Seven Seals of Revelation 6 8 Christ Shields

Seven Seals of Revelation 6 -8 Christ Shields His Afflicted People

Comparison of John and Ezekiel l John knew that Ezekiel had also received a scroll l Ezekiel 2: 8 -10; It was full of “lamentation, mourning and woe. ”

Comparison of 7 Churches and 7 Seals l Like the 7 Churches, God is trying to show “his servants what must soon take place” Rev. 1: 1 l However, as in Daniel He puts a stress on different aspects of history in each excerpt – and the problems of the 7 churches aren’t exactly the same as the 7 seals

Connection with Chapter 5 l Everything of Rev. 5 in Rev. 6 & 7 - builds off – Lamb is worthy to open the scroll – Lamb is worthy of praise and honor • Conquered death and was resurrected – Lamb is on the right hand of God the Almighty

Time Period of 7 Seals l Rev. 6, 7 covers ascension of Jesus to 2 nd coming – Rev. 4 -5 inauguration imagery • Christ at the right hand of the Father l 6: 15 -17 Jesus 2 nd coming events

No Content of Seals n Chapter 6 does not describe the content of the 7 seals n Describes results on earth of the breaking the seals n Contents of the scroll not revealed n Until all 7 seals are broken n Breaking of the 7 seals is preliminary to the events of the end

Seals and Covenant Imagery l Deut. 28 Blessings and curses of the covenant – OT covenant, basis of relationship with God – Curses • war, famine, pestilence, wild beasts • 4 severe judgments or destroyers used by God

Lev. 26: 21 -26 l 21 "Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. 22 And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted. l 23 "And if by this discipline you are not turned to me but walk contrary to me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins.

Lev. 26 l 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

Reason for Curses l If the people repented, returned to the covenant – Curses stopped, blessings come l The first four seals are the consequence of the church rejecting the gospel – God’s purpose is for repentance and return to Him

Synoptic Apocalypse l Seals in Rev. 6, 7 parallels Matt. 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13 – – – See Stefanovic p. 224 Events in Synoptic apocalypse are historical In context of “the end is near” Seals 1 -4 fits Matt. 24: 5 -14 Seal 5 fits Matt. 24: 15 -22 Seal 6 fits Matt. 24: 23 -31 second coming of Christ – Seal 7 is after 2 nd coming

“Come” l “Come” in first four seals – Imperative form, you must come – Rev. 22: 20 Come Lord Jesus l 5 th seal, How long? – Urgency l 6 th seal, Jesus has come – Current event taking place l 7 th seal, Silence – Time indeed has come, arrived, for the end

First Seal – White Horse l Rider had a bow and a crown l Conquered much l 6: 1, 2

First Seal – White Horse Like church of Ephesus, Jesus knew that the church would start out well – preaching in the all the world – Acts 1: 8 l White – righteousness and character of Christ l

Bow and a Crown l Bow and a crown – Hab. 3: 8 -9 God on a horse with a bow – Bow, the gospel brings judgment, division • Matt 10: 34 -39 – Crown of victory • Winner of the contest

Second Seal – Red Horse l Took peace from the earth l Gave permission to kill each other l Had a great sword

2 nd Seal, Rev. 6: 3 -4 Persecution in the Roman Empire l Consequences of preaching the gospel l – Wherever the gospel is preached and accepted, persecution follows – Matt. 24: 9 -10 tribulation, death, you will be hated l Fiery-red horse – Red is color of blood and persecution – Rev. 17 Prostitute rides a red beast • Drunk with the blood of the saints

Second Seal – Red Horse After 313 AD – the Christian church began not to be persecuted, but to persecute l Wars between Christians lasted from the time of Constantine to World War I l

Second Seal – Red Horse l Lev. 26: 6 -8 l God promised peace to His people if they obeyed His commands l 1 st and 2 nd century AD – pax Romana

Third Seal – Black Horse l Pair of scales l Prices for wheat, barley, oil and wine

3 rd Seal, Rev. 6: 5 -6 n Middle Ages, spiritual decline and compromise n Beginning of Papal Rome n By year 600 most false teachings of Christian church in place n Black horse n Black, color of darkness n. Absence of gospel, Matt 4: 16, John 1: 5, 3: 19

Third Seal – Black Horse l Wheat, barley, oil and wine were staple foods in those times l Barley was cheaper than wheat usually, important for the poor l Oil – essential for cooking l Wine (juice) – a solution for drinking water from old wells

Quart of Wheat l Quart of wheat, 3 quarts of barley – Scarcity, time of famine – A denarius – a days wage – Ordinary times a denarius bought 12 -15 xs as much food l Word of God is bread of life, Matt. 4: 4 – Jesus himself, John 6: 35 -38 – Famine of the truth of the Bible

Third Seal – Black Horse Lev. 26: 1 -5, 10 l God promised prosperity in their crops (grape, wheat, etc. ) if they obeyed His commands l This seal represents scarcity l

No Harm to Oil and Wine l Do no harm to oil and wine – Oil is symbolic of Holy Spirit – Wine is symbolic of blood of Jesus l God is still working – Bible preserved • Faithfully copied – Attempts at reformation

Fourth Seal – Pale Horse Name was Death l Hades was right behind him l Killed by sword, famine, plague l

Fourth Seal – Pale Horse After war and a leaving of God’s commands, and scarcity and famine, it is no surprise that Death follows l Historians – “Dark Ages” – 500 -1500 l

4 th Seal, Rev. 6: 7 -8 l Christian church in Medieval period – False teachings, superstition, loss of knowing salvation by grace – Death rides a pale horse, Hades follows – Ashen- grey color of a corpse – Rev. 1: 18 Christ has keys of death and Hades • Rev. 20: 14 Death is destroyed – Ultimate consequence of the famine of the Word of God

Given Authority l Given authority over ¼ of the earth – Under Christ’s control – ¼ of the earth • One of the four winds, directions of the earth – Kill with sword, famine, pestilence and beasts • 4 judgments of God against apostasy • Meant to bring reformation

Emphasis of Seals The emphasis of the seals is clearly on the moral decline of the church l Famine, plague, scarcity, death, war l

Famine of Word of God Amos 8: 11 – The days are coming when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. l Biggest problem of the church of 300 -1500 AD = lack of knowledge of Bible l

Fifth Seal – Souls Under the Altar l Souls that had been slain for the word of God l They cried out for revenge l Given white robes l Told to wait a while until the number of their brothers would be completed

5 th Seal Rev. 6: 9 -11 l God’s faithful who died for Him – Martyrs in early church – Post reformation 17 th and 18 th centuries • 100, 000 killed in peasant’s war – Counter reformation, inquisition by the church • Thousands persecuted, tortured, killed for their faith – People who die for Jesus today

Fifth Seal – Souls Under the Altar Daniel 7 told us that there would be a 1260 year period that there would be an anti. Christian power ruling l From 538 -1798 AD nobody knows how many martyrs died at the hands of the Christian church l

Plea for Justice l Died because of the Word of God and their testimony – How long – before you judge - avenge our blood? – A plea asking for justice, not revenge

The White Robes l Each is given a white robe – Assurance of their salvation in Jesus – God will not forget them – God will judge – in their favor – God will judge against their (His) enemies

Completion? l Rest for a little while – More to die for Jesus – Those made complete • Complete in number • Complete in character – becoming like Jesus

Fifth Seal – Souls Under the Altar l However, God knew that the close of the 1260 years wasn’t the end of the world l The gospel still needed to be preached to all the world – Matt. 24: 14

Souls Under the Altar l Shift in focus – First four seals begin with “Come” l 5 th seal, souls of all of the martyrs – Beneath the altar – OT sacrificial system • Lev. 4: 7 Blood of the sacrifice poured at the base of the alter • Blood symbolized life • Lev. 17: 11 -14 Blood (life) belonged to God

Sixth Seal – Great Signs in the Heavens l Earthquake – Matt. 24: 29 l Sun turned black, moon – red l Stars fell from the sky l Sky rolled back – islands and mountains are removed l Everybody on the Earth mourns and wants to hide from the face of God and Jesus

Earthquake l l l Nov. 1, 1755 – Lisbon, Portugal Wealthy center of Catholic church, Inquisition had a headquarters, 40 churches, Catholic holiday – All Saints Day 2 minutes earthquake raged on, destroyed the city – 15, 000 people died Was felt in Strasbourg and Scandinavia – 18002600 km. Away Earthquake encouraged much science and philosophical speculation (Voltaire, Kant, Rousseau, etc. ) – world became pessimistic

Sun Darkened l May 19, 1780 – in 40, 000 sq. km. In New England, America – the sun disappeared behind a dark cloud for about 2 -3 hours in the middle of the day l People thought the end of the world had come – spurred much Bible study

Stars Falling from the Sky November 13, 1833 – eastern part of the USA – from 9 p. m – 6 a. m. a record number of meteors fell from the sky – peak at 4 a. m. l Usually 10/hour – estimated on this night 60, 000/hour l Spurred the modern study of meteors l

Stars Falling from the Sky l Frederick Douglass – famous diplomat and journalist was still a slave and wrote that it was a “gorgeous spectacle” and a “harbinger of the Son of Man”.

Significance of these Events Magnitude – Some of the biggest recorded l Location – Europe and America l Timing – Decline of Catholic Church l Encouraged Bible Study – Amos 8, Joel 2, Matt. 24 l

End of Sixth Seal l The Second Coming of God and Christ l Christ is the only one that is worthy to judge the church for her errors

Second Coming Most people according to this prophecy won’t heed the warnings that the first 5 seals gave l They didn’t become friends with God – they are just afraid of His wrath l

Question of the Sixth Seal l Who can stand on the great day of the wrath of God? l Chapter 7 answers that question