Revelation 6 famously depicts the opening of the 7 seals. Each opening results in an increase of trouble and despair upon the earth. Specifically, the breaking of the 6th seal ushers in the ominous "Day of the Lord" -  a day of great judgment on those in rebellion to Him, but also God's final call of repentance and surrender before mercy is cut off forever.

Host: Steve, we want to continue in our discussions of the wonderful Book of Revelation. Revelation 6 is a description of the opening of the first six seals. And Steve, I understand that there are some other passages of Scripture that correlate with these seals. Why don't you talk about what that correlation is?

Steve: When Jesus gave His last days discourse in Matthew 24, He really laid out a roadmap of the end times. Especially in the first part of that chapter, we see a fascinating correlation between the first six seals and the different things that Jesus expressed. For instance, the first seal is about deception. And you see it right there at the beginning of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, where Jesus is warning people not to be misled. And then the second seal is all about internal strife and international warfare. That's exactly what you see described next in Matthew 24. And then it goes on, famines and death and so on, all the way to the sixth seal, which you see later on in Matthew 24.

Host: Now, when we look at the opening of these seals, these events, are these one-time events that are occurring here?

Steve: I would say that the third seal and the sixth seal seem to be one-time events, but the other seals seem to be a building momentum as we get closer to the end times. It's really what Jesus said right there in Matthew 24. He said, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Matthew 24:8, NASB) Now, what is a birth pang? It starts off as a low pain that happens on occasion and grows in intensity and frequency. So, when we start seeing these things start to happen, that's the beginning of birth pangs, which I believe we're in right now. But by the time we get to the end, whenever it is really intensifying, then it's the pains of a woman who's about to give birth.

Host: And what a wake-up call. Just the way that it is intensifying so rapidly. It's got to be a wake-up call from the Lord that the time is near.

Steve: Well, that's the Lord's heart. He is going to send destruction on sinners, but it's always in His heart for sinners to repent and flee from the wrath to come.

Host: Steve, earlier you mentioned the breaking of the first seal, and we read about that being the first rider that comes out at the breaking of that seal. And you mentioned the issue of deception. Why do you believe that first seal and the first rider represent deception?

Steve: Well, if you compare the description of this first rider with the return of Jesus Christ in Revelation 19, you can see that this is an obvious counterfeit of Jesus. It's not Jesus Christ. And I won't go into all the reasons why we know that, but it is not Jesus Christ, so it must be a counterfeit. This rider is going forth conquering and he's doing it through deception. And when you tie it to the Matthew 24 discourse, you see that that's what it corresponds to. So, again, we see this growing momentum of deception in the end times, which will eventually pave the way for the ultimate deception of the Antichrist.

Host: And again, we look at what's going on around us and how great the deception is these days.

Steve: And just think, this is only the beginning. What's it going to be like when the very air you breathe is nothing but a lie? It's everywhere already.

Host: Yeah, and what a warning to us of how much we need the Holy Spirit, because if we can't hear the Holy Spirit, we're sunk.

Steve: Yeah, absolutely. And also, it is a warning for us to be so grounded in the Word of God. The only place we know we're going to get truth is the Word of God.

Host: You've talked about the significance of the martyrs as represented in the fifth seal. Talk about that.

Steve: It's funny, but when you read about the martyrs here in chapter 6, they are crying out, “How long until you avenge our deaths” to the Lord. Then throughout the different plagues that are coming in the future, there is constantly this sense of referencing back to that cry of, “When will you avenge our deaths?” For instance, before the seven trumpet judgments come forth, an angel throws the censer to the earth, which is full of the prayers of those martyrs and the fire of God. So that unleashes the seven trumpet judgments. And on other occasions also, it's referenced.

Host: You know, when we gather together as a staff in the morning times for our prayer, one of the things that God is making increasingly real to us is that He hears the prayers of His saints. I know how it feels sometimes. Sometimes it feels like we're just praying to God and nothing's happening. But man, you read stuff like this, and you see that God has not forgotten the cries of His people.

Steve: The Lord answers prayer. He does it in His own timing when it's best to answer that prayer for the person and the circumstances.

Host: Yeah. Amen. Steve, the sixth seal seems to bring about a different kind of judgment than the first four seals. How does it differ from those?

Steve: Well, the first four seals seem to be a buildup of something going on, and it seems as though the enemy reacts and starts persecuting believers in the fifth seal. And then when the sixth seal opens, something powerful happens. Worldwide, cataclysmic events occur. And you see these same types of events referred to in the Old Testament as “the day of the Lord.”
       For instance, in Isaiah 13, it says, “for the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth the light, the sun will be dark, and the moon will not shed its light, at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of His burning anger.” (Isaiah 13:10, 13, NASB) And Jesus also mentions this in Matthew 24. So, we see that this is somehow an inauguration of the great day of the Lord coming upon mankind.

Host: Now, Steve, I know people can listen to that and they can look at it as you appropriately said, it is a day of judgment. But you also mentioned earlier, God's heart. And this must also be like the final throes of God's mercy to sinners on the earth. One more evidence of the truth and the reality of God with one more opportunity to repent and turn from sin.

Steve: Well, that's what all of this is. These are all wake-up calls at this point. Now, you know, we don't know how the timing of these seals relate to the seven-year tribulation period. It seems as though these six seals are broken during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period. Perhaps the sixth seal occurs about the same time as the Antichrist comes into real worldwide power at the halfway point and then people have to make a choice. They either take the mark of the beast or they completely surrender and submit to the Lord. That's where everything is headed is that great decision.

Host: And you sense that's already happening? You sense that at least building up in the earth now?

Steve: I feel like the gray area is slowly but surely going away and that it's becoming increasingly more black and white. People are either going to be true followers of God or they are going to be totally given over to this world.