3 seals reveal the
causes for the fourth.
How do
beasts figure into this all? The
increase of beasts and their aggression usually result from a lack of human activity
and presence. Some think the beasts here are the kings and kingdoms and not actual animals.
One fourth
of the earth will perish. Walvoord in
1966 said this would be equal to all the population of Europe and South America
combined. He based that on a population
of 3 billion but today is 7.2 billion.
Today the USA has over 320 million.
One fourth of 7.2 billion is 1.8 billion. Some believe that the one fourth do not necessarily die but authority was given to kill up to than number.
Yet even
in such conditions as this, life will go on for mankind. Some may still live fairly
normal lives. People will still be
working somewhere, somehow, and still getting married and having children. From what I heard, for my Grandpa Savoie, a carpenter, the great depression was felt,
but for my Grandpa Shaffer, a farmer, it wasn’t.
That one
fourth of mankind is at risk of death reveals to me that the seals reveal events that belong to a more specific time while the events of Matthew 24 are here and
there throughout the present age.
6:9-11: The fifth seal takes on a different
appearance as we are done with horsemen and their significance.
The souls
under the altar are those who have been martyred for the word of God and their Christian testimony. The word and testimony are the truth about Christ.
The altar could
be that which is in the temple before the holy place, being the altar of incense, 8.3,
9.13. It shows that they are kept and remembered by God.
Are these
all the martyrs throughout time or just great tribulation martyrs? It could be all martyrs, but they are mentioned here because their number is not yet complete, as it will increase during the great tribulation.
They are
in God’s keep and are not forgotten.
Justice is coming. They will be rewarded: Revelation 20.4.
2 Thessalonians 1.3-10 speaks of the coming rest for those persecuted at the
coming of Christ. A white robe is
given as a kind of outward recognition for their righteous act: Revelation 19.7-8.
The
persecution of believers is a dominant characteristic of great tribulation, see Revelation 13.7,15. Daniel 7.25 says the saints
shall be given into the hand of the horn, usually identified as the same as the beast of Revelation 13.
6:12-16: The six seal is opened involving a great
earthquake. The seventh bowl involves a
great earthquake unlike any before, 16:17-21.
The cosmic
descriptions correspond to Matthew 24.29-30, following the great tribulation
and preceding the coming of Christ.
Luke 21:25-28
describes these events in connection to Christ’s coming.
The Old
Testament describe these events in connection with the Day of the Lord. Isaiah 13.6-13; 2:10-11, 19; 34:1-4; Joel 3:12-16.
The coming
of Christ will involve the judgment of all nations. Associated with it will be a gathering of all
nations for judgment. It is the harvest
in Revelation 14.17-20. It involves the battle
of Armageddon as revealed in the 6th bowl, 16.12-16. Zechariah 14.1-3.
It comes
as a thief in the night: 2Peter 3.10; 1Thessalonians 5.1-3.
8.1-2: The seventh seal is opened, and we have
silence in heaven for ½ an hour, then follows the 7 trumpets.
The
silence may be due to the severity of the events to be unleashed in the 7
trumpets, usually understood as judgments on the earth.
Are the
trumpets part of the content of the scroll?
Or are they part of the revelation to the 7th seal? They could be part of the content of the
scroll, as are the bowl judgments to follow, but…
Do they
follow in sequence to the sixth seal, or are they events that precede the sixth
seal, being the coming of Christ, that began earlier and have their completion
with the sixth seal? I tend to think
the latter, though many see all these things as sequential, being first the seals, followed
by the trumpets, followed by the bowls, but I believe there is overlap of all
three groups of 7 as shown in the image above, and they find their completion in connection with
the coming of Christ as seen in the sixth seal. I believe each group is mostly successive-sequential, but they all 3 end or number 6 and 7 for the seal, number 7 for the trumpets and bowls. This can be called a successive-final view.
Though the
trumpets are terrible events coming on the earth, they are not complete devastation
of creation, as the first 4 affect a third of nature. They may even be seen as a means of turning some to God, because of the degree of
difficulty they bring. Yet for many they will produce anger towards God, as 9.20
says that they did not repent.
8.6-7: The first trumpet sounds, and hail and fire
and blood come upon the earth, causing a third of trees and green grass to be
burned up. Much like the plague on Egypt,
Ex 9.23-25. The blood may refer to
death, as in Egypt, as those in the field died from the hail.
8.8-9: The second affects a third of the seas, being probably the oceans, by some large object, like an asteroid as in the next trumpet event, but could it be
some actual landmass or structure that involves an explosion? A third of sea life dies, and ships are destroyed. God limits the devastation, but it will be great.
8:10-11: The third involves a burning star, which is
more likely to be a comet or asteroid creating acid rain as it enters our
atmosphere. (Read about the Russian forest
explosion: the "Tunguska event" in which an explosion over the sparsely populated East Siberian taiga flattened an estimated 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 km2 (830 sq mi) of forest.) This burning star will poison a third of fresh water and cause
death to those who drink it.
“Wormwood”
is referenced in Jeremiah 9:15: “Because they have forsaken My law which I set
before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but they
have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals,
which their fathers taught them,” therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give
them water of gall to drink.”
8.12: The fourth trumpet causes a loss of a third of the
light put off by the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Could you
imagine waking to the news that 1/3 of the sun is just black—no explanation
could be given, or on a clear night, 1/3 of the stars are just not visible? No natural explanation would be very
disturbing.
8.13: With
the first 4 trumpets, nature has fallen under Divine judgment as a warning to
mankind, but now warning of worse things to come upon the inhabitants of the
earth, particularly in the fifth and sixth trumpets.
The aim is
to bring mankind to repentance. God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3.9.
The
events of the next 2 trumpets are very bizarre in nature, and how
they will manifest themselves is difficult to comprehend.
9:1-12: The fifth trumpet is a terrible vision of
bizarre creatures that afflict people without killing them. It is difficult to know how much is symbolic. The affliction is surely real.
1-4: The
“star” must be symbolic of an angelic being, for it is identified as one who
is given a key. Is it Satan? Walvoord
believes so, and he believes it has to do with Satan being cast out of heaven,
12:7-12. The star that fell could speak
of what already happened, being in the perfect tense (according to Walvoord).
The angelic being is
given a key to the bottomless pit or better, the abyss (the Greek word). This distinguishes it from on the earth and
in heaven. Luke 8:31 suggests it is the
abode of demons.
This is
the same place the beast is shown to ascend from, 11.7, and it is the place
Satan is bound for a thousand years, 19.1-3.
Their origin probably connects them to their demonic nature and character.
When it is
opened, smoke comes out and darkens the sun and air; its contents erupt.
The
affliction that comes is limited to people, not harming the earth.
The
affliction is discriminatory. It does
not afflict those who have the seal of God. This goes back to Revelation 7
concerning those who have the seal of God.
Revelation 7.1-4 speaks of the sealing of a particular group of people before the 4
angels harm the earth. This sealing has its Old Testament comparison in Ezekiel 9.4-6.
5-11: Bizarre looking creatures are allowed 5 months to torment people. Some
say this is according to the actual time of locust plagues. It’s a limited time.
They have
a scorpion’s sting which is painful. It doesn’t kill, but men will want to die but
can't. How can this be? Is this like
demon possession in which people so afflicted can't kill themselves?
Their
description may be just symbolic of the nature represented.
A locust
does have some of these likenesses, but not all of them. They have a human face, women’s hair, teeth of
a lion, and scorpion tails. Are
these symbolic of character only? Like
locusts, these demonic creatures are a plague from God, and their
bizarre hybrid appearance shows them unnatural and represents their true character.
Their king
is an angel whose name means "destroyer." Walvoord identifies him as Satan.
13-19: The 4
angels bound at the Euphrates are said to be prepared for the exact time
needed.
God has
sovereignly determined the time and boundaries of our existence.
Their
purpose is the destruction of a third of mankind.
The former
trumpet inflicts pain, but this one death.
We are
then told of 200 million horsemen. An
incredible number. The horsemen wear
distinctive breastplates. The horses, like
the locusts, are not normal looking, with lion heads that emit fire, smoke, and
brimstone, and deadly serpent tails with heads. Some see modern weaponry here, but I would question that. It could be symbolic of the destructive
force of modern weapons, but there won’t be 200 million tanks.
Is the
number symbolic? Could there even be
200 million soldiers, let alone horseman?
Walvoord says that in Time Magazine, from 1965, Red China claim a man and woman
militia of 200 million—the exact figure here.
An expert on military logistics says it is beyond human capability to mobilize
such an army. All the Allied and Axis
forces at their peak during WW2 were about 70 million.
Some believe it's better to see this as a demonic horde of some sort.
If 12 1/2% of Muslims was of the militant type, you
would have your 200 million, but they would not be of one place, but spread
throughout the world.
There may
be a connection here with the Euphrates being dried up to prepare for the kings
of the East, 16:12-16.
Maybe this
is symbolic of the destructive force of a great army that destroys a third of
mankind. It is a destructive force by 3
things, fire, smoke, and brimstone. By
these people die, whatever they exactly represent.
20-21: Yet even through all this, people do not
repent.
11:14-18: The seventh trumpet sounds. This
trumpet announces the kingdom of Christ and the wrath and judgment of God.
I believe
this marks the end of the great tribulation, the end of the 70th
week.
The 7
bowls of wrath of Revelation 16 follow,
but I think they fulfill the last
trumpet.
The last 2
bowls of wrath, the sixth seal, and the last trumpet are close in time of occurring.
In
connection with the 6th bowl, Revelation 16.15, Christ says he’s coming as
a thief. This is how the Day of the Lord comes. The 6th bowl prepares the way for the second coming of Christ, and so the 6th seal, 7th trumpet, and 7th bowl align at the end, but each series is successive, with the seals coming first, then the trumpets, and then the bowls.
The bowls
of wrath are the third woe in Revelation 15-16.
15:1: In
the bowls, the wrath of God is complete.
Yet the sixth seal anticipates Christ’s coming and his wrath. What is the connection? The sixth bowl prepares for that coming of Christ which
will involve war. We are brought to the
end in the bowls of chapter 16. Chapters 17-19 just give us more detail leading
up to and including the end in the final 2 bowls.
5-8: Seven angels are given the 7 bowls of wrath. The time has come, and the bowls of wrath will be carried
out.
The bowls
of wrath in Revelation 16 follow the trumpets, though the 6th
trumpet seems to correspond to the 6th bowl. Some believe the trumpets and bowls are the
same events, but it may be more likely that the bowls follow the trumpets very quickly
near the end, even though there are similarities.
The
last 2 bowls correspond to the last 2 trumpets and actually fulfill the 7th
trumpet, which is more of an announcement than an event. The seventh trumpet
and the 6 and 7th bowl would probably correspond with the 6th
seal, though the 6th bowl prepares for the second coming of Christ for battle, and the 6th seal anticipates the second coming and the Day of the Lord.
That the
bowls take place near the end is evident in their discrimination on who they affect, being those of the kingdom of the beast.
It's still
hard to know how all these things are happening and yet nations will be
gathered for the great battle.
16:1-10: The bowls of wrath, numbers 2 through 4, like the first 4 trumpets, affect nature. Notice the discrimination
in a few cases. It also shows the timing
is during the great tribulation, because they affect those who have the mark
and the throne of the beast.
The
expectation in these events is repentance toward God, but it does not happen.
Bowl 1: There is a bad sore on those with the mark of the beast. It is the same Greek word for "boil" in the LXX (Greek translation of the OT) for the Egyptian
plague.
Bowl 2: The sea is affected, and all sea life died. It becomes as blood of a dead man. The result is universal as compared to the
trumpet involving a third, 8.8.
Bowl 3: The rivers and springs are affected: they become like blood.
Bowl 4: The sun is affected, scorching people. Increased in intensity, not decreased to a
third.
Bowl
5: Darkness covers the beast's throne and kingdom. It might be suggested this
darkness is more of a state of being due to what has happened, thus, a psychological and spiritual
state. Yet it is probably physical darkness, we don't know
the specifics. Yet we see that a thick Darkness
was on the Egyptians in the plague of Exodus 10.21-23 for three days. They blaspheme God in their pain.
Bowl 6: The Euphrates is dried up with deception to draw nations to battle for Armageddon. See Zechariah 14.1-3; Joel 3.9-16; Revelation 14.17-20
Armageddon
is believed to be symbolic or a type of the final place of the last great conflict. It's a reference to the hill of Megiddo or
the city. The majority text has Megiddo. Some believe it will be the actual
location of the final conflict. It was located on the edge of a plain where there were 2
victories, being Barak and Gideon. It's 20 miles long and 14 wide. Many other OT
battles were fought in that plain.
Does Satan know what will happen, and he has no choice but to do and act
in this final drama of mankind in this world?
Bowl 7: There is a great
earthquake. Babylon the Great judged, and cities, mountains, and Islands are affected. There is massive hail of 100-200 pounds.
It is here
that the destruction of Babylon the Great, as that great city, is destroyed, as
Revelation 18 describes. Verses 15-24 describe
its demise, which corresponds with Jesus’ words of it being as like in the days of Noah. 16.19 corresponds with the timing.
Some
believe the great city here is Jerusalem divided by the earthquake, not
Babylon, 11.8. Yet Babylon is destroyed, and Jerusalem will not be destroyed.
What is
Babylon the Great? This is still a
mystery. It is identified in Revelation 17 as a woman on the beast, 17.5-6, the
great prostitute, and yet a great city, 17.18.
Does she exist now because of what she has done? But who or what is it? Some believe it is the Catholic Church and Vatican, some say the
city is the actual Babylon, others say it is Jerusalem, others the USA, and still
others say a Muslim city like Mecca (how about a city like Istanbul?). Is it 2 things or 1? Is it a place or a system or both?
As
Jerusalem, we read it is that great city spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt,
11.8, Matthew 23:30, 37, Revelation 18:24
The harlot
is destroyed by the 10 kings, 17.16, which may be how she, as a city, is
finally destroyed. Jerusalem is divided in 3
parts, cp. Zechariah 14.4-5. Zechariah 12.3 speaks
of Jerusalem as the center of attention, but it won't be destroyed.
Gods wrath
is coming. And Jesus is coming as a
thief. “Blessed is he who watches and
keeps his garments,” 16.15. This must
speak of spiritual preparedness, not
being caught naked and ashamed.
Babylon
the great is
first seen as a woman on the 7 headed beast.
She is called Mystery and the mother of harlots. She is drunk with the blood of the saints. She is
also called a harlot. She is wealthy.
Then we are told that she is that great city which reigns over the kings of the
earth. Is this woman as old as the Kings
represented on the beast, or does she only have a latter-day existence?
I would
suggest both, that it is a system and form as old as the beast she rides, but
she has a latter-day existence and form. And though it did not exist in the
past as it now does, it has roots in the past.
I believe
there is a connection in timing between the second coming and the results of
the sixth bowl. The second coming would
take place in response to what the sixth bowl prepares for: the gathering of
nations for war.
The
seventh bowl with the destruction of Babylon the Great describes the same
condition of the world as when Jesus comes again.
" But
as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as
in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the
day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took
them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. " Matthew 24.37-39
"Then
a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the
sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down,
and shall not be found anymore. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and
trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall
be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you
anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the
voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore."
Revelation 18:21-23: The coming
of Christ is connected with the results of the sixth bowl. And there is still some normalcy in life
right up to the time of destruction of Babylon the Great.
"Then
the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water
was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared to gather
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. ...
“Behold, I
am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest
he walk naked and they see his shame.”
And they
gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
"Then
the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out
of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ...
"Now
the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations
fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the
wine of the fierceness of His wrath."
Rev16:12-21
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