THE BOOK OF SEVEN SEALS
INTRODUCTION
The book of revelation has been a mystery throughout the centuries of time and has been a book of great controversy. It is a book of symbols and must be read with the understanding of the times in which it was written.
The nation of Israel lived surrounded by Greek culture and ruled by a pagan Roman government. They were permitted to practice their Jewish religion based upon the law given by God to Moses in their wilderness wanderings.
The word "Revelation" means to take the cover off. It is the uncovering or unveiling of the glory of Christ through past, present and future events.
Revelation was addressed to the churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 1:4:) named in chapters two and three. The book was written at a time when these churches were undergoing persecution and difficulty. The most important such periods was during the reign of Nero in A.D. 37-96.(1)
There are four views on the interpretation of the Book of Revelation:
1. The Preterist view: It places the events and visions described as belonging to the past, particularly to the Roman Empire of the first century A.D.. The proponents of this view explain the highly symbolic nature of the book as John's attempt to hide the real meaning of what he was saying from the general public. They also consider the main purpose of the book was to be an encouragement for believers regarding God's ultimate intervention in the affairs of men.
2. The historical view: Is the panoramic view of history from the first century A.D. to the second coming of Christ.
3. The symbolic view: maintaining that Revelation portrays the continuing conflict between the forces of good and evil throughout the span of human history.
4. The futuristic view: The belief that Revelation deals with end-time events.
My personal opinion concerning the book of Revelation is that all the above concepts are true in a measure. Many authors have taken pen in hand and proceeded to interpret the words written two thousand years ago by the Apostle John, and all agree it is a revelation of Jesus Christ.
It is not my intention to dispute other writings or to be dogmatic in my interpretation. I am approaching the book of Revelation in a historical sense and will reveal how each seal opened up a greater understanding of Jesus Christ and how creation is being changed as each consecutive seal is broken.
THE BOOK OF SEVEN SEALS
By Alyce McPherson
Rev. 5:12: And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?
To understand this statement we must understand the custom of legality in the day the Book of Revelation was written. The seal of each family was a mark of ownership and served as legal protection and guarantee in many ways, especially in relation to property. The seal belonged to the owner alone, and no one else had the right to it. If a will was written and sealed, it could be opened only in the event of the testator's death. In order to insure the will was opened legally, the testator many times removed the seal himself at the point of death.
According to Roman law, each legal document was sealed by the owner himself, and six witnesses had to affix their personal seal also. In order to be a legitimate witness, a person had to have a close relationship with the testator, and have first hand knowledge of their will and purpose in the disposition of his estate.
When the testator died, the will was opened and each of the six witnesses broke his own individual seal. Therefore, in order to be recognized as a legal document, the article had to have seven seals.
The book John saw, had seven seals, but no man in heaven, in earth, neither under the earth was able to open the book. Why? Because the book John saw, was the will and testament of God Himself. No man had the authority to execute the will of God! God Himself was the author and testator of the book and the seal could only be removed at the testator's death.
Rev. 5:4: And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon, and one of the elders saith unto me, "Weep not behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah; the root of David hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof."
When God looked and found no man worthy, He descended in the form of word and spirit into the realm of earth. The earth was the scene where His will would be enforced. He wrapped Himself in flesh and walked as a man . From the tribe of Judah He came, and offspring in His humanity from the seed line of David, and as a lion prevailed over the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life! God reproduced Himself and appeared in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ was the only begotten son of God. He was God in manifestation as Son. The Greek word for begotten means: He who has the issue of the father in his loins. He was the visible manifestation in earth of the invisible God.
Hebrews 1:1,3:
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
The prophet Malachi prophesied years before the coming of Christ that the SUN of righteousness would arise with healing in his wings. Jesus came declaring He was the light of the world. He further declared, "The Father and I are one."
The best example of this relationship is the light of the sun. There never was a sun without its brightness, and there never was brightness without the sun. The two are one and the same. There is no separation between the two. The sun is the source and the brightness is the manifestation.
Jesus walked as the brightness of the Father. They were one in purpose, thought and action. He became the manifestation of the word of God to man. He possessed all that was in the Father's house, he obtained ownership of that God is, and became the testator of the will and purpose of God.
His kingdom was not of this world however, and He gave Himself over to death that He might become the kinsman redeemer to mankind, and because of this kinship, man could fall heir to all that was contained in His will.
The testator died! The seal of ownership had been broken. His will could be read and enforced. Man could now draw upon their spiritual inheritance that had been sealed up and hidden in the book with seven seals.
Heb. 9:15,17: And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance, A testament is in force after men are dead otherwise it hath no strength at all while the testator liveth, for where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator, for a testament is of no effect while the testator liveth.
Who were the six witnesses that had placed their seals upon the book?
Isa. 11:1,2: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots; and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
These are all spiritual attributes that describe the character and ability of Jesus Christ. Notice there are seven spirits referred to in this scripture:
The Spirit of the Lord
with six characteristic attributes:
The spirit of Wisdom
The spirit of Counsel
The spirit of Understanding
The spirit of Knowledge
The spirit of Might and Power
The spirit of the Fear of the Lord
The Spirit of the Lord contains within itself, six attributes that reveal the light of God's character. These six spiritual attributes were the six witnesses that could testify in truth, to the divine will of God. No man was qualified to witness God except God Himself!
In the plan and purpose of God, there were seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials of wrath. Each seal was a revelation of Jesus Christ to mankind. Each seal of had it's own trumpet sound and a judgment that accompanied that particular era of divine disclosure.
THE FIRST SEAL
"The Spirit of the Lord"
Rev. 6:1,2:
And 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.
The horse during the time John saw the vision was considered to be a source of power in an age where there were no motor powered machines. Therefore, the horse in the vision represented a pure white power; this power was the seal of God Himself, and contained within this seal is the foundation, the beginning and the end of all the other six seals. Each witness attested to the authority contained within the first seal that was opened.
The rider was given a bow. The word bow does not represent a bow and arrow or a rainbow. In this scripture it is the Greek word Toxon , taken from a root word Teko meaning; To produce from seed, or bring forth as a mother.
With the thought of bow representing the production from seed, let us read a few scriptures:
In Gen. 49:23: Jacob is giving each of his twelve sons a prophecy concerning their future. The following is a portion of his son Joseph's prophecy:
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him and hated him, but his bow abode in strength, and the arm of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob; from thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel.
The word stone in the above scripture means seed! Jacob was the father of the nation of Israel composed of twelve tribes that had evolved from his twelve sons.. Jacob was saying that there would be a bow or seed that would abide in strength.
Jesus Christ was seed! He was the offspring of the spirit within. He was the first born, the only begotten son of God. The Greek word begotten means: He who has the issue or seed line of the Father in His loins. When He returned on the day of Pentecost, He returned to a waiting bride in the upper room, and through the union of Christ and the early church a man child was born.
Rev. 12:1: And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth and pained to be delivered.
Verse 5: And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God and to His throne.
The pure foundational word that Jesus declared to His Apostles was the man child that was birthed by woman or the early church, who was clothed with the sun (Christ), who was the light of the world, and the moon (fulfilled law) under her feet as a foundation. The sun is the source of all light upon the earth, and the moon has no natural light of it's own. It is merely a reflection of light from the sun.
The crown of twelve stars was symbolic of the Apostolic ministry of the twelve disciples who had their spirits impregnated with the word Jesus had ministered in the days of His flesh. A word that spoke of dominion and rulership.
The word or (man child) the early church birthed was caught up to throne room authority and became a crown of dominion , seated in the realm of Spirit, far above all principality and power. A realm containing no mixture or carnal interpretation.
In ancient thought the bow was typical of the world of the Gods and the world of men.(2) The rainbow appears for the first time in Gen. 9:13: and is used as a sign of the covenant between God and the earth.
In John's mind the bow he saw in the vision represented the covenant of God and the earth through a seed that was both son of God and son of man. Jesus walked as a man to conquer death, hell and the grave; and became the firstborn of a new creation. A new specie that had kinship with both heaven and earth, and through His resurrection produced a body of life. A body that was spiritual because it was not subject to sin and death, but also earthy in the respect that it could function in the realm of the visible.
Ephes. 1:9-11
Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: [10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: [11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: :
Ephes. 2:16:
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
He became the mediator between the eternal Spirit of God and the spirit of man.
He was the rider of the white horse and was given a bow or seed line blessing. He was also given a crown of dominion or kingdom , and as the word of God, He went forth conquering and to conquer.
When John the Baptist came as a voice crying in the wilderness of religious tradition; his resounding cry was, " Repent, change your way of thinking for the kingdom of God is at hand."
When Jesus came, his declaration was, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, it is not meat and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." This kingdom was to be found within man.
The kingdom of God is not a literal kingdom, but it is defined as a
realm within the spirit of man that is occupied by Jesus Christ, king of
king and lord of lords. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that
will never pass away. He has come and taken up his abode within
man, and sits as a constant reminder that He is risen, alive
forevermore and has the keys of death and hell.
THE FIRST TRUMPET
Rev. 8:7: The first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood. And they were cast upon the earth. And the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
The word hail in this scripture represents the word of God in the form of judgment.
The first trumpet sounded in the time of great transition. The Jews were still offering up sacrifices in the temple, striving to keep the law of Moses and looking for the Messiah to come and establish a kingdom in the earth
The prophets declared that the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ would shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Matthew 12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
The Gentiles were those who were not the descendants of Abraham. They were considered dogs in the eyes of the religious Jews and the nation of Israel. The Jews took great pride in the fact that Abraham was their father, and had received the law of God through Moses. They were the religious authority of the day, and were very judgmental toward anyone who was not related to Abraham by blood.
When the first trumpet sounded, a portion the word Jesus declared was, "Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
The nation of Israel had been taught for thousands of years that God had chosen them because they were the seed line of Abraham. The blessings of God was attained through a flesh and blood lineage. They were a nation of kings and priests. If a man's father was a king, then the son automatically became a king. If the father was a priest, then the son became a priest also and conducted religious rites in the temple.
The first trumpet sound began to judge the religious and civil authority of the day and declared the kingdom of heaven is at hand. A kingdom that would be established by faith in all men everywhere. This sound blinded the eyes of the religious leaders of that day.
John 9:39-41
And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
[40] And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? [41] Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Sin can best be described as missing the mark. The scripture tells us that all have sinned and missed the mark.
The law was a mark the nation of Israel attempted to meet in their worship of God. It was a law of commandments and ordinances based upon works. The Jews prided themselves upon the fact they kept the letter of the law, but when Jesus began to preach the kingdom of God, they were disturbed in their spirit to the extent they plotted against Him and were instrumental in crucifying Him.
Their sin was missing the mark. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. Jesus told Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again." The law given to Israel was spiritual, but when it came into contact with their carnality, it became a law of sin and death because they could not attain to its measure or mark. When Jesus became the law fulfilled, he met the mark and presented it to creation as the Law of the Spirit of Life!
The foundational word revealed to the early church brought forth a judgement in the earth. All things are subject to the highest law and authority. The word ministered began to expose and bring to light things that had been hidden under the shadow of the law which had no light of it's own, but a mere reflection of the reality in Christ, the light of the world.
The sound of the first trumpet and it's judgement was accompanied with fire. The nation of Israel was very familiar with fire. God led them by a pillar of fire in the wilderness, their sacrifices were offered by fire and their scripture declared God to be a consuming fire.
John the Baptist declared , "I indeed baptize you with water for the remission of sins, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, and He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and Fire."
On the day of Pentecost, the one hundred and twenty souls waiting in the upper room for Christ's return, received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and tongues of fire fell upon them.
The fire of the Spirit accompanies the word of God. Truth is revealed as truth when it stands in the face of lies and deceit. The fie of God purges and burns away all wood, hay and stubble until truth stands declaring itself in the absence of all it's accusers.
The judgement of Hail and fire began to cause Christianity to emerge from its Jewish womb, and the Gospel was taken through a great portion of the known world of the Roman empire.
The words and sayings of Jesus are collected , preserved .and New Testament writings are completed as the early church faced a major crisis in understanding how the new trumpet sound related to its Jewish roots. Much of the new Testament writings deal with the subject of coming out from under the law of sin and death and entering into the law of the spirit of Life in Christ Jesus..
A new generation of leaders succeeds the apostles, yet expectation still runs high that the Lord may return at any time and the end was near.
The Apostle Paul addressed this belief in:
2 Thes. 2:1,4:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worship
ed; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God
( We will reveal the son of perdition in the opening of another seal).
A third part of the trees were burnt up. To understand what trees represent here, we must understand what they meant to the mind two thousand years ago.
A grove of trees was considered a cultic site. Jer. 3:6.
For generations religious leaders and prophets had denounced the groves on Canaanite hills, which concealed cultic sites. A tree could also symbolize life and immortality. Example: The tree of life in the garden of God.
On the other hand a tree could represent a person or a group of people. When Jesus healed the blind man, he saw men as trees walking. Many have taught this was the only time Jesus failed in His attempt at healing and had to try again. The truth of the matter is, Jesus opened the spiritual eyes of the blind man first.
New churches at first usually began in homes and in Jewish synagogues around the empire and Christianity was seen at first as a part of Judaism
When the Roman government began to recognize a move of God in the earth founded upon Jesus Christ as being king of kings , and that the kingdoms of this world had become the kingdoms of Christ, the nation of Rome became threatened.
Many early ministries were martyred by pagan Rome and those faithful Christians who escaped death, ministered in secret under the cloak of great darkness. The price these great witnesses paid was not in vain, for many cultic sites were also uncovered and destroyed by the word of power ministered by the trees of righteousness.
The first trumpet sound brought forth a revelation that judged both the religious and governmental system of it's day. The sound of that revelation was mingled with blood as many early Christians of that day were martyred for the cause of Christ.
In Matthew 24, Jesus related to His disciples what to expect when the first seal was opened
Matthew 24:1,2:
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Matthew 24:3:
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 24:15,22:
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand" Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.
In 70 AD, the Jews began to revolt against the nation of Rome. They barricaded themselves behind the walls of Jerusalem with enough food and water to last fifteen years.The Christians who had ears to hear the words Jesus spoke had seen the Jewish revolt against the Romans coming and had fled to the mountains and relocated to Pella located in Jordan.
Titus, a Roman general surrounded the walls of Jerusalem and waited. .
Within the walls of Jerusalem, the different religious sects began to fight among themselves. As a result of this action they destroyed their food and water supply. Starvation forced many to eat their children in order to survive. Titus , marched into Jerusalem, razed the temple and tore it to the ground. Jesus' words were fulfilled. The temple was destroyed leaving not one stone upon another.
THE FIRST VIAL
Rev. 16:2:
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.
Who was the beast? What was his mark and what was his image?
THE BEAST OF REVELATION
Rev. 13:1:
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
The beast John saw rose from the sea (unregenerated multitudes of humanity), it had seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads represent the seven nations that had ruled over the nation of Israel from Its beginning as God's chosen people.
Those seven nations were:
Babylon
Egypt
Media
Persia
Syria
Greece
Rome
The ten horns represent the ten voices of influence of the seven nations.
There were only seven nations, but when Alexander the Great died, the nation of Greece was divided among his four generals thus making ten voices.
These ruling nations and their voice had influenced the nation of Israel to the extent they had become an adulterous generation of people. They left the worship of their one God and began to worship the gods of the nations around them. Temple worship at Jerusalem became a ritual performed by man, to the extent they did not know when the glory of God departed their tabernacle.
Rev. 12:
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Verse 2: The dragon gives the beast his power, seat and authority.
The dragon of course is Satan according to Rev. 12:9: But notice the dragon is red. The name Adam means RED. The nation of Israel socially, governmentally and religiously had become the fullness of the Adam nature at this time; the red dragon then represents the nation of Israel moving under the influence of Satan.
The dragon gave it's power, seat and authority to the beast, the nation ruling at that particular time, Rome.
What power, seat and authority? Israel as God's chosen people had been given the law and the ordinances of God. They were also promised a kingdom that would never end and an eternal priesthood. They gave away their inheritance when they rejected Jesus as being their king.
In St. John 19:15:
But they cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him." Pilate saith unto them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Thus they gave away their right to the promises of God, and gave the power, seat and authority to the beast or nation of Rome!
The nation of Rome was pagan in its worship at that time, and was a mighty ruling empire. It remained beast like, and martyred the early church without success for the early church could not be destroyed. One of pagan Rome's rulers named Constantine converted to Christianity, and joined the early church. Constantine brought many pagan teachings with him and what the Romans could not do through beast like violence, it accomplished through the guise of Christianity, The pure doctrine of Christ was caught up into a heavenly realm that could not be destroyed and the early church faded into the wilderness of Roman doctrine. Pagan Rome became Papal Rome!
The noisome and grievous sore fell upon the nation of Israel during the opening of the first seal. They had missed the day of their visitation, their temple had been destroyed and they had given their birthright and blessing to the nation of Rome.
TO BE CONTINUED
1. . The Hebrew- Greek key study Bible.
2. Kittel's theological dictionary of the new testament.