Seal-one, Horse-one is white and carries aggression.
Seal-two, Horse-two is red and carries bloodshed.
Seal-three, Horse-three is black and carries famine.
Seal-four, Horse-four is green and carries disease.
Seal-five, Releases a persecution of believers.
Seal-six, Releases a great fear over all the world319
Seal-seven, Is opened, and it ushers in an earthquake on earth and silence in Heaven.
Interlude 1
After the sixth seal John looks around the earth and see four angels taking up their posts to hold back hurt from the earth. The Israeli people have a seal of protection on their foreheads, (not the mark of the beast but a seal of protection). These appear to be still on earth. Then He looks around heaven to see a multitude in white robes around the throne of the Lamb. The tribes of Israel appear to be protected on Earth while the multitude appear to be in heaven. There is no reason to presume the group in Heaven does not include Jews, that is a false logic. The People on earth, we are told are from the tribes of Israel. But those in heaven are any and all of those washed in the blood of the Lamb. That is inclusive of all and any. It is also false logic to presume these are in heaven before the tribulation, because an angel tells John: ‘These are the ones coming out of the great suffering’. These are arriving one by one.
There are three sets of seven Judgements: Seals, Trumpets and Bowls.
The next Section also begins with- After This:
After this, the angel filled the incense container with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the earth shook.320
Chapters eight-to-nine continue with the Trumpet Judgements.321 These have been described as ‘Natural disasters’.
Trumpet-one Announces a Scorched earth.
Trumpet-two Announces a Polluted sea.
Trumpet-Three Announces Polluted lakes and springs.
Trumpet-four Announces Reduced sunlight.
Trumpet-Five Announces An invasion from the East322.
Trumpet-Six Four Angels release effect on the rest of the world.
Trumpet-Seven Announces an earthquake on earth and the second interlude where John sees the world Kingdoms
surrender to the kingdom of God.
Interlude 2
During this interlude, John first sees some things he is told not to write down. We will return to this in the Postamble.
Then he is handed a scroll which he is told to eat. He describes it as tasting sweet and sour and is told the Judgement will be both sweet and sour upon the earth and for that reason the Gospel must be preached regardless of the response it receives.
From this we zoom to earth again and centre on the area of Jerusalem and the Temple area, where two witnesses enter the scene on earth. The scroll and the witnesses have been mentioned before in Zechariah chapter-four and following. In that passage the witnesses are described as two men, of one common spirit, who stand beside two world leaders. These two witnesses will be untouchable until they have finished their allotted time. But they will have extraordinary powers. Like Elijah, who stopped the rain for three-and-a-half-years, they will have powers over the elements. At the end of this interlude they will be killed. Three-and-a-half-days after they will be raised and ascend in front of witnesses.
John is then returned to heaven in time to see a great battle taking place. A third of the angels rebels, under the leadership of a dragon with seven heads and ten horns. They retreat to the earth where they join forces with two beasts.
The first beast is a union of Leopard and Bear with the voice of a lion. It joined forces with the dragon. The time limit starts here323, it is allowed to terrorize the world and kill its saints for a short period of time. John is told to pass on to the saints, the message ‘Hold on and be faithful’.324
A second beast manages to defeat the first and to hoodwink all the peoples with lies and deception, until he has brought them all under his control and marks them with a mark of possession. Not all the world is conquered as Jerusalem has held out.
Chapter fourteen begins the gathering of troops, under the influence of the dragon, to confront Jerusalem. The Ram is joined, as a noise like thunder brings the saints and angels to line up beside the Ram. An angel explains to John that the singing by the hosts is a song of victory, in every language of the earth, A song of worship to the Ram. A second angel announces Babylon and all it signifies, is fallen, A third angel announces, those that have followed the beast will be cast into the lake of fire and those that resisted will be blessed forever. John then sees the Son of Man, sitting above the earth in judgement as it is being carried out.
In Chapter-fifteen John is introduced to seven angels, each with a bowl. He is warned the next section will be the worst, but once delivered God’s wrath will be satisfied.
In chapter-sixteen John’s eyes focus on the incense bowl. To the average believer of the day this would have been understood as the bowl containing the prayers of the believers325. Moses was told to make the gold incense bowl and place it in front of the Holy of Holies.326 But now at the signal of the seventh trumpet the bowl and its incense is thrown back at the earth, the four angels step back and the seven bowl-judgements begin.
Chapter-seventeen describes what the bowls hold. These have been categorized as ‘Super-natural’ catastrophes.
Bowl-one Brings Cancers.
Bowl-two Turns the sea blood-red.
Bowl-three Turns springs and lakes blood-red.
Bowl-four Triggers earth fires.
Bowl-five Blocks out sunlight.
Bowl-six Begins Armageddon.327
Bowl-seven Brings an Earth shattering Earthquake328
And an Angel proclaims It Is Done!
Interlude 3:
This time John zooms in on Babylon. Babylon is drunk on the blood of martyrs and almost every kingdom on earth will have made an alliance her.329 She is totally destroyed by the splitting of the continent, and there are eruptions of celebration in heaven.
In heaven, John then watches seven events in succession.
The Marriage of the Lamb to His Church.
The ‘King of kings and Lord of Lords’, (also called the Logos330), finally riding into Jerusalem on a white horse (not a donkey this time).331
A thousand years of reign by the King.332
The binding, imprisonment and final judgement of Satan.333
The New heaven and New earth.334
The new Jerusalem335
The River of Life that flows from the Throne to water the whole New Earth.336
Final words of warning by the angel, before John is returned to earth.
Then the angel said to me, ‘These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon:
'Listen, I am coming soon! Great blessings belong to the one who obeys the words of prophecy in this book.'337
John signs off his Letter confirming it is him and warns anyone wanting to tamper with these writings will himself be excluded from Heaven.
319 All these things are already happening locally around the world but appear to intimate will be worldwide.
320Rev 8: 5
321As to the scope of this judgement, it is unclear if the judgement is upon one third of the earth in area, or the devastation of the whole earth will result in damage to one-third around the world.
322Pictorial as Locusts, Daniel and Zechariah also speak of this.
323 The time limit will be discussed in the post-amble.
324 Revelation 13: 10
325 Revelation 8: 4-5
326 Exodus 30 1-10 : The prayers of the saints are probably the reason four angels are told to stand at the four corners of the earth and hold back punishment in chapter-seven.
327 Armageddon is crossroads of world where nations meet and do battle. Josiah was Killed here, Saul and Jonathan killed by Philistines here, now a huge army will gather called together by the false prophet and the anti-Christ. Ready to march on Jerusalem but at the word of Jesus the armies will be destroyed the beast and Prophet taken and cast into hell. Satan is not yet thrown into hell but bound and put in a dungeon.
328 It describes a tectonic plate shift splitting the continent three ways totally destroying Babylon. John is told, Babylon will be drunk with the ambition to kill all believers. Also, believers are told to leave for their own safety. We can therefore conclude Martyrdom will not be total - there will be those that come out.
329 Revelation 17: 1
330 Revelation 19: 13
331 Revelation 19 : 16
332 Revelation 20 : 1 -6
333Revelation 20 : 7 -10
334Revelation 21 : 1 - 8
335Revelation 21 : 9 ff
336 Revelation 22 : 1 ff
337 Revelation 22: 6- 7