Apocalypse Rising: 16c The Sixth and Seventh Seals

The opening of the sixth seal

The events associated with the opening of the sixth seal are of a different nature to those of the previous five, and their description is given below in Table 16.3:

The sixth seal and its associated events

Sixth seal

6:12 – 7:17

There is a great earthquake.

The sun turns black (a solar eclipse), the full moon turns blood red (a lunar eclipse), and there is a meteor shower.

The sky recedes like a scroll, and the mountains and islands are removed from their place.

Everyone on earth runs to hide from the face of God and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the day of God’s wrath has come.

144,000 Jews are sealed, while four angels withhold judgement on the earth until they are sealed.

There is a great multitude of redeemed believers in heaven from every nation, tribe, people and language. They worship God, together with the angels.

Table 16.3 The sixth seal and its associated events

Is the sixth seal the same as the Second Advent?

Some commentators believe that the events associated with the sixth seal refer to the Second Advent, when Jesus returns to earth as conquering King. However, when we study this closely and make a comparison of these two things, then we can see that, although there are indeed some similarities, yet in fact there are some differences between them which are so significant that they really cannot be talking about the same event.

In Table 16.4 below, we can see these similarities and differences:

The sixth seal (6:12 – 7:17)

The Second Advent (various refs.)

A great earthquake (6:12)

Mountains and islands are removed from their place (6:14)

Preceded by the most severe earthquake ever to take place, during the seventh bowl of wrath (Rev. 16:18-20)

Islands are moved and mountains are levelled (Rev. 16:20)

A solar eclipse (6:12)

A blood-moon lunar eclipse (6:12)

A meteor shower falling like figs (6:13)

The sun and moon are both darkened, a meteor shower, and the heavenly bodies are shaken (Matt. 24:29)

The sky recedes like a scroll and heaven opens (6:14)

Heaven is opened (Rev. 19:11)

People on earth hide in caves and in the mountains, through fear (6:15)

The armies of the nations are gathered together at Ha Megiddo to resist the return of Christ to earth (Rev. 16:12-16, 19:19-21)

They acknowledge that the day of the wrath of the Lamb has come (6:16-17)

The second advent brings deliverance to Israel and the whole world from the rule of Antichrist (Rev. 19:19-21)

God is on his throne and the Lamb is in heaven (6:16, 7:17)

Jesus is the conquering King, returning to earth in glory (Rev. 19:11-16)

144,000 Jews are sealed on earth, before the judgment of the earth begins (7:1-8)

Israel and the Jewish remnant are delivered (Zech. ch.14)

A great multitude from every nation, standing before the throne and worshipping. They have come away from great tribulation (7:9-17).

The bride is returning with Christ, as the armies of heaven (Rev. 19:14)

The sixth seal leads into the opening of the seventh seal, and then into the trumpet judgements as fire is thrown upon the earth (8:1-6f).

The Lamb and the great multitude remain in heaven.

The second advent leads into the reign of Christ on earth in the millennium.

The King has descended to earth.

Table 16.4 Similarities and differences between the sixth seal and the Second Advent of Christ

So the fact that the opening of the sixth seal is not referring to the Second Advent, is highlighted by the following differences between them:

1. The earthquakes referred to are not necessarily the same one. Although there is a huge earthquake just prior to the Second Advent, yet great earthquakes are also part of the beginning of birth pains (Luke 21:11).

2. The heavenly signs which accompany them are different. Just prior to the Second Advent, the sun and moon are both darkened, suggesting a virtually total cosmic blackout. Then, at the Second Advent, Israel and the nations of the world are delivered out of the hand of Antichrist, after the worldwide judgements of the tribulation period.

Whereas in the sixth seal, there are eclipses of both the sun and moon (which of course cannot happen at the same time; they must be separate events). In Jewish tradition, a solar eclipse signified God’s coming judgement on Gentile nations in some measure, and a blood-moon eclipse signified God’s coming judgement on Israel. These judgements will both happen in the end-times ‘day of the Lord’ period after the rapture. This solar eclipse and blood-moon eclipse were prophesied by Joel:

‘The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.’ (Joel 2:31)

Furthermore, the description of meteors falling like figs from a fig-tree in the sixth seal is an allusion to Isaiah 34:4 whose context is God’s coming judgement on the nations. Similarly, the reference to people calling for the rocks and mountains to cover them alludes to Hosea 10:8 and Isaiah 2:19-21 which both refer to the coming day of the Lord.

3. In the sixth seal, everyone runs to hide in caves etc. on earth, whereas in the time of the Second Advent the kings of the earth and their armies are gathered at Ha Megiddo to fight against Christ after his descent to earth.

4. At the sixth seal, the day of God’s wrath is imminent, whereas at the Second Advent the time of God’s wrath has finished, and Israel and the nations of the world are delivered from the rule of Antichrist.

5. In the sixth seal, Jesus is seen as the Lamb in heaven, whereas in the Second Advent he is returning on a white horse as King and conqueror, together with the armies of heaven.

6. In the sixth seal, 144,000 Jews are sealed prior to judgement beginning on earth, whereas in the Second Advent, Israel and the believing Jewish remnant are delivered.

7. In the sixth seal, the great multitude is worshipping in heaven, having come away from great tribulation, whereas in the Second Advent, the armies of heaven are returning with Christ.

8. The sixth seal leads into the opening of the seventh seal and thereafter into the trumpet judgements on earth, whereas the Second Advent leads into the reign of Christ on earth in the millennium.

These differences would therefore forcibly suggest that the events associated with the opening of the sixth seal are not referring to the Second Advent of Christ.

The sixth seal and the rapture

After the opening of the sixth seal, two groups of people are described (Rev. ch.7). There is a group of 144,000 Jews who must be sealed before the time of judgement can begin on earth. They will evidently remain on earth and go through this time of judgement (7:1-4). And there is also a great innumerable multitude from every nation, people, tribe and language. These people are therefore predominantly Gentile believers who are in heaven (7:9-17). If it is correct to see the great multitude as being mainly Gentile (as they are clearly described to be), then it must be hermeneutically sound to see the other group as being literal ethnic Jews (as they too are clearly described to be).

Many people interpret this passage to mean that the innumerable crowd represents the bride of Christ which has been raptured and are therefore in heaven before the tribulation begins, while the 144,000 are Jewish believers who have been converted and anointed for their ministry during the time of the tribulation (and certainly in the first half of this period; see chapter 20).

According to this viewpoint, the words ‘seal’ and ‘sealed’ in Revelation 7:3-4 refer to conversion and being anointed with the Holy Spirit as the seal of God’s ownership, just as they do elsewhere in the Scriptures (cf. 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30).[1] Having been sealed by God, these 144,000 Jewish believers will then be protected from the judgement of God during the coming tribulation period (Rev. 7:3, 9:4), just as the righteous remnant in Jerusalem in Ezekiel’s time were marked on their foreheads and escaped the judgement of God which came in the time of the Babylonians:

‘Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.’ (Ezek. 9:3-6)

However, the Extreme Futurist interpretation sees the innumerable crowd as being the fruit of the ministry of the 144,000 during the period of the tribulation, and this is a natural consequence of their belief that the rapture occurred back in Revelation 4:1.

Furthermore, amillennialists, who do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, and who also do not see any redemptive significance for Israel and the Jews during the time of the tribulation, deny that the innumerable crowd represents raptured believers. Instead, they interpret the 144,000 in a metaphorical way as the body of Christ (which goes through the tribulation), and as being the same as the innumerable multitude (who are therefore being seen in heaven after the tribulation). And this is to put it very simply!

A key to understanding which of these views is correct lies in giving an accurate rendering of the underlying Greek phrase οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐρχόμενοι ἐκ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς μεγάλης in Revelation 7:14. The NIV translates this phrase as ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation…’ which therefore suggests that these people went through the tribulation (or at least part of it).

W.E. Vine advises us that the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) which is used in this verse can mean ‘out of,’ ‘from the midst of’ or simply ‘away from’ (so being virtually equivalent to the preposition ἀπò). The way in which this preposition is understood should be determined by the context in which it is used.[2] It is clearly used in the sense of ‘away from’ in 2 Corinthians 1:10, Acts 12:7 and Colossians 2:14. It is also used in some manuscripts as being equivalent to ἀπò in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 which says ‘…Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.’ Here it cannot mean ‘from the midst of’ or ‘out of’ because the wider context of 1 Thessalonians tells us clearly that believers will not go through the time of God’s wrath (cf. 1 Thess. 5:9). Jesus rescues us away from the wrath to come before it begins.

So it is therefore reasonable to translate the words of Revelation 7:14 as ‘these are they who have come away from the great tribulation,’ rather than as ‘these are they who have come out of the great tribulation.’ This would mean that the great multitude have been taken away from the coming tribulation before it begins, rather than being taken out of it at some stage after it has started (or going through it all).

This then makes it clear that these are two different groups of people in Revelation ch.7. The first group (144,000 ethnic Jews) are sealed and go through the tribulation, whereas the second group (an innumerable group of predominantly Gentile believers) are taken into heaven away from the period of tribulation before it begins.

This can only mean then that the innumerable crowd are believers who have been raptured before the time of God’s wrath begins, and this understanding makes it consistent with what 1 Thessalonians teaches, so supporting a pre-tribulation rapture viewpoint. As the bride of Christ, we come into heaven through the rapture, which happens during the time of the sixth seal, having been taken away from the coming period of tribulation before it begins.[3]

The list of Jewish tribes in Revelation ch.7

There are several examples in the Old Testament of a list of the tribes of Israel (e.g. see Gen. chs.29-30; Ex. ch.1; Num. chs.1-2; Ezek. ch.47). However, the list which is given in Revelation ch.7 is the only such list which seems to have no discernible reason as to its order. It seems to be jumbled up. Judah is placed first; Levi is included; Joseph is included (for Ephraim?) along with Manasseh, and Dan is excluded.

However, despite this, I believe that there is prophetic significance in both the names chosen and in the order in which they are given. Being twelve names, they represent the whole house of Israel, even though Dan and Ephraim are missing. As tradition required, only twelve names were allowed in such a list, even though there are fourteen names altogether (if we include Joseph together with his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh). What is important in this list of names is its hidden prophetic significance.

The key to understanding this list of names and its prophetic significance lies in the particular order of the names chosen and in their Hebrew meanings. As you can see below, this becomes a christocentric redemptive key which fits very well into the context of Revelation ch.7. I have given below the meanings of the names in the order in which they are listed:

Judah praise

Reuben behold, a son

Gad good fortune / troop

Asher happy

Naphtali struggle

Manasseh forget

Simeon one who hears

Levi attached, joined

Issachar reward

Zebulun honour

Joseph may he add

Benjamin the son of my right hand

So the meanings of these names in this order can be read in the following way as a prophetic exhortation:

Praise [be]!

Behold, [My] Son [whose] troop[s] [are] happy [their] struggle [to] forget.

[May the] one who hears [be] joined [to Him].

Reward [and] honour may he add [to] the Son of My right hand.

For me, this prophetic key adds weight to the understanding that these 144,000 people are literally ethnic Jewish people who have been redeemed, sealed and anointed for their role of bringing the gospel to Israel and indeed the rest of the world during the time of the tribulation. And this is in line with what I have said later on in this book regarding the significance of the redemption of the Jewish people during what is known as the first half of Daniel’s 70th week (see chapter 20). This prophetic key adds more completeness to this understanding of Israel’s end-time redemption.

The sixth seal and the rapture (ctd.)

It is my belief, therefore, that the sixth seal, among other things, is associated with the rapture of the bride of Christ. It represents several different events which happen over a period of time, rather than being just a single event, and the rapture happens during this period of time. However, we do not know how or whether or in what way the rapture relates to these other events of the sixth seal.

Hence, in the time of the sixth seal there are particular signs in the heavenly bodies. There is the sign of a great earthquake on earth (one of several mentioned in the book of Revelation). Heaven is visibly opened, and the inhabitants of the earth can see this powerful and glorious sight with their own eyes.[4] However, they respond with fear and terror, by running and hiding, because they intuitively understand that the time of God’s judgement and wrath on earth is imminent. God seals and anoints 144,000 ethnic Jewish believers for their ministry on earth during the coming period, and the predominantly Gentile bride of Christ is raptured into heaven away from the time of God’s wrath.

For me, this is to interpret the sixth seal in a way which is self-consistent with what it describes, and which is also consistent with the teaching about the rapture that was presented in the first part of this book.

So the understanding and interpretation of the first six seals that I have presented in this chapter means that they represent the period between Christ’s ascension and the rapture of the bride of Christ, which we often call the Church Age (and which began on the Day of Pentecost shortly after Christ’s ascension). This is shown in Figure 16.2 below:

Figure 16.2 The first six seals represent the period between the ascension of Christ and the rapture

The opening of the seventh seal

The seventh and final seal is opened, therefore, after the rapture of the bride of Christ, and the narrative shows how this then leads on immediately into the seven trumpet judgements (Rev. 8:1-6f).

As we can see from Table 16.5 on the next page, the description of the opening of the seventh seal is very simple. After it is opened, there is silence in heaven. This is the silence of anticipation, as everyone in heaven (both believers and angels) wait in awe-filled expectation of what is about to unfold on earth in the judgements of God. This silence perhaps alludes to the silence referred to by Habakkuk which preceded the judgements of God in his own day (Hab. 2:20).

This then leads into the blowing of the seven trumpets and their associated events, and these are dealt with in the next several chapters.

The opening of the seventh seal

Seventh seal

8:1-5

There is silence in heaven for half an hour.

LEADING INTO THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

Table 16.5 The opening of the seventh seal

Copyright Notice

[1] This sealing unto God contrasts with the mark of the Beast which will be forced on unbelievers during the Great Tribulation by the False Prophet (cf. Rev. 13:16-17; 14:1,9; see chapter 21).

[2] See Vine, W.E. Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.

[3] Post-tribulation amillennialists see the sixth seal as the Second Advent. So even they must accept that the rapture happens at the sixth seal, because they believe that the rapture is part of the Second Advent. So, whether you are a pre-tribulation premillennialist or a post-tribulation amillennialist, the rapture happens at the sixth seal in both scenarios.

[4] There are several references in Scripture to heaven being opened. This does not happen only at the Second Advent (see for example Ex. 24:9-10, Ezek. 1:1, Matt. 3:16 and Rev. 4:1). If Jesus is to step down from heaven to receive his bride at the rapture, then this implies that heaven must be opened at that time.

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16c The Sixth and Seventh Seals

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