When the Lamb broke the sixth seal, John looked and saw (and may have experienced) a great earthquake. There have been many earthquakes recorded in the bible, and many more in this present day. But this one and also the one at the very end of the Tribulation (Rev. 16:18) will be the greatest in world history. In fact, they will be more than earthquakes. MacArthur writes, “All the earth’s faults will begin to fracture simultaneously, resulting in a cataclysmic, global earthquake.”[1]
Another author, Hal Lindsey, in his commentary of Revelation, There’s A New World Coming, says of this passage that this quake will be “the granddaddy of them all.”[2]
And he believes, because of the description here (verses 12-14), that the quake will be set off by a nuclear explosion. Lindsey comments particularly on verse fourteen:
Do you know what happens in a nuclear explosion? The…
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal John immediately got a vision of the heavenly temple; and his focus was under the altar of incense where he saw the souls of those who had been slain.
Who are the souls under the altar? These are the souls of the redeemed who were martyred very early in the Tribulation. It is possible that they were saved just after the Rapture of the church, as a result of the preaching of the 144,000 witnesses.
There is another group in Revelation 7:9-17, that is mentioned as a “great multitude” and as “ones who come out of the great Tribulation.” This is possibly a later group, which are from the last half of the Tribulation, and that is mentioned in Revelation 6:11 as “their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been…” Or, it may be that…
In the breaking of the fourth seal John looked up and saw an ashen horse; and its rider’s name was Death; and one called Hades was following him.
An ashen horse. The ashen horse and its rider give us an image of death—or of dead bodies. And the one who follows him, Hades, tells us that all who die will soon stand before God and will be given a judgment of eternal hell. Thus, we may be sure that those who die under this seal are not believers; for when believers die, they will go straight to heaven to be with the Father.
What kind of death is this? First of all, we know that the rider (Death) and his follower (Hades) has the authority (or the power) granted to them from God to bring death to a fourth of the earth. Hence, death to around one billion people will…
In the breaking of this seal John looked and saw a black horse; and the one who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
A Black Horse
Most commentators would agree that the black horse is a symbol of famine, and some would add disease. I agree, because the hunger of famine is caused by a food shortage; and that food shortage—particularly fresh fruits and vegetables—would cause sickness and disease.
A Pair of Scales
The scales here, used to weigh food items, indicates to the reader that there will be a scarcity of food that will need to be rationed. Moreover, the voice that is heard in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius [a day’s wage], and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine,” gives us a true…
The second seal was broken by the Lamb just as the first one was, and John again heard another living creature (the second living creature) say, “Come and see.” Notice that in the first four seals all of the four living creatures (or cherubim) are involved. That is, in the second seal the second cherubim speaks; in the third seal the third cherubim speaks; then in the fourth seal the fourth cherubim speaks. So it seems that they all have their parts, one for each seal.
A red horse. The blood-red horse is a symbol of war. It is what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:6-7. And from the language of the text, that the rider was granted to “take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another,” this indicates that after a short time of peace, suddenly peace was taken away through war—war all over the…
As you can see from the text, the biblical record of the seal judgments—as well as all of the judgments—are quite short. For that reason, and since this is such an important subject, I will endeavor to look at each part thoroughly.
The Lamb Breaks the Seals
Before we get to this first seal, there are a couple of points that I want to go over. First of all, it comes to our attention that the Lamb breaks the seals. Why does the bible use the term “Lamb” and not “Jesus” or “the Lord?” Why use this name? What is the significance of the name Lamb here?
Well, I’ll give it a try. First of all, using the term “Lamb” will be a constant reminder to us, and to all, that He was and is the true Passover Lamb (Is. 53:7); He is the One whom the Jews were believing…
Certainly, Jesus Christ must be included in the list of Tribulation personalities; for He is the underlying theme of Revelation. He is the central figure. In my study I have found seven different titles for Jesus Christ: Lamb, Son of man, Jesus, Faithful and True, Word of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We will highlight these titles as we present Him to you in chronological order as He appears in the Tribulation. In an earlier blog I wrote on Jesus the Lamb. In this blog we will deal with the six other of His names.
The Son of man will be the leading reaper in the judgment (Rev. 14:14-16). In this vision of John’s, he sees a white cloud and one like a son of man sitting on the cloud. I think we can be fairly sure that the Son of man is Jesus, because He has…
Certainly, Jesus Christ must be included in the list of Tribulation personalities; for He is the underlying theme of Revelation. He is the central figure. In my study I have found seven different titles for Jesus Christ: Lamb, Son of man, Jesus, Faithful and True, Word of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We will highlight these titles as we present Him to you in chronological order as He appears in the Tribulation.
The Lamb is worthy to break the seals (Rev. 5:1-14). Here in John’s vision, God held in His hand a book that was sealed up with seven seals. And the question was asked by an angel, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one was found in heaven or on earth to open the book. And John began to weep. But then one of the elders said to…
The Holy Spirit is not mentioned in the Tribulation, but we know that He will be present, since He is eternally omnipresent. However, according to many scholars, it is believed that His ministry will be different in the Tribulation; and some believe that it will be the same as it was in the Old Testament.
The reason for this change is because at the Rapture the church will leave this earth; hence, the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the church will no longer be necessary, even to those who are believers during the Tribulation on earth, since they will not be the church. They will be believing saints, but not the church.
So what will the ministry of the Holy Spirit look like during the Tribulation? First of all, there are at least two, and possibly more, ministries that will be lacking: of baptism and of indwelling. The Holy Spirit will…
Three proclamation angels (Rev. 14:6-9). During the middle of the Tribulation, between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, john saw three angels flying through the sky, being quite visible to all.
The first angel (Rev. 14:6). The first angel was preaching the gospel to all the unbelievers on the earth, saying, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.”
The second angel (Rev. 14:8). The second angel was preaching the fall of Babylon (which is the fall of the world’s evil system—political, economic and religious). This will actually happen during the seventh bowl judgment (Rev. 16:17-21).
The third angel (Rev. 14:9ff). This angel was given a stern warning that, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God…” This wrath of God, which is described here as a torment with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb, refers not to any of the tribulation judgments, but to hell, the lake of fire; for it says that “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.”
Three reaping angels (Rev. 14:15-18). Shortly after John witnessed the proclamation angels, he saw one like a son of man (probably Jesus Christ) sitting on a cloud with a sharp sickle in his hand; and also, three angels, but only one with a sharp sickle.
The first angel (Rev. 14:15). The first angel apparently did not have a sickle, so he cried to the Lord who was sitting on a cloud. He said to Him to put in His sickle and reap. So, the Lord “swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped (that is, the people of the world were judged; in this case I think it means that they were killed in the judgments of the Tribulation—probably during Armageddon).
The second angel (Rev. 14:17). The second angel came out of the temple, just as the first one did; and he, just like the Lord, had a sharp sickle.
The third angel (Rev. 14:18). This angel had power over fire (which may mean that he was an angel that ministered at the altar in the temple, burning incense with prayers). Just like the first angel, he did not have a sickle, so he called on the second angel to reap judgment on the earth just as Christ did—the Lord provided them the example of how to judge. Well, when the second angel swung his sickle in judgment the slaughter is so horrendous that “blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses bridles for a distance of two hundred miles.” (This language is exaggerated, nonetheless, we must believe that the slaughter during this time, probably at Armageddon, will be horrific.)
Seven angels with seven bowls of wrath (Rev. 15:1-16:17). Just after the three reaping angels were introduced, John saw in his vision seven angels who would bring seven plagues on the earth (which may occur in conjunction with the reaping). These seven plagues were to be the last, because after them the wrath of God (in the Tribulation) would be finished.
Well, as it happened, the temple door in heaven was thrown open, and John saw the seven angels come out, majestically clothed in white linen with golden sashes around their chest; and they were given bowls full of the wrath of God. “Then [John] heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.’”
The first angel (Rev. 16:2) poured out his bowl on the earth, and repugnant, malignant sores appeared on all those who had the mark of the beast (all who were not believers).
The second angel (Rev. 16:3) poured out his bowl into the sea, and the sea turned to blood; and every living thing in the sea died.
The third angel (Rev. 16:4) poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fresh springs; and they turned to blood. And this third angel praised God for this judgment, because for so long the wicked people of the earth have poured out the blood of the saints, and now God has rightly in His revenge given them blood to drink.
The fourth angel (Rev. 16:8) poured out his bowl upon the sun, and the people of the earth were scorch with the heat of the sun; and they blasphemed God and did not repent.
The fifth angel (Rev. 16:10) poured out his bowl on the throne and kingdom of the beast so that his kingdom became dark. And they gnawed their tongues and blasphemed God because of their pains and their sores. Apparently, they were more mindful of their pain in the dark.
The sixth angel (Rev. 16:12) poured out his bowl on the Euphrates River, and its water dried up so that the way would be prepared for the kings of the east. Then John saw something else, which helps to explain why the Euphrates needed to be dried up. He saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They were the spirits of demons that went out to the kings of the world (including the kings of the east) and enticed them to gather together for war at a place called Har-Magedon.
The seventh angel (Rev. 16:17) poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice (probably the voice of God) spoke out from the temple saying, “It is done,” meaning that this bowl is the last of the judgments. Here are the six plagues in this bowl.
A great earthquake—the greatest ever on earth.
All the cities of the world are destroyed.
The city of Babylon, the capitol city of Antichrist’s empire is especially ruined.
Every island fled away—or disappear under the water.
The mountains are not found. They probably will be split apart and crumble.
The sky will produce huge hailstones weighing one hundred pounds each. And because of this plague and the damage and death it will cause, the people will blaspheme God.
I think the reference to “one of the seven angels” in chapter 17:1, and also two other angels in chapter eighteen, links the fall of Babylon in chapter 17-18 to the seventh bowl judgment; hence all of chapter 17 and 18 should fall under the seventh bowl.
Two angels involved in Babylon’s fall (Rev. 18). The fall of Babylon is briefly mentioned in Revelation 16:19, but the details of that fall are in chapter 18, highlighted by two angels.
Another angel (Rev. 18:1). This great angel will cause the earth to be illuminated with his glory. Apparently, he will be so bright that his own light will light up the earth—amazing! This angel comes to deliver the happy message: that Babylon has fallen.
A strong angel (v.21) gives a message to the world that Babylon will no longer be a threat to the righteous. This strong angel, to illustrate this message, took a great stone and threw it into the sea saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.”
There are other angels mentioned in the rest of Revelation, but the ones I have mentioned (above) are the only ones pertaining to the Tribulation. Also notice how many angels there will be in the Tribulation. It is very rare to see angels now in this church age, but in the Tribulation period it will be more common to see them, much like in the Old Testament.
Three proclamation angels (Rev. 14:6-9). During the middle of the Tribulation, between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, john saw three angels flying through the sky, being quite visible to all.
The first angel (Rev. 14:6). The first angel was preaching the gospel to all the unbelievers on the earth, saying, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.”
The second angel (Rev. 14:8). The second angel was preaching the fall of Babylon (which is the fall of the world’s evil system—political, economic and religious). This will actually happen during the seventh bowl judgment (Rev. 16:17-21).
The third angel (Rev. 14:9ff). This angel was given a stern warning that, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also…
Stephen Nielsen 