by Gary L. Evans
(revised 7/27/2023)
The Seven Seals — Part 1
Mark 13:1-2 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
This prophesy has not yet been fulfilled, because there remain parts of the wall around the temple mount, called the “wailing wall,” and also many underground tunnels and storage rooms.
Mark 13:3-4 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
These disciples ask to know the signs of the end, when not one stone of the temple and surrounding temple mount structures will be left standing.
Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
Jesus warned them that there would be much deception about this very matter, and that they must be on guard to prevent being deceived.
Matthew also documents this conversation between Jesus and His disciples.
Mat 24:1-4 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mark informed us that it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew that asked Him privately about this on the mount of Olives. Matthew however provides more detail in the specific question they asked, “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
Zec 14:1-2 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zechariah prophesied about the end of the world and the coming of The Day of The Lord, and how it will come with a very quick battle.
Zec 14:3-5 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Just as The Lord went to battle against Lucifer and his angels at the end of The First World, so will The Lord go into battle against Satan and his angels at the end of This Second World. And when His feet stand on The Mount of Olives which is east of Jerusalem, it will split into an extremely deep chasm all the way westward to Jerusalem and The Temple Mount where The Antichrist will be. And that Temple of Abomination where he declared that he was God will no doubt sink down into the chasm. And there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
So, it is clear beyond any doubt that the Seven Seals describe the conditions and major events that lead up to the end of this world and the return of Jesus Christ. Matthew then continues with all seven in the same order as presented by Mark.
Revelation also documents the Seven Seals using symbols.
Rev 1:1-2 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
This is the “apokalupsis” or “disclosure” of Jesus Christ to John. Its purpose is declared to be to inform us of what is going to happen as this world comes to an end and of the return of Jesus Christ to earth as He promised. The Kingdom of Heaven will be right here on earth.
Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
John was in a vision from God, and taken in his vision to The Day of The Lord, or The Millennial Reign of Christ. This term is not the Sabbath by any means, but represents a one thousand year period of time.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
So The Lord’s Day is a one thousand year period, and is also referred to as The Day of The Lord. This fact is clearly disclosed in later verses:
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Everything we learn now and the salvation we seek is to take part in The First Resurrection, which occurs at the return of Jesus Christ as He establishes His Millennial Kingdom as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Do you have a destiny?
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The Seven Seals — Part 2
Mark 13:5-6 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
These are those “many antichrists” (anti = instead of) who presume or pretend to be Christian but by their false teaching “deceive many.” And ultimately The Antichrist will come pretending to be Jesus returned in His Second Advent, but that one will be none other than That Old Serpent, Satan, The Devil cast out of heaven by Michael.
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
The Book of Revelation is The Disclosure, “apokalupsis,” in the Greek. Babylonian Mystery Religion, which has been propagated by those many antichrists over the last two thousand years, has confused the heck out of most people even regarding the name of this book. They make it seem so scary and mystical and incomprehensible, all gloom and doom, as though monsters are going to come in from outer space to destroy the earth and eat everybody!
Well, false doctrine destroys the souls of very many, just as Jesus said would happen by those many antichrists deceiving many. But Revelation is very much like a children’s picture story book, where the pictures painted contain symbols begging to be interpreted like in solving a puzzle. Puzzles are fun to solve, and so is serious study of Revelation.
Rev 6:1 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.
The First Seal is opened and thunder is heard immediately. Now what happens just before we hear thunder? Lightning, of course, so lightning struck somewhere. And when we hear thunder, we also expect that a rain storm is near.
Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Jesus told us what the lightning would be about at a set time, when Michael casts Satan out of Heaven.
So we have a few possible clues as to what to expect from the next verse.
Rev 6:2 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.
Now who rides on a white horse? A king or prince does. So the white horse symbolizes a King or Prince. And a second witness is the “crown” given unto him, because only kings and princes wear crowns. So at first glance this one looks a lot like Jesus coming back into this world, because He will return as Lord of lords and King of kings.
But that word “bow” cannot be what we might assume. It is “toxon” in the Greek, and simply means “a bow (apparently as the simplest fabric)” and that is all it can mean. The English word “bow” has a lot of different meanings, just as many Hebrew and Greek words have many different meanings. It could mean a bow that shoots arrows, but they are not made of fabric, so it can’t be one of those. And it could be a bow that one could wear as a decoration like a sash worn by a dignitary. In the Webster’s Dictionary we also see that “bow” can mean the “bow in the sky after rain.” And since we have the indication of a rain storm, the only reasonable meaning to conclude is “rainbow” which would convey the sense of “God’s Glory” above Christ Jesus as He rides in on the horse. But the problem is that this rainbow is made of the cheapest fabric. In other words, it is a fake rainbow!
Therefore this is a Fake Prince, i.e. The Antichrist coming into this world pretending to be Jesus Christ Returned. And he comes in “conquering and to conquer” obviously using deception, so that he can deceive the whole world into worshiping him as God!
Therefore The First Seal means that before Christ returns, The Antichrist must come and even before that many antichrists or false Christians must come deceiving many.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The Seven Seals — Part 3
Mark 13:7-8 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: …
Jesus said that as long as there are wars or news reports about wars, don’t worry, the end of the world is not here yet. Now what is the opposite of these things?
1Th 5:1-3 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
The opposite of war is peace and safety, so that is when we should be alarmed about the end being near. The Antichrist comes in using deception to conquer all people and will pretend to be The Prince of Peace. He will use his supernatural power to bring peace and prosperity to the whole world, and thus cause all to bow down in worship of him, except for God’s Elect.
Rev 6:3-4 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.
The red horse symbolizes war, and the sword represents killing, and so the meaning is easy to understand. The rider of this horse is nondescript and not important. What is important is that peace is taken from the earth, and war must continue unto the end of the world because no end of war or end to the lack of peace is indicated here.
Therefore The Second Seal means there will be War Until The End when The Antichrist will bring Peace and Safety.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The Seven Seals — Part 4
Mark 13:8 … and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
Now we learn there will be earthquakes in various places, and famines, and various kinds of social disturbances like sedition. Words can be literal and sometimes they can be figurative, especially when other scriptures appear to be related by the same subject, time, and place.
The word “earthquakes” is from the Greek “sice-mos’” which means “a commotion, that is, (of the air) a gale, (of the ground) an earthquake.” So it can mean a hurricane or tornado or an earthquake. Its root word is “si’-o” which means “to rock (vibrate, properly sideways or to and fro), that is, (generally) to agitate (in any direction; cause to tremble); figuratively to throw into a tremor (of fear or concern).”
The word “famines” is from “lee-mos’” which means “the idea of destitution; a scarcity of food.” Its root word is “li’-po” which means “to leave, that is, (intransitive or passive) to fail or be absent.” So the root word is what gives “lee-mos” the idea of destitution. Now there are various ways that people can become destitute besides hunger.
And the word “troubles” is from “tar-akh-ay’” which means “disturbance, that is, (of water) roiling, or (of a mob) sedition.”
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
The word “hearing” is from the Hebrew word “shaw-mah’” which means “to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively to tell, etc.)” Thus the implied meaning is “understanding,” so this famine is not for food, but is specifically in the figurative sense for The Bread of Life, a global lack of understanding God’s Word!
Amos 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
At the end of this Age people will be searching all over the world trying to find The Truth of The Word of God, but they will not find it because of this Famine.
Well, it looks to me like most people are pretty much doing that now. They are traveling all over the world, to India, Tibet, China, Japan, The Middle East, and many other places looking for “true wisdom” and “the understanding of dark secrets.”
And there’s a lot of folks who claim to be Christian, who even have a Bible in their home, but they never read it, or if they do, they don’t understand it. Why? Their pastors of the churches they have attended all their lives have been Antichrists, impostors, even con artists who only beg for money seemingly all the time but don’t teach much more than philosophy. Why? Because of The Third Seal, which is closely approaching its full prophetic effect this very day. Most preachers tell their congregations not to bother reading the book of Revelation, because nobody understands it, and because, we’re all going to be gone by The Great Holy Rapture before all that trouble comes. Lies! Lies! Lies! Thus most so-called Christians are so Biblically ignorant and illiterate they don’t even know what Sin is! They think it’s just what some preacher says people should not do. Wrong! And it’s so sad.
Rev 6:5 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.
The black horse symbolizes famine and pestilence. Balances were used to measure foods like grains, bread, and other things by weight in order to sell it at a set price.
Rev 6:6 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.
Now we are immediately given a second witness about famine. A penny was a day’s wages, and one measure of wheat, the amount needed to make a loaf of bread, cost a day’s wages. That’s not enough to even begin to feed an entire family. A day’s wages could buy enough barley (poor man’s bread) to make three loaves of bread, but still, that’s not enough. And don’t you dare even look at the olive oil or the wine, because they’re way out of your price range!
The bread represents the Bread of Life, which is so rare and expensive that one will not be able to buy enough to feed his family. The oil represents The Truth and the wine represents The Holy Spirit. But forget those! You can’t have The Truth and you can’t have The Holy Spirit and Eternal Life.
The Third Seal means Global Famine, a global lack of understanding God’s Word.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The Seven Seals — Part 5
Mark 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
We must remain on guard, because the antichrists will arrest us and imprison us. We will be beaten in their churches, and presented before religious leaders and rulers for our Lord’s Name’s sake to be tried.
Rev 6:7-8 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.
The pale horse means Death and Destruction! Satan is Death! And the name of the rider on this horse is Death! And Hell follows him, because out of the Bottomless Pit will come that Locust Army of Satan.
Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
The name “Apollyon” is from “ap-ol-loo’-ohn” which means “a destroyer (that is, Satan).” And its root is “ap-ol’-loo-mee” which means “to destroy fully (reflexively to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively.” And Jesus said that Satan comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. And that is exactly what he and his army of locusts will do when he comes as The Antichrist.
The word “kill” is “apokteinō” which can mean “to kill outright or figuratively to destroy.” But this word must be in the figurative sense in this context.
Jesus promised us that not a hair on our heads would be harmed, therefore this word must be “to destroy,” in the sense of to destroy our livelihood, our former way of life. For all other people of this world, the word “sword” must be in the figurative sense, the deceitful words that come out of the mouths of Satan and his Army. And they will be happy and joyous to have world peace and prosperity. And for us the word “hunger” is from a word meaning “destitution,” so we will suddenly become destitute. And the word “beast” is from “thērion” which means “a dangerous animal.”
When Satan and his fallen angels are cast out of heaven to this earth, they will all be like venomous animals in that their doctrines regarding worshiping The Antichrist will cause men to lose their souls, which is “death.” But we will not be deceived, as long as we put on the full armor of God prior to their arrival. Other things will happen to us because we will not worship Satan.
This pale horse is different from the red horse of war and killing that we studied in The Second Seal. The notion of the destruction of our way of life, becoming destitute, and suddenly placed under constant threat by dangerous animals, suggests imprisonment.
The Fourth Seal means The Captivity of The Elect.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The Seven Seals — Part 6
Mark 13:10-11 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
Do you think that the gospel has been taught, my friends? Well, maybe bits and pieces mixed with a lot of falsehood. But our Lord teaches in The Fifth Seal that the gospel will be published worldwide. And it will be published when we are taken into captivity by The Antichrist and put in prison according to The Fourth Seal. We are not to try to think ahead of time what we should say, because when the time comes, The Holy Spirit will speak through us.
And note that Jesus says that our captivity and our testimony will be “in that hour”, which is a Set Time. An example of a Set Time was given to us in Acts.
Act 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
On the Day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Passover, all of the disciples were gathered together along with a large number of other people. And the fullness of The Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in foreign languages.
The old English words “other tongues” means “foreign languages,” and so does the Greek word, “glōssa,” from which the word “tongues” was translated, which means “the tongue; by implication a language (specifically one naturally unacquired).” A language “naturally acquired” is one learned as a child from parents and while growing up. Foreign languages may also be learned, but they are learned from people or in school later.
Act 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
There were there in the meeting room converts to Judaism, Jehovah worship, from every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
And each one of them heard the disciples speak in his own native language, and because of this, they were all dumbfounded.
Act 2:7-8 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Now this word “tongue” is from “dialektos” which mean “dialect.” So the disciples under the power of The Holy Spirit were speaking in the very language and even the dialect of the towns in which these men had grown up as children. And there were men there from every nation on earth! No man can fake this act, my friends.
It is quite special to speak in all languages of mankind simultaneously.
That is THE VOICE OF GOD ALMIGHTY!
Act 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
There was naturally a lot of confusion and debate about what was going on. And Peter speaks up and explains that this was actually an example of what the prophet Joel had prophesied.
Act 2:17-18 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
The “Last Days” are the two millennia and years and days leading up to and finally culminating with the appearance and deception of The Antichrist. These are those Last Days, my friends.
Rev 6:9-11 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Many of God’s Servants have given their testimony over the centuries, and many of them have literally been killed because of their faithfulness. And they are now waiting in Heaven until The Very Elect give their testimony against The Antichrist at the End of The World. They are waiting on us who are their fellow servants and brethren in These Last Days.
The Fifth Seal is The Testimony of The Elect.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.