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Hello all,

Continuing my look into the 7 Seals I am running across some very interesting commentaries on the relationship between the Churches and the Seals. I firmly believe the Seals are for the Church Age, where Judgment begins with the House of God. Most see the White Horse of the first seal as the Antichrist...to me this is not possible, and I have covered the reasons why in great detail in my post about this subject. Yet there is one more reason that stands out as important that I want to mention here.

The First Horse cannot be the Antichrist! As the Bible plainly tells us, he comes out of the Bottomless pit! The Bible never tells us that Antichrist will come out of Heaven.

The antichrist spirit raises out of the Sea...millions upon millions of people...a consensus of spirit and the witchcraft religion.

The "church" that John sees in the small book...that book which tasted sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach, That "church" that started out with so much promise so full of the Holy Spirit and in the end is dead.

The following article shows the first horse as the Pure Church who had received the Holy Spirit and preached the Gospel with power. I still believe the first Horseman is the Holy Spirit, but this commentary is saying close to the same thing. The Church is given the Holy Spirit to become overcomers.

Another interesting detail I have run into time and again is about the events of the six seal. Many scholars see some of these events as already having taken place in the 1700's, and use the same examples to show this is so. If that is the case, then it is even later than we think!! This commentary discusses these events briefly, but they are interesting to look into on one's own.

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THE CHURCHES AND THE SEALS

Commentary

1And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

2And 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.


6:1-2 The Vision of the Seven Seals

The seven seals repeat the same history as the seven churches, but with a different emphasis. In chapters 8-11 we will see how the seven trumpets cover the same basic time-line but with its own distinctive focus.

The first four seals are widely known as the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” In Revelation the horse is an animal associated with war. See Revelation 19:11, 19. The four horsemen represent the churches as they go forth to battle their enemies. The colors of the horses (white, red, black, and pale) indicate a change from purity to apostasy.

The 1st Seal: A White horse: The Pure Church

White represents purity and righteousness. Revelation 7:14; 19:8; Isaiah 1:18. The pure white church went out “conquering and to conquer.” During this time the Gospel spread like wild fire. Paul said that the Gospel “was preached to every creature which is under heaven” (Colossians 1:23), and his opponents said that they had, “turned the world upside down.” Acts 17:6. The white horse is the apostolic church going forth victoriously under the banner of Prince Jesus.

3And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

4And 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.

6:3-4 The 2nd Seal: A Red Horse: The Persecuting Church. Red is the color of sin (Isaiah 1:18), the dragon (Revelation 12:3) and bloodshed (2 Kings 3:22-23). When the faith and devotion of the Church became corrupted it lost the power of God to carry the Gospel forward in victory. It then began using the power of the state, uniting with the dragon (Pagan Rome in the form of the Emperor Constantine) to persecute dissenters. The phrase “kill one another” suggests internal controversy, discord and strife.

5And 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.
6And 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.

6:5-6 The 3rd Seal: A Black Horse: The Corrupt Church. Black is the color of darkness and error. The “balances” used for measuring “wheat” and “barley” are a symbol of the buying and selling of the Gospel, salvation and forgiveness. The “wheat” and “barley” was 8-16 times more expensive than normal indicating scarcity and famine. The Church, during this time, entered a period of great moral and doctrinal error, substituting pagan beliefs and practices for the truths of God’s Word, and merchandising the Gospel.

Thus they caused a scarcity of the bread of life. God decreed, “Hurt not the oil and the wine,” which symbolize the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:3, 6) and the blood of Jesus (Matthew 26:26-29). Even though the Church was in great darkness, God preserved a people with the true Gospel of salvation.

7And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

8And 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.

6:7-8 The 4th Seal: A Pale Horse: The Dead Church. This pale horse is the color of nausea and death. The Church that should have been pointing the way to eternal life was instead spreading death. “And Hell [the grave] followed with him.” The spiritual “Death” that spread across Christendom was accompanied by a moral and intellectual paralysis. The Holy Scriptures were forbidden to the people; nobles, commoners and clergy alike were largely ignorant of the great truths they contain. For centuries the Christian world made no progress in science, arts or civilization. Millions lived miserable lives of ignorance and squalor.

Ezekiel 14:21 lists war, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts as judgments on apostasy from God. Whenever, the Church takes up the sword to coerce the conscience, a famine of God’s Word results. Pure Bible truth is replaced with the pestilence of heresy, opening the way for persecutors (wild beasts) to punish and chastise the Church, and multitudes perish.

9And 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:

10And 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?

11And 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 fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

6:9-11 The 5th Seal: The Martyred Church. “Under the altar the souls…slain for the word of God.” Apocalyptic language teaches lessons and truths in pictures or symbols. God does not keep literal souls under a literal alter in heaven. During the middle ages, the Papal system had millions of people put to death because they would not renounce Bible truth. Here is pictured, in symbolic language, the many martyrs of all ages whose blood, like the blood of Abel (Genesis 4:8-10), cries out to God for justice and a vindication of the truths for which they died. The Bible teaches that the dead in Christ rise and put on immortality when He returns. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.

12And 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;

13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

6:12-13 The 6th Seal: The End-Time Church, Mid 1700s

6:12-13 The 6th Seal: The End-Time Church, Mid 1700s-The Second Coming of Christ. This seal corresponds to the time of both the church of Philadelphia and the church of Laodicea. Under the sixth seal the language shifts from symbolic horses and souls to literal signs and disasters. The prophecy says “there was a great earthquake,” “the sun became black as sackcloth,” “the moon became as blood,” and “the stars of heaven fell.” These signs have all received a striking and impassive fulfillment.

On November 1, 1755, Lisbon, Portugal was the center of a tremendous earthquake. Its effects were felt over an area of 4 million square miles. On May 19, 1780 beginning around 9:00 AM. heavy black clouds blotted out the sun drawing the dark of night over New England. That night, when the darkness finally lessened and the moon appeared, it had the appearance of blood. November 13, 1833, brought the most extensive display of falling stars which has ever been recorded. These are the same signs that Jesus gave to let us know when His coming would be near. Matthew 24:29-30.

14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15And 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;

16And 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:

17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

6:14-17 The rest of the sixth seal is yet future and describes events that occur when Jesus returns. The heavens will be rolled back “as a scroll,” and the earth will be in a state of violent upheaval. Those who are ready to meet Jesus will joyfully exclaim “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him and He will save us.” Isaiah 25:9. But what a sad day for those who have rejected Jesus as King they will beg for the mountains to fall on them and hide them from his face.

In these precious hours while time yet remains, we can still make peace with God through Jesus Christ who loves us. To those who repent, He extends forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9); for those who persist in evil, He dispenses punishment in the lake of fire and the second death. Revelation 20:14-15. Which destination will you choose? Make Jesus your personal Friend and Savior and you will have nothing to fear.

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We are getting so close to His Second Coming…we are in Tribulation and it will continue to increase the closer we get to His return. The seals have been opening throughout history, and they have been what the overcomers are to overcome in order to stand until the end. The Revelation is about Jesus from His ascension to His Second Coming…surely the sending of the Holy Spirit was of MAJOR IMPORTANCE, and was celebrated in Heaven as it was poured out to those on earth.

Spiritual deception has been in this world since the Fall...Jesus is RECLAIMING THE DEED, He is taking it back. Jesus and the Holy Spirit is the ONLY WAY to make it through War, Famine, Hell and Death….Jesus sent us the TRUTH (His Spirit) as the only way to overcome the deceptions of this world.

JESUS IS TAKING BACK SPIRITUAL DISCEPTION ...sending the Holy Spirit so that we could stand against War...the War of Spirit and Flesh. Famine...of the Word of Spirit...and the Body of Christ weakens from lack of the truth and the Spiritual Diseases...the indwelling of evil for those who have rejected God, that Brings Death and Hell.

Something else about these seals, they are something that happens on an individual basis to each born again believer. We accept Jesus and are born again by His Spirit and then we face the War of the flesh and spiritual wickedness in high places. We face the famine of the true Word in our churches, and the overcoming of hell and death. This is not just about the end times and the coming Antichrist…this is oh so much bigger than just that. Amen!!

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

After thought….

I just want to add this concept to this post. We know that Jesus is the alpha and the omega…the beginning and the end. Certainly we can see this in regards to the Age of Grace; the Church Age. The Church Age began with the sending of the Holy Spirit and will end at His Second Coming. As I see the Church Age beginning at the first Seal with the sending of the Holy Spirit, as the rider on the First White horse, I see it ending at His Second Coming as Christ on a White horse.

There is absolutely no reason for Jesus to send the antichrist or deception into the world…it was already there!! The Antichrist is not sent from heaven riding a white horse…he ascends out of the bottomless pit. We give too much credence to the Antichrist and the end times to think that all these events are just going to occur when the Church is taken out of the world. It is just the opposite…this is the story of the events the church faces while in this world.

Jesus is first and last…He gave His body and blood so that we could live, and He sent His Holy Spirit so that we could overcome the world. The first and last white horses are all about Him, the first His Spirit and the last His Second Coming. Without the Holy Spirit there would be no Church or Bride to come back for.

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

Bump