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The first 4 seals of Revelation chapter 6 have been opened. This article provides scriptural proof to show you what the 4 seals are and how we can recognize that they were opened. If you are unsure about what a seal is go back to our previous article "What Are the 7 Seals in Revelation?". As determined from the previous article, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of Jehovah God, is the one opening the seals.
Before we explain in detail the first 4 seals, it helps to understand that each seal is opened in order and that the 6th seal is the second coming of Christ. Knowing this helps to understand the first 4 seals. We will talk more about the 6th seal in the next article. You can also look at the study, the 2nd Coming of Christ, on this website to help prove it occurs at the 6th seal.
We know that Christ has not yet come, otherwise we probably would not be writing this article and you probably would not be reading it. But what happens before his second coming? Christ said to watch. "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." (Mark 13:37) and "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." (Luke 12:37).
Since Christ is telling us to watch, let us look further into what the 4 seals contain in Revelation.
Christ's disciples asked him when would be the end of this world? "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3 KJV). Christ replied in verses 4 through 8, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:4-8 KJV).
The beginning of sorrows are the events during the last generation taking place before his second coming. Christ confirmed this later in the chapter, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:29-30).
To recap the proof that there is trouble on the earth before his second coming, notice how Christ explains in verses 4-8 that these were the beginning of sorrows, and in verses 29-30 he said after the tribulation of those days, then shall be the second coming.
Look at the history of mankind and you will notice that in the last 100 years the world has changed more drastically and quickly than any time in history. Here are some hi-lighted events that show how technology, world wars, famine, and earthquakes have escalated over the past 100 years.
- The Wright Brothers' first flight in a heavier-than-air craft leading to commercial flight and military air force
- Kettering invents the first automotive ignition system leading to the automotive industry
- World War I
- Short-wave radio invented
- Robert Goddard's first liquid fueled rockets tested in Auburn
- Farnsworth's electronic TV demonstrated
- World War II
- Atomic bomb developed and used
- Microwave oven invented
- Flight to outer space
- Diner's Club introduces first credit card
- First use of computer hard disk
- Famine, pestilence, and disease in third-world countries
- Bar code scanners developed
- Earthquakes and volcano activity recorded world-wide
- Gene splicing invented
- Human growth hormones genetically engineered
- Tim Berners-Lee develops protocol for World-wide web (WWW)
- Space Station
- Mapping of human DNA completed
- Global warming
- Population explosion. There are more people living today than there were from Adam and Eve to 1899 TOTAL.
Now let's look at seal number 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." (Revelation 6:2). Prior to World War I there was so much conflict with all the nations and religions of the world that people knew a great war was imminent. Much of the conflict was over control and lands and the desire to have them, which led to World War I.
Taken from http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm, World War I began in 1914. The events of July and early August 1914 are a classic case of "one thing led to another" - otherwise known as the treaty alliance system. The explosive that was World War I had been long in the stockpiling; the spark was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Ferdinand's death at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society, set in train a mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated in the world's first global war. There have always been wars, but this would be the start of the first ever, world war. It coincides with the opening of the first seal by Jesus Christ, which put these events into motion.
Next was the opening of seal number 2. "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." (Revelation 6:3-4). This seal speaks of taking peace from the earth. Above we discussed the events that led to World War I under the first seal, and once World War I actually began in 1914, peace was taken from the earth on a global scale. There had been no war like World War I ever on the earth before. This war was initially called the Great War, but later, after World War II began, the Great War was renamed World War I.
Seal number 3 was opened when inflation affected the world globally. The description of the 3rd seal is a pair of balances, but the weight is unequal in that the cost of food outweighs the daily wage, which is what the penny represents in Greek text, a denarius. "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." (Revelation 6:5-6).
Between the two world wars, around the 1920's, inflation soared and people suffered when they could not make enough money to pay for the cost of living. This seal continues to affect the world, as do seals 1 and 2.
Seal number 4 is the current seal opened by Jesus Christ. "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." (Revelation 6:7-8).
The killing of the fourth part of the earth by sword, hunger, and death by the beasts of the earth is the death of people due to the governments of the world. The governments are called beasts in many of the scriptures; see the study on The Beast. Since World War II, there have been more wars, famine and diseases world-wide. The governments, which are supposed to take care of the people, are the cause of many of these events from seal 4.
Jesus Christ will soon open seal number 5.
Readers have left 6 comments.  6. Re: Re: TiffanyTiffany, UnregisteredThank you for pointing that out. I was taught about the rapture all my life. Thank God for the truth!! I thought the rapture has to happen first before the seals start to open? — Bible ResearchHi Tiffany, There is no rapture in the Bible as taught by common religions. Please check out our resurrection studies on this site. Contact us if you would like more detail information regarding rapture. 5. Re: TiffanyBible Research, Unregistered I thought the rapture has to happen first before the seals start to open? — TiffanyHi Tiffany, There is no rapture in the Bible as taught by common religions. Please check out our resurrection studies on this site. Contact us if you would like more detail information regarding rapture. 4. TiffanyTiffany, Unregistered I thought the rapture has to happen first before the seals start to open? 3. PlaguesGuest User, Unregistered Wow, this is awesome! I have also read in Revelation about the plagues that will come upon the earth and mankind. I believe those plagues will be real, just like the plagues that came upon Egypt. We don't ever hear that talked about. But that is really something to take fear of to make us want to do the right thing and be obedient to God and Jesus. 2. We have til 2012?Bible Research, Unregistered We really do not know the day or hour. We can speculate when we think the 2nd coming of Christ will occur. The important thing is to watch. There are many scriptures writen about the time we are now living in. Religion and Governments have been as the Bible would say "fornicating" with each other for decades. A time will come when they will be at odds. I agree with you, that the Pope is in for a hard time. Keep watching.
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." Matthew 25:13 NIV 1. We have til 2012?Guest User, Unregistered Seems seal 5 is still far from opening. For a total political debate, Governments (Beasts) against religious parties to the death? Sounds like the Pope will be in for a hard time... |
