TOPIC:“The Breaking of the Seals”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Revelation 6:1-17
“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the
noise of the thunder, one of the four living creatures saying, Come” (6:1).
Before I give my exposition of the verses here in chapter 6 of Revelation, I want to state that after a thorough examination of the Bible for the past fifty years, it is my firm belief that the church will escape the coming hour of trial as described by John in the forth-coming chapters. It will be kept safe from this time of testing, better known as “the Tribulation.” Instead we are encouraged to anticipate the glorious coming of Christ as He returns to snatch us out of all that is to happen on the earth. Our destiny is to “sit with Christ on His throne” (Revelation 3:21) during this time of trouble.
We come now to the section in Revelation, chapters 6 through 19, which is spoken of as the 70th week of Daniel. It is that future seven year Tribulation period which many of the Old Testament prophets wrote about. The sealed scroll has already been taken by the Lamb and He is now ready to break the seals and reveal the terrible judgments which are to fall upon the wicked world.
It is interesting that the opening of these seals correspond very closely to the Olivet Discourse as given by Christ in Matthew 24 in which He sets forth the future Tribulation period. In both sections, Matthew and Revelation, mention is made of war, famine, death, martyrdom, falling stars and the moon and sun being darkened. The seals are opened in succession, one by one, until finally, reaching a destructive climax in the sixth and seventh seals as the divine wrath of God falls upon a deserving earth.
There is nothing mentioned in this chapter before us about the duration of time between the opening of each seal. However, as I have studied the seals separately, it becomes apparent to me that a certain interval of time exists before the opening of each seal, although it seems to pass in rapid sequence. Also, the first four seals are often referred to as “the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.” These judgments are related in kind and in order, all leading up to the unleasing of their frightful contents of divine wrath. Let us consider now the description of each rider on these horses of different colors.
I.
Consider, to begin with, the First Seal - ANTICHRIST. John writes in verse 2 these words: “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 . . .