The Seven Seals
The seven seals on the scroll are commonly taught and thought of by most preachers and scholars as still being un-opened and a future event that will someday occur when the time is right. I disagree. John saw each one opened 2000 years ago, and as such, once a seal is broken, it cannot be resealed. So, contradictory to what is taught, the seals have all been opened and are not a future event. Lets take a look as each seal is opened and described.
Chapter 6 starts off with John being invited to come and watch Jesus open the seven seals on the scroll that God had given him. The first seal is a rider on a white horse.
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. Rev 6:2 |
There are a lot of people going around teaching that this rider is the Antichrist and that is not so. This rider comes from a seal that was on the scroll handed down to Jesus. God isn't going to hand Jesus the Antichrist and allow it to go out from the throne, especially since Satan and any false or misleading spirit has already been exiled from heaven.
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven. Luke 10:18 |
Instead of this rider doing the will of Satan, this rider is doing what God said for him to do, "conquering and to conquer." The rider also has a crown, of which neither Satan nor the Antichrist will have a crown given to them from God.
While none of the riders are told who or what they represent, it can be said that this rider may very well be the Holy Spirit. That's because the Holy Spirit was left here when Jesus went back to heaven. It is a pure spirit and seeks to conquer the hearts, minds and souls of mankind.
The second rider carries a sword with him and he goes out to take peace from the earth. While the book of Revelation doesn't tell us, the "sword" may also represents what Ezekiel spoke of when he talked about those who are to be brought back from the sword. Plus, this sword is doing what Jesus did when he was here, causing a division among the world and the people so that no one feels safe and are at odds against each other. Something Jesus also said he was sent to do.
When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." 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. Rev 6:3-4 |
After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. Ez 38:8 |
Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. Mat 10:34 |
This raises and interesting concept of God that most preachers refuse to accept, God is causing the wars on earth, not mankind or Satan. When most people think of God, they think of peace and love, prosperity and well being, and yet here we see that isn't the always true. Remember, it was God that brought death, starvation, famines, betrayal, weeds and thorns, and about every bad thing a person can think of to mankind.
Certainly, mankind did not being these upon himself, nor would he truly wish such on his fellow man.
Despite the fact that God was the first to turn against man, where later his son Jesus came saying he would give us his peace, teachings of peace are not always from God or Jesus, but are often from the devil. Don't forget, when Jesus was here, he said he did not come to bring peace, but to divide people and families. It was later when the apostle Paul pointed out that peace and safety are also a sign of the second coming and great disasters about to happen. Thus the meaning of why peace is not always from God.
For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 1 Thes 5:3 |
The third seal is not so easy to understand.
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. 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." Rev 6:5-6 |
One quart of wheat and three quarts of barley, sounds like a mixture to make bread and beer or a drink of some kind with a 3 to 1 ratio. The oil and wine may represent the children of God or the teachings of God and what's in the bible. This verse is hard to figure out because there seems to be no other reference in the bible where one can arrive at something tangible or conclusive.
Death is the rider of the fourth horse and we all know that death has not stopped even with the coming of Jesus, nor will it end when he returns, commonly called the second coming. This rider is obvious to see at work because there have been countless people die from all of the causes this rider has been given the power to perform; death by hunger, by a sword, and by the animals of earth.
When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." 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. Rev 6:7-8 |
Since Jesus left there has been all kinds of plagues on earth. People have died from diseases, famine, hunger, and from just about every animal on earth capable of killing a human being. It's pretty obvious the rider of the pale horse is well at work, and will be long after the millennium since death will not stop until it is swallowed up on the Day of Judgment.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. .... And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Rev 20:14 & 21:4 |
As you can see, this rider, or death, will not end when Jesus comes back. Those who are resurrected may suffer another death at some point in time, either during the millennium or thereafter when the great war takes place. My personal thoughts are there will be no death during the millennium, and as far as I can see, those who will die again will be those who go up against Jerusalem just before the Day of Judgment. At this time, though it is unlikely because of the promise of eternal life, we have no way of knowing
if we will physically die a second time in the future since the bible isn't clear about it. It only says death will be an ongoing event for many years to come.
The fifth seal ends the riders of the four horses and speaks for itself.
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. 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?" Rev 6:9 & 10 |
This seal is self explained and doesn't need much of an interpretation, but does need a little help to understand. John saw the souls of those who had been slain for the testimony of God, he did not see people, nor did he see spirits or spiritual people. They are waiting until the vengeance of God on Satan and his band of angels and those who follow him.
The testimony they have doesn't mean they are preachers, but rather any person who speaks about God and Jesus, or any prophecy past or present, is giving their testimony. Satan, who hates any such person, kills and causes problems in the lives of the chosen ones. These souls, will be added to as time goes on. Therefore, we know John did not see into the future, but saw those who had been slain as of the time he went to heaven.
The next verse explains just that.
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. Rev 6:11 |
What John saw were the ones who had died since the time of salvation began with Jesus until he was taken up to heaven and shown Revelation. He did not see the complete number of people who will eventually die by the hands of Satan and his group. Notice this too, the description doesn't include any previous reference to the Ten Commandments or things before Jesus came. These are the souls of those who have died believing in Jesus, not the ones who died before he came.
Keep in mind that Satan kills people in ways that are typically ignored by us. Car wrecks, accidental falls, sickness, are only a few ways Satan can kill without it being so obvious that he did it. Of course his motive is merely because a person is a believer.
It's very important to take note on the use of the term "soul" too. We are people, not Gods, therefore we are not spirits and we will not be made into a spiritual body when we die. It is our soul that is said to live on, not our spirits because we don't have one. God reveals things to us through his spirit, but it is not a spirit of our own.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Mat 10:28 |
The reason John saw the souls of them who had died is because they haven't been resurrected yet, therefore, there were no bodies for him to see. Also notice that these souls were not before the throne of God, but rather they are beneath it. This is because no one will stand before God until the prophesies and the end of things are complete.
The sixth seal is next to be opened. However, unlike the others this one has not happened yet. This may also be the reason so many believe that the other seals have not happened yet either. While the sixth seal was opened when John was in heaven, it has not happened yet because this seal also signifies the return of Jesus.
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. 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. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. Rev 6:12-14 |
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Mat 24:29-30 |
Obviously this hasn't happened yet or Jesus would be here. Therefore we are living in a time in between the completion of the fifth seal and the beginning of the sixth seal at this point in time. Since Jesus will not return until after the tribulation, and since the time for this salvation period will be over, the completion of the "souls" is done and the tribulation period will be over.
With that said, it seems that God has a specific number of people he is wanting or has made reservation for, or he has simply a place in time he has chosen to stop regardless of the population of earth. We don't know. We just know there will be an end to this time period someday.
These verses are to be taken literally. Here the term stars means stars. Angels are not going to fall from heaven to earth, the stars will fall when the powers of heaven are physically shaken and the doors open up. Although it's hard for us to imagine, the heavens are going to roll up like a scroll. So that in itself will be and interesting sight to see. John then goes on to say what the people on earth will do next:
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, Rev 16:15 |
As the old saying goes, you can run but you can't hide. This seal will take place when Jesus returns even though it has already been opened. The wrath of God will be taking place when this seal comes into reality. The reason we can figure this out is because nothing like this has happened yet. At no time in history has the kings of the earth, world leaders, rich men, great men, commanders, and so forth have run and hid themselves. Even when Jesus was here they didn't do it. Therefore, we know this seal, though it has been opened, has not taken place yet. So, let's review the seals in this chapter:
At this stage, we know these four seals are active because of the events of the world since the time of Jesus. We also know they will continue on past the millennium and so they are not a subject of here today, gone tomorrow. They are here to stay for awhile.
These six of the seven seals so far have revealed the past, present, and the future. The seals are prophecy, and prophecy means the intent of them has been issued, but they had to be opened first before they could begin to be fulfilled. All you have to do is look around at the world and take history into consideration and let that decide if you think they have been opened and active or not.