The Book with Seven Seals

Now things begin to escalate! The imagery begins to get bizarre and our reliance on the Bible, History, and Cultural background gets necessary.

Let us read together Revelation 5:1-6 chair Bible pg. 829

Revelation 5:1–6 NASB

1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look into it. 4 And I began to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look into it; 5 and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” 6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

Are you ready for the message God has for us today?

Cool, lets dig in!

The opening of the scroll with the seven seals now begins!

First, let same say before we get into this that there are many different understandings of the things we are about to see and read.

What I offer is simply my understanding through prayer and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I have asked before for all of us to have an open mind, and simply ask is it possible?

I am not saying that my interpretation is the right one. For me it is the one that makes the most sense. You don’t have to agree.

Please also remember that I am following what Eugene Peterson wrote about Revelation and the other 65 book of the Bible. It is not new information, it is the same information just told in a different way.

Also There is no time in my sermon to cover everything so please see the videos in my Podcast Pastor’s Corner where I take things deeper and cover things not covered here.

So here we go

The Four Horsemen

We may know them as the four horsemen of the apocalypse

Revelation 6:1–8 NASB

1 And I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer. 3 And when He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” 4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men should slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. 5 And when He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” And I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” 7 And when He broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” 8 And I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. And authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The First horseman is believed by some to be Christ.

This is not impossible but consider Jesus is the opening the scroll

Another possibility is that the rider symbolizes the conquering kings of the earth who have gone out overcoming the mighty nations of the earth and claiming sovereignty over them.

There are two empires at play during the time of the writing of Revelation of course the one we are most familiar the Roman Empire but in the East in what is Iraq and Iran is another troubling Empire to the Romans, the Parthians.

The vision of this rider closely resembles the Parthian Calvary who carried bows.

So I understand the rider in this sense. The vision of a Parthian rider as a symbol of conquering empires.

These Parthians will come up again.

The second rider takes away the superficial appearance of peace

You know think about it for the history of the world before and after the flood the closest we got to a semblance of world peace was the tower of Babel.

We have never really known peace there has always been wars and rumors of wars!

This is what this rider symbolizes, because the only peace is found in Christ!

The Third rider signifies the economic problems which so often leads to the root of violence within and between nations.

We should be able to understand that, right! We are seeing that in our own time! This has always been true!

Ordinary staples of the poor shoot up in price, luxury items often stay the same.

We use the phrase the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!

That is what this horse and rider symbolize.

The Fourth rider and that which follows him is the ultimate threat of every tyrant and anarchist.

This what happens when one nations conquers another nation, death of the people of God, death of the innocent! Arbitrary murder, or sometimes calculated strategic death!

“Human history records again and again war, famine, and a thousand other things have carried people off before their time.” N.T. Wright

SO when we put them together these four represent the basic ills that humans inflict upon one anther.

They are allowed to roam unhindered so the message of the book can have its full effect.

What John is revealing to us is something deep down we know to be true, a vicious cycle of the fallen world we live in.

A cycle of conquest, war, famine, and death!

This cycle is centuries old seen in conquest by earthly powers , with focus here on who is troubling the church in the time of John, Rome!

These four seals reveal that God allows these things to happen because they are the result of sin, brokenness and a fallen world.

The Fifth Seal

The opening of this seal reveals the state of the dead martyrs and more of what the throne room looks like.

Revelation 6:9-10.

As John continues to look around he sees an altar, and under the altar is the present state of and location of dead Christians, like Antipas from the letter to Pergamum in chapter 2.

“These souls are conscious of the fact that the world is still unjudged and unhealed.” N.T. Wright

John then sees and hears how they long for God’s justice because they have been wronged and murdered for the cause of the gospel.

They are told to wait. Wait because God is longsuffering, and there are some things we may not understand about it on this side of eternity!

Revelation 6:11 NASB

11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.

You see God is playing the long game and will go all out for the win, but the time to move is not yet.

According to this ver what needs to happen is evil must to do its worst, reach its height.

“To be ripe for the judgment that wise and faithful people know in advance, it deserves.” N.T. Wright

This is nothing new, we have read this before, here is just one example of many from scripture - Genesis 15:16

Genesis 15:16 NASB

16 “Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

God is giving time for repentance and also for evil to reach its height.

We know this about God!

Putting Things Together

Revelation is reminding me of a masterful game of Chess.

Several authors I have read see it the same way.

There are three ways to end a chess game:

Simply win the game

Both players realize that the game is un-winnable, and call a draw.

One of the players loses his temper, kicks the board over, and stomps off

There are people who think that God, faced with the long chess game of rescuing the world should react like the third.

N.t. Wright puts this attitude this way:

N.T. Wright: “The game has become so stupid and complicated with so many crazy people doing so many idiotic things, with so much suffering and pain and anger and violence, isn’t it time for Him to step in and do something?”

That is how some people, including some Christians, they think God should kick the board over, the pieces fly everywhere, and stomp off!

I don’t see it that way. God is The Master Chess Player who sees the whole board and is always and forever at least two or three if not many more moves ahead.

What we are seeing in chapter 6 then is board from God’s perspective.

And verse 11 reminds us it is not time for Him to move, yet!

Revelation 6:12–17 NASB

12 And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”

Now in breaking the sixth seal God’s punishment of the wicked resumes.

In this game of chess it is now God’s move.

John draws from imagery seen elsewhere is scripture like Haggai, Joel, and Isaiah.

The use of cosmic convulsions to describe social and political upheaval is well established.

What is intended by this highly colorful language is difficult to determine, but then we are not the intended immediate audience.

What is clear is the description of terror of an unrepentant world.

I also see this as a response to the question of the saints under the altar, “How long?”

Conclusion

In Pastor’s Corner I cover Chapter 7.

I want to end on a note about prayer. We have in chapter 8 with the opening of the seventh seal silence in heaven.

Revelation 8:1–3 NASB

1 And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

At the opening of this seal heaven goes silent for half and hour while God hears the prayer of His people!

How wonderful, God is never to busy to hear our prayers.

Both the fifth and sixth seals anticipate the final judgment of the world.

Thus the answer to the question how long, is not an immediate response.

Even today we find ourselves asking that same question how long?

Thus while we wait the assurance that God Almighty hears our prayers.

Are you ready to come to the presence of Jesus and lay everything including your life and his feet, the feet of the lamb who dies for you sins?