Case I: The Seven Seals

There will be three (3) sets of seven (7) judgements from God unto the world after the Rapture. There are different views of when the judgement will occur. I believe that they will happen one after the other; the first 14 judgements occuring during the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation and the last seven occuring in the last 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation. Each judgement will be followed by an even worse judgement. The last judgement will be followed by the the Second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ with His Bride (Raptured saints). Many ask, “Why concern ourselves with this part of prophecy? We’d be gone by then in the Rapture.” We need to concern ourselves with this because the seven year tribulation will be the most debased time that human history has ever known. Many of the people we know will go through this period… it will be worse than anything imaginable. It will be outright horror. Hollywood cannot even imagine, let alone put on film, the unspeakable magnitude of the hell-bent global reign of terror that is about to breakout on the world. If we follow what Jesus commanded us to do, “love our neighbors as ourselves”; then we would be motivated to evangelize even more to the lost before Jesus calls us to Himself. Although we do not know when the Rapture will happen, we are close. In fact, the next prophecy to be fulfilled is the Rapture. Jesus is coming soon! Let us work even harder to bring in more souls into the fold. I heard an evangelist say that out of 100 people we talk to about Jesus, only one will accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. One in one hundred…Very sad considering is about your eternal salvation. But it’s a choice for the individual, a person can either choose death or life.

The First Seal

Revelation 6:1-2, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” The first of the well known Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appears. Who is this figure? Many scholars have suggested that this is the Anti-Christ. His purpose? He will be bent on conquering and dominating the world under one government, through peacefull means(security, prosperity, peace). Sound familiar? Noticed that he comes into the world scene, wearing a crown that was given to him and carrying a bow without arrows. This is very significant cause arrows would symbolize war. But, since the ride carries a bow and no arrows, one can say that he enters through peacefull means.

The Second Seal

Revelation 6:3-4,”And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” This second horseman of the Apocalypse is symbolic of war. In his effort to conquer the world, the Anti-Christ will cause nations to come against him. This could be the start next world war, or in other words, World War III. Even though, some scholars have noted, that the war on terror, is already World War III. So it could possibly be, that this could lead to World War IV. The next coming World War, will be devastating for man-kind. More than 1/3 of the population will be destroyed. Furthermore, the following verse states, Matthew 24:22, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” In other words, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will have to intervene to save the whole world from total annilihation. Nevertheless, what will the Anti-Christ do, he will gather all earth forces in forming a military alliance to confront our Lord Yeshua, in the Battle of Armageddon. Still, we all know, that our Lord Yeshua will be victorious in this battle. It is only then, that this whole world will experience and everlasting peace that surpasses the understanding of man.

The Third Seal

Revelation 6:5-6,”And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” This shouldn’t be a surprise. We’ve seen it or have studied this before. First off, “black” is the symbol for famine. It’s been used before in Scriptures to depict famine (Jer. 4:28 , Lam. 4: 8, 9) Famine often follows war as it did in World War One, especially in Germany. However, go back in history just before WW 1 and study the effects of the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Would it surprise you to find out that many lost their jobs and wealth and inflation was rampant? Do you remember seeing pictures of people buying bread for a wheel barrel full of money in Germany? What we are seeing in the 3rd Seal Judgement that a “penny” is the equivalent of a day’s wages after the war. Bread and wheat will cost a day’s wages in those times. The oil and wine is symbolic of the rich. This war will take it’s toll on the common folk but not the rich.

The Fourth Seal

Revelation 6:7-8,”And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” The pale horse will be corpse-like, depicting death. The death rate will be high in the first twenty- one months of the Tribulation. People will die as a result of the war, famine and inflation. In fact, one fourth of the population of the earth will die. However, here’s the hook; it will only be the unsaved that will suffer damnation. Why? “…and Hell followed with him.” The saved will not be suffer damnation.

The Fifth Seal

Revelation 6:9-11,”And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were 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, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” A multitude of Tribulation Christians will be persecuted and slain at this time; that is, Christians that are saved after the Rapture. These are the multitudes refered to in Revelation 7:9. This will be the greatest persecution of Christians the world has ever known. I believe it will make all the past periods of persecution together, Jewish and Christian, look like a walk in the park.

The Sixth Seal

Revelation 6:12-17,”And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens 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 that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” There will be a great earthquake, meteors falling from the sky and phenominal physical changes on the Earth. This is the punishement by God on the earth in payment for the slaughter of His Saints. These people will know that it is in fact Lord Jesus who is judging them and there is no where to hide from His wrath. These six seals are the introduction to even greater, more horrific events to come.

The Seventh Seal

Revelation 8:1,”And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” The 7th seal depicts the calm before the storm. This seal introduces the second set of seven judgements called The Seven Trumpet Judgements. The trumpet judgements are so horrendous that all heaven sits in awesome silence before the judgements begins. In other words, you can say, it’s half-time before the onslaught begins…..