Look now at Revelation 5:
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?"
3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
5 But one of the elders said to me, "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."
6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying: "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,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."
In the KJV, the scroll is called a book. In ancient days, there were no bound books. Books were written on paper and rolled up onto a scroll. If it was a legal document it was sealed with a wax signet. The only way the scroll could be opened and the proclamation read was to break the seal by someone authorized to open it. This scroll in Revelation has seven seals which refers back to an ancient custom where more than one proclamation was written on a single scroll. The words were written, and a seal was placed at each section so that the seals were broken one at a time. The first seal was broken to reveal one proclamation. The scroll was unrolled until the reader reached the next seal. In this scenario, seven seals need to be broken in order to reveal the entire scroll.
This is a scroll of judgment and the purpose is to purge sin from the world. This is also revealed in Zechariah 5:
1 Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.
2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I answered, "I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits."
3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: 'Every thief shall be expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, 'Every perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of it."
4 "I will send out the curse," says the LORD of hosts; "It shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its timber and stones."
Once the seven seals are finished, it will complete the judgment against the world. This is before the Great White Throne judgment. This judgment is against the living world at the time of the Great Tribulation.
When God presented the scroll of judgment, no one was found worthy to proclaim judgment against the world. Not a single man or woman who ever existed has the right to judge sin. Jesus Christ alone sits on the throne of judgment. He is the only man who lived and overcame sin and existed without sin. All sin is against God and only God can judge sin. Only Jesus Christ fulfills the role of God incarnate and the Son of Man who was tempted in all ways like us and yet lived a sinless life. The Father proclaimed that He judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22).
Revelation 6 begins the seal judgments. The first seal is the conquering kingdom of the beast. Second is peace taken from the earth. Not only is this played out in wars, but in individual lives as well. People will kill one another and peace will not be found. Third is famine. Fourth is the plague of death that will kill ¼ of the earth through disease, wars, hunger and the beasts of the earth. The fifth seal is martyrdom of the saints. The world will completely rebel against any reminder of the truth and will seek to annihilate every believer from the earth. This will create the famine in the land spoken of in Amos 8:11-13. People will faint from hunger and thirst for the truth of God. It is ironic that the world will seek to destroy those who hold the truth but will instead execute judgment against themselves. The world will wander from sea to sea looking for anything to fill the void and will find no relief. Sixth will be disasters from earthquakes, stars falling and the sun and moon will be darkened. Men will then acknowledge that it is the judgment of the Lamb, but will seek death and reject repentance. After the sixth seal, there is an intermission. Judgment ceases while God seals the 144,000 to be set aside to evangelize the world and make a way of escape for any who will receive it. This has already been discussed in the section on the Great Awakening.
The seventh seal is the seven trumpets proclaiming the final judgments of God. The first trumpet is fire and blood cast to the earth. This description in Revelation 8:7 fits the description of a nuclear fall out. One third of the trees and grass of the earth is burned up. The second trumpet judges the sea. A great star like a burning mountain is cast into the sea. One third of the fish died and one third of the ships are destroyed. The second trumpet judges the fresh water and the rivers and springs become polluted. The fourth trumpet judges the sun and stars so that they do not shine. The next three trumpets are the three great woes against the earth.
The first woe (the fifth trumpet) opens the bottomless pit. The smoke from the pit overshadows the earth and releases the locusts. These locusts have stings like scorpions, and are not allowed to harm the plants nor are they allowed to kill anything. Their only purpose is to torment those who choose the beast and will do so for five months. The sixth trumpet is the second woe. It proclaims the release of the four wicked angels that have been bound in the river Euphrates. They will gather the 200 million man army from the east and will create a war that will kill one third of the remaining population. The seventh angels sounds in Revelation 11:15 to proclaim that the kingdoms of the world now belong to God. God then rewards the saints, judges the wicked, and destroys those who destroy the earth.
From this point forward, the scripture adds details to the events previously described. For example, the seven bowls of wrath in Revelation 15 coincide with the judgments previously described. Revelation 16:17 ends at the same point as Revelation 11:15. This type of description is common in visions of prophecy. The prophet will describe the vision in succession and then fill in details of the vision afterward. We looked at this earlier when examining the kingdom of the beast described in the book of Daniel.
This vision in Revelation now steps back into history to lay the foundation of this vision of prophecy. Look at Revelation 12:
1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
This brief passage covers a time period from Genesis to Revelation. The woman is Israel and the child born is Jesus Christ. The dragon attempted to devour the child at birth. If we look back at the four Gospels we see that Herod ordered the slaughter of every male child in an attempt to destroy Christ at His birth. The third of the stars cast down with the dragon’s tail are one third of the angels that fell with Satan. The seven heads and ten horns is the kingdom of the beast we looked at earlier. The woman’s flight into the wilderness for 3 ½ years is the time God preserves His people during the Tribulation Period after they reject the beast and his claims to be god.
In Revelation 12:12, the devil realizes that he only has a brief amount of time left and abandons all pretense and launches a crusade to destroy all who carry the name of God. This is the fifth seal judgment of martyrdom. Satan first attempts to destroy the woman who bore the male Child but God gives her wings of an eagle to escape him. This is also described in Zechariah 3:
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
2 And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes."
5 And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
Satan is rebuked and cast to the earth (Revelation 12:12). Joshua who represents Israel is purified. Israel has been plucked from the fire when it seemed as though she would be consumed. God removed Israel’s iniquity, removed the old filthy rags and covered them with the robe of righteousness. The Bible says that God will adorn His people with the robe of righteousness and the garments of salvation like a bride adorned with jewels and a groom decks himself with ornaments. God covers Israel’s sin with the blood of Jesus Christ and once they trust in Him, Satan no longer has the power to accuse them and is cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:10). The angel of the LORD stands by Israel to shield them from the dragon (Revelation 12:14 and Zechariah 3:5). These who are sealed of God are still miraculously preserved until they stand before Christ when He descends on the Mount of Olives at the end of the Tribulation Period in Revelation 14. When Satan sees that he cannot harm those sealed by God, he then turns his fury to those who hold the testimony of Jesus Christ. They are found in Revelation 6:
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 Then 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.
It may seem odd that God protects the 144,000 from martyrdom but does not protect those who come to Christ in faith during the Tribulation period. We have to remember the bigger picture scripture is revealing. These elect from Israel are preserved to inherit the promises given to their fathers (Romans 11:38). Look again at Zephaniah 3:
11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain.
12 I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
13 The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one shall make them afraid."
All of this ties together to fulfill the promises of God made to the Abraham and the faithful fathers of Israel from the beginning. Just as those who rejected God died in the wilderness and never saw the Promised Land, only those who love God will inherit the promise given from the beginning which has never been fulfilled. As to the saints martyred Revelation 13 states:
10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
In other words, God will avenge. The promise of reward is foretold in Revelation 2:10 and throughout scripture. Humanly speaking it may seem unfair, but when we look at it from the eternal perspective, it is more than fair.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
|
|