The Opening of the Six Seals

It is our point of view that the opening of the seals portrays world history from the time of Christ’s resurrection.

The first seal.

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)

The opening of the first seal, the crowned rider on the white horse holding the bow, represents, as we see it, the conquering of the darkness in men by the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. (Psalms 45:4,5)

From the first century, Christ has gone forth throughout the world "conquering, and to conquer." Only God Himself understands the conquests of Christ. No doubt an accurate account of world history would reveal that the Lord Jesus, not economics, not wars, not politics, not education, but Jesus Himself has been the central factor in the affairs of mankind. It may not appear to be the case because much of what the Lord does remains hidden.

It often is advantageous to the work of the Kingdom that the majority of people do not understand what is taking place or who the Lord’s servants are. The desire of the churches to publicize everything Jesus is doing does not spring from the Holy Spirit but from the fleshly desire to promote the Christian religion. The Lord sometimes warns us to "tell no man"; but we, who are accustomed to being disobedient, go out and publish the matter anyway. The overcomers, however, come to understand that secrecy is one of the more important arts of war.

The second seal.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast 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)

The opening of the second seal, the man on the red horse carrying the great sword, signifies war. War has been one of the predominant characteristics of history from the first century.

The third seal.

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)

The opening of the third seal, the rider on the black horse holding the pair of balances in his hand, speaks of commerce. Buying and selling have become the chief activities of the nations of the earth. The kingdom of Antichrist is based on buying and selling.

The spirit of commerce is so widespread it is difficult to conceive of a civilization not based on economics. Yet, it is a black horse. There is no quicker way to kill the spiritual life in a human being than to occupy him with acquiring material goods. No man can serve God and money.

One measure of wheat or three measures of barley was not much grain for the amount charged (a day’s wages), speaking of the endless cheating that takes place wherever merchants are active. The masters of commerce were overcharging the poor for their staple food while paying great attention to the luxuries of oil and wine. So it is today as the poor are continually abused while the rich surfeit themselves with luxury.

The day is at hand when the poor will take their ease in the Paradise of God while the rich are in torment in Hell.

The fourth seal.

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)

The opening of the fourth seal, Death riding on a pale horse accompanied by Hell, represents the slaying of people by violence, by famine, by disease, and by wild animals. Although the world prides itself on becoming "civilized," the fact remains that many in our own day are dying by violence, by famine, and by various plagues. The Word of God cannot be changed by the efforts of man.

The fifth seal.

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)

The opening of the fifth seal, the giving of white robes to the martyrs under the altar, speaks of the persecution of the righteous in this world and then the clothing of them in the robe of righteous conduct, which is the reward of the overcomer.

The Beast (the Antichrist world spirit), the False Prophet (the spirit of religious deception), and Babylon (man-directed Christianity) regard the truly righteous as being worthless refuse that must be removed from the earth. But God clothes those who have endeavored to live righteously with the power of righteous conduct, the power of endless, incorruptible, resurrection life. No more will they be compelled to struggle against a body of sin and death.

The true saints have been tortured, burned at the stake, driven into exile, scorned, and cast out as evildoers—often at the hands of "Christians." The Catholic Church alone, that forerunner of the end-time worldwide Christian denomination, has murdered multitudes of true Christians down through the centuries of the Church Age.

It is our point of view that the most vicious persecution of all times soon is to take place on the earth.

God clothes His saints in the white robes of the power to behave righteously. They are revealed to be truly righteous and accepted of God while their murderers are blind, not having any place in the Kingdom of God. God will wait until every saint predestined to death at the hands of the wicked has been killed. Then God will avenge the blood of His witnesses by forcing the wicked to drink blood from the water supplies of the earth.

What a different world this would be if God were to make plain those who are righteous and those who are wicked! He does not do so. He permits people to make that judgment from their heart so all that is in their heart may be revealed. In this manner the sons of the Devil are separated from the sons of the Kingdom.

The sixth seal.

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 upon 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)

The opening of the sixth seal, the great earthquake, the darkening of the sun, the turning of the moon to blood, the falling to the earth of the stars of heaven, signifies the end of the present age and the return of the Lord Jesus.

As noted earlier, the Book of Revelation appears to be a mixture of the literal and the symbolic. One can err in interpretation by stressing the literal too much or stressing the symbolic too much.

We know there will be a great earthquake at the end of the present age as the result of the seventh angel pouring out his bowl into the air:

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. (Revelation 16:18)

The darkening of the sun is associated with the Day of the Lord.

For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. (Isaiah 13:10)

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. (Joel 2:30,31)

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (Matthew 24:29)

The darkening of the sun and the turning of the moon to blood could indicate any number of literal events, and also have symbolic meaning. It seems clear that God is going to darken the sun and turn the moon red in order to portray to the inhabitants of the earth the depths of wickedness to which mankind has fallen and the severity of the Divine wrath. Surely men’s hearts will be failing them for fear when they behold such sights in the heavens.

The falling of the stars of heaven to the earth cannot be taken literally unless a shower of meteors is meant. A display of meteors would give the appearance of stars falling from heaven.

However, the Scriptures are more exact than this. The Scriptures claim the "stars" will fall from heaven. Meteors are not stars. They are relatively small masses that enter the earth’s atmosphere.

Perhaps these "stars" are not literal stars. In some instances the term "star" may be referring to a spiritual personage.

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. (Revelation 9:1)

Obviously a star from a galaxy above us will not be given a key. This verse is referring to an angel, either a spirit-angel or a human-angel, for the term angel means "messenger."

We think that in many instances the falling of the stars to the earth refers to the casting of Satan and his angels to the earth.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9)

The spirits who govern the world will be cast into the earth. What a day of woe that will be for the inhabitants of the earth!

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. (Revelation 12:12)

It is difficult to comprehend the extent of the change that will occur in human history when Satan and his angels are cast out of the heaven into the earth. Perhaps they will be made visible at that time. In any case, this event is one of the major judgments of God. It is the cleansing of the heavenlies that is being referred to here.

Sometimes it is taught that Satan was cast out of the heaven two thousand years ago because of the atonement made by the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. That view does not agree with the Book of Revelation. The truth is, Satan and his followers have a higher place in the spirit realm than commonly is taught. They certainly are not dwelling around the throne of God with the elders and the four living creatures, but neither does it appear likely that Revelation 12:7-12 took place two thousand years ago.

Paul says, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (in the heavenlies)" (Ephesians 6:12).

Both the woman (the Church) and Satan are presented as being "in heaven" (Revelation 12:1,3). It is true that in Christ we are above Satan (Ephesians 2:6). Nevertheless the fact remains that Satan is in the heaven, in the spirit realm portrayed by the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. Satan cannot enter the Most Holy Place but he seems to be active in the Holy Place, that is, in the realm where the saints struggle to gain total victory.

Peter tells us that the angels who sinned have been cast down to the abyss and delivered into chains of darkness (II Peter 2:4). Perhaps this means that some of the angels who sinned are already in the abyss, in a dark pit, while others are left to accomplish God’s purposes in the earth.

Satan has been so highly placed that the inhabitants of the heaven rejoice when he is cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:12). We know from the books of Job and Daniel that Satan has been able to appear before God, and to interfere with the angels who do the Lord’s will (Job 1:6; Daniel 10:13).

The departing of the heaven "as a scroll when it is rolled together" (Revelation 6:14) may be an example of the converging of the spiritual and material realms we mentioned previously.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament associate the physical heaven, or the sky, with the spiritual heavens. The two are regarded as one. No doubt were our eyes to be opened we would see that the spirit realm is all around us in the area over the earth.

We know from the Scriptures that the doing away with the present heaven and earth will not take place until the end of the thousand-year period. It seems likely, therefore, that the spiritual veil that hides from our eyes the realities of the spirit realm will be removed so to a certain extent we can behold God and the spiritual heavens.

Those who have had visions suggest that the Heaven of God is not as simplistic in arrangement as we have believed. It may not be true that when a believer dies he goes straight to streets of gold. It is more likely there are levels of the heavens. The "courtyard," so to speak, of the heavens appears to be extremely large—perhaps reaching as close to us as the surface of the earth and extending upward for a distance. The regions of the wicked are beneath the surface of the earth.

Most deceased believers are in the courtyard, we believe. Only those who have been close to the Lord in this life will be brought to Him when they die—to His throne in the highest Heaven.

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. (Isaiah 25:7)

The moving out of their place of "every mountain and island" reveals the catastrophic geologic events that will herald the end of the age and the appearing of the King of kings and Lord of lords. God will display His power to terrified man.

We find the same geologic disturbances when the seventh angel pours out his bowl into the air, suggesting identical events are being described.

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (Revelation 16:20)

In that day men will be afraid of God. World history, which began with two people in a beautiful garden, will terminate with men and women crying out to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of God and the wrath of the Lamb—all stemming from the one transgression of Adam and Eve.

Surely the inhabitants of the heavens and of earth should learn in that hour the folly of disobedience to God. Yet we find the error repeated at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age as the nations attempt to overpower the saints (Revelation 20:9).

Sin and self-will are not easily removed from the personalities of people.

The opening of the seventh seal brings us to the blowing of the seven trumpets, and we shall speak in a moment of that aspect of the Divine judgment.

Let us think once again of the history of the world from the time of Christ:

Review.

The conquering of the darkness in men by the Lord Jesus Christ.

War.

Commerce, dishonesty, and famine.

The slaying of people, and the tormenting of them in both the physical and spirit realms, as represented by the presence of Death and Hell.

The death of the righteous in this world and the clothing of them in the spirit realm with a robe of righteousness.

The end of the present age and the return of the Lord Jesus.

Could one give a more accurate outline of the history of the world? These factors are continuing presently and will terminate with the severe judgments of the opening of the sixth seal.

Chapter Seven of the Book of Revelation presents two concepts associated with the judgments of the end time. The first concept is that of the sealed remnant. The second concept is that of the large number of true Christians who will be slain during the great tribulation and who purified their behavior through the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb.

In expressing the difference between the two groups we are giving the opinion we hold at the present time. We may be incorrect in our understanding of the two groups, but the spiritual concepts of service, of love, of conquering in Christ, are nonetheless correct and useful to the believer who would press forward to the fullness of God.

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