Summary of the Seven
Seals
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Welcome to the conclusion of this section! Let's pray together:
Father,
The study of the seven seals helped us to discover the wonderful richness of the prophetic
book of Revelation.
Please guide us by Your Holy Spirit, so that we may fully understand the global picture of
the seven seals presented in this lesson, and be able to better prepare ourselves for the
glorious event which will take place at the seventh seal, the return of Your Son Jesus
Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
In His name we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 4:1
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing
open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me,
saying,
«Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.»
Revelation 5:5
Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.
The opening of the seven seals by Jesus revealed to us «things
which must take place after this».
Now, let's draw a summary of the seven seals.
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Seventh letter: Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and
he with Me.
Seventh seal: Revelation 8:1
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in
heaven for about half an hour.
Finally, in the seventh letter, Jesus makes one final call, inviting us to open
the door of our hearts to Him.
In the seventh seal, the door of God's grace is closed for all those who kept the door of
their hearts closed.
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Revelation 22:10
And [the angel] said to me,
«Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.»
In our lesson «The Book of Revelation»,
we have seen that this book displays a mirror-like structure, in which the historical part
(first section of the book) corresponds with the eschatological part (second section of
the book).
In this mirror-like structure, the seven seals (chapters 4 to 7) perfectly correspond with
the section describing the resurrection of God's people (chapters 19 and 20).
Let's see this perfect correspondence.
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Matthew 24:46,47
Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes,
will find so doing.
Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
Revelation 22:12
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with
Me, to give to every one according to his work.
In our lesson «Parallels Between the
Prophetic Books», we have seen that the book of Revelation is closely linked with
Matthew chapter 24.
And those links are especially obvious when we look at the seven seals...
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First seal: Revelation 6:2
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.
Matthew 24:14
This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the
world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The first seal announces the beginning of the spreading of the gospel
throughout the whole world.
Jesus confirms that this work will be victorious, and will stop only when the gospel has
reached all the nations.
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Second seal: Revelation 6:4
And another horse, fiery red, went out.
And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people
should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
Matthew 24:9,10
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill
you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
The severe persecutions of the second seal were also foretold by Jesus.
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Third seal: Revelation 6:5,6
And I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat
on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, «A quart of wheat
for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius.»
Matthew 24:5,11
For many will come in My name, saying, «I am the
Christ,» and will deceive many. (...)
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
Then, the Church made a lot of doctrinal compromises with paganism, deceiving
many people, and plunging them into a deep spiritual famine.
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Fourth seal: Revelation 6:8
Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to
kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
Matthew 24:6,7
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that
you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
The fourth seal describes the dark period of the Middle Ages, marked by wars,
epidemics, and physical and spiritual famines.
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Fifth seal: Revelation 6:11
A white robe was given to each of them; and it was said
to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow
servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Matthew 24:12,13
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many
will grow cold.
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Jesus, aware of the trials of His people, encourages them to persevere.
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Seventh seal: Revelation 8:1
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in
heaven for about half an hour.
Matthew 24:31
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other.
Finally, the seventh seal presents a silence in heaven.
This silence is caused by the fact that Jesus and His angels have left heaven, coming to
gather God's people who await Him on earth.
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Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with clouds.
Revelation 22:20
Surely I am coming quickly.
The return of Jesus is the very heart of the entire book of Revelation, from
the first to the last chapter.
In our lessons about the seven churches, we have seen that, from one letter to another,
Jesus' return was announced more and more obviously and urgently.
The same progress also appears in the seven seals.
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Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to
show His servants - things which must shortly take place.
Each one of the seven seals gives a valuable message that strengthens our
confidence in the prophetic Word.
These messages also make us realize that this world will come to an end very soon.
It is up to each one of us to make the proper choices, right here and now, in light of the
vital information the book of Revelation gives us, so that, when Jesus returns, we may be
numbered with God's people.
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«The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of
the saints, ascended before God.» (Revelation 8:4)
Lord,
A new song was sung in honor of Your Son Jesus Christ: «You are
worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us
to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.» (Revelation
5:9)
We will be everlastingly grateful to You for the work of Jesus, the perfect Lamb, who not
only opened the seven seals, but above all, enables us to obtain forgiveness and inherit
eternal life.
Thank You, O Savior, for Your redeeming grace, in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Source of the Pictures of this Lesson
Screen 1: Photo in: «Master Clips 500,000» by IMSI, CD #17,
AV009.JPG. Screen 2: DOLCI, Carlo. In: «The Living Bible Encyclopedia in
Story and Pictures, volume 8», New York, H.S. Stuttman Co. Inc., 1968, p.1012-c.
Screen 3: CONVERSE, James. In: «The Triumph of God's Love, volume 1» (WHITE,
Ellen G.), Pacific Press Publishing Association and Review and Herald Publishing
Association, 1950, p.107. Table of Screen 3: In: «La Révélation - le
grand dénouement est proche», New York, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1988, p.83.
Screen 4: MANISCALCO, Joe. In: «Images from the Bible and Sacred History CD»,
Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM238.BMP. Table of Screen 4: 1. STEEL, John.
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1985, p.174. 2. LEE, M. In: «The Bible Story, volume 10» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific
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(MAXWELL, C.Mervyn), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1985, p.175. 4. Unknown source.
Screen 5: MANISCALCO, Joe. In: «Images from the Bible and Sacred History CD»,
Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM238.BMP. Table of Screen 5: 1. STEEL, John.
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Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1964, p.47. 3. STEEL, John. In: «God Cares, volume
2» (MAXWELL, C.Mervyn), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1985, p.174. 4. Picture
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1997), p.52. Screen 6: MANISCALCO, Joe. In: «Images from the Bible and
Sacred History CD», Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM249.BMP. Table of Screen 6: 1.
BISHOP, Tom. «Fifth and sixth seals of Revelation 6». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible
Study» (BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #17.
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Publishing Association, 1956, p.146. 3. RUDEEN, Herbert. In: «The Bible Story, volume
10» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1957, p.186. 4. In:
«Prophecy Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1989, Daniel lesson #23 («The day of
deliverance»), p.5. Screen 7: ANDERSON, Harry. In: «Vers Jésus»
(WHITE, Ellen G.), Editions Le Monde Français, Pacific Press Publishing Association,
front cover. Screen 8: In: «Prophecy Seminars», Seminars Unlimited,
1989, Daniel lesson #17 («When Daniel Goes to Heaven»), p.5. Screen 9: «One-way
mirrors cover a Toronto, Canada, building.» In: «Deluxe Compton's Interactive
Encyclopedia CD - 1998 Edition», Compton's Home Library, 1997. Screen 10: HEASLIP,
William. In: «The Bible Story, volume 10» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing
Association, 1957, p.200. Table of Screen 10: MANISCALCO, Joe. In:
«Revelation Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1986, lesson #9 («Les Quatre Cavaliers de
l'Apocalypse»), p.1. Screen 11: MANISCALCO, Joe. In: «Images from the
Bible and Sacred History CD», Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM140.BMP. Screen 12: In:
MAXWELL, Arthur S., «The Bible Story, volume 10», Pacific Press Publishing Association,
1957, p.94. Screen 13: «The Beheading of Alban». Picture from the Web
site: http://www.diocal.org/stalbans/alblife.html. Screen 14: «Emperor
Justinian». In: «Deluxe Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia CD - 2000 Edition»,
Compton's Home Library, 1999. Screen 15: In: «Awake» magazine (January
8, 1989), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, p.1. Screen 16: BISHOP,
Tom. «Fifth seal of Revelation 6». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study» (BREADEN,
Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #17. Screen 17:
BISHOP, Tom. «Sixth seal of Revelation 6». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible
Study» (BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #17.
Table of Screen 17: In: «Revelation Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1986, lesson
#9 («Les quatre cavaliers de l'Apocalypse»), p.4. Screen 18: MITOMA,
Tim. In: «La Sentinelle» magazine (March 1996), Pacific Press Publishing Association,
p.2. Screen 19: RUDEEN, Herbert. In: «The Bible Story, volume 8»
(MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1956, p.82. Screen 20:
In: «Le Moniteur», Pacific Press Publishing Association, Second Quarter 2000,
front cover. Table of Screen 20: STEEL, John. In: «La Sentinelle»
magazine (March 1996), Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.4. Screen 21: JUSTINEN,
Lars. In: «Questionnaire Adulte de l'Ecole du Sabbat», Pacific Press Publishing
Association, Third Quarter, 1996, front cover. Table of Screen 21: In:
«Prophecy Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1989, Daniel lesson #21 («The king of the
north»), p.8. Screen 22: In: «The Watchtower» magazine (June 15,
1994), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, p.10. Screen 23: Photo in:
«Master Clips 500,000» by IMSI, CD #17, 29150104.JPG.
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The test of Lesson 38 is waiting for you!