The first six seals are broken…what does that mean?
They are clues about what happens at the end of the human age. Revelation closes with the earth destroyed and recreated, the devil is permanently deposited into the lake of fire along with all disobedient humans, and all obedient humans are in the paradise of God known as heaven. The breaking of the seals is the beginning of that “closing” process.
What’s important:
1. This began when Jesus (having already been offered as a sacrifice) entered the throne room and received the scroll. So it can’t refer to events that happened before that. Therefore, all the images represent something that happens AFTER Christ ascended into heaven.
2. This type of imagery was used by God in the Old Testament (Book of Daniel) and each part of the image represented kingdoms that lasted hundreds of years. Therefore, it isn’t a stretch to assume that every rider represents a period of time, not just a single event.
3. Some say the white rider would be the “Catholic Age”, but honestly we can only speculate as to what each rider represents.
4. By the time the 6th seal is broken their are people in heaven who have come out of the tribulation. So, by that time the tribulation has begun, and may be over. However, these people clothed in white (vs 11) are told to “wait a little longer until the full number… of martyrs has joined them. That means there are more Christians left on the earth at this time. This is interesting: while there are people in heaven who died during the tribulation, there are still people on earth who are Christians.
Why might that be important? It helps us understand that even when we see persecution, the battle isn’t over and we haven’t lost. Keep the faith, we will be victorious in the end. Secondly, it helps us form an opinion (later) about the rapture and the second coming of Christ.
Conclusion: from the time of Christ until the beginning of the end there will be times of war, famine, and difficulty for various reasons… that doesn’t mean God has forgotten us, or that He isn’t coming back. It’s all part of the plan. I have a second thought here: it also means that the end of time has begun. I don’t know exactly when Jesus opened the scroll after arriving in heaven, but I am going to assume that it was the day he went home. Maybe Rome was the first rider, and then each successive king was another. If that’s the case (without being a history scholar) I would say that we are almost certainly near the end (or at the end) of this part of the prophecy. Before ISIS I don’t know if I would have said the great tribulation had begun…but their behavior and description fits the tribulation very closely. Food for thought….what if we are closer than we ever considered possible?
Thinking,
PR
This isn’t the end…..there are still bowls and trumpets, and one more seal!