Revelations - The Seals

¹And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

² 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 conquering, and to conquer.

³ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

⁴ And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

⁵ And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Revelation 6:1-6

I think this is a good place to stop to comment. First, I would like to point out the similarity between this passage and the verse in Matthew 24: “Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines in various places.”

The point that Jesus is making in this verse is that these things have continued at least since the Tower of Babel. So far, this isn’t anything new. I know that some people have argued that the amount of war and famine has increased in “x” amount of years. That might be true. I don’t doubt it that it is true. Famine, war, and conquest are all things that have happened for centuries (even millennia).

But this is not only saying that these things will continue like they’ve always continued. I’ve heard others that take these verses and say that the first white horse is the Antichrist. Then the second seal and onward are various places in the Antichrist’s reign. I don’t necessarily have a problem with this. What I really find myself competing against are those that would like to try and find a place in history that this took place. Or they try to put everything into the future, but nothing really goes together. So they end up saying that these are different nations, and they try to “prophesy” what will happen. These verses are not conclusive enough to come to any major dogma.

I wanted to make that reference, but I also wanted to say something about the oil and the wine. This is something that puzzles many. Why would the angel say not to touch the oil and wine? I would assume that these are symbols. There is a symbolic reason why these two things are to not be touched. The oil represents the anointing of God. That one is obvious. The wine isn’t so obvious.

I’ve heard many people talk about the wine being the joy of the Lord. I have a problem with this. I see very little in Scripture where it talks about wine and joy. In the few places where it does speak of it, we can assume there are other reasons for the joy. It could be company, or it could be drunkenness. I think the wine is clearly taught in the New Testament as the new covenant. We have in the Gospels two times that this comparison is made: the new wineskins parable (Matthew 9:16-17) and the Last Supper.

It makes sense as to why these two things are held as sacred and are not touched. The one represents the anointing, and who has the audacity to touch the Lord’s anointed? The other represents the new covenant, and whom of us has the stupidity to abuse the blood poured out for us?

⁷ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

⁸ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6:7-8

I want to stop here to cross reference to Ezekiel 5:11-12; 16-17:

¹¹ Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

¹² A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Ezekiel 5:11-12

¹⁶ When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

¹⁷ So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee: and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it.
Ezekiel 5:16-17

What is the context of Ezekiel 5?

The context is that God is telling Jerusalem about how He is sending Nebuchadnezzar against them. Here is one of the difficulties of the prophetic writings. The prophecies have an immediate implication. Yet, at the same time they look beyond the immediate to an ultimate fulfillment. With this passage in Ezekiel 5, the immediate was fulfilled.

King Zedekiah was forced to surrender to Babylon. Israel didn’t fight to the death. God sent these very things against them. A third did die. There were people who ate their children (verse 10). Yet, I still reference the two verses because there might be correlation here.

The book of Revelation has the same story repeat several times. In one section it might look at the story from the perspective of Israel. From another section we see the perspective of the Earth/nature. From another section we see the perspective of heaven. Each time we get a new glimpse into more depth.

I would submit that it is possible (I don’t know about making it dogma) that these seals are from the perspective of one that is in the Middle East. It is possible (actually it is probable) that a fourth of the earth will die from this fourth seal. Ezekiel talks about a third. There are a few ways that we can look at this: 1) I am wrong in referencing these two passages, 2) one is looking at the perspective of all of humanity and the other is only Israel, and 3) the prophecy of Ezekiel was fulfilled and so his number is obsolete.

There might be other ways of perceiving this. If you have a better explanation, then you feel free to use that. I simply want to show the similarity in Ezekiel 5 with this fourth seal.

⁹ And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were 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, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

¹¹ And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Revelation 6:9-11

I want to take this fifth seal and say that it could be an indication as to what Romans 11:25 means. What does it mean that God is waiting for the fullness of the Gentiles, and then all Israel shall be saved? It is possible that these two verses go together. It is also possible that Romans 11:25 is speaking of the time of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24).

Most likely Paul is referencing Genesis 48:19 saying that Ephraim would become a “multitude of nations.” The Hebrew actually means – and it is the only time in all of Scripture that this Hebrew phrase is used – the “fullness of the Gentiles.” Ephraim is supposed to be “the fullness of the Gentiles.” But what exactly does that mean? Judah is a representation of all of Israel. I know this because James starts his letter by addressing the twelve tribes scattered abroad. Some also think that Peter was writing to all twelve tribes.

But we are told that Judah is only one tribe. What needs to be understood is that there were still righteous families that were from all tribes represented within the nation Judah. Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin, but he was within Judah. I say this to indicate that Ephraim might be a symbol for something outside of Israel. We find in the Old Testament prophets that they sometimes refer to northern Israel as Ephraim. Yet Jacob prophesied that Ephraim would be a “multitude of nations.” What is happening?

Jacob’s prophecy about Ephraim is best understood as the Church. There would be an entity outside of Israel that is still considered Israel (Jacob says that Joseph’s descendants would be his descendants). So Paul making the statement that Israel waits until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in is easily translated. The interpretation is quite simple, yet quite profound. There is a number that God is seeking to come into the Church in order to call the “fullness of the Gentiles” and to graft into Israel. This is hinted at in the prophets – such as Isaiah 56.

Ezekiel 37 ends with the prophecy that Ephraim and Judah would come together and be one under the Messiah. When the Messiah rules and reigns from Jerusalem on the throne of David, these two that had been separate shall be made one once again. That reality is saved for the end of the age. However, we can have a foretaste of that reality within the Church. There is neither Jew nor Gentile. We have been made one, and therefore are something completely different than either. God continues to keep the Church and Israel as two distinct entities, but unites them so that they are inseparable. You cannot have the one without the other.

When that full number, whatever it might be, comes in, then all Israel shall be saved. This is a mystery, but is also quite easy to understand. I think that what God is looking for is a number to be able to fill in the amount of fallen angels. We, as the Church, will rule and reign with Christ in the spiritual places over the earth. Israel will rule and reign with Christ as the priestly nation to the nations. God is gathering a people to seat in the heavenly realm over the creation, and when that number comes in that achieves the stature of the first resurrection, God has restored the hierarchy of all creation.

¹² And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

¹³ And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

¹⁴ And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Revelation 6:12-14

This is a big passage. I would recommend remembering this one. We’ll see this earthquake again in Revelation. Like I said, Revelation seems to repeat itself. This is one of the mile markers that if we can remember certain aspects, then it starts to form together as one story being told over and over again.

As a quick reference for later, this earthquake is mentioned in Revelation 11:13. There is a second earthquake in Revelation 11:19, which is then mentioned a second time in Revelation 16:18. My friends and I disagree on this point. I think that the seals and trumpets go together, and then the seven bowls are alongside of the trumpets. They think that the seals go through the whole Tribulation, and the trumpets go through the whole thing, and then the bowls are third repetition for the whole Tribulation.

Either way, we both agree that the book of Revelation repeats itself. Let me explain before we’ve gone through it… One of the problems with taking Revelation in chronology is that you need the first 12 chapters to happen in the first 3 ½ years. Chapter 13 starts with the Antichrist setting up the abomination of desolation. There must be some place where this repeats. Chapter 11 must be in the last 3 ½ years. There isn’t anywhere else to put it. Revelation 14 also ends with the same scene as the end of chapter 11. Thus, we start chapter 16 (because chapter 15 is an intermediary between 14 and 16) either at the beginning or at the middle of the week (we’ll look into that later). I hope this helps in understanding why it is that I am so opposed to any other framework than what I’m interjecting. Anything else will either expand the timeline, or it will confuse the reader on where to place anything.

Although, I have also heard of people that take the seals through the Tribulation and then the trumpets and the bowls of wrath are after the Tribulation. Once again, the difficulty I have with taking a chronology is that you still have to back track in chapters 12-15. Typically, the argument comes down to that when you read about the trumpets and the bowls of wrath, one only destroys a part of the trees/fish/water/sun, moon, and stars/etc. The bowls of wrath, however, destroy all the fish, the sun goes black, and the stars stop shining. Once again, I think this problem is addressed when we consider that each of these are from different perspectives. The bowls of wrath are clearly upon the kingdom of the beast. Therefore, the judgment is utter. Yet, the trumpets are upon the whole Earth. So for the one, it looks like only 1/3 are being affected, and for the other it seems like the whole world is being affected. Both are true because they are two different perspectives.

Now lets cross-reference the 6^th seal with Old Testament Scriptures:

And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. (We will learn more about this statue later.)

Ezekiel 8:3

⁷ And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.

⁸ Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

⁹ And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

¹⁰ So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

¹¹ And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
Ezekiel 8:7-11

And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of theLord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Ezekiel 8:16

We’ll look into the Scriptures in greater depth as we continue through Revelations. For now, I simply bring these to your attention to show why the sky might be going black and the moon turned blood red. These are things that had been made into idols of worship. All the stars are also thrown down. These are also worshiped. I’m sure you have heard of the horoscope. This comes from the practice of astrology. Astrology is mentioned as a sin in the Bible because it comes from a worship of the stars.

These wordings of the sky receding like a scroll is a reference to Isaiah 34:4.

And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens 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 that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

¹⁷ For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Revelation 6:15-17

Before going on to chapter 7, I’ll ask the question: is the wrath mentioned in verses 16 and 17 already happening (during the Tribulation), or is it about to happen (after the Tribulation)? I ask this question for one simple reason. There are those who think that the wrath has not yet come, and that we won’t be here for the wrath (call it mid-Trib rapture, post-Trib pre-wrath rapture, or some even think these seals happen before the Tribulation so this is pre-Trib rapture). From a simple reading of Revelation 6, it has always seemed to me as though the wrath of the Lamb has already been happening.

God has taken away peace, caused famine, plagued the earth with death, and now the stars are falling and the heavens are rolling up like a scroll. It isn’t that the people of the earth are doing this. It is a judgment of God. And if these things are judgments of God (the Lamb opens the scroll, not people), then these seals are part of God’s wrath. I have a really difficult time accepting that we won’t be here for the wrath of God. I think we will be here, but God doesn’t pour out His wrath upon us. Why would He?

Think about the story of Elijah. Elijah came and the first words out of his mouth in the Old Testament (1 Kings 17:1) are, “It will neither dew nor rain except at my words.” He thus places himself under the same judgment. He didn’t leave Israel and go to the Americas where the wrath of God wasn’t. He did go to a brook, but the brook eventually dried up. And the Phoenician widow he goes to is suffering from the drought as well. She doesn’t even have food to offer Elijah. God’s people won’t escape the wrath, but they will be miraculously taken care of during the wrath.

Another example would be the plagues in Egypt. We know that God plagued the Egyptians, and that the whole of the land was being affected. Yet, when it came to the Israelites and their land, they were without any plague. God miraculously plagued Egypt, but then “passed over” the Israelites. If He could do it then, I believe He can still do that.

¹And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

² And 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 given to hurt the earth and the sea,

³ Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

⁴ And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

⁵ Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

⁶ Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

⁷ Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

⁸ Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
Revelation 7:1-8

Okay, so I want to cross-reference something before getting too deep a look into this passage. When we look at Ezekiel 9, we find a parallel that cannot be anything else:

² And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.

³ And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;

⁴ And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

⁵ And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

⁶ Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.

⁷ And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

⁸ And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?

⁹ Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.

¹⁰ And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

¹¹ And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

First, I want to point out that the very place that this mark is put upon the righteous is where the priest wore a crown that said, “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.” It is also the same place that the beast will mark all people (in the forehead or right hand). There is something about this place, smack dab in the middle of the forehead, that is important to God. When something goes on that spot, He takes note of it.

Next I want to bring our attention to Ezekiel’s words: “Ah Lord God! Will you destroy all the residue of Israel in your pouring out of your fury upon Jerusalem?” Apparently, from where Ezekiel stood, it seemed as though there weren’t many left. The marking of the 144,000 is symbolic, but it might have some literalness to it. Note that Ezekiel is in Jerusalem. This is important, because I have already pointed out that the trumpets seem to be upon all the earth where the bowls seem to only be on the kingdom of the beast.

It is possible that what Ezekiel is seeing is this beast system being judged, and therefore there are extremely few to be left. I don’t know that; I only guess at that. It is important to take this into consideration, though. I personally am one who thinks the 144,000 is symbolic. My reasoning is that numerology is a big part of the prophetic Scriptures.

The number 12 is a big number. There were 12 tribes and 12 disciples before Judas hung himself. Some like to argue that Paul was the 12^th apostle. But then what do you do with Matthias in Acts 1? Once again, I personally think that apostleship wasn’t only Jesus’ disciples. I think that apostleship was given to whomever the Spirit anointed for that position. However, there were only 12 disciples that followed Christ through to the very end – and maybe Matthias was chosen to be the fill-in 12^th.

Anyway, the point is that the number twelve resembles the number of God’s choosing. This is the number of God’s people. 1000 is typically a number that means “bigger than can be comprehended.” So, 12 times 1000 would be a vast amount of God’s chosen people. You take that and times it by 12 again (12 tribes mentioned) and you have God just making a point. This is how I take the verses.

The next question to ask is, “Where is the tribe of Dan?” Actually, neither Dan nor Ephraim are mentioned. Instead of Ephraim, the name Joseph appears. Some have speculated that Dan and Ephraim were cursed, and so they don’t get to take part in this sealing. That doesn’t satisfy me theologically because it talks in Ezekiel 40 about the tribe of Dan AND Levi getting portions at the gate. It also mentions that ALL TWELVE tribes are foundations (the gates to be exact) of the city Jerusalem in the New Heaven and New Earth. Also, the character of God is to redeem, not to continue the curse.

So why does it mention Levi in the 12 tribes, but not Dan? Wouldn’t it be that Joseph would represent both Ephraim and Manasseh, and then Levi gets a portion as well? I have a proposition. Maybe the reason why Dan isn’t mentioned is because this is a first-fruits. These are those that are holy and blameless. They aren’t only Jews or descendants of Israel. They are all that have been grafted in and have achieved an apostolic character.

What do I mean? Samson was a Danite. The tribe of Dan continually went away toward idols. The tribe of Dan was often negligent in defending God. These people that are mentioned as receiving a mark are those that are undefiled. They are virgins. They don’t go after other idols. They are single-eyed. They have such holiness that you would think they are already resurrected (Romans 6).

I think this might help. However, even this has its problems.

Another possibility that I’m willing to toy with is that maybe these aren’t sealed so they don’t suffer the wrath. Maybe these are sealed so they don’t fall. 144,000 are sealed so that they might be witnesses in the earth of God’s resurrection power. Thus, they don’t fall to temptation, but continue steadfastly until the end.

There are different thoughts on the matter. I personally don’t know that these seem to fit entirely with the character of God. I think that God is sealing more than Israel. He is sealing those who have been grafted in as well (Romans 11:16-24). How all this plays together, I’m not sure, but it might be as simple as Ezekiel was in Jerusalem, and so there are 144,000 sealed in Jerusalem. Currently, there are almost 800,000 people in Jerusalem. There might be more at this time of the sealing.

This might be an explanation of some of those Scriptures that talk about a very small few continuing in Jerusalem after it has been made desolate. Maybe there are only 144,000 that will remain and survive. Maybe God will keep this 144,000 as a remnant in the Land of Israel (not only Jerusalem). I can certainly see how that would be devastating. There are almost 8 million people in Israel. If only 144,000 survive the Antichrist’s attack, then we’re talking about 2% of people living. Of course, maybe not all the people are Israel, so the number might be more like 4 million are killed. I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I’m not sure I can take the thought.

I mentioned earlier that Ephraim might be a symbol for the Church. It would make sense that Ephraim is not mentioned in this passage. Ephraim is not Israel – it is the Church. It does not answer the question of why Dan is not mentioned, but it does help us understand why Ephraim is not mentioned.

⁹ After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

¹⁰ And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

¹¹ And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

¹² Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

¹⁴ And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

¹⁷ For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Revelation 6:9-17

We are told who this multitude is. “These are they which came out of great Tribulation.” Once again, what does that mean? Well, my friends think that the seals go through the entire Tribulation, so these are they that have been martyred. The 7^th seal marks the return of Christ. I do disagree with that stance, but it is an easier answer. I agree that these are the martyrs of the beast. However, I think that these are the martyrs from the beginning of time. Abel is among them. The beast is a satanic system that would cause for the killing of God’s people. It isn’t only the last major international power. It is Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Rome, etc. All of the nations that have persecuted God’s people are represented in the beast.

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
Isaiah 25:8

When we reach chapter 8, Jesus opens the 7^th seal. What I want you to take note of is that the 7 trumpets are mentioned within the 7^th seal:

¹And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

² And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

³ And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

⁴ And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

⁵ And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:1-5

Why is it that the 7 trumpets are mentioned inside the 7^th seal? Like I said, I have friends who believe that the timeline is over. The Tribulation ends with Revelation 8:5. It is a plausible explanation. However, I come to this point and see that the trumpets are mentioned in the midst of the 7^th seal, and I can’t comprehend why it would be mentioned here if the timeline were finished. I think the 7 seals come sometime within the first 4 years or so, and the last 3 years or so are the trumpets. 

There is a possibility that the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th seals all happen extremely close to simultaneously. I think that the beast setting up the image and the sealing of the 144,000 would happen as close to simultaneously as possible. I also think that these last 4 seals happen in that month long window before the Antichrist starts to persecute God’s people. The 7^th seal and the 1^st trumpet are happening pretty close to simultaneously as well. It might even be that these are the same day.

When the 7^th seal is broken, the golden censor is filled with fire from the altar and thrown to the earth. The 1^st trumpet is a mountain of fire falling to the earth. Could it be that these are the same vision explained in 2 different ways? Either way, it sounds like an earthquake and maybe a volcano going off? Most think it is just a heavy thunderstorm. But what if this mountain of fire is actually a volcano being described as the 7^th seal as well? The seal represents what is happening in heaven, but the trumpet describes how the Earth reacts to the holy fire of God.

The 7 trumpets are the earth reacting to the wickedness of the Antichrist. It says in Isaiah 24:23 that the moon shall be confounded and the sun shall be ashamed. They were given as governors over the day and the night. And yet, the Antichrist comes to power. Maybe this is the reason for their being confounded and ashamed? I’m getting ahead of myself.

Lets get back to the 7^th seal. We can cross-reference this with Ezekiel 10. Notice that the first part of Ezekiel goes hand-in-hand with the 7 seals of Revelation 6-8:5.

¹Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

² And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.

³ Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

⁴ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory.

⁵ And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.

⁶ And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels.

⁷ And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.
Ezekiel 10:1-7