2. Salvation 3. On Dying 4. On Receiving the Spirit 5. On Being Reasonable 6. On the Witness 7. On the Second Death 8. On the Church 9. On Bruised Reeds 10. On Politics and the Church: Returning to Egypt 11. On Receiving the Messenger 12. On Romans 10:9-10 13. On Marriage and Divorce 14. On the Keys of the Kingdom 15. On...The Question 16. On The Call 17. On The Rest 18. On Works 19. On Being Taken 20. On The Blood 21. On Knowing The Bible 22. ---------- 23. Are You Born Again? 24. On Church Membership 25. On the Death of a True Pastor 26. Charter of the Pioneer Tract Society 27. Suffering and the Saints 28. On "What Must I Do To Be Saved?" 29. On Solomon's Wisdom 30. On P.T.L. and Oppression 31. On The Flood's Lesson 32. On The Washing Away of Sins 33. The Law 34. The Law, Part 2 35. The Law, Part 3 36. The Law, Part 4 37. The Law, Part 5 38. The Law, Part 6 39. The Father and the Son 40. Is Jesus God? 41. Jesus' Messages to the Seven Messengers: Revelation 2,3 42. "Ye Must Be Born Again 43. The True Sabbath 44. Concerning Your Work 45. Standards 46. On Tongues 47. Unequally Yoked in Worship 48. What Do I Really Believe? 49. Spiritual Influence 50. Marriage and Divorce 51. Crucified with Christ 52. The Good of Government 53. Jezreel 54. On Feelings 55. Saved? 56. Is Jesus Good Enough? 57. Works 58. Games 59. Seven Pillars 60. The Lusts of the Devil 61. The Time Draweth Near? 62. Returning to Egypt 63. "It Isn't Me" 64. On Being Just 65. The Vineyard of God 66. Unknown Tongues 67. Making a Deal 68. The Word of God 69. Homosexuality and the Bible 70. A Vision 71. Questions 72. Christianity or Christ! 73. What Makes Holy? 74. What Price, Ahab? 75. At Dan 76. The Commandments of Jesus 77. The Commandments of Jesus, Part 2 78. The Commandments of Jesus, Part 3 79. On Mt. Gilboa 80. The Manner of Beer-sheba 81. Trinity or Travesty 82. Biblical Geography and History 83. The God And Father of Jesus 84. A Call To Repentance 85. The Fellowship of His Sufferings 86. The Sabbath 87. Envy at En-Gedi 88. The Antichrist 89. How to Hate Sin 90. Can You Believe It? 91. The Nations of the Bible: Amalekites 92. The Nations of the Bible: Moab and Ammon 93. The Nations of the Bible: Edom 94. The Nations of the Bible: Assyria 95. Revelation (1) 96. Revelation (2) 97. Revelation (3) 98. The Fullness of Time 99. Sanctification 100. On Learning 101. Nebuchadnezzar's Image 102. The Third Throne 103. On Hatred 104. The God's of The Gentiles 105. Yahweh, God of The Christians 106. ------------ 107. The Gates of Hell 108. The Salvation of God 109. It Is Not Black or White: It is Jesus 110. Who Is Lost? 111. Some Other Way 112. Who Is Really The Greater (that is the more blessed)? 114. On Receiving Tithes and Offerings |
John David Clark, Sr. - May, 1995 The order of events in Revelation is easily discerned. There are three groups of seven events which were ordained to come upon the earth before the end of this age. They are designated by these terms: The Seven Seals, The Seven Trumpets, and The Seven Last Plagues. This month, we will concentrate on the first group, The Seven Seals. THE SEVEN SEALS The First Four Seals Seals #1 - 4 are what Jesus called "The Beginning of Sorrows". In our time, the earth has just begun to pass through first things. SEAL #1 speaks of the increased efforts of deception which Satan, through Christianity, unleashes against men near the end of this age. A key sign of this great uprising of deceivers in the name of Jesus is that they will proclaim that the time for Jesus's return is at hand. Anyone who has paid any attention at all to Christian sermonizing over the last few decades knows that the imminent return of Jesus has been a central theme. Obviously, this first Seal has already "been opened". SEAL #2 being opened, frightening spirits of war, fear of more war, and strife are released upon the earth. The feeling of security is taken away from the inhabitants of the earth. This sense of insecurity has in our time virtually covered the globe, including this country, and is still on the rise. We apparently are living during the time when this Second Seal is being fully opened. SEAL #3 speaks of a massive social re-organization. The structures for food supplies and for wages earned is redefined and balanced. We may look for this as the next big event in world history. Exactly what shape this re-organization will take isn't yet clear to me. From the text, it appears that there is to be a balancing of income with food, or maybe payment for a day's work will be with a day's supply of food instead of with money. We'll understand it when it happens. SEAL #4 describes a catastrophic human disaster. One fourth of the earth is given over to death. This event will follow the economic restructuring described in Seal #3. The Last Three Seals SEAL #5 prophesies of terrible persecution of the saints, of betrayal and apostasy on a massive scale, of slaughter of multitudes of righteous men and women. This is what Jesus called "Great Tribulation", and the earth has not witnessed such an event as this yet. SEAL #6 reveals that, for a time, the sun will be turned black and the moon will become like blood. Stars will fall from the sky to the earth, and an earthquake so fiercely shakes the earth that every island and mountain on earth and in the sea is shaken from its original position. Thus will men suffer God's wrath because of the persecution of His people. When SEAL #7 is opened, seven angels are given seven trumpets to blow, and the stage is then set for the next group of seven major events to occur: The Seven Trumpets. Here is a summary chart of THE SEVEN SEALS, with some verses from the gospels which are relevant to the verses in Revelation: THE SEVEN SEALS REVELATION 6 - 8:6
Despite what we hear from so many quarters in Christianity, the time for Jesus to return is not now. There is much which must yet come to pass. There are five more of the Seven Seals yet to come, and then there are what are called in Revelation the Seven Trumpets. According to Paul, Jesus will not return for his saints until "the last trumpet". Thanks to Revelation, we know how many trumpets there are and what will happen when each one blows. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||