THE 7 SEALS OF REVELATION__A Must Read!

SETTING THE STAGE. The book of Revelation actually contains amazing TRUTHS for us in this end time. It is so unfortunate that many people have been scared from studying this marvelous book. Some say people will get mad if they study this book. To others, no one can ever understand the prophecies therein. Meanwhile, in this last book of the Bible are found the words that Jesus Himself is giving to us in this end time. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. Blessed is he that readeth, and they

that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:1, 3, emphases added).
I believe that one book of the Bible we must dedicate much time into its study as we live in this end time is the very one people are scared of studyingthe book of Revelation. The introduction to the book as given above plainly gives us a good reason why we MUST study the this book. It is also critically important to study the book of Revelation with the book of Daniel. For in the book of Daniel are found prophetic visions. And the book of Revelation, as the name suggests, reveals the prophetic visions in the book of Daniel. Please note: This book deals with many symbols (colors, woman, sun, moon, stars, beast, sea/waters, wind, trumpet, etc.). And each symbol has its respective meaning, and we get their clear understanding by referring to other pages of Scripture. Studying the book of Revelation and the prophecies therein is not to satisfy our curiosity. Rather, to know the faithfulness of God; And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. (John 14:29). Like the Messages to the 7 Churches (Revelation chapters 2&3), the 7 SEALS (Revelation chapter 6 chapter 8:1) reveal the 7 STAGES of the history of the Christian Church from the time of the Apostles to the time of Christ second Coming. All through both Daniel and Revelation, you will find the history of the world, from Christ to the end, told over and over again. But each time it is told, it is showing different information about it. For instance, Daniel chapter 2, chapter 7 & chapter 8 deal with the same history. But Chapter 2 uses one huge image with different metals as its symbols while chapters 7 & 8 use beasts. Just as the Messages to the 7 Churches represented different periods of time in the progress of the true church, the 7 Seals also go over the same history, but it shows us the Great Apostasy, which allowed the Church of Rome to grow out of what once was a pure church. The Messages to the 7 Churches followed the history of the true believers, but the 7 seals show the ones that did not heed the messages. With the above background information, I believe we must get into the study now. OPENING THE SEALS 1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?: 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:1 -5). This is where the book (scroll) with 7 Seals is first introduced. No one is worthy to open the Seals except the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the root of David. Who is the Bible referring to? Well, in some passages of the Bible Jesus roars like a

lion (Revelation 10:3) and is referred to as the son of David (Matthew 1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31). So it is none other than Jesus Christ. Why is Jesus the only one worthy to open the seals? Simply because the book or scroll stands for the history of man on earth and the plan of salvation. When man fell into sin and this world was taken captive by Satan, there was no way it could be saved.Except onethe Creator Himself, Jesus, had to pay the price, no one else was worthy, no other being could do it. Now, Jesus is ready to open the seals:

SEAL 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer (Revelation 6 :1, 2). When the 1st Seal is opened we see a white horse galloping out of the earth. This meant the early church in its purity, carrying the gospel message to the world. It is the same as the Ephesus church. The crown showed how this church would conquer as the truth went out of the Gospel of Jesus. From history, and with comparison to the Ephesus church, we see that the events of the 1st Seal happened in the 1st Century.

SEAL 2 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second bea st say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. (Revelation 6:3, 4). Please note that whenever any of the first four seals is opened a horse is shown by one of the four living creatures spoken of in chapter 4. When the 2nd Seal was opened the second horse was shown by the second beast among the four living creatures. This second beast was like a calf (Revelation 4:7). The calf was an animal slain on the altars. In this period, as the church was turning more to the world, the true people of God suffered and had to make sacrifices to stay loyal to Gods word. We see that the second horse here is no longer white and pure. Now, it is red, the color of sin and blood. Compromises and errors entered the church, and it began to be corrupted. The mystery of iniquity was seriously at work in Pauls day. What really happened? Some powerful pagan leaders joined the church, they mixed their heathen ideas with the Bible, thinking they could make Christianity better. They did not want to give up their heathenism. Bring in and mixing paganism and idolatry with the Biblical teachings of the church made the church lose its purity. Errors in modern versions of the Bible happened during this period. Pagan leaders, now Christians in name, mixed their idea into the Bible. When the Roman Emperor Constantine ordered a new Bible to be written, these ideas were put in them. Some of those old manuscripts are still around today. The Roman Catholic Church has a special Bible in which are found other books which can never be found in the normal Christian Bible. These extra books are termed as Apocrypha. Hav e you ever wondered why the Catholic Church makes idols inside and in front of their churches and cathedrals, performs unusual sacrament and practices? All those practices are not in harmony with the Scripture but the Catholic as a Christian church always do them because they have their support from this Apocryphawhich was added by the ancient Pagan leaders in the early centuries. When true and faithful Christians did not yield to these errors, most of them were killed. The stage of the 2nd Seal is from 2nd4th Centuries.

SEAL 3

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. (Revelation 6:5, 6). At this stage of Christian history, the third beast (man-face) shows another horse. This time the horse is black. It is the direct opposite of the first one (white). At the first stage of Christianity (white horse), the church was a pure and true. But at this stage, it is totally false. It is totally following the wisdom and teachings of man and has rejected the true Gos pel of Jesus. This is the time of the full setting up of the Roman Papacy. At this stage the wheat, and the barleyGods word, the bread of life, was sold to the people for money. There was Plenary Indulgencea practice whereby people had to pay for the absolutions of their sins in the past, present, and even future. This stage goes on from Constantines time to 538 AD when the Pope had his full power. In Catholicism today, people go for confessionprobably for free, but in the beginning (the middle ages), they had to pay. The voice that said, Hurt not the oil and the wine, comes from the midst of the four living creaturesthus, it comes from heaven. This is given to show that even though men may not care for Jesus TRUE sheep, the Lord was watching over the m in this period of horrible darkness. Jesus makes sure that the true spirit of Christianity is kept alive somewhere, and not to be entirely lost. In this darkness, some true believers began to flee into the areas where they could keep the true gospel, and read and obey the true Bible. Jesus is the True Shepherd and He never leaves His true sheep to be destroyed.

SEAL 4 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7, 8) At this stage the fourth beast (eagle-face) shows a horrible horse. The Bible calls it pale but the Greek word used means ghastlysomething dead and moldy. pale of yellowish color is seen in blighted or sickly plants. Just as no horse is ever like this color, no church is ever dangerous like Papacy. This stage describes a lot about the reign of the Papal power. The eagle in the Bible is an unclean bird that savagely kills and eats other animals and birds. From 538AD to the time of the reformation in the 16th centuriesmost part of the 1260-year rule of the Papacythis Catholic Church made it her business to excommunicate, kill and destroy all those who dared to disagree with her. If light is kept away from a plant, it turns sickly, pale color. Therefore, it i s very expedient for the Bible to use the sicklyplant color (pale) to describe this stage of Christian history because at this stage, the light from the Bible was taken a way from the people. This stage of Christian history was very horrible. It form s part of the period that has been termed as the dark ages. Bibles were burnt and millions of faithful Christians died for their faith and many more perished from hardship as they fled this cruel power. For clarification, allow me to quote from a history bookin fact from a book of the Catholic Churchso that we see if this church really killed faithful Christians: From the birth of Popery to the present time, it is estimated by credi ble historians that over fifty millions of human families has slaughter ed for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors. (History of Romanism pp 541, 542). A day is coming when we shall meet in heaven with these dear souls who loved Jesus enough to die for His truth. Do you love Jesus? Do you truly love Him? How much do you love Him? If you truly love Him, be prepared to die for Him or His truth. As we have seen above this stage of Christian history is from 538AD the 1500s, when reformation started.

SEAL 5 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9-11) As for this stage, no more beasts, or horses are shown. This seal rather shows us the symbol of the blood of the slain, faithful ones crying out to God. This is just the same as when God said that Abels bl ood cried out to Him (Genesis 4:10). It does not mean that all these martyrs are somewhere, in a little box under the altar, crying. All those who died in that terrible persecutionas a matter of fact all those who are deadare asleep in the grave (John 5:28, 29), waiting for Jesus to wake them up when He returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). What does under the altar mean? The courtyard of the earthly sanctuary represents this world. The altar of burnt offerings, where lambs were killed and burned, was in the courtyard. It was on this earth that the Lamb of God was slain. Verse 11 says that white robes were given to every one of them. They had been accused by the Papacy as vile heretics, and executed as criminals. But the Reformation exposed the cruel crimes of the Papacy, and showed the truth about the holy martyrs of Jesus, and clothed them with white robes. Hence, the sermons, the prayers, and the songs of praise of the Christian church, have held these millions of the slain for Jesus name, up to th e world in spotless purity. The time of this seal is the reformation period which God had designed to bring an end to the Papal rule. But it wasnt over yet, others were yet to witness for their faith as martyrs, their brethren, that should be killed as they were. Just as it had been prophesied, many reformers were killed as the others were. Some of these were John Huss and Jerome. It was at this time that stories of the martyrs that died for their faith were collected and put into books. God wanted their bravery and faith recorded and not forgotten. We read the storied today to be encouraged, that the same Jesus who gave them strength and courage to be faithful to Him, will do the same for us. The stage of the 5th Seal is from the reformation period to the beginning of the end of the Papal rule (16th18th century).

SEAL 6 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6:12-17). We are now living in the time of this seal! Some of the events have happened already and othersmore terrible are about to happen. This period began in the 18th century when the rule of the Papacy was about to come to an end as prophesied. Some of the events spoken of have happened very literal and physical. First: a great earthquakes. This earthquake was real and it hit Europe on 1st November, 1755. Its center was in Lisbon, Portugal, where the headquarters of the terrible inquisition had been. The earthquake hit on a Holy day and all the churches were destroyed and thousands were killed. They ran screaming, carrying their images of saints and crucifixes and clung to the altars in the churches, but all in vain. People and priests perished together. The earthquake affected at least four million square miles of the earths surf ace. As if that was not enough, countless earthquakes are happening today.

Second: sun became black. This also happened really. On May 19, 1780 the sun was darkened. Candles were lighted in many houses. Birds were silent and disappeared. Fowls retired to roost. It was the general opinion that the Day of Judgment was at hand. It was midnight darkness at noonday. Thousands of people who could not account for it from natural causes were greatly terrified. Indeed it was a universal gloom on the earth. The frogs and night-hawks began their notes. Third: moon became as blood This happened in the night of the May 19 1780. The moon refused to give its light that night; and when it eventually appeared, it bore the appearance of blood just as it had been described in the Bible prophecy. God is really faithful! Fourth: stars of heaven fell. This also happened remarkably on November 13, 1833. Other meteor showers have been seen at different times, but history reveals that this event was the most remarkable and extensive. This seal goes from 6:12 all the way to the end of chapter 7. We are now living between verse 13 and 14. The events described in verse 14-17 will take place when Jesus and his angels are getting ready to come in the clouds of heaven. At this soon-to-come period, probation will first be closed as Jesus comes out of the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary (Revelation 15:8)where He is currently, making the Final Atonement and Investigative Judgment. When Jesus eventually comes out of the Most Holy Place (close of probation), the 7 angels will be commanded to pour the 7 last plagues on earth (Revelation 15:1; 16:1). It will be a terrible scene on earth. It is called The Wrath of God. It is b etter explained in the whole of Revelation 16. It is this event that will cause people to hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Notice Revelation 6:17 says, For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? As you have realized, we live in the time of this (6th) Seal and now, we are still looking forward to the Wrath of God and finally the Last (7th) Seal. If you have studied Bible prophecies, you would notice that it does not always go in a straight line like a story. Sometimes it gives a flash back. It sometimes gives references and enough details about something that has been mentioned previously. Revelation 7 only goes back to give us enough details about how Gods true people are going to be ready for the coming of Jesus. In fact, these true people are the only ones who shall be able to stand when God pours His wrath on this earth. When you read about the wrath of God (7 last plagues) in Revelation 16, you notice that only those who will receive the Mark of the Beast and worship his Image will suffer from that great punishment. But as people receive the Mark of the Beast on their forehead or on the hand, Revelation 7 explains that God also seals His people on their forehead (Revelation 7:3). Only the people with the Seal of God shall stand when God pours out His wrath. A similar event happened in Daniel 10. There Jesus and Angel Gabriel descended to the earth and all the people that were with Daniel could not stand. They ran to hide themselves (Daniel 10:5-7) and only Daniel could see the vision. Hence, the flash back given in Revelation 7 answers the question, who shall be able to stand?

SEAL 7 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. (Revelation 8:1) The last (7th) seal really ends here. Revelation 8:2 onwards gives us another picture of the history of the Christian church (The 7 Trumpets). The 7 Trumpets also gives us the history of the Christendom in another different angle. What is really given to us in the 7th Seal? It proclaims the coming of Christ. The silence in heaven tell us the absence of Jesus and all the angelic hosts in heaven. Where will they be gone to? To come to this earth. What for? To take the saints of God to heaven. How long will this event last? about the space of half an hour, says the Bible. In Bible prophecy, a day in calculation of time represents a year (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34). For instance, the Bible said, the woman fled to the wilderness 1260days (Revelation 12:6) which represents when the TRUE Christian fled from the Papal power to the wilderness for 1260 years (5381798).

If a day represents a year the space of half an hour must stand for about one week of real time. the space used tel ls us that the period is not precisely one week. Therefore, about one week or about 7 days will be an appropriate interpretation. Do you remember Ratio and Proportion in mathematics? With that in mind, see the illustration below: Biblically each month of the year has exactly 30 days (Genesis 7:11, 24; 8:3, 4) Therefore 30 times 12 = 360days. As we break years to days, we break days also to hours. 1 day = 1year 24hours = 360days 1hour = 15days hour = 7 days So the Bible is simply telling us that, the event of Jesus and His angels coming to take the saints to heaven will last for about 7days. I am really longing to see this glorious event. The effect of sin is too much. So much suffering, deaths of deaths, dangerous diseases, road accidents, armed robbery, natural disasters, etc. I really dont like it here. I want to go homemy real home! I believe this is also your heart desire. Remember, we live in the time of the 6th Seal. The end of this world is nearer than you may think. Please, lets insure our lives in heaven; where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (Matthew 6:20). Commit your life to Christ day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Ask Him to give you power over your weaknesses and over the temptations of Satan. Tell Him daily to put HATRED OF SIN in your heart. Allow him to write His holy Ten Commandments in your heart (Hebrews 8:10). With constant and consistent walk with Christ, we shall surely be victorious. There is one thing Christ will NEVER do; and that is to save you against your wish. Christ is now in the Most Holy Place interceding for you and I. Give Him your permission and He will save you. GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY!