Prophecy
6
The Six Seals
–
Revelation 4:1-6:17
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Beginning
Point in Time: 1798
Ending Point in Time: Second
Coming of Jesus
Summary:
This prophecy focuses on a very
important book. Before Jesus created
any life, the Father wrote a book and
He sealed it up with seven seals so
that no one, not even the Son or the
Holy Spirit, could see what He had
written. This book contains a
complete history of life. The life of
each angel and human being was
written down in careful detail before
angels and human beings were created!
According to His infinite wisdom, the
Father decided that the contents of
His history book would not be exposed
until the drama caused by sin is
completed and the seventh seal on the
book is broken. When the seventh seal
is broken, the universe will be
permitted to see everything that the
Father foreknew. The reason the
Father chose to write the history
book may surprise you. In fact, once
you understand why the Father wrote
The Book of Life and then sealed it
with seven seals, you will begin to
understand how an all-knowing God of
love could create a wonderful angel
who would later become the devil.
Note: Because this commentary is as
succinct as possible, you may want to
examine a more comprehensive analysis
of this prophecy. If so, please see
Chapter 10 in my book, A Study on the
Seven Seals and The 144,000 or you
can freely download this material
at: www.wake-up.org/Revelation/RevSeg1.htm.
Introduction:
It is ironic that many Christians
give more attention to the seven
seals than the contents of the sealed
book! After all, the objective of
breaking open the seven seals is to
expose the contents of this book!
Each
apocalyptic prophecy has a starting
point in time and Prophecy 6 has a
starting point in time, but the
starting point is not described in
Revelation 4. The starting point is
determined by linking Daniel 7:9-14 with
Revelation 4 and 5.[1] Let me
explain. Daniel was zoomed forward in
Daniel 7 to see the Father, the
Ancient of Days, convene a special
meeting in 1798. John was also zoomed
forward to 1798 to observe the same
meeting, but from a different
perspective. Both prophets saw the
exaltation of Jesus.
Prophecy 6
unfolds in chronological order. John
was taken “in the spirit”
to visit Heaven’s temple. An
important item he saw in the
Father’s right hand was a book
sealed with seven seals. John saw the
Father search for someone who was
worthy to take the book and break the
seven seals. Eventually, Jesus was
found worthy to receive the book and
He began the process of breaking the
seals.
The Father
wrote The Book of Life to resolve a
contradictory problem before a
contradictory problem even existed!
The Father foreknew that a day would
come when His children would question
His integrity and He knew the best
way to resolve this coming problem
was to create a “time
capsule.” The Father wrote The
Book of Life to prove to the
universe, at an appointed time, that
His foreknowledge has no effect on
His actions. Even though the Father
knows the outcome of all things
before they occur, He does not use
this foreknowledge to control future
events. God knew that people would
claim that God uses His foreknowledge
to direct the outcome of future
events. This problem explains why He
wrote the book and why certain angels
have been recording life ever since
life began. At the end of the 1,000
years in Revelation 20, the
recordings of life made by angels in
real time will be compared with the
contents of The Book of Life.
When the
seventh seal is broken, the Father
will demonstrate that His “time
capsule” is identical with the
recordings made by angels. This will
prove to the universe that He
perfectly foreknew that sin would
occur, as well as who would be saved
and who would be condemned long
before they were born, and even
though He perfectly foreknew the end
from the beginning for every angel
and person, He loved each one the
same. He did not predetermine who
would be saved and who would be lost.
The Father will prove that He treated
each angel and person as though they
would live eternally. The Father
wants to prove that His love for His
children is not affected by His
foreknowledge. This is a huge concept
to process and we will see this
amazing concept unfold in our study
on Revelation.
When the
Father wrote The Book of Life, He
planned that as each seal is broken,
there would be a new revelation about
Jesus. Therefore, at the appointed
time, seven new revelations will be
made about Jesus. When the seventh
seal is broken at the end of the
1,000 years, both Jesus and the
contents of His book will be
completely exposed!
Three
important goals will be accomplished
when the seventh seal is broken open.
First, it will reveal that Jesus is a
separate and distinct God, a
co-eternal equal of the Father. The
Father wants the universe to know
that Jesus has the same powers,
prerogatives, and substance as
Himself. Second, the Father will
prove to the universe that He will
not, under any circumstances, use His
foreknowledge to protect Himself or
His government from harm or
rebellion. In fact, even though the
Father foreknows the future, He will
not allow His knowledge to alter or
influence His love or treatment of
any person. Last, the Father will
prove to the universe that one of His
strangest laws is completely
harmonious with principles of love.
In my opinion, this prophecy contains
one of the most fascinating stories
found in the book of Revelation.
The
Sequence:
Revelation 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 show
thee things which must be hereafter.{1} After
I wrote out the directives of Jesus
to the seven churches, I saw Heaven
open before me and a great temple
came into view. It was an awesome
structure, far greater than the
temple complex in Jerusalem which had
been destroyed in A.D. 70. A doorway
leading into this enormous temple was
open and a voice from inside the
temple said, “Come up here John
and I will show you what must take
place in the future.”[2]
Revelation 4:2
And
immediately I was in the spirit; and,
behold, a throne was set in heaven,
and one sat on the throne.{2} Immediately,
I found myself standing in
Heaven’s temple. When I saw the
magnificence of the temple and the
glory surrounding those who were
present, I was completely
overwhelmed. I felt like a speck of
sand. The size and scale of
everything was huge and beyond my
calculation. As I stood there, I
realized that Earth itself was a
minuscule, insignificant part of
God’s infinite universe. The
temple was at least a thousand times
larger than any building I had ever
seen. A spectacular and dazzling
throne was located in the center of
the room. It was huge, several
stories high. I could see that
someone was sitting on the throne,
but the light around Him was so
brilliant that I could not see any
details. Millions and millions of
angels were sitting in the temple,
far more than I could count.
Revelation 4:3
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.{3} Words
cannot describe the glory of the
Father and His exalted throne. The
Father’s presence emitted a
brilliant light that sparkled like
quartz crystal, mixed with bright red
flashes of fire. A rainbow of many
colors encircled His throne. This
rainbow appeared to have three
dimensions, like rainbows of light
that dance on polished emeralds.
Revelation 4:4
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.{4} Twenty-four
thrones surrounded the Father’s
throne, and twenty-four elders
redeemed from Earth were seated on
these thrones. They wore white
clothing and had gold crowns on their
heads.
It is my
understanding that the twenty-four
elders are people who the Father
resurrected along with Jesus. They
were taken to Heaven to serve as
human observers.[3] The
Bible indicates that two witnesses
are needed whenever judgment is
involved. Therefore, it seems likely
that two people were taken from each
of the twelve tribes to observe Jesus
as He cleanses Heaven’s temple,
that is, judges each person prior to
the Second Coming.[4] The
presence of twenty-four human
observers around the throne of God
speaks volumes about the transparent
nature of God’s government. It
is wonderful to realize that
twenty-four witnesses will be able to
address any concerns that any saint
might have about God’s decision
on any individual!
Revelation 4:5
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.{5}
Flashes of lightning, heavy
rumblings, and peals of rolling
thunder emanated from the
Father’s throne. The floor of
the temple trembled with unseen
energy and His glory was
indescribable. The atmosphere was
charged with energy. Seven dazzling
angels stood close to the throne.
They were so bright that they looked
like seven glowing lampstands. They
stood around the throne, ready to do
whatever the Father might command.
These seven angels are the same seven
angels that serve the seven churches,
receive the seven trumpets, and pour
out the seven bowls.[5]
Revelation 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.{6} The
Father’s throne rested on a
large expanse that looked like pure
glass, clear as crystal. In the
center of this expanse, closest to
the Father, were four strange
looking, but highly exalted
creatures.[6] Each of
the four creatures had six wings.
These four creatures did not look
like the seven angels. They stood
close to the Father, surrounding Him
at the four points of a compass:
north, south, east and west. The four
creatures were identical. It was
clear that they had enormous
authority and power because they were
close to the Father.
These four
living creatures are a representation
of the Holy Spirit who cannot be
seen. The Holy Spirit has a name
because he is a separate and
distinct, co-eternal member of the
Godhead.[7] The
Holy Spirit is omnipresent, that is,
He can be everywhere at once –
north, south, east, and west –
and this is why John saw him
represented as four clones of the
same being.[8] The
four living creatures were covered
with eyes indicating the Holy Spirit
is omniscient, that is, He is
all-seeing and all-knowing.[9] Ezekiel
saw the same four living creatures
(cherubim) that John saw.[10] There
are a few differences because God
often uses repetition and enlargement
to enhance our understanding of
complex subjects. This invisible
member of the Godhead was visibly
represented to John as four clones
because the Father wanted John to
identify and see the actions of the
Holy Spirit. There is nothing in the
universe like the Holy Spirit. In
substance, He is fully God. His
unique person, presence, power, and
abilities are visibly caricatured in
this vision because God wants us to
better understand His ministry on
behalf of mankind.
Revelation 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.{7} Because
of my location, I could see that each
living creature had four faces.
However, only one face on each
creature was shown to me. I saw the
face of a lion, an ox, a man, and an
eagle in flight. I remembered
Ezekiel’s description:
“Their faces looked like this:
Each of the four had the face of a
man, and on the right side each had
the face of a lion, and on the left
the face of an ox; each also had the
face of an eagle.”[11] Later
on, I discovered that one face on
each creature was exposed to me so
that I could identify and keep
separate the four special tasks which
the Holy Spirit would be commanded to
carry out.
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