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Our Mission: Revelation 14:6-12
If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 38
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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Just like the seven letters, the seven seals symbolize periods of history:
Seal | Events which marked
this period | Dates
=======================|====================================|============
Rider on a white horse | Quick progress of the gospel
| 33 - 100
Rider on a red horse | Harsh persecutions of Christians |
100 - 313
Rider on a black horse | Compromise and spiritual famine | 313 -
538
Rider on a pale horse | General apostasy in Middle Ages |
538 - 1517
Souls under the altar | The martyrs' blood testifies to the| 1517 - 1755
| persecutions of the past centuries |
Heavenly signs | Sun darkened, red
moon, fall of | 1755 - End
| the stars, and distress of nations |
The silence in heaven | Jesus leaves heaven with
His | Return
| angels to gather His people | of Jesus
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The message of each seal corresponds to the message of each letter:
The first seal (REVELATION
6:2) | The first letter (REVELATION 2:2,3)
-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------
I looked, and behold, a white | I know your works
(...). You have
horse. And he who sat on it had a | persevered and have patience,
and
bow; and a crown was given to him, | have labored for My name's sake and
and he went out conquering and to | have not become weary.
conquer.
|
===================================|=====================================
The second seal (REVELATION 6:4) | The second letter (REVELATION 2:10)
-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------
It was granted to [the rider] to | Do not fear (...) [what]
you are
take peace from the earth, and | about to suffer. Be
faithful until
that people should kill one an- | death, and I will give you the crown
other.
| of life.
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The message of each seal corresponds to the message of each letter:
The third seal (REVELATION
6:6) | The third letter (REVELATION 2:17)
------------------------------------|------------------------------------
I heard a voice (...) saying, «A | He who has an ear, let him
hear...
quart of wheat for a denarius, and | To him who overcomes I will
give
3 quarts of barley for a denarius.» | some of the hidden manna to eat.
====================================|====================================
The fourth seal (REVELATION 6:8) | The fourth letter (REVELATION 2:23)
------------------------------------|------------------------------------
Behold, a pale horse. And the name | And I will kill her children with
of him who sat on it was Death, and | death. And all the churches shall
Hades followed with him. And power | know that I am He who searches the
was given to them (...) to kill. | minds and hearts.
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The message of each seal corresponds to the message of each letter:
The fifth seal (REVELATION
6:11) | The fifth letter (REVELATION 3:5)
-------------------------------------|-----------------------------------
And a white robe was given to each | He who overcomes shall be clothed
of [the martyrs].
| in white garments.
=====================================|===================================
The sixth seal (REVELATION 6:15-17) | The sixth letter (REVELATION 3:10)
-------------------------------------|-----------------------------------
[Men] hid themselves in the caves | Because you have kept My
command
(...) and said to the mountains and | to persevere, I also will keep you
rocks, «Fall on us and hide us(...)! | from the hour of trial which shall
For the great day of His wrath has | come upon the whole world, to test
come, and who is able to stand?» | those who dwell on the earth.
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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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First, let's review the mirror-like organization of Revelation:
Historical part:Conflict in progress|
Eschatological part: Conflict ended
==+=======+=======+=======+=======+=+=+=======+=======+=======+=======+==
P | 1-3 | 4-7 | 8-11 | 12-14 | | 15-16 | 17-18 |
19-20 | 21-22 | E
R |Counsel| Jesus |Severe |Trials | M | Severe| Down- | Jesus |Reward | P
O |to the | com- | judg- |of the | I | judg- |fall of| en- |to the | I
L |church,| forts | ments | pure | R | ments |impure |thrones|church,| L
O | scat- |His af-| warn | woman | R | punish| woman | His |gather-| O
G | tered |flicted| the |and her| O | the |and her|resur- |ed and
| G
U | and |people | world | chil- | R | world |daugh- |rected | at
| U
E |at war | | |
dren | | | ters |people |
peace | E
==+=======+=======+=======+=======+===+=======+=======+=======+=======+==
A B C
D E
D'
E' C'
B' A'
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The 7 seals (chapters 4 to 7) correspond with the resurrection (19 and 20) !
Historical part:Conflict in progress|
Eschatological part: Conflict ended
====+=============================+=+=+=============================+====
R | Afflicted people comforted | |Resurrected people
enthroned | R 1
E |-----------------------------| |-----------------------------|
E 9
V 4 | Door opened in heaven (4:1) | M | Heaven opened (19:11)
| V
E | Rider on white horse | I |
Rider on white horse | E a
L t | followed by riders on | R |
followed by riders on | L n
A o | colored horses (6:2-8) | R | white horses
(19:11-16) | A d
T |Souls of martyrs under altar | O | Souls of martyrs resurrected| T
I 7 | ask for judgment (6:9,10) | R | enthroned as judges (20:4-6)| I 2
O | White robes (6:11; 7:9-14) | | White
robes (19:14) | O 0
N | Kings want to die (6:15,16) | | Kings are killed (19:17-21) |
N
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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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Sixth seal and Matthew chapter 24: let's notice the striking parallel!
«The sun became black as
sackcloth | «Immediately after the tribulation
of hair, and the moon became like | of those days the sun will be dark-
blood. And the stars of heaven fell | ened, and the moon will not give
to the earth (...). The sky receded | its light; the stars will fall from
as a scroll when it is rolled up. | heaven, and the powers of the hea-
(...) The great men, the rich men | vens will be shaken. Then the sign
(...) said to the mountains and | of the Son of Man
will appear in
rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from | heaven, and then all the tribes of
the face of Him who sits on the | the earth will mourn, and they
will
throne and from the wrath of the | see the Son of Man coming
on the
Lamb! For the great day of His | clouds of
heaven with power and
wrath has come."» (REV. 6:12-17) | great glory.» (MATTHEW
24:29,30)
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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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From one letter to another, Jesus' return is announced progressively!
Ephesus
| «These things says He who (...) walks in the midst of the
|
seven golden lampstands.» (Revelation 2:1)
Smyrna | «These things says the First and the
Last, who was dead,
|
and came to life.» (Revelation 2:8)
Pergamos | «Repent, or else I will come to you quickly.»
(Revelation
|
2:16)
Thyatira | «But hold fast what you have till I come.»
|
(Revelation 2:25)
Sardis | «Therefore if you will not watch, I will
come upon you as
|
a thief.» (Revelation 3:3)
Philadelphia | «Behold, I come quickly!» (Revelation 3:11)
Laodicea | «Behold, I stand at the door.» (Revelation 3:20)
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From one seal to another, Jesus' return is also announced progressively!
First
seal | «Come.» (Revelation 6:1)
Second seal | «Come.» (Revelation 6:3)
Third seal | «Come.» (Revelation 6:5)
Fourth seal | «Come.» (Revelation 6:7)
Fifth seal | «How long, O Lord, holy and true?»
(Revelation 6:10)
Sixth seal | «The great day of His wrath has come.»
(Revelation
| 6:17)
Seventh seal | «There was silence in heaven for about half an hour.»
| (Revelation 8:1)
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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.
The test of Lesson 38 is waiting for you!