Dear Readers,
You may recall the teaching titled Opening the Seals that appeared in my Focus from the Founder column in our September issue of Kaleidoscope. We discussed that since the Lord Yeshua was crowned as worthy to receive all glory and power to bring the Kingdom of God to the earth, He has been, therefore, deemed praiseworthy to open the seals of the prophecies concerning the end times. Let’s pick up where we left off…
Review of the Seven Seals
From the day He stood before the Ancient of Days, the first five of the seven seals have been removed and are advancing and becoming stronger to create distress and take away peace from the earth.
The First Five Seals
- Powerful savage nations wage war to conquer and prevail over other lands and peoples.
- Death and the sword have been sanctioned by rulers and authorities, making it lawful to kill through governmental edicts, instructions from “holy books,” and military campaigns based on race, ethnicities, and religion.
- Production and yield of the earth have been diminishing, and inflation is continually increasing.
- Famine, pestilence, and disease have actively pervaded and increased in the earth, causing hundreds of millions to suffer and die.
- Believers in the One true God of Creation have been persecuted, slandered, and martyred for their faith. This will increase all the more.
The Sixth and Seventh Seal
The next two seals are connected to severe earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. However, these types of events have been happening regularly since Yeshua, and as in birth pains. There will one day be a severe quake that will rock the whole earth, causing global atmospheric and environmental changes.
The condition of the tectonic plates of the earth is primed and prepared for this cataclysmic event, and even science is in agreement that these calamities could happen very soon.
The Seventh Seal Starts the Judgment
The opening of the Seventh Seal also initiates a heavenly event that involves seven angels blowing seven shofarim. As each angel heralds their declaration, the earth and its atmosphere (both spiritual and physical) respond in distress from a righteous judgment of God. These judgments will cause many to come to faith.
“All night long I search for you; earnestly I seek for God; for only when you come in judgment on the earth to punish it will people turn away from wickedness and do what is right. 10 Your kindness to the wicked doesn’t make them good; they keep on doing wrong and take no notice of your majesty” (Isaiah 26:9-10 TLB).
The Seventh Seal is Broken, Resulting in The Seven Trumpets
When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them” (Revelation 8:1-2 NASB).
After the great earthquake following the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals, the saints are made ready and then agree in prayer that it is time for God to send His Judgements (Revelations 8:3-6). The angels put the shofars to their lips….
The First Trumpet:
The first sounded, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. Revelation 8:6 (NASB)
- Lightning, hail, and fire will destroy a third of the earth’s vegetation. We have already seen how this scenario is possible. In the past year alone, 21% of Australia’s forests have been destroyed. Also, 4% of California burned this year, and most of it due to lightning strikes.
The Second Trumpet
The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea [f]and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed. Revelation 8:8 (NASB)
- NASA has determined that there have been numerous near misses of asteroids this year, and a direct impact is inevitable. According to the Bible, one will hit the earth, bringing devastation, destroying a third of sea life, and causing tidal disturbances resulting in the destruction of a third of the sea vessels on voyage and docked at various ports.
The Third Trumpet
The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11 The star is named Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter. Revelation 8:10-11 (NASB)
- The asteroid will have many disastrous effects on the earth. Interestingly, the Russian city that suffered a nuclear disaster in 1986 was named Chernobyl, which means wormwood in English. Wormwood is a medicinal herb and used to make certain wines and alcohols such as Vermouth and Absinthe. The oil of wormwood contains the chemical thujone, which excites the central nervous system and can be poisonous, causing seizures and other adverse effects. The mention of wormwood is a warning not to drink the waters as the radioactive fallout from the asteroid will make the waters of the earth undrinkable. This is why Revelation 7:16 reminds God’s righteous who have endured that they will never hunger or thirst again.
The Fourth Trumpet
The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way. Revelation 8:12 (NASB)
- Another negative outcome of the asteroid will be the soot and ash that will propel into the earth’s atmosphere from volcanic eruptions that occur at impact. The fallout of ash will diminish the sun causing darkness during most of the daytime. The moon and the stars will barely be visible.
- The first four trumpets appear to be natural global disasters that will cause many to repent and turn to God for provision, healing, and protection. Many will learn through these distresses to seek and depend on Him completely.
Now the next Three Trumpets are also called The Three Woes. They are different from the first four trumpets as they have a supernatural and demonic spiritual component. Next month, God willing, I will explain more.
Woe, Woe, Woe…Read other Focus articles here…
