The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Revelation Chapters 4 through 7

We have just completed "seeing" what is happening on EARTH and in the seven churches on the day of Lord, the first day of the Millennium, a time even yet future.

Now we are going to "see" what is happening in HEAVEN at that same time. We are going to actually see the throne of Almighty God and what is transpiring beyond the veil that separates the two dimensions, flesh and spirit, "behind the scenes" so to speak.

John will be describing as best he can the things which he sees, once again painting a PICTURE in our minds using symbols and vivid imagery.

What a privilege and an honor it must have been for this one, John, to be used as the instrument who would see and record for his fellow servants the "things that must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1).

Rev. 4:1
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

So here it is, an Open Door in Heaven. Let us put our "ears" on and open our "eyes" and enter in with our brother John.

Notice that the first voice John hears in heaven was the same first voice he heard on earth, as of a trumpet, which, by the way, even in the Old Testament is connected with War and the Day of the Lord (Zeph 1:14-16). Here is a reminder of what John heard on earth:

Rev. 1:10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Rev. 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

[3] And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Now also visualize in your mind's eye a beautiful rainbow glowing about the throne with its magnificent prisms of light beaming forth. You are "seeing" the "shekinah glory" of Almighty God.

Got the PICTURE so far? Now keep this scene in your mind as we read about another servant of God who ALSO SAW His throne, when God Himself paid Ezekiel a visit in His vehicle, with His throne aboard (read the entirety of Chapter 1 of Ezekiel). Live Link to- Ezekiel chapter 1 

Ezekiel 1:26-28
And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

[27] And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

[28] As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Remember when we started studying this great Book of the Unveiling that we discussed how easy it is to understand if you have read the rest of the Bible before you read the last chapters? Can you begin to see why with this example?

Now to the stones. Did you know that there were Twelve Stones, gems, in the breastplate of the Levitical Priests, each one each representing one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel? The jasper and the sardine (sardius) stone are the last and the first stones in the breastplate, respectively. So we see the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, once again.

These two stones, the jasper and the sardine, also represent Benjamin and Reuben. It is interesting that the younger is put before the elder once again, as we see so many times in scripture.

Below are the names of the stones, as they appear in the Authorized and Revised Version and as marginal readings: (Exod. 28)

(1) Sardius (marg. Ruby)
(2) Topaz
(3) Carbuncle
(4) Emerald
(5) Sapphire
(6) Diamond (marg. R.V. Sardonyx)
(7) Ligure
(8) Agate
(9) Amethyst
(10) Beryl (marg. R.V. Chalcedony)
(11) Onyx (marg. R.V. Beryl)
(12) Jasper

[4] And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Who are they? Well, John doesn't exactly tell us, but if we've read the rest of the Book, and in as much as the gemstones in the breastplate, representing the 12 Tribes, are mentioned, then we are left to conclude that 12 of them are the 12 Patriarchs of the Old Testament. The other 12 would most likely be the 12 Apostles of the New Testament, the founding pillars of the NT Church. The number "12" in Biblical numerics represents "Governmental Perfection" (see appendix 10 of the Companion Bible).

So all the board members are present and accounted for.

[5] And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

The seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God. They will be mentioned again, even individually, at which time we'll learn what they are and discuss them in greater detail.

[6] And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

Uh, oh! Four beasts with lots of eyeballs all over them! Good grief! Everything was looking so good and beautiful and even made a lot of sense. So, where'd the monsters come from?

Actually, this is an example of how the Biblically illiterate think, which unfortunately includes many of those ministers whom Christ warned would come in His name and deceive many. That should come as no surprise! You've read about the seven churches, so you know they've infested five of them with their deception, false teachings, and ignorance.

Therefore, next we will learn who these beautiful "living beings" are who reside at the very throne of our Father. We will also learn that they are described elsewhere in God's Word and that their appearance is so familiar to a student of the Word that sometimes they forget how aghast the unlearned become when they read without foundation.

Please stick around. It's a fantastic trip into the heavens. He who gave us the key of David has left the portal into the other dimension wide open for us.

While exiled on the Isle of Patmos for preaching the Word of God, John was transported through time, in the spirit, to the Lord's Day, the first day of the Millennium, a time yet future but very near. After seeing and recording what Jesus Christ had to say to the seven churches here on earth, he was then taken to heaven to see for us what was happening there.

So John has been describing heaven for us, the very throne of God Almighty, with what looked like a sea of glass before it and the "shekinah glory", the beautiful multi-colored flashing rainbow surrounding it. There were 24 elders seated around the throne and John had just begun to tell us about the four living beings present at His throne.

Let's review verse six:

Rev. 4:6
And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

And once again, there is nothing really new described here by John, for we have record of these entities elsewhere in God's Word. Their first mentioned way back in the Book of Genesis, for these "zoa" are the cherubim of Genesis 3:24 that were placed at the east of the garden of Eden to prevent access to the "Tree of Life", i.e. they were guards whose purpose was to protect.

Genesis 3:24
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Rev. 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

Let's read one more verse describing the "zoon".

[8] And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

The phrases "full of eyes before and behind" and "full of eyes within" come from a figure of speech which has lost its meaning in the translation from Greek into English. It simply means that they looked all around, a thing which guards do. It is much the same as the "flaming sword which turned every way" in Genesis 3.

We've discussed figures of speech in previous studies. In English, for example, when a person dies we might say "he kicked the bucket". That is a figure of speech that has nothing to do with buckets. It means he died. But such is not a figure of speech in French. So if we translate "kicked the bucket" into French, the Frenchman would never think of death (except dying while trying to figure out why some poor Christian would be kicking buckets around).

Now let's go back in time about 2500 years (2 1/2 days as God reckons time) to the prophet Ezekiel. God Himself visited Ezekiel. That's right! God came to Ezekiel in a vehicle escorted by four other vehicles. Ezekiel describes these vehicles as "flying wheels" that looked like "highly polished spectrum metal".  And guess what? Aboard the mother ship was the throne of God and He who sits thereupon. Here's part of Ezekiel's account:

Ezekiel 1:4
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Here's how the Living Bible translates this verse:

Ezekiel 1:4  I saw, in this vision, a great storm coming towards me from the north, driving before it a huge cloud glowing with fire, with a mass of fire inside that flashed continually; and in the fire there was something that shone like polished brass. (Living Bible)

Ezekiel 1:5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

[6] And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

[7] And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

[8] And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

[9] Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

Ezekiel 1:14 The living beings darted to and fro swift as lightning. [15] As I stared at all this, I saw four wheels on the ground beneath them, one wheel belonging to each. [16] The wheels looked like they were made of polished amber and each wheel was constructed with a second wheel crosswise inside. [17] They could go in any of four directions without having to face around. [18] The four wheels had rims and spokes, and the rims were filled with eyes around their edges. [19, 20, 21] When the four living beings flew forward, the wheels moved forward with them. When they flew upwards, the wheels went up too. When the living beings stopped, the wheels stopped. For the spirit of the four living beings was in the wheels; so wherever their spirit went, the wheels and the living beings went there too. (Living Bible)

And now here is a more detailed description of the four living beings Ezekiel saw, way before John saw them in Revelation.

Rev. 4:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

Let's now go back even farther in the Word, to the Book of Numbers, chapter 2, and understand what these symbols are. If you are fortunate to have a Companion Bible, on page 181 you will find a diagram of the encampment of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness of Sinai. Each of the Twelve Tribes had its own standard, i.e. flag, which went before them.

Look! The standard of Judah is the lion, the standard of Reuben is a man, the standard of Ephraim is the bull, ox, and the standard of Dan is the eagle.

The encampment from the Book of Numbers:

                                                      (N)

                                     DAN
                                (Eagle)
 
 

(W)      EPHRAIM                                JUDAH      (E)
         (Taurus)                                    (Lion)
 
 

                                   REUBEN
                                    (a Man)

                                        (S)

[9] And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

[10] The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

[11] Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Have you hugged you Father today?

Did you ever wonder what heaven looked like? We've been shown so many fluffy clouds with angels in white flowing gowns strumming golden harps that it's hard sometimes to get that picture out of our minds. You might say our minds have been "clouded" by the traditions of men.

But John, who writes from first hand experience having BEEN THERE in spirit, has just described a magnificent palatial chamber with a floor resembling a sea of glass like crystal before the very throne of Almighty God, in heaven. The brilliance of the "shekinah glory", as the beautiful prisms of light from the rainbow around the throne flash as lightning, is a sight to behold. Standing guard at the throne there are four mighty cherubs, zoon, with the likeness of the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle, which are the four (E, W, S & N) major standards of Israel. And He who sits on the throne can only be compared to dazzling translucent gemstones and when He speaks His voice is as the mighty thunder of many waters. Then we see seated around that awesome throne of our Father 24 elders, people we know, the 12 Patriarchs and the 12 Apostles, all in white raiment wearing crowns of gold. Got the PICTURE?

Have you ever wondered what heaven looked like? Wonder no more!

And Clouds? I didn't read about any clouds!

Let's continue now with reading the Book of Revelation (good name I'd say). John is at the Headquarters of the Universe, and is seeing everything. Isn't this incredible?

Rev. 5:1
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

By the way, the word Biblion should give you a clue as to what the book is.

[2] And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

Well, that lets me out. How about you?

[3] And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

Note: Don't let the expression "neither under the earth" support any wild imaginary places such as Dante's Inferno. The whole phrase simply means "all inclusive", everywhere. It's an expression like the one we use: "over, under, around and through".

[4] And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

[5] And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

[6] And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

The Lamb slain is Jesus Christ, so the Lamb is obviously symbolic, right?  So too are the seven horns and eyes. We are told what the are. They are the "seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth". Remember, we don't have to guess about ANY symbology in this Book of Revelation.

In a few verses we will learn what these seven spirits of God are.

[7] And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.

[8] And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and  twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Have you ever thought sometimes He didn't hear you? Wrong! He did!

[9] And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Rev. 15:2-3
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

"Yes, Mrs. Jones, the 'sea of glass' is the beautiful crystalline floor before the throne of God".

"Wow", says Mrs. Jones, "how did you know?"

"I read the biblion, Mrs. Jones."

So what are these "overcomers" doing standing on the sea of glass?

[3] And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Deut. 31:30
And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

And the answer is....

Rev. 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

[11] And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

Don't you believe that when you die you go to be with the Lord? Where do think that is? On some cloud?

[12] Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

1.) Power
2.) Riches
3.) Wisdom
4.) Strength
5.) Honour
6.) Glory
7.) Blessing

[13] And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

[14] And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

AMEN, PRAISE GOD!

We are now going to witness the "unsealing" of the scroll, the written (vs. 5:1) Word of God, by the only One found worthy in both heaven and earth, the One who prevailed at Calvary, the Lamb of God, the Living Word Himself, Jesus the Christ.

This is an awesome event, a momentous occasion, and we have just read that there is a huge assembly before the throne of God with all 24 elders present and seated in their formal attire with their crowns on and in place, and an innumerable number of angels, sons of God, gathered around the throne. And John is witnessing all of this! Can you imagine what a thrill this must have been for him? I don't know about you, but it's a thrill for me just reading about it! And I can't help thinking that as big an affair as this is, just wait until the wedding!

So what time is it? When is this occurring? The ceremony is taking place in preparation for the Day of the Lord, the end of this flesh age and the beginning of the Millennium, the time period where John was taken to in Chapter 1 verse 10 of this Book of Revelation, where he is now. Christ is still there, in heaven, and hasn't left yet to return to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. But He is about to, as soon as He fulfills His promise to His servants to foretell them all things, i.e. to remove all seven seals.

This event was even foretold of in the 12th chapter of the Book of Daniel, when Daniel was instructed to place a seal on his book which would remain until the time of the end, until this ceremony of the unsealing took place, when the wise would understand! Here is the angel speaking to Daniel:

Daniel 12:9-10
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. [10] Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Mark 13:4
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? [5] And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:

Jesus then proceeds to give them the Seven Seals and warns them again about false Christian representatives:

Mark 13:22
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

[23] But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

Now, do you recall that the scroll that was sealed with the seven seals was complete, i.e. filled on both sides, which means it was the entire Word of God? The removal of the seven seals would therefore unseal the entire scroll or the entire Word. However, Jesus is not going to read the entire scroll to us. He's just going to "take the cover off", unseal it, make is easily accessible for us to "unroll the scroll" and read with understanding. Got it?

There are several other foundational things that we need to look at before we see these seven seals come off. First, "Seals" are not "Trumpets". Trumpets are used to sound the charge of war, i.e. when you hear the trumpets it means the horses are coming and the battle has begun. We will "hear" the trumpets sound when we get to chapter 8. And since they unfold the battle, they are sounded in order. It is at the LAST TRUMP, the 7th trump, that the King of kings and Lord of lords returns on His white horse and every knee shall bow. But before that... watch out for the 6th Trump!

The seals then "seal up" the battle plan. Their removal reveals the preparatory knowledge necessary to successfully wage war and withstand the charge (all of which is a spiritual onslaught).  So the seals need not be, nor are they revealed in the order of the "charge" but rather in the order of spiritual and mental preparation.

The first four seals are grouped together with several common denominators.

(1.) They are 4, the number of "earth" in Biblical numerics, such as the 4 points of the compass, East, South, West and North (Reference appendix 10 in the Companion Bible). They will reveal the knowledge of what is happening on earth at the time of the assembly of the unsealing taking place in heaven where John is. You must have this knowledge loaded into your mind in order to be able to "unroll the scroll" and understand it. You must have the Seal of God in your forehead in order to remain untouched and unscathed in the battle to come, when the trumpets sound. If you do, He has promised to protect you. If you don't, you're marked as "dead meat" for the beast to consume. Chomp, chomp!

(2.) John is invited by each one of the 4 Zoon, the guards at the throne, to come near unto them, even past them, if you will, to the Lamb, and take a look at these 4 seals. Can you believe the security clearance John was given? Unbelievable! These cherubs, if you recall, bear the likeness of the four standards of the Tribes of Israel (the Lion, the Man, the Ox, and the Eagle) which stand respectively at the East, South, West & North gates of the Temple. Can you see John right there at the throne of God? What a sight! It gives one goose bumps.

(3.) In as much as these seals are symbolized by 4 different colored horses, representing 4 different powers, they EXACTLY parallel the four hidden dynasties, the horns (powers), spoken of by Zechariah the prophet in the first chapter of the book bearing his name. They are the powers of Religion, Politics, the Economy, and Education. They are what's happening here on earth just before Satan, the false-christ, takes over. They are what's happening NOW! We'll point out each one as the seals are removed.

(4.) All 4 of these seals (even all 7) were given to the disciples by Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, at their request, in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. The Beginning and the End, there is nothing new under the sun. We'll also point out each seal in Mark 13 as we go.

All set? Let's go for it!

Rev. 6:1
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.

[2] 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.

But wait! There's a "he" with a little "h" sitting on this white horse. No big "H"? Who's this dude? No big "H" means it's not Him.

We see he has a bow. What's a bow? A bow and arrow, a rainbow? Please hold while I go get my Strong's Concordance. The Greek word is toxon, #5115, and means the simplest (cheapest) fabric. It's a cheap fabric made to resemble the beautiful "shekinah glory" surrounding the big "H". This guy's a FAKE!

And he even has a crown. Who gave him that? My guess is that he crowned and exalted himself, the phony, and our Father has allowed him to continue his charade for a short season. No, I take that "guess" part  back. It's no guess! I've read Ezekiel 28 and I know who this little "h" who thinks he's a big "H" is. Guess what? He's going to go to "h".

Finally, we see he's been riding around "conquering" and seeing who else he can conquer. And do know what? He's been to five churches, rode right up to the pulpits, took over command, and conquered their congregations into believing he's the big "H". "Hey, look at me, I'm on a white horse!" And on queue they read from a script "It is the Lord, Amen." Let's now sing hymn # 666.

Did Christ warn of this? Did Jesus give this seal to the disciples?

Mark 13:5
And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:

[6] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

There were Two TREES in the garden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (the little box cedar), there are Two ROCKS (a big "R" and a little "r"), there are Two Christ's and there are Two Christianities, the "religion", i.e. illusion, and the "reality".

The first seal has been removed. Was it tough? Not at all! It's a "Piece of Cake", we say figuratively, meaning it's simple!

Just remember seal #1: "Not everyone who rides a white horse is who in the "h" he says he is!"

Happy Trails.

We've learned that the removal of the First Seal revealed a white horse, the first of four horses in as many seals, symbolically used to represent "powers" in the earth. Each horse has a rider, one who controls the horse's reigns! These riders are commonly called "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", and volumes have been written about them.

However, don't be mystified by the symbolism, for you will notice that the rider of each of these different colored horses is the very same entity, Satan himself. He controls the reigns of these four horses, i.e. powers (hidden dynasties), and rides upon them bringing about the religious, political, economic and educational conditions of the earth, which make up his New World Order (the political beast we'll soon read about), just prior to the return of Christ.

So in the first seal Satan rides as the "false messiah" using the power of religion to deceive the masses, even the whole world (Rev. 12:9). All they can see is a white horse and it appears good to their flesh eyes which cannot "see" the real rider. If you've followed Christ's messages to the 7 Churches in chapters 2 and 3 then you have "seen" the extent of this highwayman's robbery.

We now come to the second seal, opened by the Lamb of God.

Rev. 6:3 And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

[4] 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.

For an informative look behind the scenes and into the hidden dynasty of politics, read the book by author William Guy Carr, "Pawns in the Game", Omni Publications.

Jesus also warned the disciples to watch the political stage just prior to His return, and so He gave them the second seal.

Mark 13:7
And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

[8] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places,...

Note: Look up the Greek word translated "earthquakes". It is seismos and is directly translated "commotions". It derives its meaning from the context, i.e. the subject. If it is (of the air) it's a gale, if it is (of the ground) it's an earthquake, if it is (of wars) it's skirmishes.

That should about bring us up to date, to 1 Thes. 5:3. It's when you hear them cry peace, peace, peace plan here, peace accord there, that the 6th trumpet blows! Listen carefully!

And now the Third Seal.

Rev. 6:5 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.

Balances are the symbol which we use for justice. So yes, we could say that justice is out of balance, even upside down, and that would certainly be a true statement. But these balances aren't just used to mete out justice, they are used to weigh commerce as the next verse so aptly documents.

Rev. 6:6 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.

They say we work until May 8th of each year to pay our taxes. Then we make mortgage payments, let's say of $1000 a month, and 90% ($900) of it goes to usury, to make the banks and mortgage lenders wealthy (let's see... $900 x 12 = $10,800 per year).  Add to that the car payment interest and oh yes, the credit card debt.... Yep, that about leaves enough per day for a loaf of bread.

Do you think that's an overstatement? Actually, some are so insolvent they literally don't even have enough for a loaf of bread. They live on borrowed money.

Our people have become servants to a debtors system of usury. Many are prisoners in their own homes and yet they sleep on. But our Father warned us long ago about the stranger who rides with the red horseman.

Deut. 28:43-45
The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. [44] He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

[45] Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

Mark 13:8
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

The Greek word for "sorrows" means "labor pains", and so it is that each contraction of current events, fulfilling one prophecy after another, brings us closer to the birth of a new age, the Day of the Lord.

Have you ever heard the phrase "Back in Biblical Times", as if God's Word stopped in history somewhere along the way? Well guess what? It's a stupid statement! Because these are the most exciting Biblical times in the history of mankind. Right now! All the prophets and disciples wanted to know what it would be like in the 21st century A.D. Checked your calendar lately? Checked world events lately? Noticed any "contractions"?

Come on baby!

We have just completed the revelation, the unveiling, of the Third Seal by the Lamb of God and discovered that it too was given to the disciples in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. Not only that, we will see that all Seven Seals were given to the disciples when they ask Jesus what the "Signs" would be just prior to His return and "When" shall they be.

So in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, at the time Jesus walked this earth with the disciples, the "Seals" were called "Signs", but when John was taken in the spirit to the Day of the Lord, a time just a little ahead of us, these "Signs" had become "Seals". Why?

Because in the final generation, the generation of the "fig tree" (also known as the Baby Boomer generation), you MUST HAVE these "Signs" in your forehead, i.e. sealed in your mind, in order to escape the Flood of Lies, the fast approaching Great Spiritual Tribulation of the false-christ.  It is documented in chapter 9, where we see Satan's army described as swarming locusts that may consume (eat spiritually) all those men which HAVE NOT the seal of God in their foreheads.

Rev. 9:4
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Mark 13:5
And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:

Jesus told us that many would come riding in on the "white horse" of Christianity, claiming to be authorized riders of His horse, and deceive the masses. How would they do it? By teaching the Traditions of Men, like Rapture theories and Ishtar bunnies, and promoting religious services and church attendance, etc., etc., and never quite getting around to teaching the Word of God line by line, leaving their congregations UNSEALED. It is sad but documented thoroughly; If you are Biblically illiterate in this final generation then you are gourmet locust food, scorpion prey, or as we say today, just plain "Dog Meat".

That should come as no surprise. We learned when we read in chapters 2 and 3 what Christ said to the Seven Churches, that if you're not careful to study His Word, rightly dividing it to align with Smyrna and Philadelphia, you can pretty much kiss your Candlestick goodbye, because you won't have enough "oil" to keep it lit anyway.

Jesus then said to His disciples that there would be "Wars and rumours of wars..", i.e. the "Red Horse". The Second Sign! The Second Seal!

Then there would be "famines and troubles; which are the beginnings of sorrows", i.e. the "Black Horse". The Third Sign! The Third Seal!

And that brings us to the Fourth Seal.

Rev. 6:7
And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

Rev 6:8 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.

Also, the fact that Hell follows with him shows that the death we are talking about is the "second death", the death of the soul, and not the death of flesh which is the first death and nothing to worry about (OK, OK, by comparison).  I was just referring to what Christ said. Read it yourself.

Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Let's return to Rev 6:8. The phrase the "fourth part of the earth" should be read the "four parts of the earth", or even the "four corners of the earth" if you like, which means they have power over all the earth.  See Acts 10:30 where exactly the same Greek word, tetartos, is translated "four" instead of "fourth": "And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour;... "

And so the power they are given over all the earth is to "kill", i.e. make ready for the second death, with sword, hunger, death and beasts. What are these?

The word "beasts" in verse 8 is not the same word used to describe the "living beings", the zoon (cherubs) who guard the throne of our Father. This word is therion and means a dangerous venomous beast, such as an asp or poisonous snake.  They would be the very same "children of disobedience", the tares of Matthew 13, the offspring of the head Serpent, the kenites (descendents of Cain), the same "beasts" Christ addressed in John 8, Matthew 23, etc.

Matthew 23:33
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

It is the Fourth Horn, the Fourth Horse, the Fourth Power on the earth, the Hidden Dynasty of Education, which permeates throughout the world, in the media, in the schools, in the institutes of higher education and in the "leaven" infected doctrines spewed forth from the pulpits. In the  gnawing stage the locusts continue to eat away at the moral and religious fabric of society with their venomous lies and propaganda, consuming even now whom they may (I saw a hidden locust on TV just yesterday, hoLOCaUST). But be prepared, for as they say, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" The swarming stage is soon upon us.

In Matthew 24:7 Jesus referred to this Fourth Seal as loimos, i.e. pestilences, meaning a "plague" or "disease" or figuratively "pests". And so it is and so they are.

And there you have them, the First Four Seals of the unveiling that you must have locked in your mind in this final generation in order to be able to begin to "unroll the scroll" and read His Word with understanding. Do you "see" them? Did you make the trip to the throne with John to take a look?

Let's recap the first four seals.

I sincerely hope these 4 Seals, unveiled by the Lamb of God, revealing the hidden truth of what is happening on the four corners of the earth just prior to His return, has been a blessing to your eyes, shall we say a real "eye opener".

There are Three Seals yet to come. I can't wait!

Four Seals have been now been opened and revealed by the only one found worthy in both heaven and earth to open them, the Lamb of God. There are three more which must be opened in order to gain full access to the scroll on which they are affixed. If you know anything about sealing scrolls then you should realize that if one or two seals were to remain unopened, the scroll would still be waxed shut.

Many in this generation would say that it is not important to study the Bible in depth, or at all for that matter.  What is important, they say, is that you just "believe" and have "love" in your heart.  Well, you can't argue that those aren't important, because they are, but you can argue that they are not the ONLY important things. For instance, did you know that even the demons "believe" there is one God (and they also know that Jesus is the Christ), and that even non-believers love and care for their own families.

James 2:19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Mark 13:23
But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

2 Tim. 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Knowing now the importance of these Seven Seals to our understanding of the Word in our generation, and that we should examine them carefully and prayerfully, let us study the Fifth Seal.

Rev. 6:9
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:

Look who John sees! The "dead in Christ", who are under the altar of God, right there in heaven. (Picture them as being in the center court, with prestigious front row seats, beneath the throne which is elevated before and above them, as well as every one else.) This is an "eye witness" documentation of where the dead are! But they are not dead at all for we shall see them speak in the next verse.

The apostle Paul also made this point concerning where the dead are perfectly clear in 1 Thes. 4. He said that if you believe Christ died and rose again you must also believe that those who have died in Christ have done likewise and are with Him now. Of course, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That's how it is He is able to bring them with Him when He returns.

1 Thes. 4:13-14
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. [14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

Next we are told why they were slain. They were slain for the Word of God, for boldly and fearlessly teaching the truth and for giving testimony both of Him that was crucified and against those who would crucify.

And guess what? The Four Horsemen have ridden far enough, dropping enough manure, to see to it that at this time the most "Politically Incorrect" subject in our society is the "true" Word of God. They seek to erase it from our government, our schools, our money, and yes, even our churches (Whadda you know, I believe we touched all four dynasties there).

Here is what the dead in Christ were saying as John looked on:

Rev. 6:10 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?

Do you recall in Luke chapter 4 that Christ went into the synagogue and picked up the Book of Isaiah and read the first half of chapter 61, verse 2, which pertained to His first advent, and then closed the book?

Well, the second half of that verse pertains to His second advent and you can read it for yourself:

Isaiah 61:2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Back to Rev. 6:11

[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.

These saints under the altar of God are then told to be patient for a "little season".  That season would be the summer of Mark 13:28.

Mark 13:28
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

You must understand this part of Seal 5, the number of grace in biblical numerics (see appendix 10 in the Companion Bible). Christ foretold His disciples of this very same happening. Read it carefully, because for some of you, it is your commission, your very destiny. This is reality! How exciting!

Mark 13:9
But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

The big question is who is the "you" who will be delivered up? Take heed, Christ said, that could be you!

The beating and scourging will be verbal abuse, brow beating if you will, of the most severe nature. (In fact you'll be on the "hot seat" heated 7 times hotter than is wont to be). Imagine a courtroom full of hateful scripture lawyers from the synagogue, skilled prosecuting attorneys, and you are on the witness stand for boldly teaching God's Word, for daring to use the "k" word, etc., i.e. you are on trial for His sake. CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. all have their cameras rolling and the gavel sounds order in the court, and you....

.... suddenly remember the words of Christ (whom you refer to as "Savior" at this point), and you KNOW there's a reason and a purpose for this!

Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

[11] But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

Because here's where it really gets exciting! At this delivering up, that cloven "tongue" which goes forth in all directions, which was spoken on Pentecost Day in Acts chapter 2, will once again be spoken.  Every person of every language of every nation tuned in to listen will hear God's servants give testimony, and they will hear the words spoken in their own dialektos, i.e. their own native language wherein they were born.

For it is not ye that will speak, but Holy Spirit!

Also, at that time of these trials, the rider of the first white horse will be here in person and the world at large will believe he is in fact the real Jesus. But he will be the fake, the false, the instead of Christ, who you better know appears first. And don't forget, one of his names as we read a few verses back is "Death".

Now check out this next verse:

Mark 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

If your spouse or brother or child believes Jesus is here, they will naturally want to help you be "saved" too! Why? Because they love you! Parents don't turn their kids over to anyone to be put to death, even if they are guilty of heinous crimes or even murdering someone. Watched any news lately? They always hire hi-powered attorneys to get their kids off!

But even though they turn a loved one over to Satan, believing in their hearts that he is Jesus, they have just betrayed that loved one, haven't they?

Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

We will soon document that those with the seal of God in their foreheads cannot be harmed by the false-christ and his little serpentettes. But just so you know that Mark 13:12 speaks of the second death and not the first (flesh), here's Luke's account of the same event.

Luke 21:17-18
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. [18] But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

Do you remember the type of the "delivering up", set forth in the Book of Daniel, when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered up before the king of Babylon, the type of spurious messiah?  They were tossed into the fiery furnace which was heated 7 times hotter than was wont to be.  And guess what? Yep, not one hair on their heads was even singed.

And so the words of the Psalmist rings true as the command to Satan concerning God's elect:

Psalm 105:15
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

We have now come to the 6 verses of the 6th seal in the 6th chapter of the Book of Revelation. The seals, remember, unlock, i.e. give access to the knowledge (His Word) that is necessary for one to have stored in his/her forehead in order to remain a "virgin" until the true Bridegroom comes at the sound of the 7th Trump, the final trump.

The false messiah though, the look-alike Jesus, Satan, will appear first, before our Lord's return, and shows up at the 6th Trump and the 6th vial, and we will find him here in the 6th seal as well.

This is absolutely precious knowledge! If you have "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" you will discover that this sixth seal will reveal something that the majority of Christian ministers and pastors and teachers are completely unaware (ignorant) of, and consequently they cannot understand the events of prophecy foretelling of our present day and the days that lie just ahead. (They have been following the rider of the white horse of the first seal who has led them down a desolate road.) They must therefore rely on "traditional" teachings which defy common sense and can easily be proven to be contradictory to God's Word even by a child. It is no wonder they shy away from the Book of Revelation, even telling their congregations that they won't be here anyway when these events take place, so why bother trying to understand it. Woe unto them!

We have also learned that all Seven of the Seals were given to the disciples by Jesus in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 as Signs of what it would be like just prior to His second advent. To understand this 6th seal then, let's pick it up in Mark 13:14, just after He gave the 5th sign (we'll repeat verse 13).

Mark 13:13
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

[14] But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

You will find that "he" is the "abominator" who comes in on the wings of desolation, i.e. lays waste, makes desolate, spoken of by Daniel the prophet in chapter 9 of the book bearing his name. That is why Dr. Moffat translates "standing where 'it' ought not" as "standing where 'he' ought not".

Do you know where he ought not to be standing? The apostle Paul speaks of this exact same event in his second letter to the Thessalonians concerning the son of perdition, i.e. the son who will perish, the abominator who makes desolate, Satan himself:

2 Thes. 2:4
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Mark 13:15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

[16] And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

[17] But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

Now ya' all don't seem to have a problem with how the apostle Paul said the very same thing in 2 Cor. 11:2 where he is addressing the church:

2 Cor. 11:2
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

2 Cor. 11:3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

[18] And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

[19] For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

[20] And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

[21] And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

You see, when the true Messiah returns we who are alive and remain will instantly, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the snap of a finger, be changed from our flesh bodies into our spiritual bodies. Have you not read of this "mystery" by Paul in 1 Cor. 15?  The flesh age ends when Christ returns.

[22] For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

Matthew 24:37
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

[38] For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

[39] And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

[40] Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Note: The ignorant and the unlearned that we spoke of earlier, believe that the first one taken is raptured by Jesus Christ. They along with their entire congregations are going to get screwed and lose their virginity! Too graphic? I think not! Eternal life is at stake here!

[41] Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

What is it that Jesus Christ would have us learn from the 6th Seal? For one thing, there are TWO TRIBULATIONS! Find out more as we continue in this Book of Revelation!

When is the last time you heard your preacher or minister, or for that matter anybody else's preacher or minister, talk about the Two Messiahs? Who has told you that there are Two Jesus Christs? Who has told you how to tell the Two Jesus Christs apart from one another?  And who has told you that there are TWO TRIBULATIONS? In other words, who has explained the 6th Seal to you?

Have you ever observed how the cause of the tribulation is always portrayed as some human flesh "man" who is "probably" alive right now on earth somewhere and is just waiting to be revealed? "Guesses" by the unlearned (those who don't know what the Bible teaches and guess at what it says) include figures such as Saddam Hussein, the Pope, the President, or some Jew living in Israel, and on and on and on. Would you like to see deception at work? Just go into a religious book store and see all the books written about the tribulation! Babel, Babel, which means Confusion, Confusion! Satan, the rider of the white horse in Seal 1, just loves it! You can bet he gives his horse an "apple" for a treat every time someone buys that trot!

That which we MUST LEARN from the 6th Seal is that there are Two Tribulations and we MUST KNOW not only what they entail but the sequential order in which they occur.  And it is very simple: There is the tribulation of Satan when he comes to earth first as the false-christ and is followed by the tribulation of Christ, the wrath of Almighty God.

We read much about the tribulation of Satan, the "seduction" as in the days of Noah, the consuming flood that takes those (first ones) who are unaware (have not the seal of God in their foreheads), etc. We shall read much more about this period of time before we finish this great Book of Revelation and about the spiritual devastation it (which is actually peace) brings upon the souls of men, the likes of which can only be compared to the slaughter of warfare and the consuming of flesh by beasts.

Let us now examine the 6th Seal, unveiled by the Lamb of God, taking verses 12 and 13 together as they complete a sentence.

Rev. 6:12 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.

When Satan is cast out of heaven in Rev. 12:7-9 to this earth, his angels are also cast out with him. So he brings "stars" too!

Rev. 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Now, what about the sun becoming darkened as sackcloth of hair? Doesn't the sun darken when Jesus returns? Yes it does, but by reason of His brightness, not like black sackcloth of mohair. Here's how the sun darkens by the false Jesus:

Rev. 9:1-2
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. [2] And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Let's look again at verse 12.

Rev. 6:12 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;

Now let's continue with the 6th Seal.

Rev. 6:14 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;

It is for the shame of realizing they've been seduced and even caused others to be "had" likewise! We have an expression in English that aptly describes this, they will have "Hit Rock Bottom"!

[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?

And the answer is... Those who have endured with patience and maintained their virginity by wearing the full suit of gospel armor (Eph 6) and have 'stood against the fiery darts of Satan'. Yes, they will still be standing. The rest will have fallen short in ignorance and deception and missed the 1st Resurrection and the double portion of inheritance that comes with it. Don't let that happen to you. Learn the Seals and then unroll the Scroll.

Let us now finish the 6th Seal as Christ gave it in the Book of Mark, chapter 13.

Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

[25] And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

Rev. 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

[27] And then shall He send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

[28] Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

[29] So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

But here is the bottom line:

If you don't know ahead of time that the False Messiah is coming first; if you believe Jesus Christ can return at any moment; if you don't have the Seal of God in your forehead, then it will be next to impossible to convince you that the First Rider of a White Horse, when he appears in person, is not Jesus Christ. For he is most charming and beautiful and he will bring peace and prosperity to the world and he will perform great signs and miracles in the sight of men and his ministers, appearing as angels of light, will be sweet as pie as they seduce you.

[30] Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

So there will be those of the Baby Boomer generation (which officially began in 1946) who will see the return of Jesus Christ.

[31] Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

We have now come to chapter 7 of the book of the "Unveiling" and, having seen the uncovering of 6 Seals, we would expect to begin the revelation of the final seal, the 7th Seal. But alas, such is not the case. We must "hold back" our viewing the unveiling of the 7th Seal until chapter 8.

Let us find out why.

Rev. 7:1
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

John has just seen the 6th Seal unveiled and now, after that, he sees four angels (the number 4 denotes "earth" in Biblical numerics) standing on the four corners of the earth. This simply means that what is about to be said concerns the entire world, all four quadrants which make up the whole.

The four angels are holding back the "four winds" that they should not blow, i.e. they are stopping their action. What does that mean? Well, every time the "four winds" are spoken of they are always connected with the final events, the consummation of this earth age.  You can read of them in Ezek. 37 and in Daniel 7 as well. Or log unto (live link to)-Four Winds

So Rev. 7:1 is simple. John saw that there is a holding pattern concerning the final events of this earth age which are about to befall us. And I am sure there must be a very good reason why, and I am sure we will find out because Christ has foretold all things, remember?

[2] And 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 given to hurt the earth and the sea,

[3] Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

Hmmmm... sounds like an implant of sorts. Do you think this will require surgery?

I heard once that people are going to have the "mark of the beast" stamped, maybe even implanted, on their foreheads, which I was told was the number 666. Someone suggested that it might even be done in Roman numerals like VI VI VI which looks an awful lot like maybe a bar code, doesn't it? It might even be a computer chip.

We have already learned that the Seal of God is His Word. And we are expected to know from common sense or grade school anatomy class that our brains, or shall we say our minds, reside in our foreheads. Duh! So to have the Seal of God in our forehead is simply to have the Word of God in our mind, i.e. to have an understanding of God's Word, of His overall plan of salvation, to even understand the Seals themselves if you will.

It is interesting that the Greek word for "sealed" is sphragizo which means to preserve or mark for security. Why? Read this verse:

Rev. 9:4
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

If you DO NOT have the Seal of God in your forehead, then you will have the Seal of Satan in your forehead, the mark of the beast, i.e. Satan's word, which is garbage, deception, and will lead you to the spiritual crematorium because you are "marked" for hurtin'!

It is really very simple. You either belong to Christ, the Son of God, and have His Word, His seal in your mind, or you belong to Satan, the son of perdition, and have his word, his seal (mark) in your mind.

So we know what the Seal of God is (His truth), and who it is that is to be sealed (His servants), but who is to do the sealing?

Next we will not only learn who will (even is) to do the sealing, the teaching of His Word, but we will learn about a group of 144,000 who are going to (even are) get their ears on!

Until then you could ask yourself these questions; "Am I a sealer or a sealee?" I.e. "Do I have eyes to see and ears to hear?" If you do, then you are a servant of the Most High God. How blessed you are!

Have you ever heard about the 144,000 of Revelation? Some churches and sects have taught (and still do this very day) that there will only be 144,000 people go to heaven out of the great tribulation. And of course you could guess that most of those who teach that will tell you those 144,000 are members solely of their church. So you'd better join their ranks if you want to be spared the great tribulation!

In fact, one major group started out teaching that they alone were the 144,000 and once their membership exceeded that number they were forced to modify their doctrine. It would now be those "among them" who were the more righteous servants of God (read "biggest financial contributors") who would be selected. So dig deep and give, give, give and we'll give you recognition as a good Christian.

The first problem with this line of thinking (other than it stinks) is that heaven isn't even mentioned, nor is it discussed at all in relation to the 144,000. So let's recap where we are in the Book of Revelation and learn from Him, not from the imaginations of men who preach "elitism" in order to hold captive their congregations.

We had just finished chapter six where the Lamb of God had opened six seals and it looked like we were ready for number seven. But in Rev 7:1 John then saw the four angels whose job it is to release the four winds upon the earth, which bring about the final events of this flesh age, standing on the four corners of the earth, N, S, E, W. Four remember is the number of "earth" in Biblical numerics. In verse 2 then we read (in Baby Boomer paraphrase form):

But after those things John looked and ascending in the eastern sky, "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's an angel having the Seal of the living God saying to the four winds of the earth with a great voice 'Stop, do not bring about the final events of this earth age until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads'."

Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

And besides, I thought race doesn't matter? That's correct as far as salvation goes, for it is available to all of God's children regardless of race, but did God create the races to exist just until Christ paid the price and then His purpose for them was finished? Don't be silly. In the next few verses the tribes will be specifically named so as to dispel this rumor. Not only that, the nations (Greek word ethnos, meaning non-Israelite races) are present at the New Jerusalem throughout eternity and they have kings as well.

Rev. 21:23-24
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. [24] And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

Here's a brief synopsis of the terms Hebrew, Israelite and Jew:

Abraham was an Hebrew, which comes from the word "eber" meaning "from across the river". Abraham's nephew, Lot, was also an Hebrew. Abraham then begat Isaac, who naturally was Hebrew, too. However, neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Lot were Jews! Why? Judah hadn't been born yet. Furthermore, we will have Lot and his descendants growing and multiplying as Hebrews, but they will never be of Israel or Judah. So there are Hebrew people, even to this day, who are not even of Israel (Jacob) much less of Judah.

Then Isaac begat Jacob whose name was changed to Israel and he had twelve sons who, today, have become nations, and their populations are as numerous as the sands of the sea and the stars of the sky. (If you are  living in the U.S., you are living in one of those nations of true Israel). All twelve sons were Israelites (born of Jacob, who was Israel). But obviously only those of his son Judah were of Judah, i.e. "Jews".

Without a doubt, this is one the biggest reasons preachers and ministers of today are clueless about end-time Bible prophecies. Ask them where the United States and Great Britain are referred to in prophecy. When they can't give you an answer, or try to spiritualize (read "spin") them into the church of God, or worse yet gentiles, say "In other words, God forgot to mention the super power of super powers of the end-time in Bible prophecy?" It is at this point that you will be told it is of little importance my child, just have love in your heart and be kind and love Jesus, and don't worry, you'll be raptured away when all these events happen anyway.

No sealing of God's Word here! And so the mark of the beast has been firmly imbedded in her forehead, i.e. Satan's seal, his teachings. She'll be first to be taken in the field.

An entire book could be written here concerning who the 12 Tribes of Israel are and where they are today, but obviously space and time will not afford us. However, if you haven't read E. Raymond Capt's little booklet the "Abrahamic Covenant" then by all means contact Artisan Publishers at www.artisanpublishers.com and purchase a copy. It will give you an outline of the identity of God's people, who basically make up the Free World, the Christian nations. The so-called ten lost tribes are not lost to our Father, nor to those who have the seal of God in their foreheads.

Here are the nations of the full House of Israel to be taught before the four winds are let loose:

[5] Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

[6] Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

[7] Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

[8] Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

There is no mention of why there are 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel to be sealed, so one can only suppose. But here is the brief outline of the number 12 in Biblical numerics from appendix 10 in the Companion Bible:

TWELVE. Denotes Governmental Perfection. It is the number or factor of all numbers connected with government: whether by Tribes or Apostles, or in measurements of time, or in things which have to do with government in the heavens and the earth. Companion Bible, appendix 10, pg. 14.

Next verse:

Rev. 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

They are clothed in white robes. We know what that is symbolic of!

And what of the palms? They were used in John 12:12-13 at the Feast where those with them were praising and blessing God. And we find the same thing in heaven. There's no mystery here!

John 12:12-13
On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, [13] Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Rev. 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Rev. 7:11
And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

[12] Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

1.) Power        1.) Blessing
2.) Riches        2.) Glory
3.) Wisdom     3.) Wisdom
4.) Strength     4.) Thanksgiving
5.) Honour      5.) Honour
6.) Glory         6.) Power
7.) Blessing     7.) Might

[13] And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

[14] And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

[15] Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

[16] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

[17] For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Rev. 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Rev. 22:1-3
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

[2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

[3] And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve Him:

Do you think a big house and a fancy car now can compare to that?