Revelation’s main prophetic message is unveiled primarily
through seven sets of symbols sketched on a scroll fastened with seven
successive seals. Jesus Christ breaks the seals and opens the scroll
before John’s eyes (
Revelation 6:1). John sees and describes the symbols of the vision, each having a specific prophetic significance.
As we have already seen, Christ alone has the right to unveil the
meaning of the seals. But He does not fully explain each seal in this
context. In fact, He had already—before His death and
resurrection—revealed the keys we need to understand the seals.
This information is recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. The
writers of each of these three Gospel accounts record Jesus’ answer to
the questions His disciples asked Him concerning when He would come
again and what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the age.
“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him
privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be
the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (
Matthew 24:3).
Jesus revealed to them the trends and conditions that would dominate
the world until His return. The seals of Revelation 6 symbolically
portray the same conditions in the same sequence Christ had
earlier described.
Most of Revelation—about two thirds of its content—is devoted to the
seventh seal. The contents of the first six seals are found in chapter
6 alone.
Chapter 7 interrupts the explanation of the seals to explain that
144,000 of the tribes of Israel, after being spiritually converted, will
be protected from the seven plagues heralded by trumpet blasts. It also
explains that during the Great Tribulation a great multitude from every
nation on earth will repent and turn to God.
The events corresponding to the seventh seal dominate the remainder of the book.
Why God’s judgment is needed
The first five seals correspond to adversities that are to afflict
vast portions of humanity, including some of God’s servants, between the
first and second appearances of Christ. These hardships, having already
begun in the lifetime of John, extend to the time of the end.
Concerning these particular afflictions, Jesus had earlier warned that “all these are the
beginning of sorrows” (
Matthew 24:8)—or “of birth pains” (
NIV),
signifying calamaties that would, like labor contractions, escalate in
frequency and intensity before the end. He also said: “… Do not be
terrified; for these things must come to pass first,
but the end will not come immediately” (
Luke 21:9).
We should remember that the primary time frame for Revelation’s main
prophecies is the Day of the Lord. It is the day of God’s judgment and
wrath on the nations. The occurrences of that time are the specific
subject of the seventh seal.
The first five seals describe conditions that predate the Day of the
Lord. These are the afflictions that make God’s intervention and
judgment necessary and just. They describe the particular end-time
application of Satan’s enduring deception of humanity, his persecution
of the saints and the unending pattern of war—with its horrible
consequences—that are the fruits of his deception.
Under the sixth seal we see portrayed a stunning display of signs
and wonders in the heavens. This will transpire just before the Day of
the Lord, announcing that God’s wrath and judgment are at hand.
Now notice Jesus personally identifying the adversities associated
with the seals: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come
in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many. And
ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars … Nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be
famines, and
pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they shall
deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall
kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” (
Matthew 24:4-9,
KJV).
Let’s compare what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 24 to what the apostle John saw in vision as each seal was opened.
The first seal: false religion
The opening of the first four seals reveals the ride of the notorious “four horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
John reports on the first: “I watched as the Lamb opened the first
of the seven seals. Then … 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” (
Revelation 6:1-2,
NIV).
What is the meaning of this mysterious rider? What is the object of his conquest?
In
Revelation 19:11,
in a later time frame, Jesus Christ is pictured as returning
victoriously on a white horse. Does this seal picture the returning,
conquering Christ? Certainly this symbolic horseman bears much outward
similarity to Christ at His return. But notice significant differences
in the details. Christ is wearing many crowns (verse 12), not just the
one crown this rider wears, and Jesus is pictured with a sword as His
weapon (verse 15) rather than a bow. The horseman of the first seal
appears
similar to the returning Christ, but different. Does he symbolize the real Christ or an impostor?
Now let’s compare this symbolic horseman to the first warning Jesus
gave His disciples in the Olivet prophecy. He warned them: “Take heed
that no man
deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and
shall deceive many” (
Matthew 24:4-5,
KJV).
Jesus warned His disciples that the first adversity they would face
would come from deceivers. A few verses later He explained methods
impostors would use as they usurped His name. He reveals that they would
stamp His name on a religion that is really a
counterfeit Christianity:
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For
false christs and
false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders
to deceive,
if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.
Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go
out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it” (
Matthew 24:23-26).
To be consistent with Jesus’ prophecies, this first rider can represent only a deceptive power
masquerading
as Christ. Outwardly it will appear Christian, but in reality it will
be, like the three riders that follow, a force for evil and destruction.
This deception began in the days of the apostles. But it will reach
its greatest fulfillment in the last days. For example, Paul says a
“lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the
breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (
2 Thessalonians 2:8).
His influence over humanity will be “according to the working of Satan,
with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous
deception …” (
2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
At the time of the end the deception of humanity will be so great
that most of the world will be under the sway of a corrupt, counterfeit
and idolatrous religious system, one that has rejected the true
teachings of the Bible.
The second seal: the horror of war
“When the Lamb opened the second seal … another horse came out, a
fiery red one. Its rider was given power
to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword” (
Revelation 6:3-4,
NIV).
This horse, the color of blood, matches Christ’s second warning.
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars … Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (
Matthew 24:6-7).
Whe n Jesus founded the Church, the Roman Empire was enjoying a
brief period of peace. But this lasted only a few decades, then Rome was
again at war. This pattern was to continue until the time of the end
when it would reach its climax in “the battle of that great day of God
Almighty” (
Revelation 16:14;
Revelation 19:11-21).
But even before that final battle, the book of Revelation indicates
that global warfare will already be underway. It describes massive
armies engaged in military actions that will take hundreds of millions
of lives.
The third seal: war’s consequences
“When the Lamb opened the third seal … I looked, and there before me
was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures,
saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley
for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’” (
Revelation 6:5-6,
NIV).
This seal portrays an extreme scarcity of food and other basic
necessities of life. It corresponds to Christ’s third warning: “And
there will be
famines …” (
Matthew 24:7).
Scarcity of food and resulting famines are the natural aftermath of
war. At the time of the end, military conflicts among nations will
destroy property and disrupt agricultural production, leading to
widespread and severe scarcity of food and other necessities.
The fourth seal: the mounting toll
“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal … I looked, and there before me was a pale [sickly looking] horse! Its rider was named
Death, and Hades [the grave] was following close behind him. They [all four horsemen] were given power over a fourth of the earth
to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth” (
Revelation 6:7-8,
NIV).
The fourth seal describes widespread disease epidemics and death in
the wake of the war and famine of the previous seals. This corresponds
with the fourth condition listed by Jesus—”pestilence,” or deadly
epidemics of sickness and disease (
Matthew 24:7). His mention of natural disasters such as earthquakes also fits within the context of plagues that bring widespread death.
Moreover, all these elements—war, famine, pestilence and other
calamities—reinforce each other. Wars and other disasters lead to
famines and pestilences, which lead to further fighting over resources.
The wild beasts of the earth become a concern in times of societal
breakdown—and the reference here could also be to disease carriers such
as rats or even microscopic pathogens.
At the time of the end we can expect such dire conditions to impact
various nations and regions of the world—and the faithful people of God
living among them. Conditions in some areas may be similar to the last
days of ancient Israel when God told Jeremiah He would “consume them by
the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence” (
Jeremiah 14:12). God does not want His servants to be surprised by outbreaks of such tragedies, but to look to Him for help and deliverance.
The fifth seal: a religious persecution
After the four horsemen, Jesus opens yet more seals. John writes:
“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. 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?’
Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a
little longer, until the number of their fellow-servants and brothers
who were to be killed as they had been was completed” (
Revelation 6:9-11,
NIV).
Symbolically pictured at the altar in God’s temple, those who have
already given their lives as martyrs in His service are still waiting,
on the eve of the Day of the Lord, for God’s judgment on those who hate
Him, His ways and His servants. But they will have to wait a little
longer because another massive martyrdom of God’s faithful must
first occur.
Christ had already explained to His disciples what must take place: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and
kill you, and
you will be hated
by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended,
will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false
prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will grow cold” (
Matthew 24:9-12).
The early Church had scarcely been established before persecution
set in. Several of the letters of the apostles refer to the suffering
and martyrdom of faithful members at the hands of the enemies of the
Church. Most of the apostles met a violent and early death. The epistles
of 2 Timothy and 2 Peter record the final encouraging thoughts of Paul
and Peter as they awaited execution. Brutal persecution and harassment
continued in the following decades and on into later centuries.
And it will happen again.
Jesus explained that the worst persecution and martyrdom would come
at the time of the end: “For then there will be great tribulation, such
as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no,
nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would
be saved [alive]; but
for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (
Matthew 24:21-22).
As we will see more clearly later, people who refuse to worship “the
image of the beast” in the last days will face the possibility of
execution (
Revelation 13:15). The primary targets of this carnage will be those “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (
Revelation 12:17).
Additional prophecies explain that this time of great tribulation
and persecution will also afflict the modern physical descendants of the
12 tribes of ancient Israel.
The sixth seal: signs in the skies
Then we come to a major transition.
“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, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as
late figs drop from a fig-tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky
receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was
removed from its place” (
Revelation 6:12-14,
NIV).
Did Christ earlier explain when, in the sequence of prophesied
events, these awesome and fearful heavenly signs would occur? He
certainly did:
“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” (
Matthew 24:29).
Now notice, in the concluding description of the sixth seal, what is
to follow the heavenly signs: “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, 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! For
the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (
Revelation 6:15-17; compare
Zephaniah 1:14-17).
Note the order of these three separate events: First comes the
tribulation, as described in the fifth seal. Next the heavenly signs,
described in the sixth seal, occur. After the heavenly signs is the Day
of the Lord, the day of God’s wrath.
The heavenly signs occur
after the time of tribulation has begun but
before
the Day of the Lord begins. The prophet Joel confirms this: “And I
will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and
pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon
into blood,
before the coming of the great and awesome day of the
LORD” (
Joel 2:30-31).
Why is this so significant?
Satan lashes out
The end-time persecution and martyrdom of the saints (also directed
at the physical descendants of ancient Israel) begins before the
heavenly signs and is both the product and the expression of
Satan’s wrath.
Later John describes hearing a voice from heaven announcing: “Woe to
the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to
you,
having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (
Revelation 12:12).
Knowing his time is short, what does Satan do? “Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he
persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child” (
Revelation 12:13).
The woman represents the people of God. At the time of the end Satan
will trigger many destructive events. Because his time is short, he
will mobilize a deceived humanity into a frenzy of hatred and
destruction against anything and anyone that represents the true God.
This point is extremely important. Satan’s vindictive rampage of
terror will be launched against the natural descendants of the tribes of
Israel as well as the converted servants of Christ
before the heavenly signs announce the Day of the Lord.
This means that
Satan’s wrath —the time when great tribulation will fall on God’s people—will have been underway for some time
before the beginning of
God’s wrath.
Even after the time of God’s wrath—the Day of the Lord—Satan’s
destructive war on God’s people apparently will not cease until he is
bound at Jesus’ return (
Revelation 20:1-2).
Notice that the woman of chapter 12 will be “nourished
for a time and times and half a time [a year, years and half a year], from the presence of the serpent” (
Revelation 20:14).
Even though God will nourish, strengthen and protect some of His people
during that terrible time, many others, as we have already seen, will
be killed.
Revelation 11:2 tells us that Jerusalem is to be trampled underfoot by gentiles for 42 months (
Revelation 11:2). God also promises to raise up two prophets to be His witnesses for 1,260 days (
Revelation 11:3).
That each of these periods equals 3 ½ years is significant. These
references indicate that a total of 3 ½ years elapses from the beginning
of Satan’s attack on the people of God until his political and
religious system is destroyed and he is locked away at Christ’s return.
The day of God’s wrath will be brief
The length of God’s judgment is nowhere specified in Revelation, unless it is implied in the expression “the great
day of His wrath” (
Revelation 6:17). In some other prophetic passages God specifies that a “day” represents a
year of punishment (
Numbers 14:34;
Ezekiel 4:4-6). If that same principle applies here in Revelation, the Day of the Lord (“the day of His wrath”) would be
the final year before Christ returns. Indeed,
Isaiah 34:8 refers to the day of the Lord’s anger as a year-long period.
This corresponds to
the last year of the 3 ½ years of
Satan’s wrath. In other words, God’s punishments on the Day of the Lord
would overlap Satan’s vengeance on God’s people for a period of one
year—the final year of the last 3 ½ years.
This time frame seems to be what John, under the inspiration of
Christ, was indicating for the major end-time events described in
Revelation. And it is entirely compatible with Christ’s words. As He
said: “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but
for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” (
Matthew 24:22,
NIV). He indicates that all the events specifically related to the end time will occur within a
brief period.
The description of the sixth seal in Revelation 6 ends with the words: “For
the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (
Matthew 24:17).
This announces the Day of the Lord, the subject of the seventh seal.
Yet the opening of the seventh seal is not discussed until the beginning
of chapter 8. John interrupts the story flow of the seven seals to show
that 144,000 are sealed and a great innumerable multitude are converted
from all nations in this time of worldwide turmoil.
The sealing of the 144,000
First, an angel announces, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the
trees [all are mentioned as being devastated by the first four trumpet
plagues in chapter 8] till we have sealed
the servants of our God on their foreheads” (
Revelation 7:3).
Why are the 144,000 sealed? One key is given later when another angel commands locust-like implements of war
“not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but
only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads” (
Revelation 9:4).
The sealing of those who are chosen by God is now completed. And now
the massive devastation of the coming trumpet plagues that God will
inflict on mankind during the Day of the Lord will not harm them. They
may continue to experience some of the effects of Satan’s vengeance,
even during the Day of the Lord, but their sealing guarantees that
punishments representing God’s wrath will in no way affect them.
Who are these 144,000? How are they identified?
“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” (
Revelation 7:4). This sealing has to do with receiving God’s Holy Spirit so one may become spiritually converted. As
Ephesians 1:13-14
says: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit, [which] is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until
the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (
NIV, compare
Ephesians 4:30;
2 Timothy 2:19).
The 144,000 of Revelation 7 are mentioned again in Revelation 14,
where it becomes clear that these spiritual “firstfruits” will have
repented and been converted before the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
They are described as being redeemed and without fault. They are
represented as having a relationship both with God the Father and Jesus
Christ as the Lamb of God.
“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with
Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name
written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the
voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard
the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new
song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the
elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and
forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
“These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are
virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These
were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault
before the throne of God” (
Revelation 14:1-5).
The great innumerable multitude
“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, and crying out with a loud
voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and
to the Lamb!’” (
Revelation 7:9-10).
This multitude is made up of people from the many nationalities and
ethnic groups on earth—from their tribes, clans and languages. What
makes them special is that they all have “come out of the great
tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb” (
Revelation 7:13-14).
They are converted servants of God, having suffered from and—as seems
to be implied—been converted during the first 2 ½ years of the Great
Tribulation, before the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
There is no firm agreement among biblical interpreters as to what
the text of Revelation 7 implies about the immediate future of this
multitude. These people are, however, promised eternal
life—salvation—with the rest of the saints at the return of Christ.
Some interpret the receiving of “white robes” by the great
innumerable multitude as an indication they may have been martyred by
the beginning of the Day of the Lord. If so, they will be resurrected at
Christ’s coming—just as those martyrs given white robes in
Revelation 6:11 must “wait” until their deaths are avenged (during the Day of the Lord) to be resurrected to eternal life at Christ’s return.
Another view is that the innumerable multitude will
survive the Great Tribulation and will continue to live and be sheltered by God during the Day of the Lord.
The New Revised Standard Version seems to advocate this meaning by the way it translates
Revelation 7:15:
“For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day
and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne
will shelter them.”
Other translations, however, are less specific in their rendering of
this verse. The reason for this is that the original Greek wording
states only that God will “dwell” (or “tabernacle”) among them. The
conclusion that they remain alive and are
sheltered from further harm during the Day of the Lord is then deduced from this promise.
The promises in the next two verses, though their specific
application is somewhat ambiguous, are generally regarded as
reinforcements of this deduction: “They shall neither hunger anymore nor
thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 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” (
Revelation 7:16-17).
Unmistakably clear in Revelation 7 is that a great harvest of true
and faithful Christians will occur during the first years of the great
tribulation period. That immense spiritual harvest will be reaped not
only from the literal tribes of Israel but from the others nations and
peoples throughout the earth. The powerful preaching of God’s two
witnesses (chapter 11) will no doubt contribute greatly to the
conversion of this vast number during that frightening and deadly time.
