“I SAW when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four beasts saying in a voice as of thunder, ‘Come and see’” (Rev 6:1). Revelation’s main prophetic message is unveiled primarily through seven sets of symbols sketched on a scroll fastened with seven successive seals. Yeshua HaMashiach [Jesus Christ] breaks the seals and opens the scroll before John’s eyes (Rev 6:1). John sees and describes the symbols of the vision, each having a specific prophetic significance. Yeshua alone has the right to unveil the meaning of the seals. But he does not fully explain each seal in this context. In fact, he had already—before his death and resurrection— revealed the keys we need to understand the seals. This information is recorded in Matt 24, Mrk 13 and Luk 21. The writers of each of these three Gospel accounts record Yeshuas’ answer to the questions his disciples asked him concerning when he would come again and what would be the sign of his coming and the end of the age. “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:3). Yeshua revealed to them the trends and conditions that would dominate the world until his return. The seals of Revelation 6 symbolically portray the same conditions in the same sequence Mashiach had earlier described. Most of Revelation—about two thirds of its content—is devoted to the seventh seal. The contents of the first six seals are found in chapter 6 alone. Chapter 7 interrupts the explanation of the seals to explain that 144,000 of the tribes of Israel, after being spiritually converted, will be protected from the seven plagues heralded by trumpet blasts. It also explains that during the Great Tribulation a great multitude from every nation on earth will repent and turn to God. The events corresponding to the seventh seal dominate the remainder of the book. Why is God’s judgment needed? The first five seals correspond to adversities that are to afflict vast portions of humanity, including some of God’s servants, between the first and second appearances of Christ. These hardships, having already begun in the lifetime of John, extend to the time of the end. Concerning these particular afflictions, Jesus had earlier warned that “all these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt 24:8)—or “of birth pains” (NIV), signifying calamities that would, like labor contractions, escalate in frequency and intensity before the end. He also said: “...Do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately” (Luke 21:9). We should remember that the primary time frame for Revelation’s main prophecies is the Day of Yehovah [the Lord]. It is the day of God’s judgment and wrath on the nations. The occurrences of that time are the specific subject of the seventh seal. The first five seals describe conditions that predate the Day of Yehovah. These are the afflictions that make God’s intervention and judgment necessary and just. They describe the particular end-time application of Satan’s enduring deception of humanity, his persecution of the saints and the unending pattern of war— with its horrible consequences—that are the fruits of his deception. Under the sixth seal we see portrayed a stunning display of signs and wonders in the heavens. This will transpire just before the Day of Yehovah, announcing that God’s wrath and judgment are at hand. Now notice Yeshua personally identifying the adversities associated with the seals: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars ... Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” (Matt 24:4-9, KJV).
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 07:32:11 +0000
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