Dec
23
2022

The opening of the seven seals

In Revelation 5, there is a book sealed with seven seals. The book is held by God, the King of heaven (ref. Revelation 5:1). The seven seals of this book trigger the events that are to occur at the time of the end, the time leading up to the day of the LORD. The only one who is worthy to loose the seals, open the book, and read the book is the Lamb (ref. Revelation 5:4-7). This means, in these last days, only Jesus Christ knows precisely when things will happen.

Each of the first four seals marks a turning point or a milestone in the scheme of things. These four seals match what has come to be known as the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

The following is my interpretation.

The first seal, which speaks of a rider on a white horse, presents Russia, the nation today that is the world’s mightiest nuclear power.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals… 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.

Revelation 6:1-2

The second seal, which speaks of a rider on a red horse, presents China, the nation today that has the world’s strongest army.

And when he had opened the second seal… 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.

Revelation 6:3-4

The third seal, which speaks of a rider on a black horse, presents the USA, also known as Mystery Babylon, the nation today that has the world’s largest economy. This nation is also the one that invented quantitative easing and Modern Monetary Theory, and is also the place of the forthcoming mark of the beast, which will be a digital currency.

And when he had opened the third seal… I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 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.

Revelation 6:5-6

The fourth seal, which speaks of a rider on a pale horse, presents the Islamic State of the Assyrian, also known as the beast with seven heads and ten horns, and also as the fourth beast. This is the coming empire of the god “Allah” led by the “little horn”, which will attempt to spread Islam worldwide by the sword and by terrorism.

And when he had opened the fourth seal… 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 the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Revelation 6:7-8

These four horsemen correspond to the four animals, metaphors, of Job 39: namely, the eagle, the horse, the ostrich, and the unicorn.

In Job 39, the unicorn is presented first, followed by the ostrich, followed by the horse, followed by the eagle. This is the reverse order of the first four seals.

I used to think that the seven seals will be opened in sequential order.

There are two reasons why I have changed my mind.

The first is the sixth seal.

In Revelation 6:12-17, the sixth seal describes the end, the day of the LORD itself.

For a start, in the passage, there is “a great earthquake” (ref. Revelation 6:12)

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake…

Revelation 6:12

At the time of the seventh vial, there will be a great earthquake, such as has never been (ref. Revelation 16:18).

And the seventh angel poured out his vial… and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

Revelation 16:17-18

Next, in the passage, the sun becomes “black as sackcloth of hair” and the moon becomes “as blood” (ref. Revelation 6:12).

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo… the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood

Revelation 6:12

In Matthew 24 and Mark 13, “immediately after the tribulation”, the sun shall be “darkened”, and the moon shall “not give her light”.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light…

Matthew 24:29

Luke 21 also foretells signs in the sun and in the moon.

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon… And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Luke 21:25-27

And Joel 2 prophesies the same.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Joel 2:31

Last but not least, in the passage, some of the kings of the earth, and the captains, and the rich, and the mighty will hide themselves in “dens”, presumably underground bunkers, while others will hide “in the rocks of the mountains”, presumably the likes of America’s Cheyenne Mountain.

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo… 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;

Revelation 6:12-15

When these people hide in the dens and in the rocks of mountains, they will say unto the rocks, “Fall on us”, and “hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb”, for the day of the LORD has come.

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: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 6:16-17

In Isaiah 13, it is clear that on the day of the LORD, Jesus Christ “the Almighty” (ref. Revelation 1:8) will come in spirit (ref. Isaiah 47:3) and as the LORD of hosts, together with the “weapons of his indignation”, nuclear weapons, to destroy the whole of Babylon.

They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

Isaiah 13:5-6

Per Revelation 16, this is to happen at the time of the seventh vial.

And the seventh angel poured out his vial… and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Revelation 16:17-19

So, once again, the sixth seal coincides with the seventh vial and trumpet, the day of the LORD itself.

With that in mind, notice that the seventh seal marks the beginning of the seven trumpets and vials.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets… And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Revelation 8:1-6

I say trumpets and vials, because each of the seven trumpets corresponds to each of the seven vials. When the first trumpet sounds, the first vial pours. When the second trumpet sounds, the second vial pours. And so on it goes until all seven have sounded and poured.

The seventh trumpet, and vial, heralds the day of the LORD, the end.

Now, notice that some of the trumpets and vials take a while to complete. The fifth one, for example, takes at least “five months” (ref. Revelation 9:5), and the sixth at least “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year” (ref. Revelation 9:15)

Because of this, the only way for the sixth and seventh seals to make sense is for the seventh seal to be opened before the sixth.

The second reason why the seven seals will not be opened sequentially is in Revelation 13.

Revelation 13 explains, the beast of the sea with seven heads and ten horns will rise first (ref. Revelation 13:1). After that, the other beast, the one from the earth with two horns like a lamb will rise (ref. Revelation 13:11).

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns… And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death [the end of the first caliphate of ISIS]; and his deadly wound was healed [a resurgence of ISIS at the time of the fourth seal]: and all the world wondered after the beast… And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Revelation 13:1-12

Revelation 13 further explains, the beast from the earth, also known as the False Prophet, will bring about the mark of the beast.

And he causeth all, both great and small, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom, Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Revelation 13:16-18

My view is that the mark of the beast will be a digital currency in the land of Babylon, the USA of the False Prophet. But to introduce a new currency, the existing one must first be destroyed. It is this that explains the trend in the USA towards hyperinflation. Everyone who has read economics at university knows that the textbook solution to hyperinflation is the introduction of a new currency. Modern Monetary Theory and quantitative easing through continual debt might seem like the craziest idea in the history of crazy ideas in the field of economics. But actually, the shadowy figures that control the USA always intended the US dollar to collapse at some point.

Of course, there can be no mark of the beast until there is a beast. That is to say, the fourth seal, the rider of the pale horse, might have to happen before the third seal, the rider of the black horse.

So, the seven seals will not be opened in sequential order, as I had once assumed. The seventh must be before the sixth, and the fourth might have to be before the third.

For several months, Russia has been at war against Ukraine, and more recently at war even against NATO. Russia’s war started when the first seal was opened.

It might be that the second seal, a worldwide war involving China, is not the next thing to happen.

To be sure, there is news, now and again, of tensions in regard to Taiwan, and also the South China Sea, and also the China-India border. Not to mention, the recent explosive surge of COVID in China due to the latest iteration of America’s bioweapon, the latest variant of the virus SARS-COV-2. Every so often, there are also rumours of war regarding North Korea and South Korea, a conflict that would almost certainly involve China.

Still, it might be that the fourth seal, the resurgence or resurrection of ISIS, is what comes next. There is news that Turkey plans to invade Syria in 2023 to defeat the Kurds – the same Kurds that have been fighting against ISIS. This, despite the position of Russia on Syria, and the position of the USA on the Kurds of Syria.

As for the third seal, which speaks of inflation and hyperinflation, there are reports across the world of rising cost of living. Prices in the USA, however, have not yet reached the level of hyperinflation, and the US dollar is still going strong.

Except for Jesus Christ, no one knows which of these three horsemen of the apocalypse is next, and when it will happen.

And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon… And one of the elders saith unto me… 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.

Revelation 5:3-5

What is certain is that in due time, all of the seven seals will be opened.

Then, when the seventh trumpet is sounded and the seventh vial is poured, the mystery of God will be over.

… in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Revelation 10:7

On that day, the Son of man Jesus Christ will return to earth with power and great glory.