The Fifth and Sixth Seal

The first seal shows us false worldwide peace. The second showed worldwide war which ended the peace of the first seal. The third seal was famine likely brought on by war, and the fourth seal was death followed by Hades. Death was brought on by war, by the famine, and with pestilence.

Revelation 6:9-11 “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”

Matthew 24:9 ““Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.” All true Christians will oppose the Antichrist and his power grab during the end of times. With the widespread popularity of the Antichrist this will clearly not go over well. Those who are on his side, the majority of people, will turn against Christians. There will be no room for diplomacy at this point in time. The only “logical” way to end opposition in their eye will be to permanently silence those who speak out against his dominion. Christians will be hunted down and killed left and right for their beliefs. What gets me is that this will be acceptable, and even glorified by people of the day. They will find this ethically and morally correct while seeing nothing wrong with it. This world is going to be a sick, sick place during these times.

“You will be hated by all nations...” implies that this persecution will be worldwide, and that it will be tolerated, if not actively led, by world governments. The world’s hatred for God will fuel this persecution. This is where the faithful and the unfaithful will be separated quickly. If you are not sold out, if you are not all in, then you will quickly turn sides. You may not actively hate on Christians, but it will be one of those “If you are not with us, then you are against us” ordeals. You either stand with and die for Christ, or you denounce your faith (never really had it) and you slink back into the shadows. Keeping your life, but losing your eternal life.

Matthew 16:24-26 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

Tares mingled with Wheat: Matthew 13:24-30 “He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ””

Matthew 24:10-14 “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

It is easy to look like a “Christian.” As a whole, especially in America where we are being taught to be nice, “You never know what someone is going through” and “What really hides behind that smile” are causing us to be more accepting of people rather than judging them for their clear red flags. Has anyone here ever accept someone with red flags but you were giving them the benefit of the doubt? Maybe they had a rough up bringing, maybe they have had a poor run of luck in high school, maybe if you’re not their friend you think no one else will be. We have to judge people. I know that that is not a popular thought nowadays, but if we do not judge them according to their actions then we will continue to be burned in the process. As a church, we become soft when we do not judge people according to God’s word. No, we do not have the authority to call down fire from heaven and consume those who say something they shouldn’t, or who make a mistake that should not be made, but we do have the right to hold them accountable to the guidelines of the Bible. (( And don’t listen to this “well are you perfect??” mess. Of course you are not perfect. You are questioning if you are perfect or not, you are not the one on trial right now. You are confronting your fellow man’s actions against Jesus Christ who, yes, is perfect. You are not the one who makes the final decision, but it is your responsibility to call out sin, in love, and restore people back to God’s side. People who are saved will repent and return. Those who are not will continue to through shade and put up walls.))

A tare and a stalk of wheat look very similar while they are growing, but when grown obviously produce two different types of seeds. One desirable, and one not so much. In the church (Worldwide entity) you will have those who are saved and faithful, and you will have those who are faking it and will waver at the first sign of hard times. Whether it is staring down the barrel of a gun, or looking at living through an uncomfortable situation, they will cave in when the heat is on. Learn to separate before the world does it for you, and if you are on the fence you need to choose which side you are on. Let me tell you this, the devil owns the fence too.

So the fifth seal is this. The ones who remained faithful until the end were martyred (Killed) for their faith. Refusing to deny Christ and follow the powers-at-be in this world, they enter heaven in a less than desirable way. Were they proud to stand for Christ? Absolutely. Were they happy the way that they went out? Not at all, and who could blame them? Evil has taken over the world. What is moral and holy is called sinful and wretched. What was once held to be a highly esteemed lifestyle will now get you murdered. Your God is being run down in the streets as if it were something normal. Everything is backwards and upside down.

The martyrs of the faith beg for retribution. They ask God when He is going to avenge their wrongful deaths, and set straight the score here on earth. Did you notice God’s response? “Just a little while longer” it was almost finished. Killings were still happening, and when they were finished, then God was going to unleash on the wicked.

The martyrs receive a long, white robe for their faithfulness and are welcomed to come take their eternal rest. They are ushered into the peaceful life of tranquility. No more pain, no more suffering at the hands of wrongdoers, no more sin, no more tears. All is perfect for them. But those who are left behind, those who refuse to come to Christ, they are in for a very VERY rude awakening.