Final 3 Seals - 5th, 6th and 7th

“I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?”” (Rev 5:1-2, NASB)

Last session we spoke about the first four seal which revealed the main spiritual players in the earth who would be part of the antichrist government.

The colors of the horses revealed that these are strongholds or philosophies of man that control vast numbers of people. Red is communism/socialism, white is Catholicism, black is capitalism and finally the green horse is Islam. Now let’s turn our attention to the final 3 seals and see their significance.

Seal number 5: “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?” And a white robe was given to each of them; and they were told that they were to rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was completed also.” (Rev 6:9-11, NASB)

The fifth seal describes people who will be killed during the Great Tribulation. Their spirits have ascended to God and they are in the Presence of the Lord asking, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?” The Lord replied that they should rest a little while longer until their fellow servants should also be killed.

Yeshua prophesied this in Matthew 24:21:

““For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again.” (Mat 24:21, NASB)

The 5th seal is the seal of the Great Tribulation. It precedes the 6th seal which is the return of the Lord. The time period of the 5th seal is 3 ½ years. It is described in Daniel 7:25, describing the Great Tribulation, which is the rule of the antichrist:

“‘And he will speak against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time.” (Dan 7:25, NASB). A time is a year, times is 2 years and half a time is 6 months, total 3 ½ years 

REVELATION 13: 5 tells us again of the rule of the antichrist:

“A mouth was given to him speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.” (Rev 13:5, NASB) 42 months is 3 ½ years.

Daniel 12:7 describes the war with God’s people , the Great Tribulation, by the antichrist:

“And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish smashing the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.” (Dan 12:7, NASB)

Revelation 11:2-3 finishes the picture of the 5th seal: ““Leave out the courtyard which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations; and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”” (Rev 11:2-3, NASB).

We’ll discuss the witnesses soon. 

Onto the all-important 6th seal: “And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they *said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the sight of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”” (Rev 6:12-17, NASB)

The 6th seal reveals the second coming of Yeshua at the Battle of Har Meggido or Armageddon. The sun will become black as sackcloth of hair. The moon will become as blood. The stars will fall from the sky. These are celestial signs that are spoken of in conjunction with the return of Yeshua. Yeshua spoke of this in what is known as the Olivet discourse on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. He was asked:

“And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”” (Mat 24:3, NASB). Yeshua spent the rest of Matthew 24 answering this question with prophetic declarations.

In verses 29:31 He tells of the celestial signposts:

““But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Mat 24:29-31, NASB)

First notice that this is after the Great Tribulation, the 5th seal. Those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon shall not give off its light. Stars will fall from the sky. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. This is a change in governmental authority.

The Apostle Paul tells us:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12, NASB)

The antichrist and the one-world government he heads up that have ruled the world for 3 ½ years are about to be shaken up. 

The 6th seal continues: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

Clearly this is the return of the Lord at the battle of Har Megiddo when Israel is surrounded by her enemies. On a side note it is clear that this is when the Lord gathers his elect who have not been killed by the Great Tribulation. This should put to rest any notion of a pretribulation rapture or who are the elect?

Finally the 7th seal.

“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Rev 8:1, NASB)

Why is there silence in heaven for ½ hour? I believe it is in honor of what has just happened with the 6th seal. 6 is the number of works and 7 is the number of rest or completion. I believe the 6th seal is the equivalent to the 6th day of creation and it is where God shows His love for His bride, His beloved. The 7th seal is the peace of the cross the completed work, the it is finished.

Those who have been martyred and those who survived the antichrist are all joined together as the bride: Paul describes this process:

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1Th 4:13-17, NASB)

Yeshua returns with those who have fallen asleep through Yeshua, the martyrs of the Great Tribulation clothed in white. Those who are still on the earth will meet together with Him and we will all be transformed. This all takes place and in response there is 30 minutes of silence in heaven, a big Wow!

Heaven continues:

“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense ascended from the angel’s hand with the prayers of the saints before God.” (Rev 8:2-4, NASB)

What is key here is realized that our prayers are not lost. They are bottled up until the great day of the Lord.

“Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” (Rev 8:5, NASB)

This is the final event of the 7th seal and is repeated in the 7th vial and the 7th trumpet. The 7th trumpet is described in Revelation11:15

“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”” (Rev 11:15, NASB)

This indicates the shift of power is complete.

The 7th vial is poured out in Revelation 16:17

“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.”” (Rev 16:17, NASB)

These 3, the seventh seal, the seventh trumpet and the 7th vial all point to the completed work of God. It is truly what the sabbath, the shabbat is all about. The entering into His rest. Before this though we need to cover some other key events so we can be prepared for this time that we are in as we head to the final showdown.