The Seven Seals

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We know the year this convention began in Heaven is 1798 because the little horn power of Daniel 7 is wounded that year. In other words, God linked an event on Earth with an event in Heaven that we can’t see so that we could determine a date for the event in Heaven. 

 

John and Daniel saw Jesus found worthy to receive (a) a kingdom and (b) the throne of God and the book sealed with seven seals. This convention is the same event, so the timing of Daniel 7 and Revelation 4 & 5 is 1798.

 

I would like to present three reasons why John and Daniel saw the same event and the date is 1798:

 

1.   In Old Testament times, the High Priest was found worthy to cleanse the temple only on the Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9:24-26)

 

2.   The four rules of interpretation that I use produce a chronological matrix. This prophetic matrix aligns Revelation 4 & 5 with Daniel 7, this matrix aligns the opening of the third seal with 1844, and the prophetic matrix aligns the opening of the fourth seal with the casting down of the censer in Revelation 8:5. The point here is perfect harmony from the sum of all the parts. The first four seals properly align with a 1798 starting point.

 

3.   Most important, the exaltation of Jesus in Daniel 7 (given sovereign power) and the exaltation of Jesus in Revelation 5 (given sovereign power) are necessary and essential for the final work that Jesus, our High Priest, began in 1798. In other words, Jesus was found worthy to take over the assets of the Father for the purpose of concluding the sin problem. No one else in the whole universe is worthy to do this.

 

This explains a mystery. John wept and wept. Here’s why: If no one was worthy to open the book with seven seals, then the sin problem could not be resolved. If the sin problem could not be resolved, God’s kingdom would eventually fall into the hands of sinners. Think about this: God’s ability to resolve the problem of sin determines how eternity will play out.

 

Thoughts on the origin of sin:

 

Sin started when Lucifer, the brightest and highest of God’s created beings, exercised his God given right to rebel against his Maker. Lucifer and the angels (like Adam and Eve) were created with a pure heart, having a propensity for righteousness.

 

There was no taint of selfishness or rebellion in them. At some point in time, Lucifer chose, of his own free will, to rebel against Michael’s authority because Lucifer thought Michael was much like himself. This is how Lucifer became anti-Christ. Lucifer’s actions created a chain of problems, which ultimately introduced rebellion to the universe.

 

During a lengthy period of grace, God tried to get Lucifer to repent, but he refused. When Lucifer and his followers became hopelessly defiant, God cast them out of His house.

 

God did not destroy them because He knew His largest problem was not the presence of sin in His universe. From the beginning, God’s greatest problem is preventing sin and rebellion from rising a second time.

 

Think about this. If you were God, how would you prevent sin from occurring again among children that you gave the right to rebel? Because our “heavenly Father knows best,” He allowed Lucifer and his followers to live for a while so that angels and humans alike could understand the nature and properties of sin as it matured.

 

Because is omniscient and omnipotent and His character is love, He has devised an elegant process that, in the end, will constantly thwart the rise of sin throughout the endless ages of eternity.

 

In simple terms, the process works like this: At the end of sin’s drama, God will repopulate Heaven with redeemed people who once had sinful natures, but chose to submit to His authority. The angels who chose to rebel against God with Lucifer will be replaced by ex-sinners who overcame their rebellion and sin.

 

By doing this, God will have a host of seasoned witnesses elevated to the stature of “kings and priests” who will be able to resolve any issues that might lead to rebellion in the future! (Revelation 1:6) How ingenious! The victories of ex-sinners will forever keep the universe free of sin!

 

God knows that the price for sin has been too great to ever have it rise again. The Bible says that God is love. (1 John 4:8) Because He is a loving God, He gave each of His children the most precious gift that a Creator could offer a created being the power of choice.

 

If we so chose, we can rebel against our Creator. Of course, all choices have consequences, and rebellion against God’s laws and authority are not exempt; thy too have serious consequences. In the beginning, only God and the knowledge of good and evil. This means the angels did not understand the consequences – the harvest of sin.

 

However, when the drama with sin is completed, the knowledge of good and evil will exist as an eternal verity (a highly exalted truth that will never fade) because everyone in God’s universe will clearly understand four matters:

 

1.  God’s laws are designed for the benefit of His children. Because God knows the end from the beginning and He knows what laws are essential for eternal happiness, His laws are unchanging and non-negotiable.  God Himself is subject to His own changeless laws, even to the point of death. 

 

2.   There is no selfishness or self-seeking in God’s heart. The Father was willing to annihilate Jesus for our sins and Jesus was willing to cease to exist, if necessary, so that we could have eternal life.

 

3.   The self-centered behavior of the sinful nature is not only self-destructive it is corporately destructive. Rebellion exposes every innocent child of God to injury and loss.

 

4.   Because God will not impose His will on His children, the only way there can be happy and harmonious universe after rebellion occurs is through a justifiable annihilation of those that insist on rebellion.

 

Because these four matters will be widely understood and highly exalted at the end of sin’s drama, God will not be able to spare future rebels from immediate execution if sin rises again.

 

Keep in mind that God did not destroy Lucifer and his followers, or Adam and Eve, at the time of their rebellion, because the knowledge of good and evil had not yet unfolded in the universe.    

 

However, after the four points listed above are widely known and proven to be true 9at the end of sin’s drama), God will not tolerate rebellion against “the righteous order” necessary for the happiness and benefit of His children.

 

(Have you noticed in Genesis 2:17, that Adam and Eve were to be destroyed the very same day they sinned? God granted a stay of execution because Jesus offered to die in their place. Jesus was willing to die for Adam and Even because the guilty pair did not sin defiantly.)

 

This is a key point: God does not destroy sinners because he is offended. Rather, God destroys those who insist on rebellion because rebellion hurts everyone. Annihilation is the only way to terminate sinners and the horrible consequences of sin.

 

When the universe clearly understands the consequences of good and evil choices, sin’s victims will prevent a second rise of sin forever. (Nahum 1:9; Matthew 12:31,32)

 

So, at the current time, God is resolving two problems. He is resolving the existing problem with sin, and He is resolving the problem of sin in such a way that all His children will refuse to participate in sin again!

 

How wonderful! When the current drama with sin ends, it will become obvious that only an omniscient God of love and wisdom could so masterfully resolve both problems.

 

Foreknowledge at Work

 

The subject of God’s foreknowledge can be hard to understand because God’s behavior is not like our behavior. (Isaiah 55:8,9) God’s love is pure. This means that He has no selfishness in Him.

 

God does not manipulate His creatures on the basis of His foreknowledge.

 

He has given us the power of choice and He always treats us on the basis of love even though we do not make choices that are contrary to His will. Fallen human beings have selfish hearts. If we had the gift of foreknowledge, we would use this incredible power for selfish purposes. 

 

We would manipulate circumstances and people to our satisfaction and we would manipulate the outcome of life itself to protect ourselves and enhance our assets. In other words, if the gift of foreknowledge were mixed with human selfishness, the result would be extraordinary manipulation of those around us. Consider the following illustration:

 

Let us assume that a recently married husband and wife have foreknowledge. Let us assume they intend to have a family of nine children. Since they have foreknowledge, they foreknew that their firstborn child will be a son that they will call “Louis,” and they know he will be born on August 10, 2004.

 

Fifty years later, on Louis’s birthday, August 10, 2054, they know that Louis will start a heated argument and he will attempt to kill both parents that evening.

 

Prior to his fiftieth birthday, this husband and wife know that Louis will attempt to steal their assets to support his reckless and indulgent lifestyle and his addiction to drugs. Because they have foreknowledge, the parents know that Louis will use lies to alienate the other siblings from them.

 

To keep his true motives from being detected, Louis will try to convince his brothers and sisters that his parents are evil.

 

Furthermore, he will claim they owe him money and are unwilling to meet their obligation

 

The parents foreknew that two of their children will sympathize with Louis and take sides with him. Even though they know these terrible events will unfold, they also know that during his first forty years of life, Louis will be a wonderful, lovable son.

 

In fact, of all the nine children, Louis will be their favorite. Since these parents know the situation will be on Louis’s birthday in 2054, what should they do right now to protect themselves and their other offspring from Louis?

 

A.   Have no children.

B.     Have eight children, do not give birth to Louis

C.   Abandon Louis immediately after he is born.

D.   Kill Louis before he turns forty.

E.   Kill Louis when he starts taking drugs.

F.   Kill Louis when he begins to tell lies to limit his influence on the other children.

G.   Write out the contents of what you know is going to happen (foreknowledge) and seal it up before any child is born so that at the right time, your children and grandchildren can examine the whole story and determine the truth about Louis as well as his parents.

 

These seven options may sound ridiculous, but they have a serious parallel.

 

God is all knowing and He foreknows everything in the past, present and future. Of course, some of these options were not viable options for a loving God, but they illustrate a range of considerations that God faced before creating life.

 

God foreknew about Lucifer, the first and highest of his created beings, would eventually choose to become His enemy. God foreknew the damage that Lucifer and his followers would create in His house. God also foreknew that Adam and Even would sin and that Earth would be filled with billions or rebellious people. (Isaiah 44:8; 46:10,11; Jeremiah 17:10;)

 

Given His heart of perfect love and foreknowledge, God looked at all the options and He chose the equivalent of option “G.” He wrote down a complete history of life before life began so that He could prove several things:

 

1.   God will not use His foreknowledge to manipulate His children.

 

2.   God allows His children to exercise their power of choice.

 

3.   God loves His children so much that He is will to cease to exist so that they might have His eternal life.

 

4.   God uses His omnipotence and omniscience for the sole purpose of sustaining the rule of love throughout eternity. God does not use His awesome powers to maintain His position on the throne.

 

End Text:

 

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