7 Seals of the Tribulation
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Tonight we are going to be spending time looking at the 7 Seals of the Tribulation.
Last time we were together we did an overview of the book of Revelation and we focused on the fact that Jesus is the Lamb of God, and therefore the only one who is worthy of opening the Seals of the Tribulation.
Reminder, we as a church are coming at this study, and looking through eschatology from a futurist perspective. Specifically, we are teaching a Pre-Millennial Eschatology. Which looks at the events of Revelation, and the prophecies from Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as well as prophetic texts from the Old Testament as yet to take place.
If you have questions in relation to this, you can go back to the first few weeks of these teachings on our Youtube Page.
And over the next few weeks as we examine the tribulation…we are covering a bunch of topics within the context of the verses in Jesus’ teaching on the end times from the Olivet Discourse
21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 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.
The Purpose of the Tribulation…
Start Video Teaching from John Stumbo…timely message for the Alliance Family.
We need to examine the Nature of God
The prophet Nahum understood the true nature of God. He wrote that “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him” (Nahum 1:7). That is the love and mercy of God. But the same prophet wrote (Nahum 1:2-3):
“A jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
The Lord is avenging and wrathful.
The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.”
Truly, the Lord is “slow to anger.” He allows the iniquities of Mankind to accumulate over long periods of time because He doesn’t wish that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). His desire, instead, is that all should come to repentance. But there is always a day of reckoning, just as there was in the days of Noah, and such a day has been set for this age. Paul referred to it in his sermon in Athens when he said, “He [God] has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31).
One reason for the Tribulation is to bring people to salvation. Amazingly, even when God pours out His wrath, His fundamental purpose is not to destroy but to save. Isaiah 26:9 explains it this way: “When the earth experiences Your judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”
The brutal fact is that God often has to hit us over the head with a two-by-four in order to get our attention and motivate us to repentance. The equally brutal fact is that most people respond to such discipline by either cursing God or continuing to ignore Him (Revelation 9:20-21). But some people always respond in humility and are saved. As Billy Graham has put it: “The same sun that melts the butter, hardens the clay.”
In short the purpose of the tribulation is to prepare the earth for the second coming of King Jesus.
That’s why He is in charge of opening the seals…we talked last time we were together that he alone is worthy to open the scrolls and He alone is in charge. All things are under his command.
So Jesus is the one opening the Seals of the Scroll.
Remember he was handed the Scroll in Revelation 5:1-4
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
A Scroll with 7 Seals.
And inside the seal is the Kingdom…but to get to the Kingdom, the Seals must be broken.
Think of it as a will. Funny…I found an article by Randy Richards who is the Research Professor of New Testament at Palm Beach Atlantic University, And he writes this…
Why would a scroll have seven seals? If I just wrinkle my brow and ponder why an ancient scroll might have seven seals, I could (wrongly) conclude seven seals meant “sealed really well.” Or maybe, I might spiritualize it and say that maybe seven seals meant “spiritually sealed.” Rather than just pondering, I should research it. Recently, I did that.[i] Someone hearing this story in the first century would have thought, “Seven seals? Oh, it was a will.”
In the Roman Empire, wills (as in a Last Will and Testament) were officially registered and filed at the government office. This was too expensive and official for most folks. There was another method (Gaius 2.147). A person invited the heir, the executor and (usually) five witnesses to attend. He dictated his will to a secretary. When the document was finished, it was rolled up. Each person attested that it was correct and official by wrapping a string around it, tying it, putting a drop of wax on his knot and then pressing his seal into the wax. Thus the will would have seven seals.
When it was time to make the inheritance official, the heir and the executor had to be there and a majority of the witnesses. A papyrus from A.D. 325 actually describes the opening of a will:
The executor says to the secretary: “In the presence of whom did you make out the will?”
The notary answers: “The signatories.”
The executor asks, “How many signatories are there?”
The notary answers, “Seven, and four are present.”
The executor says, “Let the four subscribe that they have recognized their own seals.”
After the signatories present had subscribed that they recognized their own seals, the will was opened and read.[ii]
Now, we understand their background (rather than reading ours into the text). Revelation 5 is about the opening of a will. We are also told that even rolled up, you could see the book was written on both sides, indicating that the entire document was full of text; it’s a will with a lot of stuff in it. The setting in the Revelation is a heavenly throne scene. The will is the Will and Testament of the Father.
John weeps because none of the seven were there to open the will. Then the Lamb steps forward. He opens all seven—that was the part we were to supposed to notice. He is the Heir and the Executor of the will. More than that, he is all five witnesses. The Will of the Father was written before anyone else was around, since there had been no one else to witness it. We see in visionary form what other Scriptures also tell us. The Father’s plan was made before creation and the Son will inherit everything.
A little research can throw a lot of light on a verse.
So I believe we find here in Revelation the opening of the Father’s Heavenly will and each seal must be broken by the only one who is worthy to judge the earth with perfect justice…
The 7 Seals of the Tribulation
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. 3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword. 5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” 7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. 12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face 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 can withstand it?”
1st Seal- White Horse
1st Seal- White Horse
Conquest- Revelation 6:1-2
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
Two interpretations and they could not be more different from one another.
#1) cHRIST
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
#2) ANTICHRIST
The other 3 horsemen bring catastrophy
Satan is a master imposter.
He does not create, he manipulates
God gives the gift of prophesy, Satan manipulates that gift and creates psychics
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
This is the beginning of the tribulation and not the end. The end is found in Revelation 19
So I interpret this to be the antichrist and his mission is to conquer…
He is bent on conquest.
Peace in Israel…but in other areas of the world he is coming to conquer…
1 I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black, 3 the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. 4 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world. 6 The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.” 7 When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth. 8 Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north.” 9 The word of the Lord came to me:
Here is some conjecture…
Something to think about…if these visions are related, which most biblical scholar believe they are…and if the United States doesn’t play a part in the end times…do you think that maybe…because the white rider is bend on conquest…and his conquest is towards the west…I think we might just have an answer to what happens to the US…it’s taken down by the Antichrist, so that it is at least not a major player in the end times…
2nd Seal- Red Horse
2nd Seal- Red Horse
War
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
Question: What was the bloodies war in US History?
3rd Seal- Black Horse
3rd Seal- Black Horse
Famine
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
4th Seal- Pale Horse
4th Seal- Pale Horse
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
5th Seal- Martyres
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
Indicates 2 things
The conciousness of those who have died and gone to heaven
That they are aware of the earth’s situation
6th Seal- Six catastrophes
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! 22 Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. 23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
1 Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! 2 The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. 3 Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will stink; the mountains will be soaked with their blood. 4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. 5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed. 6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat. 8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.
14 The great day of the Lord is near— near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. 15 That day will be a day of wrath— a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness— 16 a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. 17 “I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.” In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth.
Jesus is the judge. He is the one who gets to pour out punishment on the wicked.
And this is one of the best arguments for a pre-trib rapture.
What are the takeaways…
#1- Sin is repugnant to God
#2- The terrible intensity of the Tribulation- motivation for us to witness to the world
#3- God is Concerned with injustices
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
#4- Humans, when left to themselves will not repent
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
#5- Sinful People instinctively hide from God
Back to the Garden
