After the Lamb of God takes the scroll that is sealed with seven seals, the events of the seven years of tribulation begin to be revealed. The events of the seven-year tribulation are broken into two sections of three and a half years. These two periods of time are 42 months each or 1,260 days or “a time and times and half a time.”
The tribulation begins with the opening of the seven seals.
- First Seal – the white horse and its rider the antichrist appears, 6:1-2
- Second Seal — with the red horse peace is taken from the earth and wars and rumors of wars, 6:3, 4.
- Third Seal — the black horse brings famine upon the whole earth, 6:5, 6.
- Fourth Seal — As the pale horse is released, death and hell follow. One fourth of the earth’s population is killed with sword, hunger, death, and the beasts of the earth, 6:7, 8.
- Fifth seal — reveals the souls of those who are martyred for their faith under the altar, 6:9–11.
- Sixth seal — the wrath of the Lamb of God is revealed and there is a great earthquake, the sun is darkened, the moon will be turned red like blood, stars will fall and stop shining, and every mountain and island will be moved, 6:12–17.
- a. At the end of the sixth seal, the winds will stop blowing and 144,000 of Israel will be sealed 7:1–8.
- b. Then a great multitude of people are resurrected who have gone through the first half of the tribulation, 7:9–17.
- Seventh seal — there is silence in heaven for thirty minutes, 8:1.
When the seventh seal is opened, seven angels are presented with seven trumpets.
- First Trumpet – ⅓ of the trees and vegetation is destroyed, famine will increase, hail and fire mingled with blood will be cast upon the earth, 8:7.
- Second Trumpet — a burning mountain will be cast into the sea and ⅓ of the sea will be turned into blood and ⅓ of everything in the sea will die, 8:8-9.
- Third trumpet — a star falls from heaven and ⅓ of all fresh water is made bitter and many people will die, 8:10-11.
- Fourth trumpet — ⅓ of the sun, moon and stars will be darkened in day and night, 8:12.
- Fifth trumpet – demon locust will be released from the bottomless pit to hurt and torment those on earth, 8:3-9:12.
- At the conclusion of the events of the fifth trumpet an announcement is made that the first woe is past and two more woes are coming, 9:12.
(Note: the first woe begins with the opening of the seventh seal and involves the events of the first five trumpet judgments. The sixth and seventh trumpets bring the next two woes.)
- Sixth trumpet — ⅓ of population will be killed by three plagues, 9:13-21.
- Seventh trumpet — voices are heard in heaven declaring the dominion of Christ and His reign, and Satan is cast out of heaven to the earth, 11:15-18.
The events that occur with the seven seals and the seven trumpets comprise the first half of the tribulation, (Revelation 6-10).
- The last half of the seven years is called the great tribulation and it begins with the sound of the seventh trumpet and outpouring of the seven vials (Revelation11:15-19:21).
It is important to remember that the control of all things is in God’s hand.
When the Lamb of God takes the scroll from the hand of the Father Who sits on the throne, the announcement is made throughout heaven that He is worthy to open the seals. The redeemed by the blood of the Lamb from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation are worshipping around the throne when this happens.
The First Seal — The White Horse and His Rider (The Antichrist)
Revelation 6:1 NKJV Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”
As the Lamb of God opens the first seal, one of the cherubim from the midst of the throne says, “Come and see.” John is brought near to see.
Revelation 6:2 NKJV And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
This is the first view of the antichrist in Revelation. He has been discussed in several other Biblical prophecies, (Daniel 7:8, 23, 26; 8:8-10, 20-25; 11:35-45; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 13:1-18; 17:10-16). He arrives on the scene in a deceptive manner riding a white horse. Due to his deceptive appearance, many on earth will think that he is the prince of peace and the hope of the world. He comes with promises of peace and resolution to social, political and economical problems. He has no real intention of bringing peace. A closer look shows him with a bow and a crown and he goes out conquering and to conquer. The company he appears with shows that he is the antichrist. In several texts, we are told that the spirit of antichrist is already secretly working, (2 Thessalonians 2:5-8, 1 John 2:18; 1 John 4:3; Matt. 24:5, 24; 1 John 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7). Once the redeemed are removed from the earth, the lawless one (antichrist) will be revealed.
His appearing is after the working of Satan.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 NKJV And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
When the antichrist appears, he will present promises of peace and world order during a time of conflict and confusion. It helps us to understand what is happening on the earth if we remember the host of the redeemed have been raptured or caught away.
When that happens wickedness and lawlessness will abound. The deceptive and lying wonders of the antichrist will shortly prove that he is not the Christ. In Revelation 19:11-21, the Lord Jesus Christ appears on a white horse. The antichrist carries a bow and he goes out to conquer.
Second Seal — with the red horse peace is taken from the earth and wars and rumors of wars, 6:3, 4.
Revelation 6:3-4 NKJV When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
The peace that was promised by the white horse rider ends at the opening of the second seal. This rider has a great sword to take peace from the earth. This is the way that Satan always works. His promises never come true. He is a liar and has been from the beginning. He will cry, “Peace, peace,” but there will be no peace. Destruction will come upon the whole earth. In Matthew 24:6-7, Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars. The spirit of the antichrist will quickly bring about wars unlike anything the world has experienced. When the second seal is opened, “peace will be taken from the earth, and people will kill one another.” There is no designation given as to how many will die when unrestrained evil affects mankind.
Third Seal — the black horse brings famine upon the whole earth, 6:5, 6.
Revelation 6:5 NKJV When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
Revelation 6:6 NIV84 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
John heard a voice from the midst of the four living creatures. This no doubt is the voice of God as He brings judgment on the wicked on earth. After the severe wars of the second seal, famine becomes so severe that bread or grain is measured out in daily rations. Throughout history different parts of the world have experienced famine and shortage, but this will impact the whole world. The famine and shortage will become so great that it will take a day’s wages to buy enough grain for the food for a day. The famine will be accompanied by starvation and death.
Fourth Seal — As the pale horse is released, death and hell follow, 6:7, 8.
Revelation 6:7-8 NKJV When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
The pale horse rider is named “Death” and “Hell” follows him. Remember the church has been caught away and the message of hope, grace and mercy is missing. When the pale horse appears ¼ of the population will be killed with sword, hunger, death, and the beasts of the earth. It is estimated that the world’s population in 2022 is eight billion people. They will die from war, hunger and famine, and the beasts of the earth. It appears that the animal kingdom will turn on mankind. All life on earth will be impacted.
There does not appear to be a time lapse from the opening of the first seal through the fourth seal. These first four seals appear to be one unit and describe unprecedented trouble, (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21-22).
Fifth seal — reveals the souls of those who are martyred for their faith under the altar, 6:9–11.
Revelation 6:9-11 NKJV When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
The first four seals reveal the upheaval and suffering that accompany the works of the antichrist. In the midst of all of that, the Holy Spirit will be convicting people of sin, and some will be saved only to be martyred for their faith in Christ. When the fifth seal is opened, John sees the souls of those who have died for their faith under the altar. They are crying for the Lord to judge and avenge their deaths. Each of them is given a white robe and informed that the Tribulation is not over and others must die.
Sixth seal — the wrath of the Lamb of God is revealed, 6:12–17.
The events of the sixth seal were prophesied by Christ and several in the Old Testament, (Matthew 24:29; Isaiah 13:10, 34:4; Zephaniah 1:15).
Revelation 6:12-14 NKJV I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
When the wrath of the Lamb begins to be poured out upon the earth, the whole universe begins experiencing dramatic changes. It appears that the whole earth experiences an earthquake. The force of the earthquake will shake the souls of mankind. After or in conjunction with the earthquake, the sun will become black and the moon will become like blood and stars will fall to earth like figs shaken in the wind. These events are not the customary earthquakes, eclipses, or blood moons that appear randomly. These are the result of the dramatic wrath of the Lamb. When the sun, moon and stars experience these dramatic changes, the earth and everyone remaining on the earth will be shaken.
Revelation 6:15-17 NKJV And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The events that John is seeing are literal changes in the heavens and on earth. Men’s hearts will fail, melt, and be afraid of the day of the Lord’s wrath when He punishes the world for its evil, (Isaiah 13:6-11).
At the end of the sixth seal, the winds will stop blowing and 144,000 of Israel will be sealed 7:1–8.
Revelation 7:1 NKJV After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
This is a continuation of the events of the sixth seal. After the universe experiences dramatic changes, the wind stops blowing on the earth. These four angels are sent to execute judgments from every direction to harm the earth and the sea. Just before they do, another angel comes on the scene from the east.
Revelation 7:2-4 NKJV Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
The seal on their foreheads represents protection and ownership and God’s protection over those of the 12 tribes of Israel. 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes are sealed and protected. The 144,000 are not the church, but are literal Israel. After they are sealed, John’s attention is turned back to heaven.
John sees a great multitude of people before the throne, 7:9–17.
Revelation 7:9 NKJV After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
This multitude before the throne is not the 144,000 from Israel. They are people from every nation, tribe, people and language clothed with white robes and palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 7:10 NKJV and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
They are worshipping because they have been saved. When they do this, watch what happens around the throne.
Revelation 7:11 NKJV All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
We have already learned that elders represent the raptured church. The four living creatures are the cherubim around the throne. When they see this new group worshipping, they fall on their faces and worship God.
Revelation 7:12-14 NKJV saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
This multitude of people have gone through the first half of the tribulation and have been martyred. They are no longer souls under the altar, but have been resurrected and are given a place in heaven.
Revelation 7:15-17 NKJV 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 dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Seventh seal — there is silence in heaven for thirty minutes, 8:1.
Revelation 8:1 NKJV When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
The seventh seal is a prelude to the seven trumpets. The seven trumpets are included under the seventh seal and the seven bowls are included under the seventh trumpet. The seventh seal includes events from Revelation 8 through Revelation 19:10.
