The Seven Seals are the cornerstone of the Book of Revelation. They are the pivot on which the book turns and the foundation on which it unfolds. The seals give us an overview of the fate of the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, as well as the conditions that would befall Christians and Jews, from the time of Jesus Christ's first coming until the time of His return.

 

In Revelation 5:1-5 the apostle John is shown a vision of a scroll in the right hand of God. He is told that the scroll is "sealed with seven seals” and that only Christ is "worthy" to "loose the seven seals" thereof. From Rev 1:3 we gather, and the contents confirm, that this scroll contains written prophecy.

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Why is Christ worthy to remove the seals of the prophecy? Verse 9 explains:

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“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood"

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Jesus Christ came to Earth to conquer Satan, to die for the sins of mankind and to qualify to rule on Earth. Through His victory, He became worthy to unseal the seals of this prophecy. 

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But which prophecy?

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There is only one set of prophecies in the Old Testament said to be sealed. They are the writings of Daniel. In Dan 12:4 Daniel is told to "seal the book" and in verse 9 he is informed that "the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end".

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How does Christ's victory qualify Him to unseal the prophecies of Daniel?

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It does so because the prophecies of Daniel cover a timeline of events from Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem until the second coming of Christ.

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Christ's return will coincide with the resurrection of the firstfruits, the removal of Satan from rule and the accession of Christ to the rulership of Earth.

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These are only made possible because Christ succeeded in His mission at His first coming. That's how He qualifies.

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 Jesus Christ's first coming was according to the timeline given to the prophet Daniel in the Seventy Week Prophecy, found in Dan 9:24-27. 

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This prophecy begins in Dan 9:24 by stating that "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city" and verse 26 adds that "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary".

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When did Christ speak of these very events, thereby unsealing their fuller application? He did so first and foremost in His Olivet prophecy. ​There He described conditions and events culminating in the final week, or seven years, which remained of the Seventy Week Prophecy. After Christ's ministry, a forty year period of grace transpired for Jews to repent and for the Church to become established. The Roman assault on the nation of Judah began in the spring of 67AD, reached its climax with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 70AD, and continued until the fall of Masada in 73AD, a period of seven inclusive years.

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The conditions that would prevail between the death of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, as described by Christ in the Olivet prophecy, were typical of the greater period of time that the Holy Land was under Gentile occupation. As foretold in Lev 26 and Dan 4, this was a period of 2520 years, from the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar until the end of World War II.  

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So although in Rev 1:1 we are told that the prophecies of the book of Revelation relate to "things that must shortly take place", verse 19 elaborates further by stating that it is about "things which are" and "things which will take place after this". Therefore it is not just speaking of future conditions, but also those already present at the time of writing.

   

Many different interpretations of the book of Revelation exist, but it is the Historicist view that, with the benefit of hindsight, proves to be correct. This is logical because the Scriptures themselves employ that method of interpretation. When Daniel was given prophecies of beasts and the statue of a man made of various metals, he himself was told they referred to empires which would appear successively in history. It is also logical that God, in His Word, having given man an overview of man's first 4000 years, would give the next 2000 years in advance, leading up to the return of Christ. This way, no matter where in history a person would find themselves, they would have a message, and see conditions, pertaining to their time.

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The region where the fulfilment of the seals must be sought is the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem, because it is the focus of the prophecies of Daniel. Jerusalem is also the focus of Christ's Olivet prophecy. Additionally, Christ's millennial rule will be from Jerusalem, so maintaining a "Jerusalem focus" is essential to a right understanding.

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Earlier prophecies given by God had pertained to Israel as a whole. However, it was only people from the Kingdom of Judah who had returned to the Holy Land from captivity. Daniel, himself a Jew, was told that the prophecies given to him concerned "thy people and .... thy holy city" (Dan 9:24), meaning the Jews and Jerusalem. This is why the first "beast" in the prophecies of Daniel is Babylon, which captured Judah and Jerusalem, and why it is not Assyria, which captured Israel and Samaria.

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Let's look at the description of the first seal in Revelation chapter 6.

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I have added Christ's Olivet explanations under the text of the seals, in gold.

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First Seal: False religion

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Rev 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”

2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

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“For many will come in my name saying I am He” (Lk 21:8) and “false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders” (Mt 24:23-27).

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The first condition that would exist in Jerusalem is the increasing presence and influence of false religion.

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This first seal is not about Gentile countries having false religions as is commonly taught in the Churches of God. Gentile countries always have false religions. It wouldn't require a Biblical prophecy to foretell that under Satan's rule Gentile countries would have false religions. Rather, this is about the Holy Land, and specifically Jerusalem.

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At the time of Christ's first coming, Jerusalem was under Roman rule, Rome being the sixth head of the overall "Beast" power of Gentile kingdoms to rule the city of God (Rev 17:10). The Romans were into all types of pagan religion, and with their practices defiled the land of Israel.

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Additionally, Jewish "prophets", of which Josephus disparagingly mentions a number in "Wars of the Jews" 2:13.4-6, arose periodically, and were permitted to preach by the Romans, as long as their preaching did not lead to insurrection.

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One of these prophets was called Theudas, of whom Josephus states "Now it came to pass, while Fadus was procurator of Judea (mid AD40's), that a certain magician, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan. For he told them he was a prophet: and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it. And many were deluded by his words" (Ant 20:5:1). Theudas and many of his followers were captured and killed by the Romans.

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Of events in the following decade Josephus says that "impostors and deceivers" arose who "persuaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness: and pretended that they would exhibit manifest wonders and signs, that should be performed by the providence of God" (Ant 20:5:6).

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Josephus continues by stating that "there came out of Egypt, about this time, to Jerusalem, one that said he was a prophet; and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with him to the mount of olives" upon which this man claimed that "he would shew them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down". Instead, however, the Roman governor Felix ordered his troops to attack these rebels, upon which he "slew four hundred of them" (Ant 20:8:6).

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Leading up to their first century demise, the Jews became ever more stricken with false religion; the siege of Jerusalem in 70AD saw three factions of Jews fighting each other more than they fought the Romans. Each faction had its own "false prophet" in charge: John of Gischala, Simon bar Giora and Eleazar ben Simon, as described at length by Josephus in "Wars of the Jews". The people's allegiances to these men was a major factor in their defeat.

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In the following century, another false Jewish prophet arose, Simon Bar Kokhba, who was and still is by some Jews considered to be the Messiah. His war against the Romans, known as the Second Jewish Revolt, resulted in even more devastation than the First Jewish Revolt.

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In Acts 8 we see in Samaria the appearance of Simon the Magician who went on to be a founder of false Christianity, as elaborated on at length by the historian Eusebius in his book "Church History". As far as false prophets go, it is hard to overstate the impact Simon had on history.

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In the epistle to the Galatians we read that recipients of this letter were already, in these early days of Christianity, being influenced by "another gospel" (Gal 1:6). The brethren of the first Church era, Ephesus, were commended for identifying supposed "apostles" who in reality were "liars" (Rev 2:2). False Christianity became the dominant religion of the whole Roman Empire in the time of Constantine the Great, and has greatly impacted Jerusalem throughout the millennia.

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Although Christ mentions "false christs and false prophets" in His Olivet statement regarding the time leading up to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, the broader application of false religion should be understood in regard to this first seal, because history shows that false Christianity, and subsequently Islam, together trampled down Jerusalem for more than sixteen hundred years.

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Christ's first removed seal unseals Daniel 2, 7 and 8, showing that Jerusalem would be subjected to a long history of occupation and influence by the practitioners of false religions.

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Second Seal: Bloodshed through war and violence

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Rev 6:3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”

4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth (of Israel), and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

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“Wars and commotions” (Lk 21:9), “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (Lk 21:10) and you will hear of wars and rumours of wars (Matt 24:6).

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The second condition to last till Christ's return is bloodshed caused by war and violence, in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

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Note that the word "earth" in verse 4 denotes Israel. On the third day of Creation God separated the earth from the sea. This foreshadowed God's work in the third millennium when He created the people of Israel and placed them in the land of Israel, separating them from the surrounding Gentile nations. In Rev 17:15 the nations are referred to as "waters" or seas. Please see the page "THE SEVEN DAY BLUEPRINT" for more on this.

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Only a few years after the death of Christ, war erupted between Herod Antipas, ruler of the regions of Galilee and Perea (who had beheaded John the Baptist), and King Aretas of Nabatea, the kingdom to the south of Perea and Judea. As quoted from newworldencyclopedia.org:

 

"....border disputes between Antipas and King Aretas of Nabatea had been slowly moving toward open warfare, exacerbated by Antipas' divorce of Aretas' daughter. In 36 C.E. Antipas' army suffered a serious defeat after fugitives from the former tetrarchy of Philip sided with the Nabateans. Antipas was forced to appeal to (Roman Emperor) Tiberius for help. The emperor ordered Lucius Vitellius, the Roman governor of Syria, to march against Aretas and ensure that he was captured or killed. Vitellius mobilized two legions, sending them on a detour around Judea..." (Article "Herod Antipas").

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Emperor Caligula (37AD-41AD), who succeeded Tiberius, was not a person lacking in self esteem. He gradually began to view himself as a god and, as a consequence, gave rise to "rumours of war" for a considerable time in the land of Israel. Caligula ordered statues of himself to be erected in all nations the Romans occupied, and so, in 40AD, a general by the name of Petronius was sent to Jerusalem to set up a statue of Caligula in the Temple. However, he was intercepted before he got there and was rebuffed by the Jews. The order had been that if he and his army met opposition, they should kill all who stood against them and carry the rest of the nation off into captivity. Instead the Romans slunk off to Syria in defeat and reported to Caligula. From that time forward, the fear of reprisal hung over the nation of Israel. However, Caligula's sudden death gave the Jews a temporary reprieve. Josephus records this, and a lot more, in his Antiquities from 18:8.2 onwards.

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In the decades leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem, the land was terrorised by a rebel group called the "Sicarii" as described by Josephus in War of the Jews 2:13.3. Here is a quote from Wikipedia:

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"The Sicarii were a splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who, in the decades preceding Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, strongly opposed the Roman occupation of Judea and attempted to expel them and their sympathisers from the area. The Sicarii carried "sicae", or small daggers, concealed in their cloaks. At public gatherings, they pulled out these daggers to attack Romans and alleged Roman sympathisers alike, blending into the crowd after the deed to escape detection" (article "Sicarii").

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Josephus says that thousands were killed by the Sicarii, many of them villagers whose towns were raided for supplies (War of the Jews 4:7.2). He also says that as bad as their deeds were, the fear of them that came over the people was even greater.

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In 66AD the Jews revolted against the Romans as a response to heavy taxation, but also because of the generally deteriorating relationship between local Roman rulers and the Jews. Violent clashes had occurred in some regions between Jews and non-Jews, leading to many deaths. One Cestius Gallus was dispatched to restore order. He marched on Jerusalem but was driven off just when victory appeared to be his. The following year Vespasian and his armies arrived and began what would be the campaign that brought the Jewish nation to its knees, resulting in the total destruction of Jerusalem.

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It is interesting to note that in the year prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, 69AD, no less than four Roman emperors, Nero, Galba, Otho and Vitellius met an untimely death.

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Christ foretold this first century war in His Olivet prophecy, and added in Lk 21:24 that Jerusalem would be "trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled", predicting continued warfare and violence for the Holy Land. 

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This ongoing warfare is elaborated on throughout the account of the seven trumpets of the seventh seal. Please see the page "THE HISTORICAL SEVENTH SEAL".

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Christ's second removed seal unseals large portions of the book of Daniel, showing that Jerusalem would be subjected to a long history of war, violence and bloodshed.

                 

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Third Seal: Famine and hardship

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Rev 6:5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

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“Famines” (Matt 24:7 and Lk 21:11)

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The third condition to exist in the Holy Land is not only famine, but in its broader sense scarcity, hardship and deprivation.​ The above description in Rev 6:5-6 alludes to economic hardship as well as a lack of food. A denarius was a man's daily wage, but the amount of food it is said here to be able to purchase is barely enough for one person, let alone a man's dependants.

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In Acts 11:27-30, the prophet Agabus foretells a coming famine. Most translations say this would come upon the "world", but the word is actually "earth" and verse 29 clearly says that the location of the famine is specifically "Judea". Verse 28 says that this famine took place during the reign of Emperor Claudius who ruled from 41AD to 54AD. I Cor 16:1-3 shows Paul arranging contributions for the Jerusalem brethren; Rom 15:25-28 refers to this as well.

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Josephus adds that Queen Helena of Adiabene (Assyria) came to Jerusalem to worship around this time and, finding the city in famine, made arrangements for grain and dried figs to be brought from Egypt and Cyprus (Ant 20:47-51). This and the sending of contributions by distant brethren show that surrounding countries were not affected like Judea was.

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While Jerusalem was under siege in 69-70AD, terrible famine resulted when rival groups of Jews destroyed their own grain supply out of spite toward one another.

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When Israel walked with God, it was blessed with all the abundance God foretold in Lev 26 and Deut 28. However, the more they went against God, the more they were cursed, as foretold by the same prophecies. Gradually, they lost their land, and when Gentile nations conquered Israel it came to be under a perpetual curse. Ultimately, the resulting poverty and hardship became the norm in the land that should have been flowing with milk and honey.

  

Christ's third removed seal from Daniel's writings unseals Dan 9:11, where in prayer to God he states that "all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us". The curses that would befall Israel if they disobeyed were recorded by Moses mainly in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. With regard to food production and the national economy, it is made abundantly clear in these two chapters that walking with God brings blessings, and walking contrary to Him brings curses.

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 In Israel's early years in the Holy Land, when for some time they obeyed God, crops were blessed and herds were plentiful, as can be seen from the enormous number of sacrifices that used to be offered. Over time, as lawlessness and godlessness became the norm, these blessings diminished. When Jerusalem and the whole land became subject to Gentile occupation, the land became desolate.

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Visitors to the Holy Land during its many centuries of occupation would comment on how bleak and dismal the countryside looked. Not until Jewish settlers returned in the early 20th century did things begin to change. When they first arrived they found swamps, marshland, sand dunes and desert. Since the founding of the State of Israel, a total transformation has taken place. Vegetation is again flourishing, water is flowing, and much food is being produced. If you travel from the country of Jordan into Israel, you'll see a brown, barren countryside turn into a green one.

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The 2520 years ("seven times") of Gentile occupation, foreshadowed in Daniel 4, cursed Jerusalem and the Holy Land for most of that entire duration.

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Fourth Seal: Untimely death

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Rev 6:7 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.

8 They were given power over a fourth of the earth (of Israel) to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (NIV)

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"Famine, pestilences and earthquakes in various places” (Matt 24:7) "great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences" (Lk 21:11).

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The fourth condition to exist until Christ's return includes all causes of untimely death in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

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Note that these curses are not a new phenomenon. In Eze 14:21 God already states, regarding Judah's then impending fall to Nebuchadnezzar, that He will send "My four severe judgments on Jerusalem - the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence".

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It barely needs mentioning that war and famine themselves kill many people and invariably lead to all types of disease and sickness which in turn kill many more people.

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Josephus records that, as the Romans swept through their country, the Jews endured great suffering, which reached a crescendo in the ultimate devastation of 70AD. 

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The reference to "a fourth of the earth" most probably refers to the fraction of people living in the Holy Land throughout history who have suffered a premature death.

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Like the previous seal, Christ's fourth removed seal from Daniel's writings also unseals Dan 9:11, where Daniel in prayer confesses to God that "all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us". Those curses are recorded mainly in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

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If Israel had obeyed Him, God promised that "you shall eat your bread to the full" (Lev 26:5) and "I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through the land" (Lev 26:6). In Ex 15:26 He says "I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians". These kinds of promises are repeated in many places in the Bible and were fulfilled as long as Israel was faithful to God.

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When Jerusalem and the Holy Land went into their long period of subjugation to Gentile powers, as prophesied in the book of Daniel, the reverse applied and untimely death became common.

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The first four seals are described as horses with riders. Horsemen in Scripture signify war and so these first four conditions are the direct result of Jerusalem's fall to the Gentiles as punishment from God, and were greatly exacerbated by the Jews' rejection of Christ. The fifth and sixth seals however, are somewhat different. Both these conditions started in Jerusalem, but over time spread to affect true Christians and Jews in the various other countries to which they dispersed.

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Fifth Seal: Persecution of the faithful people of God

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Rev 6:9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth (of Israel)?”

11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

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“They will lay their hands on you and persecute you” (Lk 21:12), “They will put some of you to death” (Lk 21:16) and "Brother will betray brother to death" (Mk 13:12).

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The fifth condition is the ongoing persecution of the true worshippers of God.

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Luke 21:22 says "these be the days of vengeance", but vengeance on which people? Rev 6:10, quoted above, says "on those who dwell on the earth". The earth in prophecy refers to the land of Israel. The Jews instigated Christ's death and persecuted the Church, as shown in the book of Acts which records the killing of the deacon Stephen and the apostle James. It states that severe persecution broke out against the Church at that time, beginning in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). Mark 13:9 adds that "they shall deliver you up to councils, and you shall be beaten in the synagogues". Clearly this refers to an initial Jewish persecution of the Church.

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Prior to Christ's time this same mindset already existed, as testified in Luke 13:34 where Christ states "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her". Those who brought God's reprimand were never popular.

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In the almost two millennia after the Romans destroyed the Jewish nation, the persecution of true believers was meted out mostly by Beast powers in the areas they controlled, including the Holy Land.

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Christ's unsealing of the fifth seal in the Olivet prophecy shows that the examples of persecution in Daniel 3 and 6 are applicable to all believers, as those who stand up for God's truth are likely to face persecution of some sort throughout the age of man. The events involving Daniel and his friends being subjected to the fiery furnace and the lions' den are indicative of such demonic hostility.

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