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Seven Seals of Revelation 6-8. Christ Shields His Afflicted People. Comparison of John and Ezekiel. John knew that Ezekiel had also received a scroll Ezekiel 2:8-10; It was full of “ lamentation, mourning and woe. ”. Comparison of 7 Churches and 7 Seals. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Seven Seals of Revelation 6-8Seven Seals of Revelation 6-8Christ Shields His Afflicted People
Comparison of John and EzekielComparison of John and Ezekiel
John knew that Ezekiel had also received a scroll
Ezekiel 2:8-10; It was full of “lamentation, mourning and woe.”
Comparison of 7 Churches and 7 Comparison of 7 Churches and 7 SealsSeals
Like the 7 Churches, God is trying to show “his servants what must soon take place” Rev. 1:1
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 the 7 seals
Connection with Chapter 5Connection with Chapter 5
Everything in Rev. 6 & 7 - builds off of Rev. 5– 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 SealsTime Period of 7 Seals
Rev. 6, 7 covers ascension of Jesus to 2nd coming– Rev. 4-5 inauguration imagery
•Christ at the right hand of the Father
6:15-17 Jesus 2nd coming events
No Content of SealsNo Content of Seals
Chapter 6 does not describe the content of the 7 sealsDescribes results on earth of the
breaking the seals Contents of the scroll not revealed
Until all 7 seals are brokenBreaking of the 7 seals is preliminary to
the events of the end
Seals and Covenant Seals and Covenant ImageryImageryDeut. 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. 26:21-26Lev. 26:21-26
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.
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. 26Lev. 26
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 CursesReason for Curses
If the people repented, returned to the covenant– Curses stopped, blessings come
The first four seals are the consequence of the church rejecting the gospel– God’s purpose is for repentance
and return to Him
Synoptic ApocalypseSynoptic Apocalypse
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 2nd coming
““ComeCome”” “Come” in first four seals
– Imperative form, you must come– Rev. 22:20 Come Lord Jesus
5th seal, How long?– Urgency
6th seal, Jesus has come– Current event taking place
7th seal, Silence– Time indeed has come, arrived, for the
end
First Seal – White HorseFirst Seal – White Horse
Rider had a bow and a crown
Conquered much
6:1,2
First Seal – White HorseFirst 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
White – righteousness and character of Christ
Bow and a CrownBow and a Crown
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 HorseSecond Seal – Red Horse
Took peace from the earth
Gave permission to kill each other
Had a great sword
22ndnd Seal, Rev. 6:3-4 Seal, Rev. 6:3-4
Persecution in the Roman Empire Consequences of preaching the gospel
– Wherever the gospel is preached and accepted, persecution follows
– Matt. 24:9-10 tribulation, death, you will be hated
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 HorseSecond Seal – Red Horse
After 313 AD – the Christian church began not to be persecuted, but to persecute
Wars between Christians lasted from the time of Constantine to World War I
Second Seal – Red HorseSecond Seal – Red Horse
Lev. 26:6-8God promised
peace to His people if they obeyed His commands
1st and 2nd century AD – pax Romana
Third Seal – Black HorseThird Seal – Black Horse
Pair of scalesPrices for
wheat, barley, oil and wine
33rdrd Seal, Rev. 6:5-6 Seal, Rev. 6:5-6
Middle Ages, spiritual decline and compromiseBeginning of Papal RomeBy year 600 most false teachings of
Christian church in place Black horse
Black, color of darknessAbsence of gospel, Matt 4:16, John 1:5, 3:19
Third Seal – Black HorseThird Seal – Black Horse
Wheat, barley, oil and wine were staple foods in those times
Barley was cheaper than wheat usually, important for the poor
Oil – essential for cookingWine (juice) – a solution for drinking
water from old wells
Quart of WheatQuart of Wheat
Quart of wheat, 3 quarts of barley– Scarcity, time of famine– A denarius – a days wage– Ordinary times a denarius bought 12-
15xs as much food 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 HorseThird Seal – Black Horse
Lev. 26: 1-5, 10 God promised
prosperity in their crops (grape, wheat, etc.) if they obeyed His commands
This seal represents scarcity
No Harm to Oil and WineNo Harm to Oil and Wine
Do no harm to oil and wine– Oil is symbolic of Holy Spirit– Wine is symbolic of blood of Jesus
God is still working– Bible preserved
•Faithfully copied
– Attempts at reformation
Fourth Seal – Pale HorseFourth Seal – Pale Horse
Name was Death
Hades was right behind him
Killed by sword, famine, plague
Fourth Seal – Pale HorseFourth Seal – Pale Horse
After war and a leaving of God’s commands, and scarcity and famine, it is no surprise that Death follows
Historians – “Dark Ages” – 500-1500
44thth Seal, Rev. 6:7-8 Seal, Rev. 6:7-8
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 AuthorityGiven Authority
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 SealsEmphasis of Seals
The emphasis of the seals is clearly on the moral decline of the church
Famine, plague, scarcity, death, war
Famine of Word of GodFamine 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.
Biggest problem of the church of 300-1500 AD = lack of knowledge of Bible
Fifth Seal – Souls Under the Fifth Seal – Souls Under the AltarAltar
Souls that had been slain for the word of God
They cried out for revengeGiven white robesTold to wait a while until the number
of their brothers would be completed
55thth Seal Rev. 6:9-11 Seal Rev. 6:9-11
God’s faithful who died for Him– Martyrs in early church– Post reformation 17th and 18th
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 Fifth Seal – Souls Under the AltarAltar
Daniel 7 told us that there would be a 1260 year period that there would be an anti-Christian power ruling
From 538-1798 AD nobody knows how many martyrs died at the hands of the Christian church
Plea for JusticePlea for Justice
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 RobesThe White Robes
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?Completion?
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 Fifth Seal – Souls Under the AltarAltar
However, God knew that the close of the 1260 years wasn’t the end of the world
The gospel still needed to be preached to all the world – Matt. 24:14
Souls Under the AltarSouls Under the Altar
Shift in focus– First four seals begin with “Come”
5th 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 Sixth Seal – Great Signs in the HeavensHeavens
Earthquake – Matt. 24:29Sun turned black, moon – redStars fell from the sky Sky rolled back – islands and
mountains are removedEverybody on the Earth mourns and
wants to hide from the face of God and Jesus
EarthquakeEarthquake
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 – 1800-2600 km. Away
Earthquake encouraged much science and philosophical speculation (Voltaire, Kant, Rousseau, etc.) – world became pessimistic
Sun DarkenedSun Darkened
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
People thought the end of the world had come – spurred much Bible study
Stars Falling from the SkyStars 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.
Usually 10/hour – estimated on this night 60,000/hour
Spurred the modern study of meteors
Stars Falling from the SkyStars Falling from the Sky
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 EventsSignificance of these Events
Magnitude – Some of the biggest recorded
Location – Europe and America
Timing – Decline of Catholic Church
Encouraged Bible Study – Amos 8, Joel 2, Matt. 24
End of Sixth SealEnd of Sixth Seal
The Second Coming of God and Christ
Christ is the only one that is worthy to judge the church for her errors
Second ComingSecond Coming
Most people according to this prophecy won’t heed the warnings that the first 5 seals gave
They didn’t become friends with God – they are just afraid of His wrath
Question of the Sixth SealQuestion of the Sixth Seal
Who can stand on the great day of the wrath of God?
Chapter 7 answers that question