The Seven Seals

Seven is the number of completion or perfection in Scripture, and it plays heavily into the symbolism of Revelation. Following the seven churches, John sees seven seals on a scroll that is opened in heaven. John has been taken up to heaven in his vision, which may be representative of when the rapture will occur. The first three chapters deal with the church during the church age, which is the period of the Gentiles. The church is never mentioned beyond these initial chapters and the language used is reflective of the nation of Israel. We do know that in the end times, Israel will return to the Lord and be saved, so should not be surprised that the final chapters of Revelation would deal specifically with them. In Revelation 3:10, the Lord promises the church of Philadelphia (the church of revival and missionary movement) that "since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth". This verse points to the interpretation that God will remove his church from the earth prior to the tribulation, a period of intense trial lasting seven years. This removal of the church is known as the rapture, and means that Christ will return to earth and the believers alive at that time will go to meet Him and be taken directly to Heaven without experiencing death. This is not the Second Coming of Christ. There are those who believe the Rapture will occur prior to the tribulation, in the midst of the tribulation, and immediately following the tribulation. That is too much for me to unpack. Most of what I have read aligns with pre-trib doctrine. It is possible that John being taken up to heaven immediately following the close of the "church age" in chapters 1-3 and just before the "tribulation" beginning in chapter 4, may be a picture of when the church will indeed be raptured.

The scene in heaven involves four heavenly beings strongly resembling Old Testament descriptions of seraphim. They appear to have the primary role of worship. there are also 24 thrones for 24 elders. Opinions vary on the identity of these elders. Some believe they are high ranking angels. Others think they are redeemed souls, with the number 24 most logically indicating that they are the 12 disciples and 12 sons of Jacob (heads of each tribe of Israel).

The opening of the seven seals of the scroll indicate the beginning of the tribulation period...

The 1st seal: rider on a white horse; some debate about who this is...could be the Antichrist and his kingdom (the antichrist will be a charismatic diplomat who ushers in a false worldwide peace); could be Christ ushering in judgement on the earth; could be symbolic of brute force; most of my sources agree with the first proposition

The 2nd Seal: rider on a red horse; symbolic of war that will occur when some nations try to throw off the shackles of the Antichrist

The 3rd Seal: rider on a black horse; symbolic of famine, which often follows war

The 4th Seal:rider on the pale horse; symbolic of death; During the first 21 months of the tribulation, one fourth of the world's population will die according to Rev. 6:8. This equates to roughly a billion and a half people, using the latest census as a gage.

The 5th Seal: the martyred tribulation saints; The souls under the altar of sacrifice are those who profess Christ during the tribulation. Though all Christians will be taken up in the Rapture, many of those left behind will become believers, only to face extreme persecution.

The Sixth Seal: catastrophe on earth in the form of a violent earthquake

The Seventh Seal: discussed in tomorrow's reading

The first half of the tribulation, comprised of either the first 4 or first 6 seals, depending on interpretation, closely parallels Christ's comments about the "beginning of the birth pangs" of the end times. All of these occurrences (war, famine, death, martyrdom, natural disasters, etc.) will only be the beginning! The second half of the tribulation will be far worse.

Tomorrow's reading: Rev. 7:1-10:11