REVELATION...THE SEALS...A STUDY OF THE END TIMES (Part II)

In summary, during the first 4 Seals (Revelation 6), we have…

Seals 1 & 2 – Wars and Rumors of Wars

Seals 3 & 4 – Famine, Disease and Death to > ¼ of the Earth

It says in Matthew 24:8, “But all this will only be the beginning of the horrors to come.”

In Seal 5, in Revelation 6:9-11, we see “under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the Word of God and for being faithful in their witness.  They called loudly to the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge the people who belong to this world for what they have done to us?  When will you avenge our blood against these people?  Then a white robe was given to each of them.  And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters, their fellow servants of Jesus, had been martyred.”

If we look at Matthew 24:9-13, we see, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated all over the world because of your allegiance to me.  And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.  And many false prophets will appear and will lead many people astray.  Sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold. But those who endure to the end will be saved.”

I believe these two references in Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 coincide meaning that the souls we see under the altar are those coming out of tribulation and killed for their faithfulness to the Word of God.  I believe these are the same souls referenced in Revelation 7:9, “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count from every nation and tribe and people and language standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.  They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands.”

Revelation 7:13 – 14 says, “Then one of the 24 elders asked me, ‘Who are these who are clothed in white?  Where do they come from?’

‘And, I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one who knows.’

‘Then he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and made them white.’

In conclusion, Seal 5 references the Great Tribulation. One main point is that during this period, a vast crowd of believers, coming from every nation, tribe, people and language, will be arrested, persecuted and martyred for their faith in Jesus...as a result of their faithfulness, they will receive a white robe and palm branches and reign with Christ during the Millennium period.  

In our next End Times' corner, we will come to understand the other significant events taking place during the Great Tribulation (Seal 5).