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The Seven Seals Of Revelation
Audio Link: https://whengogcomes.com/audio/16-the-seven-seals-of-revelation-wgc.mp3
I have mentioned before that this book came out of an attempt to verify the timing of Ezekiel’s Fire. But, it’s also about something that God is focused on:
The Return of Jacob
That was my original focus for this book, until I realized the need to concentrate on the timing of Jacob's Return, and that meant Gog and Magog. And, this book has proved – without doubt – that the Children of Jacob must return to God, before the Antichrist takes power. That chapter is utterly conclusive - as is the rest of the book. There just isn’t any other way to look at the salvation of Israel. But, talking about when Israel is saved, also points us to the 144 thousand Israelis, sealed in Revelation 7.
Those Israelis are sealed in their foreheads after the sixth seal is opened in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 6:12). And, every time that I’ve examined that passage, I would scratch my head and wonder about the timing of this event. It wasn't possible for that to happen during the rule of the Antichrist, and it certainly cannot be afterwards.
Well, I was pushed into looking at this more carefully by some very smart and tenacious readers, and I just cannot escape the most logical conclusion. And, I find it interesting to see that I have fought so hard against accepting the obvious. With everything that we have already talked about, it should be clear what Seal Six is all about:
Gog and Magog and the salvation of the Children of Jacob
And, it has taken me forever to accept that. So, I understand if it takes time for you to also get to this point. Those of us who love Israel and the Jewish people, do not want to see them go through such grave difficulty. But, this is the will of God, and His purposes are more wise than our own. And, He loves His Chosen.
Here are a few other points that we will also talk about in this chapter:
144,000 Israelis - 12 thousand virgin men from each tribe - are sealed in their foreheads
Seal Six describes the aftermath of a nova event - a micronova
God will be recognized and glorified
The bow is not a symbol of military conquest (even though conquest happens)
Maybe Seal One was opened in 1967
In Seal Two, when children go hungry parents turn to violence
Among other things, Seal Three shows how energy decline increases the cost of food
The Pale Horse in Seal Four is actually green and shows how plague routinely follows in the footsteps of starvation
The Antichrist does not come until AFTER the Seals have been opened
The Book of Truth in Daniel 10, may be the scroll that is opened after the Seals are removed
Be careful about speculating
That's mind-blowing stuff, and you would think that starting with the beginning would be a great idea. But our focus is on the timing of Gog and Magog and the coming of Ezekiel's Fire. So, we'll start at the end of Revelation Six, before talking about the first Seal.
Seal Six
The signature of God upon the foreheads of 12 thousand Israelis from each tribe of Israel is rock solid evidence that Gog comes before the Antichrist. You can’t get that many virgin men (Revelation 14) if you don’t have millions of Israelis saved many years before the first invasion by the Man of Lawlessness. But, that hasn’t stopped theologians from trying to downplay that evidence.
Again….
…when are these 144 thousand sealed?
Seal Six
Here is when Seal Six is opened:
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
– Revelation 6:12 (NKJV)
That… earthquake. And, what happens to the sun and moon. That sounds so much like what the prophets describe about the coming of Gog and Magog, that we cannot ignore this.
Furthermore, this is EXACTLY what can happen AFTER a nova event. And, just because verse 12 does not describe the initial explosion of light, means nothing. Isaiah 28 makes it absolutely clear that God does not reveal everything in a single prophecy. So, we must add the prophecies together, in a proper way, to see the whole thing. Those who are in rebellion against God will not be able to do so. But, back to this micronova…
That Micronova Again
I know that it’s hard to see how this is exactly what would happen in the hours and days after a micronova. In fact, you still might not be entirely certain what such a micronova is.
A micronova is an explosion in a star that causes the star’s outermost layer to explode outward. This cataclysm dumps a truly massive amount of material into the area around the star. This blast will cause the star to glow brightly, for hours. But then, as the outer shell of the star expands out into space, all of that material will cool down and become like a cloud. As this cloud expands, the star will appear to grow dim, and other objects in orbit around that star will take on a different color.
Here’s a good explanation of what I’m talking about:
Solar Superstorms | Superflare vs Micronova [Part 2]
Earth Catastrophe Cycle | SOLAR MICRONOVA II
So, when Revelation 6:12 says that the sun will become ‘black like sackcloth’ and the moon will become ‘like blood’, it fits some of what we would expect from a small nova event that we are calling a micronova. Then, as some of this material from the Sun clumps together and hits Earth, there will be shooting ‘stars falling to Earth’. Also, as this cloud of Solar material continues outward, the night sky will look like it is ‘rolling up’ – just like when a storm front moves through at night.
All of this is after the initial brilliance of the micronova that is described in Isaiah 30. Only after this massive explosion from the sun will our star be darkened and the moon turn red as blood. Again, all of this fits exactly with our understanding of how some small novae could happen.
This expanding sphere will glow brightly and will briefly be seven times brighter than the sun, before cooling down and turning into dust. From a perspective far away from our sun, it will look like an expanding ball. Of course, you’d probably need to be sitting on Mars or in the Asteroid Belt, to see it properly. As this cloud cools and races past Earth, the sun will be darkened, the moon will appear red like blood, and the stars of the night sky will seem as if they were rolling up like a scroll.
Again, just because Revelation 6 does not describe the initial burst of light – i.e., the brightness of the sun and moon described in Isaiah 30 – well, that means nothing. Isaiah 30:26 and Revelation 6:12 fit together perfectly.
The following verses describe events that are also exactly what we would expect from a micronova:
13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
– Revelation 6:13-14 (NKJV)
The wave front of this micronova dust cloud will obscure the galaxies and stars at night. And, as it moves outward from the sun, it will look like the sky is being rolled up. We will also see ‘shooting stars’ as bits of matter formed by this explosion hit the atmosphere of Earth. And, when it says that every mountain and island will be moved out of its place, this is again exactly what we would expect. The resulting earthquake will be global and bigger than anything that we’ve ever seen, at least since the Great Flood - which I believe was the previous time this happened.
Now, is it possible that this event is different than the one described in Ezekiel, Zechariah and Isaiah?
When it comes to the Book of Revelation, I am always willing to agree that I could be wrong. You’ll see why, at the end of this chapter. But, it’s hard to believe that we can look at all the evidence that we have collected so far, and not see a direct connection to these verses in Revelation 6.
God Glorified
Moreover, there’s an important connection between Seal Six of Revelation and the prophecies that we’ve already covered:
God will be revealed to be exactly who the Bible says that He is.
Here’s the connection:
15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
– Revelation 6:15-17 (NKJV)
Everyone around the world will all recognize who God was. Who He is. And, who He will always be. The Creator will be recognized. It will be one final warning that judgment is coming. Here’s how that passage connects with the coming of Gog and Magog:
You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”
– Ezekiel 38:16 (NKJV)
Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
– Ezekiel 38:23 (NKJV)
“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
– Ezekiel 39:6 (NKJV)
…Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
– Ezekiel 39:7b (NKJV)
“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
– Ezekiel 39:21 (NKJV)
This will be a titanic demonstration by God that He is real, showing the world that everything in the Bible is true. Never before will so many see the Truth with absolutely no possibility of miscommunication. It will be clear. It will be in-your-face. There will be no excuse for not seeing the reality of God. Everyone around the world will know and fear. It will be a big opportunity for everyone to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There will be other chances, but none will be as big as this one.
God always gives warning, and this one will be impossible to ignore.
Furthermore, the connection between Revelation 6 and the coming of Gog and Magog is far too strong to be ignored. You might not think that it is the same level of ‘rock solid’ evidence that I have provided elsewhere, and that’s your choice.
But, do you really want to claim that Gog and Magog does not come in Revelation 6:12?
Not me. I am NOT going to make such a claim. Unless someone can come up with a ‘rock solid’ argument for why this cannot be Ezekiel 38 and 39, I have no choice but to make this my central conclusion.
The good thing is that we have the first five seals in Revelation 6 to look at. When we see evidence that these seals have been opened, we’ll know that we should be looking for Seal Six to happen soon. Unfortunately, I have absolute proof that the core reason behind the scarcity of Seal Three was set in motion years ago. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Seal One
Our discussion of the Seven Seals begins with the first two verses of Revelation 6:
1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
– Revelation 6:1-2 (NKJV)
The first question that everyone asks, is:
Is this the Antichrist?
Anything is possible, but that doesn’t fit the order of events described elsewhere in the Bible. Remember that we have lots of proof that certain things must happen before the Antichrist begins his rise to power.
Do you remember the ten kings?
You will find them in Daniel 7 and Revelation 17. And, those ten kings are NOT in power today.
But, will they be in power tomorrow?
I have studied and lived geopolitics for most of my life. After 25 years in Asia, I can tell you with certainty that there is only one empire – Pax Americana. You could make a case for this ’empire’ to actually be Euro-American, and there would be a lot of truth to that. But, there aren’t ten empires that control the world.
China and India are rising, but they are not yet at the level of these ten kings. We have rising regional alliances, all around the world, but there aren’t ten of those – at least, not yet. Nor are they strong enough.
We could speculate all day about who or what these ‘ten kings’ are, and we’ve all had fun doing that in the past. But, there’s something that we should all realize, as we think about this:
The world of the Ten Kings is not the world that we live in today.
For the ten kings to rise, or for a political structure to rise that would be ruled by these ten kings, the world would need to change, drastically, dramatically, catastrophically. As I write this, it’s 2022. The reaction to the CCP Virus has done terrible damage to economies and political confidence around the world. Uncertainty rules the hearts and minds of almost everyone.
That’s bad, but it’s going to get much worse.
When I started the Omega Shock website, in 2011, I knew that one of the biggest challenges to our current civilization, was the decline in available energy – specifically, transportation fuel. That decline actually began in 2005, but the financial markets reversed the fall in oil production by throwing lots of debt at it, allowing us to live on borrowed time.
One day, we will turn a corner in our civilization, and it will mark the absolute maximum in the global production of crude oil – currently around 100 million barrels a day. After the peak happens, there will be only two words for our future:
Permanent Decline
No civilization handles permanent decline well. Every time it has happened in the past, the result was war. An empire in decline will fight to keep what it has. The nations around it will seek for ways to take advantage of the failing empire. Greed and fear will rule the world until these ten kings take power – and, even afterwards.
The rise of Gog and his rule of the Land of Magog, will probably be one such attempt to take advantage of a weakened America and Europe. China is already attempting to carve out its own empire. Russia is trying to hold on to what it already has, while expanding its influence. Turkey wants to recreate the Ottoman Empire.
Will another country do the same?
We can only speculate over who is represented by the rider of the white horse. There are a lot of candidates to look at. And, maybe it's all of them. But, one thing to think about are the wars that happen as an empire fails. And, the damage that these wars will do to our civilization will shake our lives.
The whole idea of recognized international borders will be tossed out, and only the strongest nations will survive.
It makes me sick to think of how much war and violence will erupt because our way of life has entered permanent decline. This will be very, very hard to watch. The only question is about how long it will take.
And now that I’ve written the above, I have a question:
How much of what is coming – and is happening now – is actually the Red Horse of Seal Two?
But, hold that thought as we look at a few more points regarding the first seal.
The Bow
Some thoughtful readers put forward ideas and questions about the bow given to the rider of the white horse. I don’t wish to speculate too much, since a lot of damage has already been done by those who are just a bit too enthusiastic about Revelation 6 – something that you could accuse me of being.
A bow is an interesting weapon, when used on the battlefield. Archers on foot always need to stand behind other soldiers for protection. They rarely can act on their own.
The exception to this is the horse archer of the Mongols (or the Huns and Turks). They were able to use weaker bows for hit and run attacks, harassing foot soldiers to death. (But, were less effective against archers on foot) But, I don’t think that we’re dealing central Asian nomads.
Or, are we?
The point is that...
The bow is not the normal symbol of the conqueror.
So, what point is being made here, with this symbol?
I have more questions than answers. But, I've noticed that a lot of people are trying to connect the COVID-19 pandemic (and our response to it) to the Greek word for this bow:
τόξον - toxon
Because Greek soldiers put poison on the heads of their arrows, we began to refer to venomous practices as toxic - from the Greek word toxon. This also has its parallels to other words, like plumber.
Did you know that we get the word for plumber from the Latin word for lead?
The Romans used lead pipes to deliver water around their cities. The Latin word for lead is plumbum, and their word for the guy who laid these lead pipes was a plumbarius - or, plumber. So, remember:
Similar sounding words do not mean that they have similar meanings.
When Is The First Seal Opened?
Many thoughts have been brought forward about when Seal One would be opened. Most have claimed that the rider of the White Horse will be the Antichrist, without a single shred of evidence whatsoever. Not only is there no proof of that, but Seal Six proves that this just cannot be – since that Seal knocks everything down.
So, if the first Seal isn’t going to be opened when the Antichrist rises…
…when will it be opened?
This is where we dig a little deeper into speculation. Part of the problem lies in how we would identify the ride of the White Horse. And unless some major power launches a huge invasion of at least some part of Europe or Asia, I cannot tell you with any certainty how we would know that Seal One has been opened.
Here are some possibilities for who/what this rider of the White Horse is, in no certain order:
The rise of the Gog and Magog alliance
The rise of regional alliances as US power declines
The attempt by China to dominate East Asia
The rise of globalist institutions
The rise of the League of Nations, followed by the United Nations
Something that replaces the UN
The rise of networks similar to what we have for banking, transportation and communications
The rise of Westphalian sovereignty that began in 1648 with the treaties that ended the Thirty Years War
(and yes, that's a thing)
The fall in power of monarchies in the first half of the 20th century
The rise of European colonialism in the 16th century
It could be any one of those, all of them or something else that takes us completely by surprise. I am not hanging my hat on any one theory. The best that I can do is say that Seal One must open soon, if it hasn't already - because we are well on our way to Seal Three. (More on that later.)
The Centrality Of Jerusalem In Prophecy
However, there is something that is easy to forget as we look at all these possibilities:
Jerusalem is at the center of prophecy
According to the Bible, there is no patch of ground that is more important than Jerusalem. And, there is no place in Jerusalem more important than Zion, where the City of David was built. And, I believe that Jerusalem is at the center of everything that happens in End Times prophecy.
Here are two things to consider as we think about that:
Historical evidence that The Book of Revelation was written after AD 70.
The words of Jesus in Luke 21.
Preterists love to claim that John wrote Revelation before the fall of Jerusalem. But, our best evidence indicates otherwise. Now, historical evidence is not Biblical truth, but the words of Jesus should remove our doubts:
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
– Luke 21:24 (NKJV)
Jesus said that the Jews would go into exile and that Jerusalem would be trampled (abusively controlled) by the Gentiles until their time is over. And, we know the beginning point of these words:
AD 70
That is the beginning of this time period that Jesus was talking about. The Jews were scattered. Jerusalem was destroyed and trampled by the non-Jews for almost two thousand years.
Think of Luke 21:24 as a verse that is 1897 years long. It starts with the Fall of Jerusalem, and it ends with the Return of Jerusalem to her people. The cornerstone of Last Days prophecy has always been that tiny patch of land called:
Jerusalem.
The Beginning Of The End?
On June 7th, 1967, the IDF’s 55th Paratroop Brigade captured the Old City, and Motta Gur gave a shout that was heard around the world:
הר הבית בידינו
(Har ha-bayeet be-ya-deynu)
The Temple Mount is in our hands!
From that moment in time, Jewish Israeli law reigned over all Jerusalem. Today, no matter where you are in the Old City, if you break Israeli law, you go before an Israeli judge and – if convicted of a serious crime – you go to an Israeli prison. There are no exceptions to this. None.
So, one thing should be absolutely clear:
The Gentiles no longer trample Jerusalem.
Yes, I know that the nations of the world keep trying to get Jerusalem back, and I know that the UN keeps passing one stupid resolution after another, claiming this or that about Jerusalem. But, that doesn’t change the single most basic fact:
The Gentiles do NOT rule Jerusalem.
If you don’t believe me, take a look at this picture and tell me what you see:
Israeli police officers walk in front of the Dome of the Rock, on the Temple Mount.
March 17, 2010. (photo by REUTERS/Baz Ratner)
Those are Israeli policemen.
If you break Israeli law, they will arrest you. You just cannot get more clear than that.
So, what does that have to do with the First Seal?
Maybe nothing. But, let’s continue the words of Jesus that we quoted earlier. This time, we’ll look at words that came AFTER Luke 21:24.
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
– Luke 21:25-28 (NKJV)
That sounds a lot like the Book of Revelation. And, when I see these phrases:
- signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars
- distress of nations
- the sea and the waves roaring
- the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth,
That sounds exactly like When Gog Comes and Ezekiel's Fire - along with the events described in Revelation 6. And, Revelation 6 is about the first six seals. Now, ‘sounds exactly like’ is not the same as ‘thus saith the Lord’. I’m not the angel Gabriel, and I’m not a prophet like Daniel. I’m just a writer who believes in Jesus and doing my best to connect dots. Feel free to disagree and throw a stone or two. I don’t mind.
But, is there some evidence that I can point to, that shows a rider of a white horse, conquering the world right now?
I believe so.
I have written extensively on the rise of globalist entities, regional power structures, the international heroin network, OPEC, communications networks, etc. And, 1967 seems to mark an important turning point for much of what I've talked about. Having said that, we've hit some other significant turning points as well. But, of all the developments that I've covered, nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - has been bigger than this:
The Decline In Energy
I hope that it will be years before you feel the effects of this, but I doubt that it will be very long before you see it for yourself. And, when that happens, nations will kill each other to gain access to energy resources. And, that brings us to the next seal.
Seal Two
The second seal confirms that we are not talking about individual human beings riding horses. And, this seal also falls in line with the cause of the first one:
3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
– Revelation 6:3-4 (NKJV)
Why would people kill each other?
Revelation specifically says that the rider of this horse has been granted the right, power and obligation to take peace from the earth. So, this spirit of violence is real and should not be questioned. So, maybe we should ask about the method this rider will use. And, there are a couple of questions that we could ask ourselves.
How do people react, when they expected to get something that they wanted, but got a lot less than that?
What happens when a strong nation needs what a weak nation has?
What happens when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?
What happens when those in power seek to secure their rule, by turning one part of society against the other?
We saw an example of that in 2011, during what they called the Arab Spring. The mainstream media said that Egypt rose up against Hosni Mubarak because they wanted democracy. Sure, some wanted free elections, but that wasn’t why they were in the streets, trying to tear down the government.
Their kids were hungry.
Yes, the police had been brutal to the average Egyptian, and 'National Police Day' was just too much for people to handle. But, law enforcement brutality was just that one little extra thing to push Egypt over the brink. And, the seething anger of the masses had everything to do with hunger.
All of that is connected to how Egypt fed its people. For the vast majority of Egyptians the only thing standing between their families and starvation was subsidized cooking gas and subsidized flour. When those subsidies were taken away, Egyptians began to suffer malnutrition and anxiety about the future. So, when the police beat up one person too many, anxiety turned into riots and the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
Of course, that was then, and Egypt was poor. And, most of you live in rich countries, unless you are an expat like me. But, the wealth of your country will decline in the coming years - maybe quickly. And, that leads us to an interesting thought:
As once-prosperous citizens have less and less, when they were expecting more...
...they will start tearing their neighborhoods apart.
(especially, if their version of morality gives them permission to do so.)
Sound familiar?
The Fall of Rome was the perfect example. The government offered free food and free entertainment to the mobs in exchange for their political support. Eventually, they couldn’t keep handing out free stuff, and the citizens of Rome tore the city and empire apart. And like Rome, we built our world on the promise of prosperity. When we fail to deliver those promises, people will turn to violence. And, if you need a more personal example…
How many marriages fail because of unrealistic expectations and weak morality?
Yeah. That phrase:
Unrealistic expectations
That is everywhere in our society and culture. TV, movies, music, books and our education system have all programmed us to believe that the future is bright. Worse, our preachers tell us that God doesn’t want us to suffer, and that we can have our ‘best life now’. But, that’s not how this sinful world works.
The unfortunate reality is that we have stolen from our future, without any intention of paying back what we have taken. We forgot that there’s a limit to how long the real world will accept our empty promises. And, as our permanent decline increases in speed and ferocity, it will be our youngest generations that will make us pay.
Their currency of choice?
Looting, violence and burned out buildings.
Seal Three
This brings us to the third seal, and my horror at what is happening right now in 2022. With all that I see happening right now, under the surface, I’ve come to wonder if Seal Three has either been opened already or is about to be opened. I truly hope that I'm wrong, but let’s read the passage first:
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
– Revelation 6:5-6 (NKJV)
This Seal is about the cost of food getting so expensive that your wages will only be enough to cover the cost of what you eat each day. Some claim that this is just normal everyday inflation, but ‘inflation’ is a term that describes what happens when the number of currency units in circulation grows faster than the economy. And, we’ve seen inflation at work for centuries. But, this inflation will be different.
This is where we get into the question of causes and effects.
And, I want you to pause for a moment, to think about this, because it's vitally important:
Does the Black Horse start its ride when we see the effects?
Or, does it ride when the causes are introduced?
The rise in the cost of food will be due to the rise in the cost of oil and natural gas. Tractors need it to plow and plant crops. Harvesters need it to reap what was sown. Trucks need it to transport food. And, the fertilizer that farmers need to grow all that food, requires natural gas to make a key component. And, when the price of oil and natural gas go up, people starve.
The rise in oil prices in 2006 – due to the drop in oil production in 2005 – caused the price of food to rise to its highest point in 2008. We ‘solved’ this crisis by injecting debt into hydraulic fracturing – aka, ‘fracking’. It didn’t work as well as they had hoped, and the debt ‘gravy train’ is grinding to a halt. This means that we are now back where we started, but this time… with less money and more trouble. This is very bad news for everyone, but the poor of the Third World will suffer the most.
It’s one thing to pay the price for our own stupidity. It’s only right that we do so, and we’ve all had personal examples of that. But, to cause someone else to suffer because we failed in our responsibility to warn of the disaster that’s coming…
…that’s an abomination
I’ve been sounding the alarm for more than a decade, and the poorest among us will suffer greatly in the years ahead.
And then…
…it will all get much, much worse.
As I keep repeating, the absolute peak on total oil production worldwide will happen some time in the near future. This will be a death-blow to our way of life, one that I have been warning about since 2011. And, we are now starting to see the first to suffer:
The Third World
As I write this, emerging market food prices are going up, and this is a devastating sign of suffering to come. But, even now, there are fools who still refuse to see what should be obvious. The current rise in the cost of food is not about COVID-19. Yes, there is some connection, but it is not the core reason.
I understand why people do not want to believe in the seriousness of the eventual decline in energy production. I don’t want to believe it either, but history shows us that disaster only gets worse when we ignore it. Unfortunately, we ignored it for too long, and now it’s not just here… it’s obvious.
For those who do not care about the suffering of the poorest countries, we will also be seeing the permanent decline in our own ability to create the goods and services that a nation needs to prosper. I introduced the term Permanent Decline in Seal One, and the decline in crude oil production will not only accelerate the progress of the white horse, but also the red horse of Seal Two.
The rising cost of food is already taking a larger share of your budget. Eventually, the rising cost of basic necessities will consume more and more of your income, and one day all our efforts will only be enough to cover the food that we eat – and maybe, not even then.
Again, this will be directly connected to the decline in our ability to produce transportation fuel. As gasoline/petrol becomes more and more expensive, the cost of food will go up dramatically. Farmers will plow less land. The cost of fertilizer will go up. The cost of transporting food will go up. The great food producers of the world will not be able to export as much as before. What we eat today, will be considered a luxury tomorrow.
Life will eventually become a desperate struggle for everyone.
Again, this future has become so obvious, that I wonder if Seal Three was opened years ago. But, if the rider of the Black Horse hasn't left the stable, he's saddling up.
By the way, we are seeing production problems across the commodity spectrum – in both quality and quantity. For instance, take a look at copper.
Did you know that the amount of copper per ton of earth and rock, has been falling since 1988?
That’s right. 1988. And copper is a key component for every economy. And, in terms of total tonnage produced, 2019 might have been the last year that we produce 20.4 million metric tons of copper. So, if you don’t want to look at oil production, there are a host of natural resources to look at, that are also in decline.
Seal Four
Then, there’s Seal Four. Many have come to me with different views on what the ride of the Pale Horse represents:
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
– Revelation 6:7-8 (NKJV)
The word for ‘pale’ in that verse is this one:
χλωρος (pronounced kloros)
That’s Greek for green.
If you know any biology, you have probably come across that special something that allows plants to turn sunlight into growth:
chlorophyll
That’s the same kind of ‘green’ that we’re talking about. It’s a ‘tender’ form of green. But, we’ll need to speculate to think about what that color represents. The colors of the previous horses seemed to fit with what their riders were doing. White for conquest. Red for violence. Black for scarcity.
But, what does green connect to?
Again, we’re speculating, and ONLY speculating. None of us have complete answers, but we do have possibilities.
ISLAM – Except for the past century, no other religion has killed more people than Islam. And, the symbol of that evil religion is the sword and the green flag. And, wherever those two symbols go, death follows.
STARVATION – when the cost of food goes up, the poorest starve, and starvation makes you vulnerable to disease. In fact, most people usually die of infections before they suffer organ failure from lack of food. Also, those without food will try to kill those who have it.
Also, famine is a common weapon in the hands of cruel governments. Millions of Ukrainians were killed by an artificial famine created by Stalin. Tens of millions died in China from starvation because of the Chinese Communist Party. And, Hitler starved the Jews as he worked them to death in his concentration camps – at least, when he was not murdering them in his gas chambers.
Then, as starvation and death depopulates an area, animals will move in and fight over what’s left. Also, those animals that have depended on human activity, will have to fight harder for what food is left. Deer feed on the grain that farmers plant. Wolves eat the deer. When wolves go hungry, they look for other sources of food.
The irony is that starvation and Islam, often go together.
The question is…
…what ‘fourth of the world’ is this?
There are a number of possible regions of the world that would fail because they were not able to adjust to these changes. I have often heard people claim that Africa was the most likely region for the ‘pale horse’ to ride, but most people don’t know how fragile India and China are. And, as Europe and North America continue to decline, they become candidates for this rider, also.
However, as indicated in the discussion of Seal Three, those Third World countries that must import food will suffer the worst. Their cost of food already consumes an abnormally large part of their income, so starvation and disease will follow the rise in food prices. We’ll see what happens, and I don’t really want to.
Seal Five
Seal Five is a lot harder to place and understand:
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
– Revelation 6:9-11 (NKJV)
Most people don’t know this, but more people are being persecuted and killed for Christ right now, than at any other time in human history. And today's biggest persecutor of Christians is China. No one talks about what China is doing to Christians, but the news that we are getting, about Chinese Communist Party persecution of believers, shows that the situation is getting worse and worse and worse. In Muslim countries, Christians are being killed almost on a whim. Islamic terror groups are murdering Christians in Africa and Asia, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to this escalation in evil.
Does any of that explain this Seal?
I don’t know. It could be that Seal Five represents a time of even more terrible persecution, and societies under stress do tend to do such things. Or, it might be something else.
However, the vision of Seal Five describes an event in heaven that would seem to encompass all the persecution that has ever happened – thousands of years of persecution. So, even though the first four Seals correspond to events on earth – as with Seal Six…
Can we say that this coincides with persecution on earth at that time?
Again, I honestly don’t know. But, I also know that we should always be ready to give our lives for Christ.
Are you ready to die for the One who gave you eternal life?
If you cannot answer yes to that question, right now, you have some work to do.
The Rest Of Seal Six In Revelation 7
We’ve already talked about the first part of Seal Six and the 144 thousand Israelis with the signature of God in their foreheads. The beginning of this seal is the most likely moment when Gog comes to attack Israel. It’s also the most likely moment for Ezekiel’s Fire – the micronova that knocks our civilization flat.
But, of all these seals, it appears to be the longest one.
Here’s why:
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
– Revelation 7:2-3 (NKJV)
Seals One through Four take years of time, each. We can be reasonably sure that these seals overlap, but they still take time for the actions of the four horsemen to take effect. It takes years to conquer. It takes years for violence to reach peak disorder. It takes years for economies to fully collapse. It takes years for starvation, epidemics and violence to crush a quarter of the world.
We could speculate endlessly about how long each seal would take, and how much each seal overlaps the others. If history is any guide – and I admit that it might not be – the most reasonable estimate is years of time for each Seal. Even decades. So, as we think of how long the first five seals take, we need to consider what this angel says:
Wait an extra amount of time.
If the previous seals take years, does Seal Six take decades?
Again, this is speculation, but it should give us a clue that there will be plenty of time for the events that I have already described in previous chapters. Gog will come. Ezekiel’s Fire will strike. And, a new a civilization will rise with the Ten Kings and then… the Antichrist. We need to think of these Seals as working over a long span of time, and our pastors and theologians have not been teaching us that. I certainly never heard anyone speak of this in my hearing.
So, Seal Six will be extra long, and after the sealing of the 144 thousand Israelis, it introduces something else:
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
– Revelation 7:9-12 (NKJV)
That ‘great multitude’ is not the 12 thousand from each of the 12 tribes. This is a lot more than that. All the angels. And, millions of people. So many millions – maybe billions – that they could not be counted. That sounds like everyone who was ever been a follower of God, up to that point in time.
THE. BIGGEST. BIBLE CONFERENCE. EVER.
The description of this multitude continues:
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
– Revelation 7:13-17 (NKJV)
And, since it says that this multitude comes out of ‘the great tribulation’:
Are these the Christians who died during the time of the Antichrist?
No, and we can confirm this by looking at three different groups of souls that appear in heaven. We already saw the group that appeared when Seal Five was opened. The one above, from chapter 7, is from Seal Six. But then, there’s this group from Revelation 15:
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.
2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
– Revelation 15:1-2 (NKJV)
That is a much, much smaller group than the ‘great multitude’ in Revelation 7. In fact, I think that we are required to say that they are different. Those in chapter 15 are a very specific group of people that have a very special place – those who had victory over the Antichrist. This is not like the multitude in Revelation 7. Not even close.
Each group – Seal Five, Seal Six and Revelation 15 – is different. Seal Five is about those who were murdered because they were followers of God. Seal Six contains the group in Seal Five, but adds all the other followers of God who died for more peaceful reasons. Revelation 15 is the smallest of these three groups and only contains those who were killed by the Antichrist.
That’s pretty conclusive. Unless someone can point out a different interpretation, there just isn’t any possible way for the ‘great multitude’ of Seal Six, to be those who were murdered by the Antichrist.
Also, notice that the King James Version doesn’t say ‘the great tribulation’ in Revelation 7. It just says ‘great tribulation’. So, I’m not sure that we should place special significance upon the addition of ‘the’ into verse 14.
The good thing is that we will have time to get all this right as we see the first four seals happening. Then, assuming that we survive, we'll be able to anticipate Seal Six more accurately. I just hope that the first three horseman of the Apocalypse have not already begun their ride.
Seal Seven
Then, the final seal – Seal Seven – is removed and the book opens. Seven angels with seven trumpets get ready to sound. And, when they sound their trumpets, bad things happen to the Earth.
What is the difference between the Seals and the Trumpets?
The seals appear to be the result of the actions of mankind, in one way or another. The trumpets appear to be supernatural disasters – even though they might appear to be natural. And no, I’m not sure that I want to be around to see them and verify that I am correct.
Where Is The Antichrist?
Then, as we look at these Seals and Trumpets we are interested in this question:
Where does the Antichrist come in?
He figures prominently in our concerns, but we don’t see him in the Seals. We don’t even see him until after Trumpet Six sounds. And, the description that we have of the Antichrist does not seem to be chronological. He kills the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11, but the Woman doesn’t begin her flight into the wilderness until Revelation 12. And, the description of the rise of The Beast happens in Revelation 13.
Very confusing.
At least some of that confusion comes from our desire to make The Book of Revelation chronological. Some have argued that everything in Revelation happens one after the other, and I won’t say that they are wrong. But, the description does not appear to be so. Yes, it is clear that the Seals come before the Trumpets which come before the Bowls. And, each Seal, Trumpet and Bowl occurs in the order described.
But, where does the Antichrist, the False Prophet and the judgment of the Great Harlot fit in?
I would say that those three would need to happen before Trumpet Seven. But, I don’t feel safe in speculating beyond that.
The least probable place for the Antichrist to appear, is before Seal Six. It is just not possible for him to have declared himself to be a god until many years AFTER Seal Six has been opened. Nor can you fit Seal Five into the description of the Antichrist in Daniel 11. You can’t do it without distorting the Bible and damaging the Book of Revelation – something that you do NOT want to do, which we will talk about in a moment.
What Is The Scroll?
However, we still have one more question:
What is the scroll that these seals keep closed?
Well, Revelation 5 introduces the scroll in this way:
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
– Revelation 5:1-3 (NKJV)
Those seals keep a certain book closed. And, when that book cannot be opened, there was great distress among those looking at it:
So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
– Revelation 5:4 (NKJV)
This book was of great importance to the followers of God in the throne room in heaven. Either something bad would happen, if it could not be opened, or something good could NOT happen if it stayed closed.
Is this the Book of Life?
That would be a great guess, since Jesus is the One who opens this scroll that is held shut by seven seals. He purchased the right to open it through His death, burial and resurrection. His sacrifice allows Him to open this book. I would be fully satisfied with that explanation, and I would be okay if we stopped right there. But, I don't really like that explanation, since we see the opening of the Book of Life later in Revelation.
Also, what comes after the opening of this book, makes me think that it could be something else. Again, I caution you that we are speculating here, but the result of this scroll opening sounds like the coming of the Antichrist and the wrath of God upon those who rebel against Him. It also sounds like the final battle before the Millennium. And, I am reminded of another book that has a name that no one talks about:
The Book of Truth
It’s also referred to as the Scripture of Truth, Writing of Truth and Scroll of Truth. Here’s the proper name in Hebrew:
כתב אמת
chtav emet (ch as in Bach)
‘book of truth’ or ‘writing of truth’
And, I made reference to it in my chapter about the Army of the Antichrist. Here’s the verse where we find it:
But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.)
– Daniel 10:21 (NKJV)
What follows in the verses after that (Daniel 11) is a description of empires rising and falling – and the coming of the Antichrist. In fact, the key part of Daniel 11, is the Antichrist.
Is it a coincidence that the description of what’s in the Book of Truth (in Daniel 11) is also in the description of what happens after the Seventh Seal is opened?
Yeah. It could just be a simple coincidence. Or, this scroll that is sealed with seven seals really could be the Book of Truth described in Daniel 10, 11 and 12. But, we will not know for sure until we stand before God, after this life is over. And, speculating too much here is more than a little dangerous. And, I think that I need to explain why I keep saying that.
A Vital Warning Against Too Much Speculation
Here’s the warning that we all need to pay attention to, from the last chapter of Revelation:
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
– Revelation 22:18-19 (NKJV)
If you add to Revelation, you will suffer in this life. If you take away from Revelation, you will suffer after you die, FOREVER. And, we have evidence that people have done both, and are doing both. And, I do not want any of us to be caught by the curse described in those two verses. And, it’s why I was reluctant to write this chapter. But since we seem to be approaching the events described in Revelation, I felt a strong need to talk this.
The Bottom Line
As I said before, it took a very real struggle for me to accept that Seal Six and the coming of Gog and Magog are at the same moment in time. In fact, it's so mind-boggling that I wanted to leave the Seven Seals of Revelation out of this book. But, withholding the truth from you would be wrong, so we needed to look at it.
So, I understand why you might also struggle with the idea that Gog and Magog and Seal Six are a description of the same moment in time. I understand that all too well, but aside from the similarities there's something really big that should convince you to at least consider all this carefully:
Our civilization is collapsing in exactly the way that Seal One, Seal Two, Seal Three and Seal Four describe.
It's almost as if our leaders decided to use Revelation 6 as their guide book. I've written a lot about this elsewhere, and the reasons for our current mess are complex. And, very few are talking about the core reasons why our way of life is headed over a cliff.
It would take a book to lay out the complete picture of what is happening right now, but the details aren't as important as watching for the Four Horsemen of Revelation 6. They will show you where we are headed, and our destination is not pleasant. Not even a little.
It has become clear to me that:
By the time Gog comes, we will have already seen great disaster and maybe even the death of billions.
However, I rest in the fact that God knows what He's doing, and His purpose is good.
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© 2022 John Little. All rights reserved.
May God preserve the words that are true
and cast away those that are not.