Prophecy
6
The Six Seals
–
Revelation 4:1-6:17
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Revelation 6:10
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?{10} When
Cain murdered Abel, the Bible says
that Abel’s blood called out to
God for justice.[62] Abel’s
blood is personified in Genesis
because a great injustice had been
inflicted on Abel. In a similar way,
the blood of the martyrs will call
out to Jesus from the container
beneath the altar. I heard the cry,
“How long, Sovereign Lord, holy
and true, must this martyrdom go on?
How long, O God, until You avenge our
wrongful death?”
Revelation 6:11
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.{11} Then,
all of the martyrs were given a white
robe (given the assurance of
Christ’s righteousness, the
wedding garment) and told to be
patient. The saints were told that
they were being used by Jesus as
living sacrifices so that Jesus might
save to the utmost. Martyrdom would
continue until a predetermined number
of martyrs were killed.[63] In
other words, after the number of
believers to be killed are killed,
martyrdom will serve no further
purpose in saving non-Christians.
There is an
interesting connection between the
sword of truth (the Bible) in the
second seal and the martyrdom of the
saints during the fifth seal! When
the second seal was broken, the Holy
Spirit started a Bible campaign. The
Bible was translated, printed, and
widely distributed around the world.
When the fifth seal is broken, many
people will be martyred because the
distribution of Bibles had exposed
them to God’s truth and they
stand firmly for the truth proclaimed
in the Word of God.
A
predetermined number of saints and
most, if not all, of the 144,000 will
be killed during the fifth seal.[64] The
blood of martyrs is a powerful
testimony and it cannot be easily
ignored or silenced. It is comforting
to know that Jesus has only to speak
the word and millions who now sleep
in the dust will come forth from the
grave to life immortal![65] The
first death is like a temporary
sleep, but the second death is
forever.[66]
To be honest,
sleeping through the remainder of the
Great Tribulation will prove to be a
sweet blessing.[67] The
blood of martyrs will cry out for
justice, but some of the wicked,
after observing the sacrifices of
innocent saints, will repent and be
saved. Be assured that each
martyr will be given a martyr’s
faith. The Holy Spirit will
comfort and empower each martyr to
stand firm. Each one will have
perfect peace knowing that Jesus will
remember him when He calls the dead
in Christ to life!
The Sixth Seal – The Glory of
Jesus
Revelation 6:12-14
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.{12} I
continued to watch as the Lamb broke
open the sixth seal. I saw a great
commotion. Earth began to tremble and
everyone was filled with fear. The
Sun became an eerie black disk in the
heavens, the moon turned blood red in
color,
{13} thousands
and thousands of fiery meteors
fell from the sky, like late figs
drop from a fig tree when it is
shaken by a strong wind.
{14} The sky
became violent, rolling up like a
scroll, and every mountain and island
was removed from their places.
Revelation 6:15-17
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?{15} Then
the kings of the Earth, the princes,
the generals, the rich, the mighty,
even the slaves, and free men, hid in
caves and among the rocks of the
mountains.
{16} They
called to the fiery hailstones,[68] saying,
“Fall on us and hide us from the
face of the Father who sits on His
throne and from the wrath of the Lamb
who sits at His right hand!
{17} For the
great day of their wrath is here, and
who can stand?”
The sixth
seal describes the physical appearing
of Jesus at the Second Coming. The
wicked will be horrified when they
see Jesus sitting at the right hand
of the Father.[69] As we
think about this dramatic scene, two
elements are important to consider.
First, remember that the Book of Life
is not opened at the Second Coming.
The Book of Life remains sealed until
the seventh seal is broken at the end
of the 1,000 years.[70] It is
not until the end of the one thousand
years that the Father is vindicated.
Second, remember that the seven seals
are additive in nature. As each seal
is broken, a brighter and clearer
understanding of who Jesus really is
unfolds. Consider the following:
- The
first seal reveals the truth,
salvation comes through faith
in Jesus alone
- The
second seal reveals the
teachings of Jesus, found
only in the Bible
- The
third seal reveals the
judgment seat of Jesus, He is
our judge
- The
fourth seal reveals the
sovereign authority of Jesus,
His deadly judgments
- The
fifth seal reveals the faith
of Jesus through His martyrs
- The
sixth seal reveals Jesus as
King of kings and Lord of
lords
- The
seventh seal reveals that
Jesus is Almighty God,
identical to the Father.
Notice that the first six
seals relate to each other in
pairs. The first three seals
are causes, and the following
three seals are their
effects.
The first
seal describes the first work of the
Holy Spirit. He impresses sinners
with their need of a Savior and the
solution is a gospel of salvation
through faith in Jesus. The work
begun in the first seal ends with the
sixth seal because eternal life is
imparted to the saints at the sixth
seal, that is, at the Second Coming.[71] Notice
how the second seal pairs with the
fifth seal. The second seal concerns
the distribution of the Bible around
the world and the fifth seal concerns
martyrdom that will come when people
firmly stand on Bible truth (the Word
of God). Finally, the third seal
concerns the doctrine of a pre-Advent
judgment (the judgment of the dead)
which connects to the fourth seal
that deals with the judgments of God
and the judgment of the living. When
the fourth seal is broken, the seven
trumpets will begin. God’s wrath
will awaken the living to hear that
the hour of God’s judgment has
come.[72]
Evidence That Supports
Prophecy 6 Beginning in 1798
The weight of
evidence indicates Prophecy 6 began
in 1798.
- Many
Christians do not understand
the humiliation of Jesus,
therefore the exaltation of
Jesus as Almighty God
in Daniel 7:13,14 and
Revelation 5 does not
seem important. (This topic
is examined in greater detail
in Prophecy 12.) The basic
idea underlying the
humiliation of Jesus is that
to save mankind from death,
Jesus, a co-eternal member of
the Godhead who is equal with
the Father in every way, had
to completely surrender
Himself to the Father’s
will. This event is described
in Psalm 2: “I will
proclaim the decree of the
Lord [the Father]: He said to
me [Jesus], ‘You are my
Son [subject]; today I have
become your Father.”[73] The
humiliation of Jesus explains
why He could not come to
Earth and do as He pleased.
“For I have come down
from Heaven not to do my will
but to do the will of him who
sent me.”[74] Jesus
did as the Father required
and on the basis of His
perfect submission, Jesus was
resurrected. “During the
days of Jesus’ life on
Earth, he offered up prayers
and petitions with loud cries
and tears to the one who
could save him from death,
and he was heard because of
his reverent submission.
Although he was a son, he
learned obedience from what
he suffered and, once made
perfect, he became the source
of eternal salvation for all
who obey him and was
designated by God to be high
priest in the order of
Melchizedek.”[75]
- When
Jesus returned to Heaven, He
served as man’s high
priest until the time came
for the sin problem to be
concluded.[76] Centuries
later, a great convocation
was called in Heaven. For
reasons discussed in Prophecy
2 (Daniel 7), I believe the
Ancient of Days took His seat
in Heaven’s courtroom in
1798. The Father issued a
restraining order against the
little horn power and 1,260
years of papal persecution
ended. Then, Jesus went
before the Ancient of Days
and was given sovereign power
and a kingdom.[77] We
know that Jesus was given
“all authority”
over His church before He
ascended from Earth,[78] but
His authority over the church
is not to be confused with
sovereign power over Heaven
and Earth.[79] After
Jesus was found worthy on the
basis of demonstrated love,
the Father stepped aside. He
gave Jesus sovereign power in
1798 to conclude the sin
problem. Daniel and John both
saw this event because it
exposes an extremely relevant
part of who and what Jesus is
all about.
Using repetition and
enlargement, Prophecy 6 adds
some vital information to
Daniel 7. Jesus was found
“worthy” to receive
a book sealed with seven
seals when He was given
sovereign power (represented
by the seven horns on the
Lamb’s head). John also
heard Heaven joyfully singing
that Jesus was worthy to
receive seven attributes of
worship reserved only for
deity: “Power and wealth
and wisdom and strength and
honor and glory and
praise!”[80]Therefore,
Christ’s appearance
(having seven horns), His
worthiness declared to
receive the book sealed with
seven seals, and the joyful
singing in Revelation
5 perfectly aligns with
the exaltation of Jesus
described in Daniel 7:13,14. The
year is 1798 because the
convocation assembled that
year.
- The
second seal adds historical
fulfillment to the prophecy.
The sudden formation of Bible
Societies around the world
after 1798 is a historical
phenomenon that cannot be
overlooked. Given the
limitations of communication
between the continents in the
early 1800’s and the
rise of various
denominations, what could
have caused Christians to
suddenly embrace the same
spiritual objective and
mission (the translation,
printing and distribution of
the Bible) if not the Holy
Spirit?
- Finally,
the breaking of the third
seal perfectly aligns with
the cleansing of
Heaven’s temple.[81] In
other words, when the 2,300
days ended in 1844, Jesus
began to judge the dead from
the books in Heaven.[82] When
the third seal is broken, the
rider leaves the throne room
holding a pair of scales in
his hand. This imagery
perfectly aligns with the
pre-Advent judgment of
mankind. Scales have been
used for centuries to convey
the idea that justice
requires weighing the claims
and actions of people. Do you
remember the words of Daniel
to Belshazzar the night the
king was killed? “[O
King,] This is what these
words [the handwriting on the
wall] mean: Mene : God has
numbered the days of your
reign and brought it to an
end. Tekel : You have been
weighed on the scales and
found wanting.”[83]
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