NOTES: The 7 Seals of Revelation

Judgment is one of the main themes that run through the Book of Revelation. These judgments are given through three sets of seven judgments. The first set of seven is what is referred to as the Seven Seal Judgments. They are found in Revelation chapters 6 and 8 and they are as follows: The first four seals are commonly referred to as the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse:

1 "I watched as the Lamb opened the FIRST OF THE SEVEN SEALS. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a WHITE HORSE! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest." Revelation 6:1-2 The First Horseman of the Apocalypse is the rider on the white horse, more commonly known as the Anti-Christ. He will come onto the world scene bringing "peace" to the nations. This peace however, will be a false sense of peace (1 Thessalonians 5:3) and will be short-lived since the rider on the red horse follows closely behind. Notice the rider carries a bow but no arrows and is given a crown, he doesn't take the crown. These symbols indicate that this peace will be achieved though diplomacy and not through war. 2.) "When the Lamb opened the SECOND SEAL, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another HORSE came out, a FIERY RED one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword." Revelation 6:3-4 The Second Horseman of the Apocalypse is the rider on the red horse who is given a large sword symbolizing war and destruction. The Anti-Christ's psuedo world peace will be shattered by the next world war - World War III. 3.) "When the Lamb opened the THIRD SEAL, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a BLACK HORSE! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!" Revelation 6:5-6 The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse is the rider on the black horse representing worldwide famine, starvation, and inflation, which is inevitable after global war. The rider is holding a pair of scales symbolizing that the peoples of the world will have to ration their food due to extraordinary food shortages. A day's wages will barely be enough to buy food for the worker and his/her family. Notice that the oil and wine is not damaged, in other words, people should not waste the basic staples of life so that there will be enough to last. Alternatively, some prophecy scholars teach that the oil and the wine represent the rich and affluent who will not be affected as great as the common people. 4.) When the Lamb opened the FOURTH SEAL, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a PALE HORSE! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." Revelation 6:7-8 As the consequences of war settle in, earth inhabitants will begin feeling its effects through various means such as famine, plague, and even wild beasts of the earth. A fourth of the earth's inhabitants will be killed. That's approximately 1.5 billion!

5.) "When he opened the FIFTH SEAL, I saw under the altar the SOULS OF THOSE WHO HAD BEEN SLAIN because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed." Revelation 6:9-11
Throughout the 7-year Tribulation, especially in the last 3 1/2 years, the Anti-Christ will unleash an all-out attack on anyone professing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Today, one can already see the beginnings of an attack on Christians and christian values. Christians are likely the most hated group of people on the planet because of their belief that Jesus Christ is the only way to God.

6.) "I watched as he opened the SIXTH SEAL. There was A GREAT EARTHQUAKE. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face 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 can stand?" Revelation 6:12-17 The earth experiences hundreds of tiny earthquakes every day. However, the stronger the earthquake, the less frequent they become. The Richter scale measures earthquakes from "less than 2" to "10+". The largest earthquake ever recorded was 9.5 in Chile in 1960, the energy force of over 1000 atom bombs going off at the same time. The Sixth Seal Earthquake will make this Chilean earthquake pale in comparison and bring great destruction to the world.

7.) "When he opened the SEVENTH SEAL, there was SILENCE IN HEAVEN for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets." Revelation 8:1-2 The Seventh Seal causes an ominous silence for a half hour because it is will introduce the Seven Trumpet Judgments, bringing God's judgment on Mother Nature...