THE UNLEASING OF THE FOUR SEALS

 

The unleashing of the four seals

 

 

 

I just went over Revelation 6:1 - 2. In these verses I explained that the antichrist will make his appearance on the world scene sometime in the future and confirm a seven year peace covenant to restart the 490 year prophecy for Israel and fulfill the remaining seven years after a very long interlude called the age of grace.

 

(3) "And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. (4) 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. I have heard some theologians say there will be some kind of a gap between the first and second seal but I have heard others say it will happen immediately after the first seal. The rider of the second beast snatches peace from the earth. In the original Greek the word peace is not a regional peace but a worldwide peace. At this particular point I really do not know who is fighting who but that is a really good question. Remember these are judgments from God and this second seal is the wrath of God in the form of war. It is dreadful because it takes peace from the earth. People should be helping and loving one another but instead they are killing one another which is so sad.

 

The corresponding verse for this passage is in the Old Testament is "I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, specled, and white." Zechariah 1:8. That is the direct verse but I think it is interesting that Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I come not to send peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34. Peace is through Jesus Christ but outside the Prince of Peace there is war.

 

(5) "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. (6) 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. There seems to be a worldwide financial catastrophe but I just reviewed that at Revelation 4:1 - 2 after the rapture of the church confusion and chaos is all over the world. In the previous seal war is taking place all over the world. There is no way any economy can withstand this mess. It is only common sense that supplies will be short such as food and fuel. This will perpetuate war. If you notice in verse five food is now measured with money. It will probably cost an entire day to pay for food.

 

Olive oil and wine were considered luxury foods in the day that John was living and if you will notice at the end of verse six a command was given hurt not the oil and the wine. The luxury foods will still be around in that day but the common man will not be able to purchase these items. The rich may have access to this but the Bible never really gives a reason why the command was given in Revelation 6:6. Right now as of the posting of this article many first, second and third world countries are in debt. In the day of the wrath of God the resulting panic, fear and suffering will bring the exact conditions for the acceptance of the world dictator to be accepted by the world. This man may temporarily solve the global financial collapse but as the judgments from God progress it is enviable that horrible financial conditions will come back in the world.

 

The famine of food is a horrible thing but the famine of the Bible is something that most people do not even care about but you see many of these same individuals are under the judgment of God. There are corresponding verses to this passage. "In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses." Zechariah 6:2. Notice the consecutive order in Zechariah 6:2 matches Revelation 6: 5 - 6. There is also a phrase in the last part of Revelation 5:6 ... "A pair of balances in his hand." "Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Je - ru'sa - em: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:" Ezekiel 4:16. When the judgment of God comes it is inevitable that food will be scarce.

 

At the end of verse six in the book of Revelation the Bible says and see not thou hurt not the oil and the wine. The same principal is seen in a later verse in the book of Revelation but the command is different. "Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." Revelation 7:3. We can see that God sets the parameters but people have to endue the judgments. God is in perfect control but the world is in chaos.

 

(7) "And when He had opened the forth seal, I heard the voice of the forth beast say, Come and see. (8) 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 forth 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. Following the aftermath of the second and third horseman is the pale horse. With this judgment the companion is Hades because it is inevitable from the aftermath of war. This leads into calamity is death. This horrible judgment is for a Christ rejecting world. This stirs something inside of me to get the gospel of Jesus Christ out to a spiritually dying world.

 

The Bible obvious talks about inevitable international catastrophe but I have heard several secular individuals and groups speak on the same subject. All we have to do is look at history and current events to understand that people are self seeking and do not have the best interests of the world in mind. Many of these people can not even engage in the most basic biblical precepts and principles.

 

When Jesus was on earth He spoke about these seals in the book of Revelation. (10) "Then said He unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: (11) And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven." Luke 21:10 - 11. Upon the opening of the forth seal there appears another horse and the color is pale. The name of the rider is death and he is the king of terrors. The attendants of this king is hell. There is a connection between one judgment and another because in a wasteful calamity there will be famine that comes after war. Then pestilence comes upon the whole world. There is a progression here and not a very nice one if you know what I mean.

 

After the opening of these seals we can make an observation which would be the four judgments of the antichrist, war, famine and pestilence spirals into the beasts of the earth which is part of the wrath of God. When the world is depopulated by these four judgments the remaining is easy prey. If it were not bad enough that people are killing people the animals sense something is very wrong and they get involved. The animals are not able to be tamed.

 

A pale horse is a sickly yellowish green which results in death. When I got a stomach virus a long time ago I rushed myself to the hospital. Because of this illness I had a fever of 105. My heart was racing up and down and the doctor said if you waited just a little longer you could have died. I was pale and this was a very painful experience. In this context in the book of Revelation disease accompanies war and famine. In Revelation 6:8 we see the text says this is a pale horse. The corresponding verse to the pale horse is "And in the third chariot white horses; and in the forth chariot grisled and bay horses." Zechariah 6:3. At the end of Revelation 6:8 the verse says ... "To kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." Going back to the Old Testament the Bible says, "And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity." Jeremiah 15:2. It breaks my heart to know that sin without true repentance has a final outcome of death. If that is not bad enough Revelation 6:8 tells us that hell followed which is for all eternity. At the forth seal a forth of the remaining population dies so the magnitude is worldwide.

 

If you do not know the Lamb of God that died for you now may be a good time to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Savior and Lord by repenting of all your sins and invite the Son of God into your life. This is an eternal decision so if you just made this choice read the Bible because this is where we find our hope. Be a doer of what the Bible teaches, not just a reader. The more faith we have in Jesus Christ the less we will sin. It is so important to ask the Lord daily to help us abstain from sin. If we do transgress against God we need to confess and get back on track to live a pure and obedient life before God. Grace and peace be to you.   God bless you, Bob D.