The Seven Seals
Revelation 6
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,[b] and six pounds[c] of barley for a day’s wages,[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The first four seals follow Jesus’ sequence of events in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:4-8 - Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
What does Jesus say will happen next?
Matthew 24:9-28 - “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
This period is characterized by persecution. Jesus’ advice is to flee when the AntiChrist sets up the “abomination that causes desolation.” The AntiChrist’s reign will be cut short, but while it lasts, “there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”
What is the “abomination that causes desolation”?
It seems to be an idol set up in the Temple. It causes desolation because of the conflict, misery, and mass exodus it will cause. Jerusalem will be desolate of her inhabitants. Remember the “woman” (Israel) from chapter 12.
Revelation 12:13-17 - When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Many Israelites will flee and go into hiding for 3.5 years, from the time the AntiChrist invades Jerusalem and sets up the idol in the Temple to the time when Jesus returns to battle against the Antichrist and retake the city.
How will the AntiChrist persecute?
Revelation 13:15-17 - The second beast [the False Prophet] was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast [the AntiChrist/Empire], so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
It's unclear what the “image” of the first beast is. How could an image speak and kill people? What is clear is that refusing to give your allegiance to the beast brings the penalty of death. That’s why Jesus tells us to flee.
There will also be economic pressure. Anyone who does not join the beast will no longer be allowed to take part in the economy. Think about how sweeping this is: not only does this mean you can’t go to the store, but you can’t buy or sell anything. You can’t order goods for delivery. You can’t own property. You can’t seek medical services, or you’ll be arrested. You will be an illegal person. Any government or person who has dealings with you will be committing a crime under the AntiChrist’s regime.
And remember, this persecution will be worldwide. It starts in Israel but extends across the entire world. The sweeping nature of this persecution is what sets it apart from localized persecutions throughout history. This is why it’s called the Great Tribulation.
Revelation 13:7-8 - It [The first beast, the AntiChrist/Empire] was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
The invasion of Israel, the setting up of the idol in the Temple, this period of persecution is all included in the fifth seal.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,[e] were killed just as they had been.
How can we prepare for this coming period of persecution?
Physically –
Skillfully –
Spiritually –
Financially –
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us[f] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their[g] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
Again, this matches Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:29 –
“Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Like every other miracle God works, nothing can explain the strangeness of the sixth seal other than the power of God. It will affect the sky and the earth, and everyone on the earth will understand that the Lord is pouring out His wrath.
Footnotes
- Revelation 6:6 Or about 1 kilogram
- Revelation 6:6 Greek a denarius
- Revelation 6:6 Or about 3 kilograms
- Revelation 6:6 Greek a denarius
- Revelation 6:11 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 12:10; 19:10.
- Revelation 6:16 See Hosea 10:8.
- Revelation 6:17 Some manuscripts his
Revelation 7
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
The wrath of God began with the opening of the sixth seal, but before the Lord unleashes any more punishments, He orders that these 144,000 Jewish persons be “sealed.” The seal of the Lord now appears in juxtaposition with the mark of the Beast. So, what does it mean to be sealed (sphragizo) and marked (charagma) in Scripture?
· The Roman guards sealed Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 27:66)
· People seal God’s testimony when they accept it as truth (John 3:33)
· Paul seals the offering to the poor in Jerusalem when he delivers it to them (Romans 15:28)
· No one can seal Paul from boasting of the fact that he doesn’t burden churches financially (2 Corinthians 11:10)
· God seals us by giving us the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30
Sealing makes something permanent. These 144,000 are permanently set apart as servants of God. They are a special class of followers. We see them again when the Lord returns.
Revelation 14:1-5 - Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The 144,000 offered as firstfruits, meaning they are the first martyrs to be sacrificed as persecution breaks out in Israel. In saying “no lie was found in their mouths,” it’s telling us they did not deny the truth under force of persecution. They kept themselves blameless until the end.
What is the mark of the beast?
Revelation 13:15-18 - The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
The Greek word here is “charagma,” and it is used only one other time in the New Testament, besides in the phrase “mark of the beast.”
Acts 17:29 - “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an [image made/marked] by human design and skill.”
It’s the same idea as setting up a graven image, or an idol. Scripture says people will worship the beast/AntiChrist and his image, as they would an idol.
We also see the number of the beast – 666. There are a lot of theories about this number, but what does Scripture say?
In Ezra 2:13, we read that there were 666 descendants of a man named Adonikam who came out of the Babylonian captivity back to Israel. There doesn’t seem to be any special meaning here. The other mention of 666 in the Bible does seem to have some significance.
1 Kings 10:14 - The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents…
Is the number 666 of the mark of the beast pointing to something to do with money? Maybe so. We read that if you don’t receive the mark of the beast, you can’t buy or sell.
The Great Multitude in White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have 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 shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’[a]
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c]”
These are the Christians who died in the Great Tribulation under the AntiChrist. They went through suffering for a time, but the Lord promises “never again” will they suffer. They’ve passed the test. They’ve proven themselves faithful. They’ve been victorious and earned their eternal reward. Like Jesus, they were willing to suffer – even to the point of death – because they knew what they would gain afterward.
Hebrews 12:1-3 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Footnotes
- Revelation 7:16 Isaiah 49:10
- Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 49:10
- Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 25:8
The Seven Seals – Overview
|
Seal |
Daniel |
Matthew |
Revelation |
Interpretation |
|
1. |
Little Horn that subdues three kings (7, 8), King of the North (11) |
False Messiah (24:4-5) |
The Rider on the White Horse who conquers (6:1-2), The Beast (Revelation 13, 17) |
The Islamic Mahdi |
|
Beginning of first 3.5 years
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2. |
|
Wars and rumors of wars (24:6-7) |
The Rider on the Red Horse (6:3-4) |
War as Mahdi takes power |
|
3. |
|
Famines and earthquakes (24:7) |
The Rider on the Black Horse (6:5-6) |
Famine from war-torn countries and economic collapse |
|
4. |
|
|
The Rider on the Pale Horse (6:7-8) |
Plague as conditions deteriorate |
|
|
“Abomination that Causes Desolation” – Flee! Beginning of second 3.5 years
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5. |
|
Handed over to authorities (24:9) |
Martyrs (6:9-11) |
Worldwide Jewish and Christian martyrdom as Islamic Empire gains influence |
|
6. |
|
Sun and moon darkened, stars fall (24:29) |
Earthquake, sun turns black, moon turns red, stars fall, mountains and islands removed (6:12-17) |
Wrath of God begins |
|
7. |
|
|
Seven Trumpets distributed, Golden Censer hurled to earth (7-8) |
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