After The Vanishing Ch. 16 War and Tribulation

By Dave White

The Opening of the Seven Seals

 

The book of Revelation provides a panoramic view of end time events with a series of judgments depicted as The book of the Seven Seals, The Seven Trumpets and The Seven Bowls of Wrath. Like birth pangs, each event becomes greater in intensity and closer together chronologically. Chapter five introduces The Book with Seven Seals and chapter six begins the description. John, describing his vision:

I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or look into it;
Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or look into it;
and one of the elders said to me, “stop weeping; behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” (Revelation 5:1-10)

This is a very solemn event that signifies the beginning of the final, missing week of Daniel’s prophecy and the seven years of the tribulation period. Again, it reveals who is really in charge of history. Only the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is worthy to open the book of seals, thus setting in motion the events of the tribulation.

The First Seal- The False Christ

Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “come.”
I looked, and behold, a white horse, and 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)

The first seal describes the Rapture and the revealing of Anti-Christ. It encompasses the first three and a half years of the tribulation period as previously discussed.

The Second Seal- War

When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come,.”
And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. (Revelation 6: 3-4)

At this point, mid-tribulation, peace is taken from the earth. First, we know we are mid-tribulation when the Abomination of Desolation occurs, (See Daniel 9:27). We also know that Israel, under the auspices of the international peace treaty will be living securely at that time. Ezekiel Chapter 38 then, identifies Russia (Gog, Magog), as the country that makes the first move in “the war to end all wars.”

The Word of the Lord came to me saying,
“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh…
Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, “ thus says the Lord God, “On that day when my people are living securely, will you not know it?”
You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you,…a great assembly and a mighty army.
After many days you will be summoned; in the latter days you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and are living securely, all of them.
You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.
Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan,
and you will say, “I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates. (Ezekiel 38:1-2,14-15,8-11)

Russian and an Islamic Alliance

There it is, Russia and Her allies will move militarily against Israel, in the latter years, at a time when Israel has been restored to the land and is living securely. This is a very important point. At no time in history has Israel lived securely, without walls and at peace with her self-same enemies. Because we have pinpointed the abomination of desolation as occurring 3 ½ years into 7 year peace treaty-using Ezekiel 38 we can thus place the opening of the second seal, the attack by Russia and Her allies, just after the abomination. It further confirms, circumstantially, that the abomination is the event that triggers the beginning of war.
But events don’t go quite the way the “prince of Rosh planned:

It will come about on that day, when Gog come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, “That my fury will mount up in my anger.
In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be as great earthquake in the land of Israel…

With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgement with him; and I will rain on him and his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone.
You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field.
And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am The Lord.
My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.”
(Ezekiel 38:18,19,22, 39:4,6,7)

This opening salvo by Russia and Her allies is met with a fierce and supernatural response from almighty God. Undoubtedly, Israel will respond militarily with a nuclear counterattack, but it also seems clear from chapter 39 verses 6 and 7 that God takes an active role in defending Israel. Although the bible isn’t clear exactly who’s firing at who, it seems reasonable to surmise that the western forces allied with anti-christ will oppose Russia and Her Muslim allies in a battle for the middle east and its vast oil reserves. Daniel alludes to this battle in chapter 11:

At the end time, the King of the South (Muslim Confederacy) will collide with him (Anti-Christ), and the King of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships, and he will enter many countries, overflow them and pass through…He will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But rumors from the east (China?) and from the north will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.
(Daniel 11:40,42,44)

The Third Seal-Famine

When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
(Revelation 6: 5,6)

This is a reference to the breakdown of the economy and the scarcity of food caused by the War. A Denarius is a reference to a days wages, thus, man will be working all day just to survive.

The Fourth Seal-Death

When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying “Come.” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
(Revelation 6: 7, 8)

The fourth Seal reveals the deadly side effects of nuclear and perhaps, biological warfare. The wild beasts of the earth maybe so traumatized and mad from the effects of radiation as to begin attacking and consuming the flesh of humans. Tragically, 25% of the world’s population has already perished, with much more to come.

The Fifth Seal- Martyrs

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;
and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, oh Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
(Revelation 6:9-11)

This prophesy corresponds with Revelation 13:7 where Anti-Christ is given authority over the world through a global government, causing everyone to take a mark on the right hand or forehead as a pledge of allegiance to Anti-Christ, and making war with all those that refuse. A voice in Heaven is crying out for justice, yet God, continues to show His mercy and compassion for those left on earth, wanting no one to perish; “rest a little longer while I rescue a few more lost souls.”

The Sixth Seal-Terror

And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;
And the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;
And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17)

This is a description of an all out nuclear war. As we noted earlier Russia and her Muslim allies will make the first move; it is then likely the western forces aligned with anti-christ will retaliate, causing a series of responses back and forth between Russia and the kings of the south and the West. China, meanwhile is sitting back, watching with interest, waiting for the right moment. Although the United States is not specifically mentioned, it seems inevitable that She will be aligned with anti-christ and the forces of the western world. And yet the terror continues.