The Seventh Seal

Revelation chapter eight begins with the opening of the seventh seal.


¹ When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
 ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
 ³ Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

The Trumpets

 ⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. ⁷ The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
 ⁸ The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
 ¹⁰ The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— ¹¹ the name of the star is Wormwood.^[a] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
 ¹² The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
 ¹³ As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”


When the seventh seal is opened, there is silence in heaven for half and hour. The breaking of the seventh seal ushers in the seven trumpet judgments. After the seal is broken, seven angels appear before the throne of God; They are given seven trumpets. Then an eighth angel appears with a golden censer (a vessel made for burning incense), he is given a lot of incense to burn before God's throne. The incense along with the prayers of God's people went up before God. The angel then fills his censer with fire and burning coals and throws it to the earth. The result is thunder and lightning and an earthquake. This all precedes the angels blowing their trumpets, perhaps to usher these judgments in. 


Now the first four angels sound their trumpets. 
The first trumpet is sounded...hail and fire mixed with blood is thrown down to the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees are burned up and all the grass is burned up. There are many ways that God can accomplish this, a nuclear accident, an asteroid hitting earth...we don't know how God will play out this judgment, but it will happen. This is God's judgment on the land.


The second trumpet is sounded...something like a blazing mountain is thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turns to blood, a third of the sea creatures are killed and a third of the ships are destroyed. This judgment can be caused by an enormous volcanic eruption, or a meteor crashing into the sea...once more, we don't know the mechanism God will use to carry out this judgment. This is God's judgment on the sea.


The third trumpet is sounded...A great burning star falls on the rivers and streams. This star is called Wormwood, because it poisons the waters. This contaminates a third of the world's fresh water. This is God's judgment on the fresh waters. 


The fourth trumpet is sounded...A third of the sun, moon and stars was darkened. This could be from atmospheric conditions blocking the light, or God could destroy them as easily as He created them. This is the judgment on the sky. 


Then an eagle flies by saying woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because the other three trumpets will soon sound. 

144,000 Sealed

In chapter seven, John's attention is once more on the heavens. This is happening between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals.
 ¹ After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ³ “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” ⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

 ⁵ From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
   from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
   from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
 ⁶ from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
   from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
   from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
 ⁷ from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
   from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
   from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
 ⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
   from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
   from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

 ⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:   “Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
 ¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:
   “Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
 ¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
 ¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”
   And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,
   “they are before the throne of God
   and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
   will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
   never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’^[a]
   nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
   will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’^[b]
   ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’^[c]”


John sees four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, much like compass points. They are holding back the four winds of the earth, which may represent devastation and calamity. 

³² This is what the LORD Almighty says:
   “Look! Disaster is spreading
   from nation to nation;
a mighty storm is rising
   from the ends of the earth.” Jeremiah 25:32
They are waiting until they receive permission to release the winds. While they wait, another angel from the east, that tells these angels not to release the wind until a seal is placed on the servants of God. This seal will protect God's people from the judgment to come. John hears that there are 144,000 believers to have the seal applied. This seal is the antithesis of the mark of the beast, which we will discuss in a later chapter. The 144,000 are said to be 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel. Most Bible scholars agree that this is not from the literal tribes of Israel, since most of ten tribes were destroyed throughout history. Also, the list of tribes that are to be sealed is not the same as the literal tribes of Israel. Ephraim and Dan have been left out and replaced by Joseph and Levi. 

¹³ I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry ¹⁴ in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ¹⁶If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
 ¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,¹⁸ do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
 ²² Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! Romans 11:13-24
John's attention is now drawn to the throne of God. He sees a huge crowd of people from every nationality and race. They are wearing white robes, which stands for purity, and are waving palm branches which are used as a symbol of rejoicing. They fell down in front of the throne, worshiping God. 
One of the elders asks John if he knows who they are and where did they come from. John tells the elder, sir you know. The elder then tells him that they have come out of the great tribulation. They have been purified because they believed in Jesus Christ, who with His death on the cross has made them worthy. They are before the throne, worshiping God, and they would never again suffer. They would not have to ever again experience what they went through on earth; hunger, thirst, heat or pain. Jesus will be their shepherd and give them living water, and they will never again experience death, mourning or pain.
 ⁸ he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
   from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
   from all the earth.
            The LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:8

The Opening of the Seals

In Revelation chapter six, we see Jesus, the one that is worthy to open the scroll, begin to break the seals. Until this time, John had been in heaven, writing about what he was seeing there. Now as the seals are broken, John's attention turns toward the earth where the judgments of the broken seals are being carried out.

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!” ² 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.
 ³ When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
 ⁵ 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.⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds^[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,^[b]and six pounds^[c] of barley for a day’s wages,^[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
 ⁷ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ 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.
 ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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?” ¹¹Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,^[e] were killed just as they had been.
 ¹² 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, ¹³ and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
 ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us^[f] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of their^[g] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”


The first four seals release the most well known sign, commonly known as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. When Jesus breaks the first seal, one of the living creatures around the throne says "come" beckoning the first horseman, the white horse. The rider of this horse had a bow and was given a crown of conquest. Since this rider does not carry any arrows, he may symbolize a person that will conquer using peace; The white horse represents peace. It is commonly thought that this rider represents the Antichrist, who will come to power by promising peace. After he is in power, he will reveal his true agenda which is world conquest. 
After this rider has been released, Jesus breaks the second seal. The second living creature beckons the second horseman. The red horse is revealed, he symbolizes war. He had a large sword, and was given the power to take peace from the earth. This seems to follow the idea that the first horseman was bent on conquest. After the Antichrist comes to power, he will instigate war with those that try to stand against him.
The third seal releases the black horse, who represents famine. This rider has a pair of scales in his hand. The living creature calls out:  “Two pounds^[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,^[b]and six pounds^[c] of barley for a day’s wages,^[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!”  This is to show the extent of the famine that will occur at this time. Basically a days wage for enough food for the day. The rider is also told not to damage the oil and wine. There will always be people that will get rich on others misfortune and have the money to have all the luxuries. 
The fourth seal will release the Pale horse named Death. It stands to reason that death would follow along behind the three preceding horses.  This rider had a companion named Hades followed behind him. They were given the power to kill one fourth of the earth by sword, famine, plague and wild beasts. They had only to follow the first three riders to fulfill their charge. 
Once the horsemen have been released, Jesus opens the fifth seal. John sees an altar in heaven, and under the altar all those that had been killed as martyrs for following Christ. They cry out, asking when will the inhabitants of the earth be judged for what they had done and when will their sacrifice be avenged. They are given the white robes of the martyr and told to wait for all the other martyrs that would be killed during the Tribulation period. God is just and merciful, He will not institute judgment until everyone is given a chance to turn to Him. 
When Jesus opens the sixth seal, there is a huge earthquake. This earthquake was so large that every mountain and island was moved. The sun turned black, the moon turned red and stars fell from the sky. 
³¹ The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. Joel 2:31
The peoples of the earth are terrified when this judgment occurs. They blame God for what is happening instead of repenting.