The 7 Seals: a Historical Approach

March 15, 2009 at 5:11 pm · Filed under Revelation Posts

“And 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. ” Rev. 6:2

The white horse symbolizes the Apostolic church, which, clothed with the pure Gospel, went forth to “conquer” and spread the truth over all the world.             The first symbol is a white horse, bearing a rider who carries a bow. A crown is given to him, and he goes forth conquering and to conquer, a fit emblem of the triumphs of the gospel in the first century of the Christian Era. The whiteness of the horse denotes the purity of faith in that age. The crown which was given to the rider, and his going forth as a conqueror to make still further conquests, signify the zeal and success with which the truth was promulgated by its earliest ministers. By what symbols could the work of Christianity better be represented when it went forth as an aggressive principle against the huge systems of error with which it had at first to contend? The rider upon this horse went forth–where? His commission was unlimited. The gospel was to all the world. {Dan. & the Rev. 425, 426 by Uriah Smith}                 

 

 …the Apostolic Church was blessed with a double portion of the Spirit.  The horse upon which it rode was white, representing the simple faith and trust of those who accepted the baptism of the Spirit in its purity…A crown denotes victory.  A crown was given to him that sat on the horse, and he went forth “conquering and to conquer.”  During the first century, it mattered not whether there was an appearance of defeat, or whether triumph was seen in in the healing of the sick, and the delivering of the tried and tempted.  The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth was health to the afflicted and life to the dead.  Victory was written upon every move of the disciples…Truly wonderful was the story of the Gospel during the first century, as it went forth “conquering and to conquer. {The Story of the Seer of Patmos 110, 111 by S.N. Haskell}

 

And 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. Rev. 6:4

The red horse symbolizes the church from the death of John through the rule of Constantine.  During this time, Christianity was persecuted by pagan Rome.  At this time, pagan and worldly influences began to corrupt the purity of the Apostalic church.             Perhaps the first feature noticed in these symbols is the contrast in the color of the horses. This doubtless has special significance. It the whiteness of the first horse denoted the purity of the gospel in the period which that symbol covers, the redness of the second horse would signify that in this period that original purity began to be corrupted. The mystery of iniquity already worked in Paul’s day, and the professed church of Christ was so far corrupted by this time as to require this change in the color of the symbol. Errors began to arise. Worldliness came in. The ecclesiastical power sought the alliance of the secular. Troubles and commotions were the result. {Dan. & the Rev. 426}          

Peace was taken from the earth: blood was shed upon the right hand and upon the left, and the saints were led as a lamb to the slaughter.  Nothing could more vividly describe this period than the ‘horse that was red: and power was given to him hat sat thereon to take peace from the earth.’  This carries us through the period known as the triumph of paganism, corresponding to the Smyrna church…Sad as it may seem, we find the church, which for years sacrificed its life for the sake of the Gospel, beginning to compromise the truth of God.  The church turned its eyes from Christ, and was allured by the world into strange paths. {Seer of Patmos 112, 114}

 

And 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. ⁶ And 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.  Rev. 6:5, 6

The black horse  represents an even more corrupt church, which attempts to control men’s consciences and is consumed by worldliness.  However, God makes sure that the oil and the wine–His grace and spirit working in the life– are not hurt to the point of destruction.             How rapidly the work of corruption progresses! What a contrast in color between this symbol and the first one: A black horse–the very opposite of white! A period of great darkness and moral corruption in the church must be denoted by this symbol. By the events of the second seal the way was fully opened for that state of things to be brought about which is here presented. The time that intervened between the reign of Constantine and the establishment of the papacy in A.D. 538 may be justly noted as the time when the darkest errors and the grossest superstitions sprang up in the church…It is seen by this how paganism was incorporated into Christianity, and how during this period the false system which resulted in the establishment of the papacy, rapidly rounded out its full outlines, and ripened into all its deplorable perfection of strength and stature…It will be observed that the voice limiting the amount of wheat for a penny, and saying, “Hurt not the oil and the wine,” is not spoken by anyone on earth, but comes from the midst of the four living creatures, signifying that although the undershepherds, the professed ministers of Christ, had no care for the flock, yet the Lord was not unmindful of them in this period of darkness. A voice comes from heaven. He takes care that the spirit of worldliness does not prevail to such a degree that Christianity should be entirely lost, or that the oil and the wine–graces of genuine piety–should perish from the earth. {Dan. & the Rev. 428-430}         

 

The church during the fourth and fifth centuries, began dictating to men what they should believe, and how they should worship.  This was the period when Christianity was replaced by the papacy, and man was exalted as vicegerent of God on earth. {Seer of Patmos 114, 115}

 

And 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.  Rev. 6:8

The last horse is a pale horse with a rider named Death.  This horse represents the spiritually dead reign of the papacy.  During this time, millions who resisted the papal system were slaughtered.               The color of this horse is remarkable. The original word denotes the “pale or yellowish color” that is seen in blighted or sickly plants. A strange state of things in the professed church must be denoted by this symbol. The rider of this horse is named Death, and Hell…followed with him. The mortality is so great during this period it would seem as if “the pale nations of the dead” had come upon the earth, and were following in the wake of this desolating power. The period during which this seal applies can hardly be mistaken. It must refer to the time in which the papacy bore its unrebuked, unrestrained, and persecuting rule, beginning about A.D. 538, and extending to the time when the Reformers began their work of exposing the corruptions of the papal system.   “Power was given unto them”–“him,” says the margin, that is, the power personified by Death on the pale horse, namely the papacy. By the fourth part of the earth is doubtless meant the territory over which this power had jurisdiction; and the words “sword,” “hunger,” “death” (that is, some infliction which causes death, as exposure or torture), and beasts of the earth, are figures denoting the means by which it has put to death millions of martyrs. {Dan. & the Rev. 431, 432}                   

 

The pale horse was an indication of still greater departure from the spirit of truth than the black one.  Thousands have been put to death by the sword, by starvation, and by wild beasts; and what is worse than killing the body, many more have suffered spiritual death because of the hiding of the Word of Life. {Seer of Patmos 116}

 

And 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: ¹⁰ And 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? ¹¹ And 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 fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Rev. 6:9-11

              Under the fifth seal the martyrs cry out for vengeance, and white robes are given to them. The questions that at once suggest themselves for solution are, Does this seal cover a period of time, and if so what period? Where is the altar under which these souls were seen? What are these souls, and what is their condition? What is meant by their cry for vengeance? What is meant by white robes being given to them? When do they rest for a little season, and what is signified by their brethren being killed as they were? To all these questions we believe satisfactory answers can be returned. It seems consistent that this seal, like all the others, should cover a period of time, and that the date of its application cannot be mistaken if the preceding seals have rightly located. Following the period of papal persecution, the time covered by this seal would begin when the Reformation began to undermine the papal fabrication, and restrain the persecuting power of the Roman Catholic Church.             The Altar.–This cannot denote any altar in heaven, as it is evidently the place where these victims had been slain–the altar of sacrifice. On this point, Adam Clarke says: “A symbolical vision was exhibited, in which he saw an altar; and under it the souls of these who had been slain for the word of God–martyred for their attachment to Christianity–are represented as being newly slain as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in heaven.”  A confirmation of this view is found in the fact that John is beholding scenes upon the earth. The souls are represented under the altar, just as victims slain upon it would pour out their blood beneath it, and fall by its side.             The White Robes.—These were given as a partial answer to their cry, “How long, O Lord, . . . dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood?” They had gone down to the grave in the most ignominious manner. Their lives had been misrepresented, their reputations tarnished, their names defamed, their motives maligned, and their graves covered with shame and reproach, as containing the dishonored dust of the most vile and despicable of characters. Thus the Church of Rome, which then molded the sentiment of the principal nations of the earth, spared no pains to make her victims an abhorrence to all people.        But the Protestant Reformation began its work. It began to be seen that the church was corrupt and disreputable, and those against whom it vented its rage were the good, the pure, and the true. The work went on among the most enlightened nations, the reputation of the church going down, and that of the martyrs coming up, until the corruptions of the papal abominations were fully exposed. Then that huge system of iniquity stood forth before the world in all its naked deformity, while the martyrs were vindicated from all the aspersions under which that persecuting church had sought to bury them. Then it was seen that they had suffered, not for being vile and criminal, but “for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.” Then their praises were sung, their virtues admired, their fortitude applauded, their names honored, and their memories cherished. White robes were thus given to every one of them.           The Little Season.–The cruel work of Roman Catholicism did not altogether cease, even after the work of the Protestant Reformation had become widespread and well established. Not a few terrible outbursts of hate and persecution were yet to be felt by the true church. Multitudes more were to be punished as heretics, and to join the great army of martyrs. The full vindication of their cause was to be delayed a little season. During this time Rome added hundreds of thousands to the vast throng whose blood she had already become guilty. But the spirit of persecution was finally restrained, the cause of the martyrs was vindicated, and the “little season” of the fifth seal came to a close. {Dan. & the Rev. 432, 433, 436, 437}             

God does not forget those who have suffered for His name, but their names are written in the Book of Life…The blood of Abel cried unto God, so the earth bears witness before Jehovah of every life which has been taken in His name…The whole creation suffers because of the curse which sin has brought; and in addition to these voices, which plead for the end of all things, the blood of the martyrs is heard by the sensitive ear of Jehovah.  When asked why there is such long-suffering on the part of God, John saw the white robes of Christ’s righteousness, prepared for every one who has given up life for the sake of the truth.  They have been despised, rejected, and killed by men; but on the record books of heaven, every sin is covered by the character of their Lord…To-day they are seen clothed in white robes; for the world, forgetting the crimes of which they were basely accused, assigns them a martyr’s crown. {Seer of Patmos 117-119}

And 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; ¹³ And 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. ¹⁴ And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵ And 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; ¹⁶ And 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: ¹⁷ For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?  Rev. 6:12-17

The earthquake spoken of here took place on November 1, 1755 and was the devastating earthquake of Lisbon.  The sun was darkened, and the moon was turned to blood on the dark day and night of May 19, 1780.  The stars fell from heaven in the amazing meteor shower of November 13, 1833.  Rev. 6:14-17 is referencing to events immediately before the second coming of Christ when the elements will be shaken; the wicked will try go flee God’s wrath; and the righteous will tremble.  We are presently living under the sixth seal, waiting for the final events to take place.  [See Dan. & the Rev. 437-451 and Seer of Patmos 119-126]

 

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.  Rev. 8:1

The seventh seal is the second coming of Christ to earth with God the Father and all the holy angels.  There is silence in heaven because no one is there.  This silence lasts about seven days while Christ and his redeemed children travel back to their new home.

The sixth seal does not bring us to the second advent of Christ, although it embraces events closely connected with that coming…The personal appearing of Christ must therefore be allotted to the next seal.      When the Lord appears, He comes with all the holy angels with Him.  (Matthew 25:31.)  When all the heavenly harpers leave the courts above to come to this earth with their divine Lord as He descends to gather the fruit of His redeeming work, will there not be silence in heaven?  The length of this period of silence, if we consider it prophetic time, would be about seven days.  {Dan. & Rev. 473}

 

The opening of the seventh seal is the ushering in of eternity… God’s dwelling place is the center of life and the scene of constant activity.  Music ever echoes from the vaults of heaven, and choruses composed of ten thousand times ten thousand of angel voices, sing the praises of the Lamb and of Him who sitteth on the throne.  When the little company on earth are prepared, the sealing angel speeds back to heaven with the message that the work is done.  Christ in the sanctuary above, lays aside His priestly robes, and the Lamb appears as the King of kings…Attended by myriads of angels, the Rulers of heaven and earth leave heaven empty, drawn earthward by the faithful ones whose hearts have become the abiding place of His eternal Spirit…This is the cause of the silence in heaven…Together, for seven successive days, they are traveling to their glorious home.  {Seer of Patmos 143, 144}

 

“It is true that there are prophecies yet to be fulfilled. But very erroneous work has been done again and again, and will continue to be done by those who seek to find new light in the prophecies, and who begin by turning away from the light that God has already given…The Lord does not lay upon those who have not had an experience in His work the burden of making a new exposition of those prophecies which He has, by His Holy Spirit, moved upon His chosen servants to explain.”  {2SM 111.3}

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