Revelation 1-7

Foreword

The book of Revelation reveals the plan, the goal, and the Planner behind it all! It has happened, and is happening, and will happen just as He predicted! God gave His true plan "before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe." (Jn.14.29)

THE SEVEN SEALS: REVELATION CHAPTERS 1- 7

The general pattern for the Book of Revelation, which consists of twenty-two chapters, is a progressive preview of history "from the things which are," or were in John's day, to the "things which shall be hereafter."

We will start by introducing and providing a brief synopsis, with some discussion, of Chapters 1-7, and then move on from there. Chapter one is definitely part of the "things which are" in John's day, and it is an introduction to the vision itself. It introduces Jesus, who is giving the revelation through His angel, and John who is writing it. This chapter also shows us that the revelation is going to be about the past, present (of John's day), and the future. However, frequently, sometimes even in the middle of a chapter, the revelation goes back into the past to give some background into the subject with which it is dealing, before showing you the future and how it winds up.

Chapters 1 through 5 are extremely important in giving us the background of what is to come. They set the stage, so to speak, for the drama of the future which begins to unfold in chapter 6. Therefore, since these background chapters are really all rather self-explanatory, we will give only a small commentary on each one to help prepare you for the astounding prophecy of the future, which begins in Chapters 6 and 7, as the four horsemen thunder forth, and the seven-sealed book of the future is opened!

Revelation Chapter 1: Introduction

Right above "Chapter One" in most Bibles, the title reads "THE REVELATION OR APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE." However, this title which was added by someone years later, was not necessarily inspired, because the first line of the prophecy says: it is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, and he (Jesus) sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John." (Rev. 1:1) It is fairly certain that this John, who merely wrote the prophecy down, is John the beloved. He was one of the youngest of Jesus' apostles and the only one, as far as we know, who did not die a martyr's death. However, that was through no fault of the Roman Empire. They tried to boil him in oil, but he wouldn't boil because the Lord still hadn't finished with him and had further work for him to do. So Domitian, emperor of Rome at that time, figured, "what can you do with a guy like this? We can't kill him, so we'll just stick him some place where he can't do much damage, can't preach or witness to anybody, and where he won't accomplish too much!"

John tells us in his own account that he ended up on "the isle that is called Patmos, for (or because of) the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 1:9) Patmos was a 10-mile long rocky island off the southwest coast of Asia Minor in the Aegean Sea, which adjoins the Mediterranean. It was big and inhabitable enough to have a little town on it, and of course the island is still there today. John was probably in his nineties at the time of his exile, since Domitian’s persecution against Christians occurred in the mid-90s A.D. Here he was, an old man, sentenced by the Roman government to exile on a lonely island, in order to keep out of harm's way, and supposedly to keep him from doing any more damage with his revolutionary doctrines. Instead of that, what happened? He had a revelation out there all by himself that has since been a witness to millions and millions of people, and has influenced more lives than he could ever have reached if he had stayed free.

So God put John someplace alone so he could have time to pray and to meditate. Then one day when he "was in the spirit" (or tuned-in to God), he heard a voice behind him, "a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." ( Rev 1:10,11) When John "turned to see the voice that spake with" him, he saw "one like unto the Son of man" standing "In the midst [of] seven golden candlesticks," with hair like wool and snow, eyes like fire, feet like brass burning in an oven and a voice sounding like many waters. In his right hand were seven stars, and a two edged sword proceeded out of his mouth and his face was like the sun.” (Rev. 1:12-16) The awesome appearance of this supernatural being so astonished John that he "fell at his feet as dead" but the man said, "fear not.... I am he that Liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Rev 1:17,18) This, of course, could only have been Jesus in His heavenly appearance.

Many of the terms used here to describe Jesus may be very literal, for instance "his face like the sun". This literally happened to Him on earth when He was transfigured on the mount where Elijah and Moses appeared to Him (Luke chapter 9). So, although some of these terms are definitely symbolic, they nevertheless represent reality- a reality which is even greater than the limited symbols used here to describe Him. Another example is the sword proceeding out of his mouth, which is symbolic of the "sword of the spirit which is the Word of God" (Ep.6:17). This spiritual sword is so powerful that with it He shall literally slay millions of the wicked at His second coming: "by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh… and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other." (Isa.66:16; Jer.25:33) It's symbolic, but represents something that is very, very real!

After the Lord had helped John to recover his senses a bit, He told him that the vision he was about to receive would span the entire panorama of history. "Write the things which thou hast seen (past), and the things which are (present, in John's day), and the things which shall be hereafter” (future, after John). (Rev 1:19) The 20th verse of this same chapter says. "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." The seven stars and candle-sticks are also symbolic. Who are these seven churches? According to verses 4 and 11 of chapter 1, they are "seven churches which are (or were in 90 A.D.) in Asia" and to whom the Lord told John to write. Chapters 2 and 3 contain these letters that John wrote to the seven churches.

Revelation Chapters 2 & 3: Seven Letters to Seven Churches in Asia

In verses 4 and 11 of chapter one, John named seven churches (ecclesia, called out ones, groups of believers, not buildings) which were in seven Asian cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. All of these were names of explicit, definite cities of Asia Minor, today known as Turkey. They were all within close distance of each other and only a short distance from the Isle of Patmos.

The Lord undoubtedly told John to write to these particular seven churches because he wasn't far from them. Also, being one of the oldest disciples and an apostle of the Lord, these churches no doubt looked to John for guidance and leadership, even in exile. These letters in chapters 2 and 3, reveal churches in different levels of obedience and/or apostasy, and give rebukes, guidance and promises from the Lord to each one. Though written to literal churches in Asia, we can read the letters today as warnings, advice, and counsel regarding any situation existing in our selves, and take it to heart.

Revelation Chapters 4 & 5: The Throne and the Seven-Sealed Book

Revelation chapter 4 begins with Jesus talking to John and telling him to come up into the realm of the spirit. "After this I (John) looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." (Rev. 4:1) In chapter 1, we found out that Jesus had a voice "as a trumpet" (Rev.1:10), so this is Jesus talking to John. Also in chapter 1, John was "in the spirit" or tuned-in to God's spirit, but here the Lord tells John to "come up" into the realm of the spirit world, to literally take a spirit trip into that mysterious dimension of eternal realities, so that John could get the whole view of that little island called time and see its future!

Jesus just called John, and "immediately" he said, "I was in the spirit and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne" (Rev 4:2) This throne is of the Lord God Almighty--His central headquarters. God is pictured here as having the appearance of a jasper (or diamond) and of a sardine (red) stone. Around the throne is an emerald rainbow, and twenty-four elders clothed in white raiment, crowns of gold on their heads, and seated on twenty-four seats. (Rev. 4:3-4) "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thundering and voices", but a "sea of glass", symbolizing peacefulness, lies before it. And "in the midst of the throne and round about" it are "four beasts (a lion, calf, flying eagle, and some strange beast with a man's head full of eyes before and behind." (Rev. 4:5,6)

Most of these things are just beyond our understanding. It was beyond John's for sure. He just described what it looked like and that was all he could do. So we're not going to try to interpret this more than to say it’s the throne of God. You'll probably just have to wait till you get there yourself to find out who the twenty-four elders and the four beasts are.

John did see something there that we can understand, and it’s in the fifth chapter. "I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain.… and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne." (Rev. 5:1,6,7) This is a description of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ (Jn.1:29) ascending to the right hand of God the Father, to take a book with seven seals. This picture of Jesus taking the book may even be going back in history a little bit from the time John received the vision (Ca. 90 A.D.), because Jesus ascended to God's right hand in 30 A.D. (Mk.16:19).

The Lord had promised to show John the things which shall be hereafter. So this is just a little bit of background to introduce the future, because when the Lord begins to open the seals of this book in the next chapter, the future begins to be revealed.

The book is sealed and, except by prophecy, the future is in a sense sealed, and the only one who can unseal it or reveal it is Jesus. "And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon…" but "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof." (Rev 5:3,5) Jesus said "all things that the Father hath are mine, therefore said I, that he (the spirit) shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." John had recorded that saying of the Lord many years earlier in his Gospel (John 16:15). Now, years later through the communication of God's eternal Spirit, Jesus is about to show His beloved apostle the entire future of the world!

Revelation Chapter 6: The Table of Contents of the Future

1st Seal – The White Horseman - Jesus

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, and one of the four beasts saying, Come and see." (Rev 6:1) "And I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."(Rev. 6:2) This is the first of the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse who ride forth here in chapter six. "Apocalypse" is simply another name for revelation, but it means the same thing- `to uncover.' God uses these four horsemen to "uncover" his own viewpoints on religion, war and economics.

It doesn't say here who the first horseman is, but we find another picture of "a white horse" in the 19th chapter of this same book,"and he that sat upon him (the white horse) was called Faithful and True... And his name is called the Word of God"--who of course, is Jesus (Jn.1:14) and following him are the armies of heaven (the resurrected saints) who are also riding white horses as they come down from heaven to defeat the forces of the antichrist and take over the world at the battle of Armageddon. (Rev.19:11-14)

Jesus' weapon is His bow or His word (Ps.7:12). And He is the one who has the "crown" or right to rule this world and will soon destroy His enemies who are resisting it and usurping His throne. Therefore this white horse could only be Jesus and His followers.

2nd Seal – The Red Horse or Horseman? – War Machine

"And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword." (Rev. 6:3,4) What takes "peace from the earth"?--war! This red horse symbolizes war, the military and their war machines.

The horse's color is very appropriate, representing all the blood shed in man's hellish wars--wars for which God is not responsible, but which come from the pride, prejudices and avarice of man's own greedy heart. "From whence come wars and fighting’s among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts." (Jam.4:11) the "great sword" given to him certainly symbolizes the great "improvements" in war machines and the greater frequency and greater extent of wars since the prophecy was given.

3rd Seal- The Black Horseman- Rich Merchants

"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny; and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." (vs.5,6) The value of a "penny" in John's day represented an entire day's labor, as is seen in the parable of Jesus where all the laborers worked for "a penny a day." (Mat.20:2) a "measure" equals about one quart, and ordinarily a penny could have purchased fifteen to twenty measures. Therefore, food being sold in such small quantities for an entire day's wages, indicates food shortage or famine, and also resultant poverty for the buyer, as it is costing him everything he has just to buy his daily bread. Even the color of the horse itself represents famine. "our skin was black like an oven" Jeremiah said, "because of the terrible famine." (Lam.5:10)

Oil and wine throughout scripture are synonymous with abundance or luxury. The fact that they were "hurt not" indicates a situation where wealth and luxury are existing alongside famine and poverty; not an unusual situation to say the least. This inequality in the world's wealth was not created by God. True, He does many times stop the rain or smite the harvest to scourge nations in order to get them to repent, but believe it or not, the majority of famine and its resultant poverty is created by man himself through his wars and greed!

When God originally made the world, before anybody was rich or poor, everybody had about the same amount of land, food, things with which to build their houses, and beasts to plow and carry burdens, etc. What happened then, was that a few began learning a lot of evil things called man's "wisdom", and they began tricking, robbing, lying to, and killing others so that they could get more than their share. The people who began doing this became known as the rich and powerful. These are the big multibillionaire manufacturing merchants and money manipulators, or ruling classes of the world today.

Could this black horseman's rider with the "pair of balances in his hand" symbolize these rich merchants? Yes! Only one other verse in all the Bible pictures a man holding balances in his hand: "he is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress."(Hos.12:7) Another prophet, Amos, also said that these merchants "set forth wheat, making the ephah (or measure) small, and the shekel (or price paid) great, and falsifying the balances by deceit...that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail." (Am.8:4-6)

4th Seal – The Pale Horseman - Death

"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (6vs.7,8)

In the original Greek, the word "pale" also means a sickly yellowish-green color like the very color of death itself, which is the Devil’s due, and Hell follows it for all his children.

This pale horse of the fourth seal then, represents the devil’s rule in the kingdoms of this world. He designs them, man builds them, and their end is death and hell--total destruction both now and forever!

5th Seal –Souls of Martyrs

"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (vs.9-11)

First comes the proclamation of the white horse's message and the conquest of many souls. Then, the open rejection by the unbelievers of the other three horsemen, crystallizes into open antagonism resulting in these "souls of them that were slain for the word of God." This is the way it's been all throughout history, the fight between good against evil.

These martyrs, though, are actually God's exceptions, just examples of the dedication of his witnesses. The majority of God's children have usually lived to help carry on the work.

6th Seal – The Second Coming of Christ?

"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth...and the heaven departed as a scroll...and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Rev. 6:12-17)

Here we have the ultimate goal of approximately six thousand years of history: the glorious second coming of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ (Jn.1:29) to mete out his violent wrath upon the wicked, and rescue the saints of all ages by the miracle of the resurrection and rapture. Despite all the wrath of bestial man against God’s children, the day is coming "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Th. 1:7-8) And when he comes, John said, "every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him (even in hell those who crucified him will be able to see him coming): and all kindred’s of the earth shall wail because of him." (Rev.1:7) "And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together (resurrect and rapture) his elect (the saints) from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven." (Mk.13:27)

Jesus predicted in his famous Endtime discourse of Mt.24 that there would be an increase in war, famine, pestilence and earthquakes, leading eventually to "affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation," and that these calamities would get so bad that "except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's (or Christians') sake, whom He (God) hath chosen, He hath shortened those days." (Mt.24:7,21,22; Mk.13:19,20) In other words, Jesus was saying that one day man would reach such an impasse, that letting him continue unchecked would result in the destruction of everyone on earth. However, when man finally reaches that suicidal point, He said God would shorten the days, which in the Greek literally means to stop the days, or stop those days of man's suicidal attempts to destroy the earth. And the way God will stop it, Jesus said, was by His own second coming to punish the evil doers, take over the world, and rule it the way God wants it ruled.

What we have actually seen under these six seals is a panorama of history from John's day up to the very end. Then, at the second coming of Christ, the white horse and the resurrected martyrs emerge as victors over the other three horsemen: the kings (pale horse), the rich men (black horse), and the captains (red horse). This is also presented in more detail In Rev.16 and 19.

Each one of these six seals are really only capsule histories, previews, on characters that the vision is yet to cover, or rather uncover, in greater detail throughout the remainder of the revelation.

Since these first six seals present the whole span of history from the ascension to the second coming, they are in a sense like God taking a camera and doing a real quick "pan" of history from the beginning to the very end.

Then with the seventh seal, which opens in the eighth chapter, God zooms in for a close-up of the last few years of this period, the central theme of the revelation containing the story of the great tribulation, the second coming, and the ushering in of Christ’s millennial kingdom on earth.

Revelation Chapter 7: Saints Sealed for Great Tribulation

The 7^th Seal which begins the great tribulation is soon to be opened in chapter 8. But before it happens God, in order to preserve his children and his witnesses during this tribulation period, is going to "seal his saints" so that they will not be hurt by His judgments against the wicked.

"And after these things I (John) saw four angels...holding the four winds of the earth.… and I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.… and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."(vs.1-4) verses 5-8 lists the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe being sealed.

These 144,000 which receive the seal of God are not physical Israel. They are the true spiritual Israel. As the apostle Paul said, "they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.…that is they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise (those who accept Jesus) are counted for the seed." (Rom.9:6-8) These 144,000 are the same 144,000 of Revelation chapter 14, who "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth."

The 144,000 are the leaders of "the great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred’s, and peoples, and tongues…which came out of great tribulation." (vs.9-14)--and in the original that means the great tribulation, the one that precedes the second coming of Christ!

Whether the 144,000 is a symbolic or literal number we don't know, but we do know this: they are going to be God's cadre during that horrible tribulation period to lead the rest of the believers through it and to stand up and witness against the antichrist system unto the very end.

Taken from the informal talks of David Brandt Berg

Edited by Almondtree Productions