8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 1/15

Teachinghearts

The Seven Seals(Revelation 4 - 6)

"Explore the Word. Change the World"

Lesson 29:Time: 70 minutesPrint: 14 pages

Passover Wavesheaf Pentecost Trumpets Day of Atonement Tabernacles

1-3 4-5 6 7 8-11 10 11 12-13 14-15 16-19 14, 20-22

Lamb Church Accepted Seals Sealing Judgment Remnant Legal Case Satan's empire Warning Destruction Rescued

Lamb High Priest King Judge Bridegroom

SymbolsRevelation 4 and 5 introduces Jesus as the wavesheaf who was accepted by God and found worthy toopen the scroll with the seven seals.Revelation 6 and 7 introduces the work of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost who seals the people of God bywriting the laws of God in their heart. This is the promise of the covenant that is revealed when thenew king opened the seal.

Revelation 6 is the destiny of those who reject the Holy Spirit and the covenant.Revelation 7 is the destiny of those who accept the Holy Spirit and the covenant.The symbols used are from the sanctuary and the blessings and the curses of the covenant. Theprophecy of the seven churches in Revelation 1 to 3 shows the status of the church and the counsel ofJesus as their High Priest. The seven seals show why Jesus warns, rewards and punished them,because here He is presented as their King.

The Open DoorRevelation 4 describes Heaven in terms of the Most Holy Place in the Sanctuary.Revelation 5 describes the acceptance of the wave sheaf offering after the resurrection.a door was opened in heaven . (Revelation 4: 1). This verse describes an open door in Heaven. This door was opened when the veil tothe Most Holy was torn. Jesus entered that door at His ascension when He was accepted as the wavesheaf offering and inauguratedas our High Priest.Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as weare, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in timeof need. (Hebrews 4: 14-16)

Crucifixion VeilTorn

Resurrection Wave Sheaf Inauguration High Priestis King

and Judge

HolySpirit

Pentecost

Jesus First Fruits Lamb becomes High Priest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Friday Nisan 14 Lamb 24 Elders Sunday Nisan 16 Nisan 16 - 22 Receives Covenant Seals Opened

Temple Opened Revelation 5 Revelation 6

Open Door . At the crucifixion, the curtain betweenthe Holy Place and the Most Holy Place was torn. Thissymbolized His death, the opening of graves and theopening of the door between the two rooms.

Torn Veil . And, look, the veil of the temple was tornin two from the top to the bottom; and the earth didquake, and the rocks rent; And the graves wereopened; and many bodies of the saints which slept

Pray FirstNavigation

The Church is Sealed Seven Churches

ResourcesLessonsSymbolsGlossaryDanielRevelation

Study HelpCursesSigns of the End

TextsRevelation 4 - 6Leviticus 26

The Throne

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 2/15

arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:51-53)Throne . Through the open door John saw a throne. This is the Ark of the Covenant which is the throne of God.One Sitting on the Throne . This is God surrounded by the glory of God.Sea . The throne in heaven has a river that comes out of it. This must be the pool of water that it creates.Four Living Creatures . Solomon placed two Cherubim within the Most Holy Place, whose wings covered above the placethat the Ark was put. In addition, there were the two "Covering Cherubim" on the Ark. So, there were Four Cherubim in theSanctuary.Four Cherubim And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to his place, into the oracle of the house, tothe most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the placeof the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves above it. (1 Kings 8: 6-7)

Twenty Four Elders . On the earth, only the priests could enter the sanctuary and only the high priest could see the ark ofthe covenant. In heaven, we see that it is now open to ordinary people. The twenty four elders represent the people ofearth. We know that they are from earth because they are wearing "victory crowns" (stephanos). These are probably fromthe group of people who were resurrected with Jesus. See Matthew 27: 51-53.

Even on earth, the family of priests were divided into twenty four divisions named after the children of Levi so that theycould rotate their schedules when they served in the temple. We know that all the righteous will become priests of God.Therefore the twenty four divisions will probably be named after these twenty four elders.24 Divisions of Priests . Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron ... And David distributed them ... according totheir offices in their service. ... So were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, andgovernors of the house of God ... Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah ... The twenty third toDelaiah, the twenty fourth to Maaziah. (1 Chronicles 24: 1-18.)

The Victory Crown . For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight,I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which theLord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing. (2Timothy 4: 6-8)Scroll . The scroll is the covenant.Lamb . The Lamb becomes the High Priest and then the Lion King. Then He is appointed as Judge of the living and the dead.(Acts 10: 42)

The Sealed Scroll and the CovenantThe crisis in Revelation 5 centers around a Scroll with seven seals. We will show that thisscroll is the covenant which was kept at the throne of God.

Located at the Throne (Ark). The scroll was ... in the right hand of him that sat on the throne. Revelation 5: 1The only written documents kept in the sanctuary were the ten commandments and theTorah written by Moses.

The Ten Commandments ("The Covenant") . These were called the covenant andthe testimony and they were put inside the ark.And He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote themupon two tables of stone. (Deuteronomy 4: 13)Location . And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. (Exodus 25: 16)The Torah. (The Laws and The Blessings and Curses) . These were put beside the ark. These also legally define thecovenant, the consequences for breaking the covenant and the terms to which the people agreed. Life or death. It was thesame choice given to Adam.Ceremonial Laws and Curses . And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book,until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Takethis book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for awitness against you. (Deuteronomy 31: 24-26)

Two Sets of Laws

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 3/15

Written on Both Sides. Both the scroll and the ten commandments were written on both sides.

The Scroll . .. written within and on the backside ... (Revelation 5: 1)The Commandments . And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in hishand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. (Exodus 32: 15)The Covenant . Then I looked and behold, a hand was extended to me and lo a scroll was in it. When He spread it outbefore me, it was written on the front and the back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe. (Ezekiel 2: 9-10)In the vision of the throne of God, Ezekiel was given a scroll by God on the throne. This must be the copy of the covenantwhich included the commandments and the blessings and curses. This description of the throne of God places a copy of adocument which contained the curses at the throne of God.The Curses . Zechariah sees a flying scroll with the curses for breaking the law written on both sides.And he said to me, "what do you see?" And I answered, "I see a flying scroll, its length is twenty cubits and its width is tencubits". Then he said to me, "This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land.Sin Against Man . surely everyone who steals will be purged away by thewritings written on one side,Sin Against God . and everyone who swears will be purged away according tothe writing on the other side".... and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one whoswears falsely by My name ... (Zechariah 5: 2-4)

The curses are sent for breaking the ten commandments. It specificallymentions stealing and taking the name of the Lord in vain. Stealing isusually an offense against man but the next is an offense against God.

The King and The Priest.Two people kept a copy of the law.

Priest . The priest had a copy in the temple.King. A copy of the law was given to the king at his coronation.

The problem was, that since the law was kept in the sanctuary, the king could not get a copy unless there was a legitimate HighPriest who could enter the Most Holy Place to retrieve the copy. In addition, no one was allowed to be both a king and a priest.The Priest Gives A Copy to the King . And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of

this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the daysof his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.(Deuteronomy 17: 18-19)So the king must read and enforce the law.

Who is Worthy?

Therefore we have this dilemma.Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals? (Revelation 5: 2).In other words, who can enter the temple of heaven to retrieve a copy of thecovenant? And who has a right to be king and receive the law? For a time no onecould be found.And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the bookor to look into it? (Revelation 5: 3).

Heaven . There was no angel or other creature in heaven.Earth . There was no human.Under the Earth . There was no one among the dead.

No one was found until Jesus was victorious over sin and death.

The Paradox

Only a Priest could enter theSanctuary. And only a Kingcould receive the Scroll to

Rule. In Ancient Israel, aPriest came from the tribe ofLevi. The King came from thetribe of Judah. No one wasallowed to serve in bothroles.

The Offering

When Jesus died He fulfilled the quality andtime requirements to become severalofferings .

The Passover Lamb.The Sin offering.The Ram of Ordination (Inauguration).The Wave offering.The Wavesheaf (First Fruits).The Peace offering. (Free Will).

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 4/15

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 5/15

Pentecost 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

HolySpirit

Blessing Curse 1 Curse 2 Curse 3 and 4 Curse 5 (The Wrath of God) Blessing

White Horse Red Horse Black Horse Pale Horse Martyrs Signs Silence

EarlyChurch31-199

RomanPersecution

200-350

Apostasy

350-538

PapalPersecution

538-1740

MartyrsWait

1740-55

Earthquake

1755

DarkDay1780

Stars

18331844 Sky

SplitsSecondComing

The Four CreaturesThe Cherubim . And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast was like a calf; and the third beast had a face as a man andthe fourth beast was like a flying eagle. (Revelation 4: 7)Revelation 4 mentions the order of the four beasts who would be sent with each seal. It represents the order in which the work ofChrist will be done on behalf of the righteous and the order in which the curses will be applied to the wicked. The same power ofGod that is salvation for the righteous becomes a curse for the wicked.

4 BC Son of Man 31 AD Lamb of God 1844 Righteous Judge SecondComing Bridegroom

Lion of the Tribe of Judah Calf (Sacrifice for Sin) Man (Judge with a Pair of Scales) Eagle (Eats the Wicked Dead)

The Symbols of the Seven SealsThe sealed scroll is the covenant. The terms of this covenant includes reward and punishment in the form of the blessings andcurses. As the seals are opened either a blessing or curse is applied. Therefore the symbolism comes from the curses in thecovenant. A vision of a flying scroll in Zechariah 5 seems to support this view.Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked and saw there was a flying scroll.And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits. "then He said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the face of the whole land". (Zechariah 5: 1-3)The first four seals were delivered by the creatures from the throne of God. They send the equivalent horses of judgment. All thesesymbols are associated with the curse. The first seal shows the blessing as the church is obedient to the covenant. They arevictorious. As apostasy takes control the five sets of curses are applied. In the fifth curse, the blessings are seen for the righteous asGod protects his people of the covenant and sends the final curse on the wicked.It is not a coincidence that the next prophecy deals exclusively with the people of God who are sealed. They survive the opening ofthe seals. They are not condemned by a curse. This prophecy shows the selection and rejection of people of the world and the nextintroduces us to those who are selected.

Creature Seal Symbols Curse Period

1 Lion

The FourHorsemen

White horse Crown, bow Blessings Early church2 Calf (Ox) Red horse War 1. No peace Persecution

3 Face of aMan Black horse

Scales, wheat,barley. Oil andwine not hurt.

2. Famine Apostasy

4 FlyingEagle Pale horse

Wild beasts,sword, famine,pestilence

3. Wild beasts4. War, famine,disease

Dark ages

5These lastjudgmentsare notsent by thecreatures.They comefrom Godhimself.

TheWrath of

God

Souls underthe altar askfor justice

White robesThe fifth curse,which is thefinal wrath ofGod. It is sentas an answer tothe prayers ofthe saints.

ReformationandMartyrdom

6Day of wrath. Earthquake, darksun, blood moon, stars fall andsky splits

After 1798

7 Silence in heaven for half hour End of time

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 6/15

We will note that a Creature is associated with each of the first fourseals. Revelation 4: 6-8 tells us that these four living creatures werearound the throne. Remember the living creatures around God's chariotthrone in Ezekiel's visions. (Ezekiel Chapters 1 and 10):

A color is associated with the horses seen ineach of the first four seals.Joel 2: 1-4, Zechariah 1: 8-10 and Zechariah 6:1-3 describe horses which bring judgment fromGod.

The Four Horsemen of the ApocalypseThe seals can be divided into two sets.

• The Four Horsemen . These are the first four seals. These are the four horses

which bring judgment from God. They are the promised blessing of the HolySpirit and the first four curses.• The Wrath of God . These are the last three seals. They are the fifth and final

curse, which is the wrath of God.

The First SealThen I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four livingcreatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come". I looked, and saw, a white horse,and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went outconquering and to conquer. (Revelation 6: 1-2)

• The Creature . Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. (Revelation 5: 5)• The Horse . The white horse is the spiritual purity of the first church.•

The Blessings . The first part of the covenant lists the blessings, not the curses. Here we see the faithful church beingrewarded with the blessings of the covenant. After the inauguration of the lamb as the high priest and the ascension to thethrone of the lion king, the Holy Spirit is sent at Pentecost to fulfill the covenant. Therefore, under the first seal, a greatblessing occurred.

• The Symbols . Bow and crown. They went to war for God, expecting victory, and they conquered. The crown is aStephanos , a crown of victory. It was not a Diadema which is a kingly crown.

The Fulfillment of the First Seal (The Early Church) (31-199) :This is the early church during the time of the apostles. The first century through the mid second century. Under the guidance of theHoly Spirit and the conquering Christ, they had a purity of the faith and the zeal for the work of God through which they conquered

The Blessing

Lion and WhiteHorse

There was no curse in the earlyapostolic period as the churchobeyed the king of kings and theword of God.

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 7/15

the world. Their crown is a victory wreath.However, as time continued the church became corrupted and as each seal is opened, theking sees that He must apply the punishments written down as curses. So amazingly wefind that the rest of the seals bring the five series of curses in the order specified in thecovenant.

The Second SealWhen He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come". Andanother, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peacefrom the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given tohim. (Revelation 6: 3-4)

• The Creature . This was the calf or ox. It was is the only creature among the fourliving creatures that could be used as a sacrifice. It is also a strong creature. So here we see the sacrifice of Christ next tothe work of the red horse. The church would become a sacrifice during times of persecution.War and Division . Jesus came to go to war with the kingdom of darkness. Read Matthew 10: 34-39. The battle betweengood and evil means sacrifice, division and martyrdom.Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10: 34)

The Red Heifer . It may be significant that God symbolizes Himself as the calf for this period of death. The sacrifice of thered heifer was used to cleanse the people from death. It is a reassuring symbol of the resurrection for martyrs.God who brings him out of Egypt, is like the horns of a wild ox for him; he shall devour the nations that are his foes andbreak their bones. He shall strike with his arrows. (Numbers 24: 8 and Numbers 23: 22)

• The Horse . The red horse symbolizes blood and death.• The Curse . These are the judgments in the first series of curses. There would be no peace because of constant invasion

from our enemies.No Peace and Safety . I will appoint over you a sudden terror ... you will sow your seed uselessly for your enemies will eatit up. ... those who hate you will rule over you and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. (Leviticus 26: 16-17)

• The Symbols . The symbol of a sword and the command to "take peace from the earth" points to an era of war. The symbolof the Great Sword also points to the word of God which is "sharper than a two edged sword."

The Fulfillment of the Second Seal (The Roman Persecutions)(200-350) :The church suffered many persecutions under the Romans but they were still strong infaith. Here we see the great sword of war fighting against the Great Sword of the Word ofGod. As they spread their faith, they gave up their lives. Ultimately, the Romansthemselves had no peace because of the constant bombardment by the Barbarian hordes.This constant attack led to their breakup in 476 A.D.

The Third SealWhen He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come" I looked,and saw, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heardsomething like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheatfor a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil andthe wine." (Revelation 6: 5-6)

• The Creature . This was the man. It is probably Christ. During this period theAntichrist would appear and challenge Him. At the end Jesus appears as the Judge with a pair of scales who rules on behalfof the saints and against the Antichrist. This judgment began in 1844.

• The Horse . The black horse symbolizes spiritual darkness and apostasy.• The Curse .

Famine and Drought . I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze ... your land will not yield its produceand the trees of the land will not yield their fruit. (Leviticus 26: 19-20)The iron sky and bronze earth lead to drought then famine. No rain can get through the iron sky. No crops can pierce thebronze ground. There is no harvest.

• The Symbols . Scales, wheat, barley, oil and wine.

The Curse

Calf and Red Horse

The curse brought the Romanpersecutions which eventuallycaused compromise and apostasy andmartyrdom.

The Curse

Man and Black HorseThe curse brought famine.Specifically lack of human wisdomand a period of famine for the wordof God.The blessing would have been to befed from the table of shewbreadwith the wine of the fruit harvestand the bread from the wheat andbarley harvest under the light of theMenorah and the word of God.

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 8/15

Judgment . God judged the church at this time and gave them over to the little horn because of apostasy.And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the little horn along with the continual; and it willfling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. (Daniel 8: 12)The host or church was given over to the power that they went whoring after. Sadly, the continual or the ministryof the Man, Christ Jesus was also handed over to the little horn. The church was in spiritual darkness.Grain Harvest . They represent the seed that grows. The wheat and barley harvest occurred at the Passover andPentecost. The work and progress produced by the early church was in jeopardy. The word of God was scarce bythe second seal, now the fruits of the harvest are missing because truth and the word was scarce. There was afamine for the word of God because of the curse.Fruit Harvest . The oil and wine were products of the fruit harvest at the feast of tabernacles. These were notdamaged in this judgment because their fulfillment would be in the future and it was not time to harvest them.

Grain Harvest Fruit Harvest

Barley49

Days

Wheat49

Days

New Wine 179849

Days

New Olive Oil First BornChrist 3,000 Martyrs 144,000 General Resurrection

Passover Pentecost Summer Heat Tabernacles Second ComingFirst Seal Seals (2-3) Fourth Seal Seals (5-6) Seventh Seal

The Fulfillment of the Third Seal (Apostasy) (350-538) :This is the period before the church was handed formal power. There was much compromise and the church was looking to the statefor power. The light of God was gone. The word of God was gone. During this time the "Man of Sin" would tear the church away fromthe Man, Christ Jesus. And the church would be given up because they were unfaithful. This represents a period or phase of churchhistory when human authority and "wisdom" is being substituted for the authority of Christ and God.The Man of Sin Appears . Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and thelawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object ofworship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4)The Little Horn with Human Eyes . I was considering the horns, when another horn appeared, a little one coming up among them; tomake room for it, three of the earlier horns were plucked up by the roots. There wereeyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly. (Daniel 7: 8)

The Fourth SealWhen the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature

saying, "Come". I looked, and saw, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the nameDeath; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth ofthe earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beastsof the earth. (Revelation 6: 7-8)

• The Creature . This creature was the eagle. Whenever it was used in the context of judgment it was always flying over thedead bodies of the wicked. Jesus conquers the wicked at the end of time.They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hastens to the prey. (Job 9: 26.)

• The Horse . Here we see a pale horse in control over death and the grave (Hades).• The Curse is Doubled . This horse brings the third and fourth series of curses. Events get worse as the curses are doubled.

The third brings wild beasts and the fourth brings war, famine and disease.» Wild Beasts . I will let loose among your the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy yourcattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie desolate. (Leviticus 26: 22)» Sword, Pestilence, Famine . I will bring upon you a sword which will execute judgment for the covenant. ... I will sendpestilence among you ... when I break your staff of bread ... you will eat and not be satisfied. (Leviticus 26: 25-26)

• The Symbols . Darkness, famine. Here we see death caused by the absence of the word and the light of God. While youcould find some hope of a survival of part of the truth in the other seals, here we find utter defeat. The word of God isconquered in the first seal. The second seal portrayed an image of clashing swords. The word of God was at war with thesword of persecution. In the third seal, the harvest was scarce and God acted to preserve the future fruit harvest. Here wefind no hope except that he did not have authority over all the earth.

The Fulfillment of the Fourth Seal (Papal Persecution) (538-1740-1798) :Days of Darkness (535-546) . The period began with a great sign all over the world. The physical destruction pointed to the greatspiritual darkness, famine and death that had just begun. People believed that the fourth horseman of the apocalypse had begun. In

The Curse

Eagle and PaleHorse

The eagle goes to a place of death.

This curse brought famine, war,disease (bubonic plague) and Islam

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 9/15

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 10/15

• The Martyrs . Many martyrs were killed during the last seal. This seal occurs towards the end of the 1260 year period whenmost of the martyrs were killed.

• The Covenant . According to the covenant, God will be their defender and blood avenger. Therefore, on this basis, theylegally cry out to God to keep His promises. They ask, how long will He wait to keep his promises. The first four curses hadbeen sent. They were really asking, "How long until the fifth?"They were specifically calling for judgment and the fifth and final curse which brings the vengeance and wrath of God.They were told to wait.Their request is granted at the beginning of the third thunder with the fall of Babylon. Then the new martyr's receive theirwhite robes during the Latter Rain and then they have to wait through the persecution and the plagues.

Old Martyrs 1844 Judgment Sealing BabylonFalls

WhiteRobes

New Martyrs Persecution SecondComingFeast of Trumpets Day of Atonement Mark of the Beast

White Robes Wait (Rest for the Martyrs) Judging Request of Martyrs is Granted Avenging

Seven Thunders TempleThree Angel's

Message FreedomLatter

RainExodus

from BabylonVengeance

and Wrath Rapture• The Symbols .

White Robes . They were given rewards. The white robe is the righteousness of Christ. Notice that they wererewarded and told to rest in their graves a while. Remember that the dead are asleep in the grave and they haveno knowledge of anything that is occurring. So this is probably a call for justice from the one who represents themin the judgment. This supports the Adventist view that the judgment of the righteous and the decision to reward

them occurs before the Second Coming, while they are still in their graves.

Day of Atonement . You may wonder how can the martyrs be given white robes if the day of atonement in 1844had not begun? This could reflect the fact that because they will be rewarded, that it is already an accomplishedfact. However, remember that the judgment period starts with the Feast of Trumpets ten days before. Duringthese ten days of awe, the people were being sealed. The day of atonement is simply their last chance to keeptheir names in the Book of Life. So what we learn from this is that at least by this time, the feast of trumpets hadstarted blowing because the sealing was being done.Rest a Little While . The Second Coming and revenge of God in the seven last plagues will not occur yet.Promised Resurrection . Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing forjoy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead.Protection of the Righteous . Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hideyourselves for a little while until the wrath is past.Wrath of God . For the Lord comes out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; theearth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no longer cover its slain." (Isaiah 26: 19-21)This is a message of rest to three groups as they wait under the protection of God in the sanctuary.

o Old Martyrs . Rest in your graves, so that you can escape the final tribulation of the last church.o Last Church . The church at the end of time lives through the plagues by faith in the sanctuary.o All the Righteous . The final rest in the chambers of heaven during the millennium as the wrath consumes

the earth and after the millennium as the New Jerusalem is in the middle of hell fire.Other Martyrs . There are still more martyrs under the fourth seal and other martyrs will be killed during the markof the beast persecution. Then God will take revenge at one time during the plagues.Judge our Blood . This began in 1798 with the fall of the papacy and in 1844 with our selection.Avenge our Blood . The cup of indignation mentioned by the third angel is the seven last plagues.the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of Hisindignation ... (Revelation 14: 10)

The Fulfillment of the Fifth Seal (A Cry for Justice) (1740-1755) :This is a time shortly before the start of the Investigative Judgment period when the sanctuary will be cleansed. These intensepersecutions came to an end in the middle of the eighteenth century, approximatelyfifty years prior to 1798. They had just experienced the height of the burning times(1550-1650). Many Huguenot persecutions during which Louis XIV slaughters 500,000.Bloody queen Mary lit the fires of Smithfield and the dragonnades terrorized Protestanthomes.

The Sixth SealI looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun

The Curse

The Wrath of God

The final curse brings judgment fromGod beginning in 1844, the seven lastplagues at the Second Coming andhell fire at the end

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 11/15

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 12/15

Deliverance :Isaiah records the same events.All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall wither like a leaf withering on avine, or fruit withering on a fig tree. (Isaiah 34: 4)And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over allnations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of hispeople shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord has spoken it. (Isaiah 25: 7-8.)

Access to Heaven :He shall split the curtain of the heavens that has separated us in the same way that the veil between the Holy Place andthe Most Holy Place and the veil of His body was split when Christ died. At that time Christ gave us spiritual access to theMost Holy Place. At the Second Coming we have physical access to the Most Holy Place.Have you not known? have you not heard? has it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood from thefoundations of the earth? It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants there are as grasshoppers; thatstretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tentto dwell in. (Isaiah 40: 21-22.)

The Fulfillment of The Signs (1755-End of Time)

A Great Earthquake . A great earthquake was prophesied to occur afterthe opening of the sixth seal. On November 1, 1755 (All Saints Day), The GreatLisbon Quake occurred. It was the largest ever recorded earthquake. It was felton four continents. It has been estimated that it would have measured over 9.0on the current "Richter Scale".

Another Great Earthquake . The December 26, 2004 earthquake ofmagnitude 9.3 in the Indian Ocean, hit with the force of five million atomicbombs. Normally an earthquake shakes for 30 seconds, but this shook the earthfor ten minutes, rupturing the earth for 780 miles (1300 km), raised the surfaceof the whole earth 0.4 inches (1 cm), and caused the earth to tilt one inch(2.54 cm) on its axis and spin three microseconds faster. 221,000 people werekilled and five million were left homeless.

Political Earthquake . The Papacy and Babylon falls.

Black Sun and Blood Moon . This literally occurred on May 19, 1780,when a darkness occurred in mid-day that was unlike anything everexperienced, with the phenomenon centered in the New England area. (See following quotes):

"In some places, the darkness was so great, that persons could not see to read common print in the open air, for several hourstogether: but I believe this was not generally the case. The extent of this darkness was very remarkable." Samuel Williams, "AnAccount of a Very Uncommon Darkness in the States of New England, May 19, 1780:'" in Memoirs of the American Academy of Artsand Sciences: to the End of the Year 1783 (Boston: Adams and Nourse, 1785), Volume 1, pages 234, 235.

"The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as ever has been observed since the Almighty fiat gave birth to light. Itwanted only palpability to render it as extraordinary, as that which overspread the land of Egypt in the days of Moses ... If everyluminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable shades, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have

been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet.Considering the small quantity of light that was transmitted by the clouds, by day, it is not surprising that, by night, a sufficientquantity of rays should not be able to penetrate the same strata, brought back by the shifting of the winds, to afford the mostobscure prospect even of the best reflecting bodies." Letter of Samuel Tenney (an eye-witness of Rowley, [Massachusetts], datedExeter [N.H.], December, 1785, in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 1, 1792 (Boston: Belknap and Hall,1792), Pages 97, 98.

"The 19th of May, 1780, was a remarkable dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses; the birds were silent and disappeared,and the fowls retired to roost. The legislature of Connecticut was then in session at Hartford. A very general opinion prevailed, thatthe day of judgment was at hand. The House of Representatives, being unable to transact their business, adjourned. A proposal toadjourn the Council was under consideration. When the opinion of Colonel Abraham Davenport was asked, he answered, I am against

Prophesy Again

We are proposing an interpretation that thecommand to prophesy again in Revelation 10: 11means that we should repeat all the prophecies ofthe time of the end. We recognized that therewill be two falls of the papacy.Both falls will end with the same signs.

Therefore, the earthquake on December 24 maybe a repeat of the signs of the sixth seal for thelast generation. We will probably also experienceanother dark day, and either another spectacularmeteor shower or devastating asteroid which willtrigger a movement back to God at any cost.

Earthquake Darkness Stars Fall Scroll

Fall1

November1, 1755

May 19,1780

November12, 1833

Judged1844

Fall

2

December

26, 2004Future Future Future

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 13/15

an adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause of an adjournment: if it is, Ichoose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought." Timothy Dwight, quoted in Connecticut HistoricalCollections, compiled by John Warner Barber (Second edition; New Haven: Durrie 8 Peck and J. W. Barber, 1836), page 403.

The Stars Fall . On the night of November 12, 1833, (early morning November 13, 1833), the greatest meteor shower of inhistory occurred. It had as many a 100,000 or more shooting stars per hour. The intensity and nature of the stars looked like theywere shooting past on all sides (going outward from the center in call directions), just like figs being shaken from a fig tree by amighty wind. The display was so spectacular that it jump started the modern field of astronomy.

"The morning of November 13, 1833, was rendered memorable by an exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which wasprobably more extensive and magnificent than any similar one recorded before this ...

"Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was viewed with so muchadmiration and delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another class ..." Denison Olmsted,"Observations on the Meteors of November 13, 1833," The American Journal of Science and the Arts, 25 ([January ?] 1834), page 363.

"For nearly four hours the sky was literally ablaze ... Careful scientific accounts indicate that more than a billion shooting starsappeared over the United States and Canada alone." Peter M. Millman, "The Falling of the Stars," The Telescope, 7 (May - June,1940), 57.

The Sky Rolls Up Like a Scroll . The final fulfillment is a future event. But when the judgment began in 1844, a symbolic orspiritual fulfillment occurred. The mountains and islands that were moved were all the principalities and powers that were judgedresulting in many colonies gaining independence from the empire and the end of slavery. The scroll that was opened in the heavenswas the book that was opened at the judgment.... the court sat and the books were opened. (Daniel 7: 10)But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. (Daniel 7: 26)

The Fifth Curse . This curse has certain elements which are fulfilled in the sixth and seventh seals.

• Earthquake . The Lisbon earthquake in 1755.• City Destroyed . Paris fell in the French Revolution (1789-1798) when the peasants descended like a flood.• Sanctuary Destroyed . In 1798, the church of Rome fell. Religion was replaced by atheism and secularism.•

Darkness . The dark day of 1780 was followed by a blood moon.• Hail . The stars fell in 1833 and the wicked ask for the rocks to fall on them.• Fear, Judgment and Death . The judgment began in 1844 with the call to "fear God".• Sword . Two world wars and the threat of global annihilation.• Cannibalism . Our animal food production has caused animal cannibalism to be the method by which even vegetarian

animals are fed. One result is the emergence of mad cow disease and prions.• Sabbath Kept . Ultimately, the land will keep its Sabbaths during the millennium. But the people started keeping the

Sabbath during the sixth seal. After hundreds of years of apostasy, the Sabbath message came to many churches. TheSeventh Day Adventists began keeping the Sabbath after it was introduced to them in 1846 by Rachel Oakes Preston, aSeventh Day Baptist. They had been Sabbath keepers since 1683.

• Siege . Babylon the great captures the admiration of the whole world and persecutes the church.Star Struck World . ... And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast. (Revelation 13: 3)Economic Siege . And he provides that no one will be able to buy or sell except the one who has the mark, either the nameof the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13: 17)

• Deliverance . The exiles of God returned home when the nation of Israel was created on 14 May 1948. Slavery was alsoabolished in this period after it became popular among the nations of the Roman empire. Many colonial nations becameindependent in the 1850's. This freedom movement has continued through the 1970's.

• Exile . Economic forces are causing the greatest movement of populations from rural areas to overcrowded cities and acrossnational borders. Economic exploitation is now occurring so that we have a second wave of slavery or slave conditions inour century. The chilling aspect of this new type of slavery is that human beings are now disposable. During the colonialera, slaves were property and investments that must be protected. Now, even children are a highly prized commodity whoare used as sexual and industrial slaves.

• Wrath . The seven last plagues will be sent in the last year but the effects of global warming will cause destruction ofbiblical proportions which will end with the destruction of all cities.

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 14/15

The Three Angel's Message . All the elements of the fifth curse are repeated in the second fall of Babylon. You can also seethe major topics of the warnings of the three angel's message in the fifth curse.

1. Sabbath . The Sabbath will again be an issue. There is a call to Sabbath worship from the first angel. Humans are told to"fear God". In this way they will escape judgment and eternal death. Their only alternative is the fear, judgment and deathfrom the wrath.

2. City and Sanctuary Destroyed . Flee from the city and religion of Babylon the Great which has fallen.3. Wrath . This angel tells us to escape the wrath of God.

Waves of Birth Pains (Prophesy Again) . All the elements remind us of the time a child spends in the womb and thebirth pain associated with its deliverance through water. Before the birth, the pain is experienced in faster and more intense cyclesuntil the birth. With each cycle the signs of the fifth curse are repeated, requiring that we repeat the prophecies associated withthe final curse.

Birth Pains Birth Pains Birth Pains Delivery

183+ Years ? Years (1991-?) One Year One Day

Sixth Seal Time of Trouble Seven Last Plagues Seventh Seal Second Coming

These cycles have no clear beginning date. One can onlyknow that a cycle is occurring because of the physicalsigns, especially wars and natural disasters. We can onlydistinguish these signs from ordinary calamities by thescale of the tragedy and the presence of other signs inthe series. For this reason, we can assume that the 2004earthquake is another "great earthquake".The Destruction of New Orleans . We could also assumethat the 2005 destruction of New Orleans by hurricaneKatrina is a sign of the coming fall of Babylon the Greatjust as the fall of Paris was a sign. At the fall of Paris itwas the peasants who came in like a flood, but a realflood destroyed New Orleans. The city is French,Catholic, full of immorality and demonic practices. Itsfall had all the elements of the final curse and some ofthe characteristics of the French Revolution.

Who is able to stand? The question is asked, "Who is able to stand" at the appearing of God the Father and Jesus Christ, atthe Second Advent? It echoes the question asked about the scroll, "who is worthy to open the book?" Jesus was worthy because Heovercame. Those who will be able to stand are those who are sealed with the Holy Spirit and overcome with the blood of the Lamb.This is also the same question we saw in Isaiah 33: 14-17. It asked, "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?" These versesin Isaiah tell us those who are righteous will be able to stand.Revelation Chapter 7 responds with the 144,000. They will stand. So all the events of chapter 7 do not follow chronologically afterthe sixth seal. It shows all the people who were being sealed during the application of the curses. They have received the Holy Spiritand have the law written in their hearts. They keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. These are the peoplewho will be able to stand in the Second Coming in the seventh seal.

The Seventh SealWhen the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half anhour. (Revelation 8: 1)

When the Seventh Seal is opened, there is silence in heaven for half an hour. Justmoments before, Heaven was celebrating and praising God. So why are they now silent?

Hurricane Katrina

# Plague The Destruction of New Orleans

1 Sores and disease Large sores and other diseases from the cesspool

2 Blood in the sea Flooding from the sea with the storm surge

3 Blood in the rivers andsprings

Flooding of 80% of the city from the lake and riverswith the broken levees

4

Heat High heat and humidity. Over 90 degrees

Famine and drought Over 70,000 people without food and water in theSuperdome and Convention center for five days.

Cannibalism There were rumors of cannibalism. Alligators atepeople.

5 Darkness Moonless night. Power outage for over one month

6 Loss of support.Great Loss

The lack of support from the government and FEMAcontributed to the loss of the city

7

Disaster from the air Hurricane Katrina

Earthquake Events shook up the Bush Administration

Exile One million homeless scattered across 24 states

This was a single disaster that created all the signs of the plagues and the finalcurse. The disaster happened during a moonless night, in a period of high heat andhumidity. We even had animal attacks from alligators, dogs who were once petswere forming viscious packs, large black flies covering the city and stories ofcannibalism. Economic disaster from the loss of oil infrastructure and the key portsused for agriculture. There was chaos, despair and lawlessness. The estimated costof rebuilding is over $300 billion.

The Curse

The Wrath of God

The last plague of the last cursepunishes the wicked as God returns.

8/9/2019 Revelation Seven Seals

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/revelation-seven-seals 15/15

Using the prophetic day for a year principle we can calculate this time.One Day is one prophetic Year. Twelve months is 360 days.Two hours is one month.Half hour in real time is one quarter month or one week or seven days.

Silence in Heaven for Seven Days . One could assume that these are events after the arrival of Christ which last forseven days. Then it would be a period of intense agony for the wicked. However, in the following examples, we see that the waitingperiod is also a time of testing for the righteous.

Feast of Tabernacles . This was a seven day feast that ended in a high Sabbath. The ceremonies of the feast of tabernaclesprophecy is the time in which the people symbolically live with God and they are pleading, "Lord Save Us". They are beingpersecuted.The Flood . Even after the door of the Ark was closed, Noah had to wait seven days before the rain began.It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth. Genesis 7: 10Circumcision . A new born son has to wait seven days before he can join in the covenant by circumcision. Circumcision isthe cutting off of the outer human body and is a perfect representation of the crucifixion of Christ and the shedding of theold body at the rapture when the church is born into heaven.Priests . In the inauguration of the priest, he had to wait seven days at the temple. (Leviticus 8: 33) The church is a familyof priests.Leper Priests . In the ceremony of the cleansing of the leper, the leper had to wait seven days before joining the rest of the

people. We are the former lepers waiting to go to heaven and rejoin the family of God.

Fulfillment: Silence in Heaven for Seven Days God and Jesus, and the hosts of heaven are coming to gather God's people from the earth. (Revelation 19: 11-14). This is the finalweek on Earth. The period of the Second Coming. Heaven empties itself to come to earth for the saints.

Repetition and EnlargementThe seven seals parallel the prophecies given by Jesus in Matthew 24.

Seal Topic Matthew 24 Mark 13 Luke 21 Comment

2 Wars 6 7-8 9-10 Wars and rumors of wars will increase. But this is not the end3 False Christs 23-24 21-23 8 Apostasy deceives even the saints

4 Famine 7 8 11 In many places great famines would occur.There was also a famine for the word of God.

5 Persecution 9, 21 19 12 The 1260 day persecution that almost wipes out the church

6

Earthquake 7 8 11 Lisbon earthquake November 1, 1755Dark day 29 24 25 May 19, 1780Stars fall 29 25 25 November 13, 1833Fear, sky splits - - 26 Global fear of an astronomical event. Judgment

- Gospel 14 10 - The seventh trumpet will cause the end of the world7 Second Coming 30 26 27 The end

Top | International Home | Contact | Glossary | Symbols | Becoming a Christian | Next Lesson | Previous Lesson

Study to show yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2Timothy 2: 15Copyright ©2001-2008 Teachinghearts ™ V1.81 - All rights reserved. Created: October 1, 2001 Updated : May 2005. August 2006Credits:Author: Laverna Patterson. Editor: Patterson (January 2008)Thanks to the Holy Spirit for instructing me to write this as a fulfillment of the curses.