Were the First Four Seals Opened in 2011?
It is possible that the first four seals have been opened, and we are about to experience death of 1/4 of the earth by war, scarcity, famine, diseases, plagues, etc. At the opening of the fifth seal, the persecution of Christians will intensify. The Lord tells us that, at the opening of the sixth seal, the earth will experience cosmic disturbances in the following forms: a great earthquake, sun turns black, moon turns blood red, stars fall to earth, sky rolls up like a scroll, and every mountain and island moves out of its place. This will be followed by 1/2 hour of silence in heaven before the seventh seal is opened.
The seventh seal in the Book of Revelation reveals itself as the seven trumpets, described as "the wrath of the Lamb." The first four trumpets will bring destruction upon the earth: 1/3 of the trees will be burned up and all the green grass will be burned (hail and fire mingled with blood); 1/3 of the sea will turn to blood, 1/3 of the sea creatures will die and 1/3 of the ships will be destroyed (great mountain burning with fire cast into the sea); 1/3 of the waters will be poisoned (great star falls from heaven); and 1/3 of the sun and moon and stars will be darkened.
At the sounding of the fifth trumpet, Satan will be released from the bottomless pit to rule over his one-world religion and government. Standing in the holy place, Jerusalem, he will claim to be God and will deceive many with his signs and wonders. During this five-month period, "then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
The deception of the devil must work out till the bitter end. Shortly before the end of this world, this final deception of the nations shall take place. The heathen nations shall be civilized and they shall become conscious of their power, and they shall, for a time, join forces with the beast and the false prophet to form one great world empire. Nevertheless, they shall remain pagan in every respect, and though they give their power to the beast for "one hour," for "a little season," this cannot possibly last. The heathen nations and the anti-Christian civilization will ultimately gather as separate forces for the last war, the battle of Armageddon.
This is the period of the sixth trumpet, when the heathen nations will join forces to form a 200-million-man army and kill 1/3 part of men. Once the second woe (the sixth trumpet) is past, the third woe (the seventh trumpet and the return of Christ) will come quickly. It will be upon this scene, when the heathen nations are gathered in battle and surrounding Jerusalem, that Christ will return to deliver up His people and to destroy by fire the devil's kingdom on earth.
"And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord,
Two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined,
And will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them:
I will say, 'It is my people:' and they shall say, 'The Lord is my God'."
(Zechariah 13:8-9)
Jesus says the Father only knows the day and hour when the Son will return in the clouds of heaven. Yet Jesus gives us the signs to look for when the end of the age is approaching, and He tells us that the generation to see these signs shall not pass till all these things be done. It is possible that the last generation (70 years being a generation - Psalms 90:10) began in 1948 when Israel once again become a nation. On May 19, 2011, Obama jolted Israel by embracing the Palestinians' terms for drawing the borders between the two states, saying "a lasting peace that ends the conflict and resolves all claims is more urgent than ever." This peace agreement could mark the beginning of the final seven years before Christ returns, which means we could expect Him to return in 2018.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Solar Storm Could Be What Causes the Cosmic Disturbances at the Opening of the Sixth Seal, Which May Not Be until Midway or Later into the 7-Year Tribulation Period
Like most experts in the field, Solar physicist David Hathaway of the National Space Science & Technology Center has confidence in the conveyor belt model and agrees with Dikpati that the next solar maximum should be a doozy. But he disagrees with one point. Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research forecast puts Solar Max at 2012. Hathaway believes it will arrive sooner, in 2010 or 2011. Who's right? Time will tell. Either way, a storm is coming. - NASA, Solar Storm Warning, March 10, 2006
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
THE FIRST 4 SEALS: Death [the Devil or Satan] Takes 1/4 of the Earth by War, Scarcity, Famine, Diseases, Plagues, Etc.And 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.
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.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
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.
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.
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.
And when he had opened the fourth seal,
I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
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 6:1-8)
According to The Coming Epiphany, Chapter 13: Be Prepared, the first five seals entail:
- First seal (white horse): Establishment of the world religion and government through deception.
- Second seal (red horse): War and/or anarchy on the earth.
- Third seal (black horse): Famine due to crop failures and/or a worldwide economic collapse.
- Fourth seal (pale horse): Death of one-quarter of world’s population by various means, possibly culminating from the first three seals.
- Fifth seal: Persecution and martyrdom of Jews and Christians.
The Rider on the Pale Horse as Filmed in Cairo, Egypt, February 4, 2011
World Net Daily
February 5, 2011
A mysterious, pale green figure seen in televised news coverage of the Egyptian riots has prompted some viewers to ask, "Could this be the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse?"
The footage, provided by Euronews and subsequently seen on MSNBC, CNN and uploaded over a dozen times to the popular video sharing site YouTube, captures the fiery, violent protests in Cairo this past week … and something else.
Between the crowds of protesters and barricades, the video shows a flowing, pale green image that resembles an erect rider atop a horse in Medieval-like barding. The ethereal figure remains for a few moments before floating over protesters' heads and off the screen.
The last of the biblical Book of Revelation's Four Horseman of the Apocalyse, the "pale rider" is said to be the bringer of death and the forerunner of "hell" on earth.
The Book of Revelation refers to a time when "the Lamb" — usually understood to be the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ — opens the seven seals of a scroll of judgment. Each of the first four seals is accompanied by a horseman of a different color, each bringing a separate calamity. When the fourth seal is opened, Revelation 6:8 records,
"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."
Is the image from Egypt a fulfillment of Revelation's prophecy?
Comments from the tens of thousands of viewers who have watched the video on YouTube express a wide array of opinion.
Some claim the video's "pale rider" is a sign and the greenish tint is somehow symbolic of Islam, while others insist the image has been added to the footage by editing technology. Still others point to three, trailing points of light in the footage that move away from the crowds at the same time and speed as the "horseman," indicating that both the "rider" and the lights are merely smudges or reflections cast on the lens of a moving camera.
One comment, from a viewer calling himself TheRhythmhawk, also tried to explain the "pale rider" and the trailing lights as simply lens reflections, but eventually concluded,
"The image of the horseman leaves more questions than answers."The original video can also be viewed in even higher resolution at the Euronews website.
The Four Horses Individually Considered
Herman Hoeksema, Behold He ComethCopyright 1969Our next observation in regard to the symbolism of these four seals concerns the color of each horse, and in harmony with their respective colors the other details of description.
The color of the first horse is white, which is symbolic of victory. Repeatedly this color appears as such in Scripture. Those who are faithful and overcome shall ultimately appear in white robes. In Chapter 19:11 ff., where we have a final description of the battle of Armageddon, the Lord Jesus appears as the victor, seated upon a white horse, in all the glory of His power and victory.
Thus it was also customary in the Roman army that the victors should return riding on white horses. Hence, it may be deemed rather evident that the white horse is symbol of a victorious power. In harmony with this color of the horse are the other features pictured in the text. First of all, we are told that the rider has a bow, which is symbolic of righteous and victorious warfare. In Psalm 45:5 we read of the king who is typical of Christ:
"Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."In the second place, the rider receives a crown: not the royal diadem in this case, but the garland, the wreath of victory. And finally, this idea of victory is definitely expressed in the last clause, that the rider goes forth "conquering and to conquer," which by its peculiar repetition assures us of the certainty of the victory this rider will win. Therefore, we have in the first seal the picture of an armed warrior, going forth to battle, whose victory is assured him beforehand.
The color of the second horse is red, or, as the original indicates, a color glowing like fire. It is the color of wrath and anger, of heated passion and violent emotion, such as causes a man's blood to rush to his countenance, of lust and gain, of envy and revenge, of blood and war.
The man that cometh from Bozrah, with sprinkled garments, who has trodden the winepress of Jehovah's anger alone, is red in his apparel. And when the Lord is described in all the holy zeal of His heated anger, He is pictured in Scripture as a consuming fire.
This horse bears the color of a glowing fire, of heated passion and revenge and bloodshed and war, of which it is also symbolic. Again, the other details mentioned of this second horse and its rider serve to corroborate and enforce this idea. For, in the first place, we read that he receives a great sword, symbolic of war and death and destruction. And, in the second place, the definite information is given us that this horse receives the power to take peace from the earth.
In general, therefore, the second horse and his rider are the picture of heated passion and wrath going forth to do its work in the earth.
The third horse is black. Occurring in the Word of God, this color is the symbol of scarcity and famine. In referring to a drought in the land of Judah in his own time, the prophet Jeremiah writes:
"Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up," (Jeremiah 14:2).And in his Lamentations (5: 10) we hear the same prophet complain:
"Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine."Black, then, is the color of scarcity and want, of drought and famine. The rest of the description of this horse is again in harmony with this idea of the black color, although at the same time we should not fail to notice that by it the idea of famine is somewhat modified and mitigated.
The rider is pictured as one who holds a balance and who does some careful weighing. And as he weighs, the voice is heard:
"A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny."A measure of wheat (about one and one-half pints of our measure) constitutes the equivalent of one man's subsistence for one day. And the same is true of three measures of barley. If in connection with this we also bear in mind that a penny, or shilling, constituted just about a day's wages of the common laborer, we come to the conclusion that this third rider represents scarcity and death, rather than downright famine. The relation between the wages of the common people and the cost of the necessities of life is such that the latter devour the former every day.
But this is not all. The voice continues, and says,
"And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."Oil and wine are symbols of plenty and luxury, of merriment and feasting. These may not be hurt, but must continue to exist. And, hence, the complete portraiture of this third horse and its rider presents a remarkable contrast: a contrast between poverty and riches, between a bare subsistence and luxurious living.
The fourth and last horse is of a pale green, such as is the color of death. Here we cannot be left in doubt as to the meaning of this fourth horseman. The horse represents the color of a corpse, of death itself. And in harmony with the color of the animal is the name of its rider, which is Death, while Hades, the abode of the dead, follows him, ready to receive the victims killed by this terrible horseman.
The definite commission which this fourth horseman receives is to kill and destroy one fourth part of the earth's inhabitants with the sword, with pestilence, with the wild beasts of the earth, and with death in general.
If four is generally the number representing the completeness of the world, one-fourth represents such a fraction as is in harmony with the present existence in the world throughout this present dispensation. The symbolism of the last horse and its rider makes us think of death in all its various forms.
