REVELATION CHAPTER 6, “The Tribulation And Beast / Opening Six Of Seven Seals”
By
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. In our last study, we looked at a scene that occurred as John was in heaven and before the throne upon which God the Father is seated. There was brought to Him a scroll and the call went out for anyone in all of the earth who was worthy to open the book, and after none acceptable were found, we saw that Jesus as the ‘lamb that was slain’ is found worthy and comes up to receive the scroll and open it. We saw also that the scroll is considered ‘the title deed to the earth’ and that its opening begins to unleash the 7 seal judgments which formally begin the 7 Year Tribulation period
1.2. In our study today, we are going to go into chapter 6 where the Tribulation actually begins, and we will see six of the seven seals which were upon the scroll which symbolized the “Title Deed To The Earth” opened, each of which causes the issue of a Seal Judgment upon the occupants of the earth
2. Having been found worthy to open the book and loose its seals because of what He did in paying the price for the sins of man, Christ, the Lamb, now in chapter 6 begins to break open the seals that bind the book.
3. We saw in chapter 5 how that the book itself represented the “Title Deed of the Earth”, so then in opening these seals Christ is taking His rightful ownership of the earth. The earth is then taken first by His judging those who are living upon the earth, and secondly by rendering powerless the principalities and powers in the spiritual realm.
4. The 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation occupies a central place in the scriptures as Tim Lahaye points out in his commentary, “The Tribulation is one of the most significant periods of God’s dealings with humankind and certainly occupies a most prominent place in His prophetic plan. More space is dedicated to that little seven-year period than any other comparable time frame in the Bible. It is mentioned over fifty times in the Old Testament by such expressions as “the day of calamity,” “day of wrath,” “the day of the Lord’s wrath,” “the day of Jacob’s trouble,” “the day of vengeance of our God,” “time of trouble,” and “the day of the Lord.” In every case it is talking about the nation of Israel. There are over a dozen references to that period in the New Testament, the best known of which and the one from which it receives its official title is our Lord’s designation translated in the KJV as “tribulation” in His Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:21). Referring to the second half of that seven-year period and the most severe time the world has ever known or “ever will know” is rightly translated in the NIV as a time of “distress unequaled” in all of history.”
5. During the 7 Year Tribulation , the three series of seven judgments that Christ will perform upon the earth are comprised of 7 seal judgments, 7 trumpet judgments, and 7 bowl judgments. The following graphic provided courtesy of Tim Lahaye and his Revelation Commentary shows the three sets of judgments that will occur during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation as well as the most likely time frame for them to occur relative to each other and the rest of the events of the Tribulation Period (Please be patient as the graphic below will take a couple of minutes to load) :
6. In Daniel 9:24-27, we read that Daniel had been divinely given the prophetic timetable for the rest of history leading up all of the way into the end times, and from these words of Daniel we can make a number of determinations, “24 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.””
6.1. The following graphic also provided courtesy of Tim Layahe displays the prophetic timetable for the rest of history until the end times ( please be patient as the graphic below may take a while to load ) :
6.2. Daniel tells us that the weeks in his prophesy are to be interpreted as seven year periods, and thus 70 weeks becomes 490 years (70 x 7).
6.3. Sir Robert Anderson in his book, “The Coming Prince”, has show that from the time of Cyrus’ decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem until Christ rode into Jerusalem upon a donkey was exactly 434 years, to the day, just as prophesied by Daniel!
6.4. Between the 69th week in Daniel’s prophesy when Messiah is cut off (Jesus died upon the cross) until the 70th week there is an interruption which is filled by the period that we are presently in, which is called “The Church Age”. The 70th week of Daniel then begins with the period known as the “7 Year Tribulation”.
6.5. Note here that Daniel tells us exactly six things that the Lord will accomplish in the earth by ushering in the end times and the 7 Year Tribulation period:
6.5.1. Finish transgression.
6.5.2. Put an end to sin.
6.5.3. Atone for wickedness.
6.5.4. Bring in everlasting righteousness.
6.5.5. Seal up vision and prophesy.
6.5.6. Anoint the most holy.
7. There have been at least 50 names in the scriptures which many have believed are a reference to the Beast of the book of Revelation, including:
7.1. ANTI-CHRIST...1JO 2:18,22
7.2. THE BEAST...REV 11:7;13:1
7.3. MAN OF SIN...2TH 2:3
7.4. SON OF PERDITION...2TH 2:3
7.5. SON OF LAWLESSNESS...2TH 2:3
7.6. THE WICKED ONE...2TH 2:8
7.7. THE LITTLE HORN...DAN 7:8
7.8. THE VILE PERSON…DAN 11:21
7.9. THE WILLFUL KING...DAN 11:36
7.10. THE IDOL SHEPHERD...ZEC 11:17
7.11. ASSYRIAN...ISA 10:5
7.12. CHALDEAN...HAB 1:6,11
7.13. PRINCE OF TYRE...EZE 28:2
7.14. KING OF BABYLON...EZE 30:10; ISA 14:4
7.15. ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION...MAT 24:15
7.16. THE SPOILER...JER 48:8
7.17. A WICKED COUNSELOR...NAH 1:11
7.18. PRINCE THAT SHALL COME...DAN 9:26
7.19. KING OF FIERCE COUNTENANCE...DAN 8:23
8. Parson’s Illustrator includes the following as being what it calls “the salient points” from scripture in the life history of the future Antichrist:
8.1. Inconspicuous beginning—Dan. 7:8, 24; Rev. 6:1, 2.
8.2. Makes treaty with Jews for Seven Years—Isa. 28:15, 18; Dan. 9:27.
8.3. Overcomes some resistance in uniting Europe—Dan. 7:8, 20, 24.
8.4. Becomes head of 10-nation European Confederacy—Rev. 13:1; 17:12, 13.
8.5. Attacked by Kings of the South and the North, and is killed—Dan. 11:40–43.
8.6. His deadly head wound is healed—Rev. 13:1, 12:14.
8.7. He becomes world ruler—Rev. 13:7b; 17:9, 11–14, 17, 18; 18:2, 10, 16.
8.8. Breaks Jewish treaty and stops temple sacrifices—Dan. 9:27.
8.9. Kills the Two Witnesses—Rev. 11:3–7.
8.10. Usurps divine worship—II Thess. 2:4; Matt. 24:15.
8.11. Persecuted the Jews—Dan. 7:21–22; Jer. 30:7.
8.12. Kills the 144,000 Evangelists—Rev. 14:1–5.
8.13. Destroys the World Church—Rev. 17:16–17.
8.14. Defeated at Armageddon by Christ—Rev. 17:14; 19:19.
8.15. Cast alive into the Lake of Fire—Rev. 19:20; 20:10.
9. The first four of these seal judgments are carried out by what is known as “the four horsemen of the apocalypse”.
10. As we look at the opening of these seal judgments, we can see that these are more catastrophic occurrences of the same phenomena that are characteristic of those prophesied by Jesus to occur with ever increasing frequency during the “Church Age” (see Matt. 24, Luke 21, Mark 13) before the 7 Year Tribulation begins.
11. Likewise, it appears that in the opening of the first few of these seals that these catastrophic occurrences that ensue are primarily the result of the works which man himself has done upon the earth. In these, God appears to be allowing man to have a real good taste of the folly of his own sin in governing the earth motivated by selfish and self-centered goals.
11.1. Some have even conjectured that the Tribulation period itself does not even occur until the opening of the sixth seal, and there may be merit to this opinion, however I cannot say that I’m in convinced of the argument. This would make the first five seals mere unnecessary reiterations by God of the apocalyptic events recorded in Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. So, I think it is more logical that these are more catastrophic versions of the signs of our present age as given in the previous gospel references.
12. The first question we have to answer concerning this first seal is as to whom is riding this ‘white horse’ in verse 2 of this chapter.
12.1. Many have made the mistake at this point of trying to identify this rider as being Christ.
12.1.1.They do this primarily because in chapter 19 verse 11, Christ comes riding on a white horse to conquer, during what is known as the Second Coming of Christ, at the end of “The Tribulation”. However, this would be completely out of place for Christ to appear on the scene at this particular time, during the beginning of “The Tribulation”. Christ will return as the conqueror at the end of “The Tribulation” (chapter 19), however nothing about His purposes and plans and what is accomplished by this rider on the white horse, can be correlated with the account in chapter 19. The only similarity between the two riders on the white horses is the ‘white horse’ itself.
12.1.2.So, if this is not Christ who is portrayed riding this ‘white horse’, who could it be? I think that the logical choice is to assume that this is that person whom the Bible refers to by many names, but most often as “The Beast”. This rider is probably the world leader who will come and take control over all the world as the One World Leader. There are many reasons for inferring this rider is the Beast.
12.1.2.1.When I first became a Christian, almost 30 years ago, it was taught by many churches that there would one day become a one-world government, and that a man called “The Beast” would become the world leader. It seemed at that time totally improbable to me that the world could come to have one government. However, in the thirty years since that time the whole concept of “globalism” has become an incredibly popular concept. In the late 80’s when the United States got into the conflict with Iraq after Sadam Hussein invaded the country of Kuwait, the United States joined up with a multi-national force in invading Kuwait, to free that country, as well as attacking and immobilizing the army of the country of Iraq. During that time, our then president, George Bush, made several very strategic steps toward involving the United States into allegiance with the rest of the world under the United Nations. Since that time, the United Nations has brought peace-keeping forces into numerous world conflicts, including Africa, Bosnia, Iraq, etc. To the shock of many, including myself, at the end of the Iraqi war our president Bush openly expressed his desire to have the autonomy of the United States be taken over by global interests. Now, subsequent to that time, the United States, under its next president, Bill Clinton, grew ever closer to embracing the concepts of “globalism”, and a one-world government. For instance, the NAFTA trade agreement which the United States embraced and ratified has at its center the concept of “globalism”. and its wording and implementation puts the interests of any one nation aside for the betterment of the whole. Our nation ratified it even though everything about the treaty went against the national interests of the United States. What seemed impossible to me thirty years ago in the world coming together as a one-world government is now being embraced not only in the United States, but all over the world and with all of the leaders of the nations. All of the nations of the world are now at least entertaining the thought of losing their own autonomy and sovereignty in order to be part of a one-world global government.
12.1.2.2.Today, with the advent of the Internet, which hundreds of millions of people have access to, everyone on the earth is beginning more and more to feel that they are a part of a world community, instead of a citizen of a particular nation. Likewise, with the failing economies of so many nations, it is uppermost in the thoughts of all those who are in strategic positions in the nations of the world, that the solution for everyone’s individual problems would be to set aside all of our regional interests in favor of global interests. In Europe, they have setup the European Economic Community (EEC), which is a coalition of 10 European nations which have come together in order to function as one entity. In 1999, they implemented one common currency in Europe. They are even planning the implementation of one common language. Very interestingly, from the perspective of the prophecies of the book of Revelation concerning the re-establishment of the Roman Empire, the EEC is considering at this time to make that common language “Latin”. Adding to the intrigue, the symbol for the European Economic Community has been taken from the book of Revelation, and it is “the woman riding the beast”. So, the United Kingdom is again rising to power, and the European Economic Community is beginning to emerge as a coalition of nations coming together as one entity.
12.1.2.3.As I have said, for the last 15 years or so that it has increasingly more been the case that those who are influential in the world have been maintaining that all the problems in the world could be solved if we could just end our own regional and national sovereignty in order to be world citizens. The thinking is that if we just were to pool all of our resources, and join together to stamp out anything that hinders us from unity, all of our problems could be solved. Of course, also in this agenda is the resolve to do away with all of the things that make for individuality about people, including especially their religion. So, there is also a push in the world for there to be a one-world religion. If you want to determine whether or not I am correct in saying that there is a push all over the world for a one-world government, you can simply do a search via the Internet for Web-sites that have in them the wording, “globalism”. You will be shocked at the hundreds of articles and books on this subject which you can search out just through the Internet.
12.1.2.4.The world’s stage is being set for the emergence of a one-world government which shall be run by this man called the Beast in scripture.
13. In the book of Daniel, chapter 7, Daniel had a vision of a the Beast rising to power as part of a 10 nation confederacy, and this confederacy has for many years by Biblical expositors been thought to be a confederacy of European nations, “7 “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts ...19 “Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20 and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and which was larger in appearance than its associates. 21 “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom. 23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. 24 ‘As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. 25 ‘And he will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time”.
13.1. Properly interpreting this prophesy in Daniel drives us to realize that the Beast will have his power base as the reigning world-sovereign solidified during the last 3 1/2 years of the tribulation, however during the first 3 1/2 years of the “Tribulation” the one-world government will be formed and this man who is called one of about 50 titles in the scripture, including “The Beast” and “The Anti-Christ” will appear and begin building his power base and government.
14. Knowing then that this rider on the white horse in verse 1 of chapter 6 is most probably the Beast revealed prophetically in scripture to rule the world in the last days, we ought to take a minute to examine another element of the rise to power of the Beast, as well as this one-world government. The scriptures talk about a “great deception” that will come upon the world in the last days in order to allow the world to embrace this world ruler and accept a global government.
14.1. First of all, Jesus told His disciples in Matthew chapter 24 that during these last days that there would be the deception of “false Christ’s” who would deceive the whole world, including God’s very elect if He had not intervened to stop that, “22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray”.
14.1.1.These false Christ’s will come with the power of demonic “signs and wonders”, which will persuade many people to listen to their philosophies and to believe that they are in fact telling the truth.
14.2. Secondly, Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 2:6-12 about this great deception that will come upon the whole world and accompany the acceptance into power of the Beast, “6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” We do not know what this “lie” that the whole word will believe is to consist of, nor who the Beast is, however this lie will contain some sort of an explanation as to the origin of life, as well as to the existence and nature of God.
14.3. Third, may I ask us to consider just for a moment what possibly could be the nature of this deception that will come upon the world?
14.3.1.Over the years, there has been a tremendous amount of speculation about what is the nature of this “lie”. With all of the “Psy-fi” television series’ and movies, plus the many UFO hobbyists today, one possible explanation that has been speculated upon recently is that the Beast will somehow be identified with UFOs and supposed alien creatures. The three Star Trek series’ and its movies have set the stage for the people of this world to perhaps think that they are making “first contact” with an alien race of superiority, were a craft to land. If a UFO were to touch down on earth today and an alien creature step out and tell the world that his superior species had planted life on this planet and that they had subsequently been observing their experiment, and now they wanted to come and contact our world and raise our consciousness to a higher level, most of the non-Christian people of the world would be primed to accept their existence and explanation for life on our planet. These supposed alien creatures could also say that this Mr. Beast character, whomever he may be, was a special creation and that they had given him superhuman intelligence and abilities and that therefore he should be their representative for intelligent life in this galaxy.
14.3.1.1.I don’t want to enter the “conspiracy zone” or “X Files” area too deeply here, but it is interesting to note the speculations that some have even conjectured that what could occur in the last days. I can’t say I buy into these theories, however it is interesting to considers some of these speculations and just think outside of the box about these things. What I’m referring to involves a resurgence of what many believed occurred in the book of Genesis, chapter 6 verses 1-4, where it records that the Sons of God (whom some interpret to be demons) mated with women and produced a superior race called the “Nephilim”, “6:1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown”. If the demons were allowed to mate with women in producing this superior race of men, then some have speculated that these men could be some of these ones who are called “false Christ’s” who have the power of demonic “signs and wonders”. Many of the alleged UFO sightings in our world over the past 50 years have revealed that, if these sightings did in fact happen, that they indicate some sort of inter-dimensional travel. For instance, in many of the sightings, the UFOs which are traveling at a high rate of speed have turned in a perfect 45° angle. This type of movement defies all of the laws of physics, which has led people to consider that because of the possible inter-dimensional travel aspect of these sightings, plus what people who have seen these UFOs have cited, that these UFOs may have actually been direct demonic activity. Now, assuming that these sightings are actually of demonic origin, then what could have been the purpose behind the more than 2 million alien abductions that have been reported? What is an interesting theme that has been common in many of these supposed alien abductions is that the aliens have examined the abductee’s genitalia. These creatures supposedly have been especially interested in the reproductive aspects of the people. What then has been a speculation of late amongst the Christian community is that demons utilizing these UFO abductions may be taking human samples or performing research in order to begin again to introduce the existence of the Nephilim upon the earth prior to the return of Christ.
14.3.2.There are so many lies that the people of this world have already been swallowing, hook, line, and sinker, that will be preparing them for events to occur after the church has been raptured away, and so that they will believe a lie about the existence of life and the creator. Just the popular belief in Darwinian Evolution has prepared people to believe that life is always evolving to higher levels in each place in the universe, which can then lead to theories about superior creatures on other solar systems. Likewise, the popular world-view concerning man, that deep down we are all gods, and that we just need to work on developing our god-like characteristics, is setting the stage for some sort of deceptive lie during the “Tribulation.”
14.3.3.All we know for sure, however, is that the whole world will believe a lie and get suckered into allowing the Beast to become the world leader of the one-world global government.
15. VS 6:1 - “6:1 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.” - The Lamb breaks the first seal and a rider on a white horse with a how and crown goes off conquering and to conquer
15.1. A note about horses might be in order here. In the Old Testament scriptures, the Jews were told not to own nor trust in horses, and in general it can be said that horses were thought of as being something that is evil. Horses primarily relate to war and waging war in the scripture, and thus here in the book of Revelation it is not surprising that we see God’s judgments being carried out upon the earth in the opening of these first four seals through these “four horsemen of the apocalypse”.
15.2. Christ breaks the first seal on the “Title Deed of the Earth”, and now the judgments determined by God to fulfill the outpouring of His wrath upon the rebellious people of the world begin.
15.3. When Christ breaks this first seal, one of the four living creatures speaks with a thundering loud voice, “Come!”, or as it can also be translated, “Go!” The living creature is of course giving this command to the rider on the white horse so that he might execute this judgment upon the earth.
15.4. If the rider on the ‘white horse’ is not the Beast himself, then the rider is merely “a personification” of the emerging one-world government, or the instrument through which the one-world global government is to be instituted, and, in that case the Beast will later rise to power over this one-world government. In Daniel 9:27, however it appears that the Beast actually makes a commitment with Israel for 1 week, which translates to 7 years, so I believe he must be in power in the world at the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel’s prophesy (which is the beginning of the Tribulation period) when this one-world government is being setup, “27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.””
15.5. The rider on this white horse is described as having a ‘bow’, however it is not mentioned that he had any arrows. The ‘bow’ is symbolic of the “over-arching” effect of this conqueror, therefore we must interpret this to indicate that this government will consist of all of the nations of the world. However, since there are no arrows, and nothing to indicate violence, this is the beginnings of a peaceful surrender of autonomy by all of the nations of the world to the one-world global government. In the beginning the Beast will conquer with diplomacy not force, but that will change.
15.6. Also, this rider on the white horse has a ‘crown’, “stephanos” in the Greek, and it is significant that it is a victor’s crown. However, this is not the crown that Christ wears in the book of Revelation. In Rev. 19:12, when Christ appears as the conqueror on the white horse, He has on His head many of the type of crowns worn by royalty, and the Greek word for these crowns is “diadema.” This is another indication that this rider on this white horse in chapter 6 is not Christ, but someone else.
15.7. John writes, ‘he went out conquering, and to conquer,’ because the effect of this first seal is the beginning of the institution of all of the nations of the world peacefully being conquered by the one-world global government. I say that the beginnings of this merger taking place is emphasized in this seal because with the second seal we see that wars begin to occur. I believe that these wars are really rifts in the universal government that is to be established which will eventually will conquer the entire earth when the Beast takes power during the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation.
15.8. It is most likely that during this time period when the world is moving quickly to a global one-world government, that this will be a time where there will be the emergence of many false Messiahs claiming to be Christ, as Matthew records Jesus as foretelling in Matt. 24:5, “5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.”
15.9. Actually, in the past 25 years, the earth has witnessed many men who have come and who have claimed to be Christ, and who have led many astray. However, I believe that this first seal may include an influx of many more who will claim to be Christ or a false Messiah for the world, and who have demonic powers of signs and wonders.
16. VS 6:3-4 - “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.” - The Lamb breaks the second seal and a red horse goes out to take peace from the earth
16.1. Initially there was peace beginning to break out upon the earth when the first seal was broken, as the nations of the world began to surrender their autonomy to the one-world government. Now, however war erupts for there can never be lasting peace on earth without the Prince of Peace reigning and wickedness removed.
16.2. I believe that this verse is at least a partial fulfillment of the prophetic word from Paul in 1 Thess. 5:1-6, “5:1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”
16.3. When the world thinks that this “new world order” and global government will finally bring peace to the earth, then “all hell literally breaks out” as the remaining judgments of seals, trumpets, and bowls will come upon those who are upon the earth.
16.4. This second horse is the color ‘red’ because that is the color of blood, and in this war their will be much bloodshed. In fact, it says here that it was given to him ‘to take peace from the earth’, ‘that men should slay one another’, and because these are significant battles, John recorded that ‘a great sword was given to him’.
16.5. The question now is as to what battle is being referred in this verse?
16.5.1.The battle indicated in this seal may be the battle recorded in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39 where Gog and Magog come down from the north against Israel, and the Lord miraculously delivers Israel and defeats her enemies. Chuck Missler and Hal Lindsey have done sufficient research to prove that Gog and Magog refer to the peoples of Russia (the descendants of the ancient Scythians), and today in the Christian world this is commonly accepted amongst pre-millennial Bible expositors. Since the break up of the Soviet Union in 1990, the several states of that union have begun to group themselves according to ethnic and religious boundaries. Some of the resultant nations are now controlled by governments which are entirely given over to the tenets and goals of the Islamic religion. These nations have already formed pacts and treaties with the other Islamic nations in the middle east, including militant nations such as Iran, Libya, etc. These nations have aligned themselves along their religious beliefs, and central to their cause is the overthrow and destruction of Israel as a nation since Israel controls the land that they consider their religious heritage as Moslems, and because Israel’s religious heritage is considered their greatest threat. What makes these pacts and alliances much more of a threat to the rest of the world is the fact that since the break up of the Soviet Union, it is has been proven and is a commonly known fact that some of these nations have functional nuclear weapons in their arsenal of weapons. Israel knows the seriousness of these pacts and alliances of these nations and has been preparing for battle with these nations for many years. With Israel’s nuclear capabilities as well as their unsurpassed military machine, when this battle occurs there could be a nuclear catastrophe of proportions not even close in comparison to the attacks of the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the close of WWII. That Ezekiel 38 and 39 refer to a nuclear war is that says that it will take the people 7 years to pick up the weapons, which indicates that they are radiating nuclear energy.
16.5.2.Now, I do have to say that we do not know if the war that is mentioned here is that particular conflict, or whether that battle is perhaps indicated when the sixth seal is opened, or whether it could occur at some other time for that matter. The description of the opening of the sixth seal appears to paint a description of nuclear war also, however I wanted to initially open up this discussion of the Ezekiel 38 and 39 battle, for it could fit into this time frame. If this is not the “Magog invasion” portrayed in this seal, then it is most probably then just major regional conflicts that will be erupting as this global one-world government is being established.
16.6. It is appropriate to take a moment and to look at the apocalyptic chapters found in the gospels: Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. As I have mentioned previously in my study concerning the book of Revelation, Jesus gave us signs to look for as markers for His second coming. These signs were to occur in increasing frequency upon the earth before that time, and thus in Matt. 24:8 Jesus calls these signs the beginning of birth pangs. These labor pains will increase in frequency and severity until the time that the Tribulation begins. Then, during the “Tribulation”, each of those signs take on cataclysmic proportions. Matthew recorded Jesus words concerning this in Matt. 24:6, “6 “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.””
16.7. In John receiving this revelation of ‘peace’ being taken from the earth, it is apparent that wars and rumors of wars will increase in an exponential way, especially as he mentions that it is a “great” sword that is given to him. War has been an experience among the human race since time began.
16.7.1.I was given these statistics a few years ago (thus they are dated) and though I haven’t been able to verify them, they sound pretty accurate, “It has been estimated that in the last 3,000 years of recorded history, there have only been about 286 years in which there was no war recorded, or 8% of the time, with the occurrence of over 15,000 total wars, and 4 billion total people killed. From 1970 to 1986, 7.1 million people died in wars. Over 8,000 peace treaties have been signed during the last 3,000 years, and the average period of time that they have lasted is 2 years. Likewise, wars have been on an exponential increase in recent years. It is estimated at the present time that there are approximately 30-40 nations in some sort of war with another nation, and that there are at least 19 wars occurring between nations at any given time. Because of the prevalence of war, there has even been a move to define “war” as an altercation that results in the killing of 1,000 or more people. These statistics do not take into account all of the acts of terrorism that have been occurring all over the world and with tremendous frequency. In 1984 alone, there were 2,679 attacks committed by 126 of the world’s 174 then existing terrorist groups. These statistics concerning war also do not take into account the fact that in the United States alone there are approximately 22,000-25,000 gang related deaths each year. Likewise, every 22 seconds in America someone is beaten, stabbed, or shot.”
16.7.2.It is a fact that in our nation alone that throughout our history we have not gone more than about 25 years without being involved in some sort of a war.
17. VS 6:5-6 - “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.”” - The Lamb broke the third seal and a black horse when a rider who had a pair of scales in his hand went out
17.1. In Matthew 24:7-8, Jesus predicted that wars (regional and global), earthquakes and famines would precede His Second Coming, “7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.””
17.2. There have been many studies done of the exponential increase of, per the Richter scale, magnitude 6.0+ killer earthquakes upon the earth in the last 35 years. In 1994, the US Geological Survey put out a report about the frequency of these 6.0+ killer earthquakes. They said that from 1890 to 1899, there was one magnitude 6.0 earthquake. From 1900 to 1910, there were 3. From 1910-1920 there were 2. From 1920-1930, there were 2. From 1930 to 1940, there were 5. From 1940 to 1950, there were 4. From 1950 to 1960, there were 9. From 1960 to 1970, there were 13. From 1970 to 1979, there were 51. From 1980 to 1989, there were 86. From 1990 to 1994, there had already been over 100 of them.
17.3. Likewise, studies have shown that there has been an exponential increase of all natural catastrophes upon the earth in the last 40 years. Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, famines, etc. have been on an exponential increase. The graph below from the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction website (http://www.unisdr.org/disaster-statistics/occurrence-trends-century.htm) was produced by the for illustrating the increase in natural catastrophes in recent years:
17.4. In John’s day, a denarius was a day’s wage, and a quart of wheat was only enough for one person to eat normally. Therefore, what is indicated with this seal judgment is that people will be working very hard, however they will be making just enough to feed themselves.
17.5. When it says here ‘and do not harm the oil and the wine’, it is indicated that although there is general famine all across the world, there will be no lack of expensive esoteric items that only the rich can afford. This seems to indicate that although most of the world will be starving, the rich will be living it up as they watch the rest of the world starve. This is a sad commentary upon the sin of man. I read several years ago that Bill Gates, the current world’s richest man, was worth approx. 37 billion dollars. If a fair proportion of the money of all of the rich people of the earth were used charitably for relief, there would be no poor people, and none who would go hungry.
17.6. To get a proper perspective on conditions in the world, virtually all of us in the church in America are living in the top 5 percentile in income in the world.
17.7. It is a fact though, that there is massive famine that has been occurring in our world to an increasing degree the last 40 years or so. A decade or two ago, we saw the massive famines in Ethiopia, and since then there have been other famines in some of the African nations. A few years ago it was said that, “at least half of the world will go to bed hungry each night, for at least half of the world is currently living in a malnourished condition. 10,000 people die every day from malnutrition in our world. One half of the children of the world are so undernourished today that their physical and mental growth is retarded. The average American dog has a higher protein diet than most of the peoples of the world. While you and I sit down to eat dinner tonight, 400 people will starve to death.”
17.8. The present loss of fertile land to desert that has been happening at an alarming frequency the past 100 years or so will aid in this catastrophic famine that is to occur all over the world. It is estimated that each year, due to the process of erosion, deforestation, and desert expansion, an area approx. the size of the state of Maine is consumed in desert. Another factor that adds to the increase of land given over to desert each year is the fact that today when many countries wage war, they will burn down all of the foliage in a land occupied by an enemy nation in order to better find and destroy them. There is also the commercial exploitation of the Amazon rain forest that is having disastrous ecological results. As the trees are cut down, the very arid topsoil is lost. This is also causing the destruction of many animal and plant species. It is expected that 2 million species of plants and animals will be lost in the next two decades alone. Many of the species that will be lost are essential for a correct ecological balance on the earth.
17.9. Another factor that will aid in this world-wide famine is that the world’s oceans are quickly becoming incapable of producing edible fish. The United Nations produced a study several years ago in which they stated that the world’s oceans have suffered irreparable damage. The pollution that has already been placed in the ocean is spreading by the minute and killing off what fisheries that presently remain. They concluded that from the simple spreading of the damage that has already been done, there will one day be no life left in the ocean. The nations of the world have for years been dumping their sewage into the oceans. The United States is the worst offender, each day we dump 450,000 tons of sewage into the ocean. Not only is there pollution from sewage, there is also major areas where nuclear waste is leaking into the oceans from sunken nuclear submarines and weapons.
18. VS 6:7-8 - “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 Lamb breaks the fourth seal and an ashen horse whose rider was named Death went out, followed by Hades
18.1. With the opening of this seal which is characterized by ‘death’, one-fourth of the world’s population are to be killed, that means that over 1.75 billion people will die, which would be by far the greatest catastrophe that the world has ever experienced, surpassing the number of dead killed by the Great Flood recorded in Genesis.
18.2. The ‘sword’ characterizes death coming as a result of war and fighting of various kinds.
18.3. This horse is an ‘ashen’ color, or the color of an ash, which is a pale color. The horse is this color because it is death that is primarily characterized by this seal. The things that will cause death are the ‘sword’, ‘famine’, ‘pestilence’, and ‘wild beasts’. I believe that these things are partially the signs of the “Church Age” in which we live, however they will also occur during the Tribulation period but in catastrophic proportions.
18.3.1.In the 14th century 1/4 to 1/3 of the people of the world died in the Black Plague, or the Bubonic Plague, for a total of 60 million people.
18.3.2.20 million people died in an epidemic of influenza during WWI.
18.3.3.Five years ago, 2.5 million or more people had already died from the AIDS virus. The World Health Center said then that within 10 years, it is expected that 1 million babies will be born in that year having the HIV virus.
18.3.4.Previously conquered diseases are also coming back because they have mutated into strains which are no longer able to be prevented by their original vaccines, or cured by the originally created antibiotics, such as Tuberculosis, Malaria, Staphylococcus, etc.
18.3.5.We have become increasingly aware of late that the nations of the world have also created incredible weapons for chemical as well as bacterial, or germ warfare. It has been documented in the last several years that in more than a few instances around the world that chemical and germ-warfare have been used. The smallest amount of some of these deadly chemical or germ agents can kill people on a massive scale, as was demonstrated for instance in the mass murder of 130 people in a subway in Tokyo by a militant religious group which dispersed only a couple of ounces of deadly Sarin nerve gas into the air. One drop of pure Sarin nerge gas the size of a pinhead could kill an entire battalion of soldiers in a closed in area in a matter of approx. 17 seconds. A quart of the Sarin nerve gas could potentially kill over a million people. Plus, the half-life of potency of Sarin is 30-40 years, so if just a tiny bit of Sarin is dispersed into the air on one part of the earth, it could continue to kill and kill for decades to come all over the earth wherever the wind takes it, and wherever it lands. Germ warfare agents such as Anthrax bacteria for instance can be ground up and dispersed into the air over a country, placed into its water supply, or even placed so that rodents will carry it, and an entire population could easily be destroyed without even knowing how the agent was released on it. These arsenals cannot be safely destroyed or deposited in the earth without the contamination and infection of people in the process, and there have been several horrific accidents that have been reported just in the handling and disposing of these. It appears that our 1990 Gulf War veterans may have been infected with some of these agents simply be destroying the Iraqi munitions depots.
18.3.6.It is interesting that it says here concerning this seal that many were killed by ‘wild beasts’. We know that the earthly population of those animals typically considered as ‘wild beasts’, such as the lion or bear, who have killed large numbers of people throughout history, have been in large decline in recent years. However, perhaps the “rat” could be considered under this heading. There have been more people killed by “rats” than by all of the wars of history. Rats carry about 35 different diseases. Their fleas carry many deadly diseases including Bubonic plague, Typhus (which has killed an estimated 200 million people), Hantavirus, etc. They also multiply with an incredible ability. If 95% of the rats in the United States were to die today, the population could be replenished in a year’s time.
19. VS 6:9-11 - “9 And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 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.” - The Lamb broke the fifth seal and the martyrs were seen underneath the altar in heaven, and were crying out for the Lord to judge and avenge their blood
19.1. This opening of this seal reveals the ones who have been martyred for their faith in Christ. These ones were killed because they had faith in Christ and because of their testimony for Him.
19.2. Christian martyrdom is something that is a sign of the age in which we live, and something that will increase up until Christ returns, however during the Tribulation there will be a catastrophic degree of martyring of Christians on the earth. We will see more of this when we get to the section of the book of Revelation dealing with the mark of the Beast. Jesus predicted these things in Matt. 24:9-12, “9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. 10 “And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. 11 “And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. 12 “And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.””
19.3. There were 6 million Christians estimated to have been martyred for their faith during the Roman persecutions of the church of the first three centuries after the death of Christ. Likewise, in Nazi Germany, although it is never reported, along with the 6 million Jews who were killed, there were also about 6 million Christians martyred for their faith. Communist China has martyred probably more Christians than any nation on the earth today. Focus on the Family recently issued a report stating that in the 20th century alone there were more Christians martyred than in all of the previous centuries combined. They also reported that in 1996 alone 160,000 Christians were martyred around the world. The secular media is constantly denying that Christians are being martyred around the world. Each time a Christian is murdered, the press usually just ignores it today. Because of the present Palestinian problem in Israel as well as our nation’s war on terrorism there are an incredible number of Christians being martyred around the world by various Moslem groups.
19.4. These ones who have been martyred for their faith in Christ are crying out to God for Him to execute justice upon the earth and avenge their blood. Their prayers are for the Lord to move, execute vengeance, act on their behalf, and hurry up doing it.
19.5. It is significant that these martyrs are found underneath the altar in heaven. In the tabernacle and temple, it was underneath the altar where the blood of the sacrifices ran. These souls then are seen as being themselves a blood offering before the Lord, their lives having been taken because of their faith in Christ.
19.6. Another interesting note here is that it is given to them a ‘white robe’ to wear, and yet a soul cannot wear a ‘robe’, for a soul is an immaterial entity. Therefore, because of this scripture it has been conjectured that when people go to be with Christ that they will be given a temporary body awaiting the resurrection of their bodies. Those who were raptured with Christ before the beginning of the Tribulation are not ‘souls’ in heaven in a temporary body, rather they are in a resurrected body that has been raised in power and glory. However, it appears that these ones beneath the altar will be given a resurrected body only when Christ finally returns the second time to the earth at the end of the Tribulation.
19.7. These martyred souls beneath the altar are told by the Lord to rest there for awhile until the full number of those who will be martyred is completed.
20. VS 6:12-13 - “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.” - The Lamb breaks the sixth seal and a great earthquake occurs
20.1. Joel 2:30-31 describes this time of the opening of this sixth seal which will proceed the coming of the Lord in the following way, “30 “And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 “The sun will be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”
20.2. There are a few possibilities for interpreting the events described by the opening of this seal:
20.2.1.It could be that these phenomena are cosmic disturbances such as asteroids hitting the earth, or they could be volcanic eruptions occurring.
20.2.1.1.These cosmic disturbances could cause earthquakes, the sun appearing to be black, the moon appearing to be a blood color, mountains and islands moving ‘out of their places,’ as well as things such as (or appearing as) asteroids hitting the earth.
20.2.2.A nuclear war could be described in this seal, typified by the sky being split apart and rolling up, and all of the events described in the paragraph above occurring.
20.2.2.1.As I mentioned concerning the second seal, this could be the Magog Invasion described in Ezekiel 38 and 39.
20.2.2.1.1.For several reasons it appears that the scriptures in Ezekiel 38 and 39 point to a nuclear war:
20.2.2.1.1.1.It takes 7 years to pick up the weapons.
20.2.2.1.1.2.There is a burning of the weapons that will provide heat for the people for seven years.
20.2.2.1.1.3.The bodies which are killed in this battle are described by Ezekiel as being first marked, and then later someone else comes along and buries them. These are the very procedures taught today for the cleaning up of the bodies of people killed during a nuclear attack.
20.2.2.2.Today, with the breakup of the Soviet Union, instead of the world becoming more stable, it is more unstable than it ever has been. When the Soviet Union existed, at least we knew who had control of the nuclear weapons. However, today we do not know who is at the controls of the nuclear warheads in many of the nations where we know nuclear weapons have passed. Many of the nations are governed by Moslem extremists which have absolutely no regard for human life. There are also literally dozens and perhaps hundreds of nuclear weapons that cannot be accounted for since the fall of the Soviet Union. We can only guess as to whom these weapons have gone on the world’s black market of weapons. Certainly the stage is currently set for the Ezekiel 38/39 battle to occur at any time in our near future.
20.2.2.3.Of course, I should point out that many believe Ezek. 38-39 to be the battle of Armageddon which occurs at the end of the 7 Year Tribulation.
21. As we look at all of the events that are described as occurring in this chapter with the opening of these seals, we can see that even in our day virtually all of these things are already occurring, and not only so but they are occurring at an exponential rate. The stage is set for the coming of the Lord for the rapture of His church. One of the signs that must occur before some of the events of the Tribulation occurred in 1947 when Israel once again became a nation. The stage is set all over the world for Christ to return for His church, for the Magog Invasion of Israel to occur, and the period of the Tribulation to occur.
21.1. The only question that I would like to ask of you is this: Are you personally ready for the return of the Lord?
21.2. If He were to come today, would He be coming for you?
21.3. Would you be as the ones who will hide in the caves and want the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the presence of the Lamb? Or, will you be found waiting and ready for your Lord as you are faithfully carrying out His will in your life?
21.4. If you aren’t ready today for the Lord to return, then I would encourage you to flee to Jesus, repent of your sins and ask His forgiveness for turning away from the Lord, and partake of what He purchased for you upon the cross of Calvary: Pardon, forgiveness of all of your sins, and eternal life through believing upon Him and His work upon the cross as full payment for your sins. For more information on how to receive this life and forgiveness that Jesus gives to us, you can go to a special page on our web site by clicking here: http://www.calvarychapel.com/greenbay/tract.htm.