Seven seals

For other uses, see Seven seals (disambiguation).

The Lamb opening the book with seven seals.

The Seven Seals is a phrase in the Book of Revelation that refers to seven symbolic seals that secure the book or scroll, that John of Patmos saw in his Revelation of Jesus Christ. The opening of the seals, on the Apocalyptic document occurs in Revelation Chapters 5-8. In John's vision, the only one worthy to open the book is referred to as both the "Lion of Judah" and the "Lamb having seven horns and seven eyes". This symbolically refers to the Christ. The opening of the fifth seal releases the cries of martyrs for the "word of God". The sixth seal prompts cataclysmic events. The seventh seal cues seven angelic trumpeters who in turn cues the seven bowl judgments.

Interpreting the seven seals

A wax seal was placed across the opening of a scroll to prevent unauthorized persons from opening it. This type of “seal” is frequently used in a figurative sense, in the book of Revelation, to describe an outward condition.

From the Reformation to the middle of the nineteenth century, the seals in Revelation have been interpreted through various methods, such as the historicist view that most Protestants adopted and the views of preterism and futurism that post-Reformation Catholic circles promoted. Idealism was also a fairly major view that became realized since the time of Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (AD 345-430).

The preterist view of the Seven Seals are typically seen as highly figurative illustrations of early historical events that have already taken place. The preterist usually views that John was given an accurate vision, of a course of events that would occur over the next several centuries, to fulfill the prophetic seals. Robert Witham, an 18th century Catholic commentator, offers a preterist view for the period that spans the length of the opening of the seals; it being the period from Christ to the establishment of the Church under Constantine in 325. Johann Jakob Wettstein (18th Century), places the date of the Apocalypse as written before A. D. 70. He assumed that the first part of the Book was in respect to Judea and the Jews; and that the second part, about the Roman Empire. The “Sealed Book” is the book of divorcement sent to the Jewish nation from God.

Isaac Williams (19th Century), associated the first six Seals with the discourse on the Mount of Olives and stated that, “The seventh Seal contains the Seven Trumpets within it… the judgments and sufferings of the Church.”

Contemporary-historicists view all of Revelation as relating to John’s own time (with the allowance of making some guesses as to the future).

Dispensationalists and continuous-historicists regard the Seven Seals as figurative concepts that fit a chronological succession of events, from the 1st millennium to present day.

The futurist uses the literalist method when interpreting the narrative. Moderate futurists typically interpret the opening of the seals as representing forces in history, however long they last, by which God carries out His redemptive and judicial purposes leading up to “the end”.

The idealist view does not take the book of Revelation literal at all. The interpretation of Revelation’s symbolism and bizarre imagery is defined by the struggles between good and evil. Likewise, the spiritualist applies the narrative as figurative random aspects of Christianity.

Opening the seven seals

First seal

Revelation 6:1-2
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.
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.

(--Authorized King James Version)

Preterist view
Johann Jakob Wettstein (18th Century), identified the first Horseman as Artabanus, king of the Parthians who slaughtered the Jews in Babylon. This rider has also been interpreted as symbolic for Rome's march toward Jerusalem in A.D. 67, to suppress The Great Jewish Revolt.

Historicist view
This rider represents Rome’s "golden age", from the death of Domitian up to the peace made by Commodus with the Germans in A.D. 180.

Futurist view
Baptist view: This rider represents the antichrist who will head the revived Roman Empire at the end of history, after the rapture of the church.

Idealist view
This rider is a symbol of the progress of the gospel of the conquering Christ mentioned in Rev. 5:5; 19:11-16.

Second seal

Revelation 6:3-4
³ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
⁴ 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.

(--Authorized King James Version)

Preterist view
This rider corresponds to the civil war that broke out amongst the Jews, during the Jewish revolt against Rome. The civil war not only dissipated their stand against Rome, but also divided the Jewish people into factions that eventually dis-unified Jerusalem. Hugo Grotius (17th Century), interprets “the earth”, in verse 4, as the land of Judea. Johann Jakob Wettstein (18th Century), identified the Red horse as representing the assassins and robbers of Judea in the days of Antonius Felix and Porcius Festus. Volkmar, a modern rationalist preterist, viewed the Second Horseman as representing the wars that occurred after year 66: the Jewish–Roman wars, Roman–Parthian Wars, and Byzantine–Arab Wars.

Historicist view
This second rider corresponds to the period from the rules of Commodus (180) to Diocletian (284), which was fraught with civil war. This period spanned the 32 would-be emperors that came and went during that time. It was the beginning of the end for the Roman Empire.

Futurist view
Baptist view: The Antichrist will unleash World War III, and crush any who claim to be Christians after the Rapture. He allies with the Arab world in an effort to conquer the entire world. (Ezek. 38; Dan. 11) Only Jerusalem will stand in his way to world supremacy.

Idealist view
Seal judgments two through four represent the disintegration of both human civilization and creation resulting from their rejection of the Lamb of God. The rider on the red horse represents the slaughter and war that the kingdoms of men perpetrate against each other because they reject the Christ.

Third seal

Revelation 6:5-6
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.
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.

(--Authorized King James Version)

Preterist view
Hugo Grotius (17th Century) and Johann Jakob Wettstein (18th Century), viewed this rider as corresponding to the famine that occurred during the reign of Claudius, the Roman Emperor from years 41 to 54. Volkmar, a modern rationalist preterist, pinpoints the famine at year 44, which kept repeating right into the First Jewish–Roman War of 66. The famine was so severe that “mothers ate their children to survive”, while Jewish revolt leader, John Gischala, and his men, consumed the oil and wine that were luxury items from the Jerusalem temple.

Historicist view
The third seal represents financial oppression on the Roman citizenry created by heavy taxation imposed by emperors in the 3rd century. Taxes could be paid in grain, oil, and wine.

Futurist view
Baptist view: Inflation and famine will plague the earth during World War III. Though many will starve, the wealthy will enjoy the luxuries of oil and wine.

Idealist view
This rider bespeaks the economic hardship and poverty that follow the unleashing of wars on humankind, while the rich get richer.

Fourth seal

Revelation 6:7-8
⁷ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
⁸ 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.

(--Authorized King James Version)

Preterist view
This rider speaks the widespread death of Jews in their fight against Rome, which happens to be over a million Jewish deaths. Volkmar, a modern rationalist preterist, points to pestilence striking in year 66.

Historicist view
This rider signifies twenty years of fighting, famine and disease that plagued the reigns of Emperors Decius, Gallus, Aemilianus, Valerian, and Galliennus (248-268).

Futurist view
Baptist view: Spells death for one-fourth of the earth’s inhabitants. The war started by the Antichrist, will reach the finale with the seven bowls of judgments.

Idealist view
This fourth rider symbolizes death that results from war and famine when men turn against men.

Fifth seal

Revelation 6:9-11
⁹ 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:
¹⁰ 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?
¹¹ 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 fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they [were], should be fulfilled.

(--Authorized King James Version)

Opening of the Fifth Seal by El Greco

Preterist view
This is the cry for vindication by the Christian martyrs who were persecuted by the Jews after Christ’s death and leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The name “Jerusalem” became synonymous with the persecution of the righteous. But God avenged the deaths of the righteous by allowing the Romans to conquer the “holy city” as retaliation for the Jews handing Jesus over to Pilate Also, King Herod I was unworthy to rebuild/renovate the Temple, so God had the Romans destroy it.

Historicist view
This seal occurred during the rule of martyred Christians who were persecuted by Emperor Diocletian (284-303). This was the tenth period of the persecution of Christianity and the most severe, because of being on a “worldwide” scale. Then with Constantine’s rise to power, Christianity became legalized (313) and the church was thereby vindicated.

Futurist view
Baptist view: This judgment encompasses Christians who will be martyred, for their faith in Christ, during the Great Tribulation by not bowing down to the 666 Antichrist. Their deaths place them in good company of the righteous throughout the ages.

Idealist view
The fifth seal is a reminder that, though the Christ inaugurated the "Kingdom of God" through the preaching of the gospels, God’s people suffer during the tribulation that starts from the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ. This is known as the end-time tribulation that stretches across world history. Thus the “kingdom of God” is in history, but “not yet” triumphant.

Sixth seal

Revelation 6:12-17
¹² And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
¹³ And the stars of the heavens fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
¹⁴ And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
¹⁶ And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
¹⁷ For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

(--Authorized King James Version)

Preterist view
Hugo Grotius (17th Century), viewed the sixth seal as it relates to the events during the Siege of Jerusalem by Titus in year 70. Volkmar, a modern rationalist preterist, marked the beginning of the sixth seal to year 68, with Galba assuming emperorship. Preterists typically view the symbolic language as having been adapted from the Hebrew Bible, to allude to the environmental disturbances that fell upon Jerusalem before its fall. The mention of hiding in caves alludes to the many Jews who hid in the caves and underground when the Romans finally invaded.

According to Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (c. 1704), this was Divine vengeance that first fell upon the Jews for having the Messiah crucified, then subsequently upon the persecuting Roman Empire. First, however, vengeance was deferred until a number elect, from the Jewish people, was accomplished. Bossuet viewed the great Catastrophe of the Apocalypse as the conquest of Pagan Rome by Alaric I.

Historicist view
Political upheaval and collapse of the Roman Empire brought about invasions of northern hordes of Goths and Vandals between 375 and 418.

Futurist view
Baptist view: The sixth seal will be the literal cosmic disturbances caused by nuclear war. The first nucler explosion will trigger the worst earthquake ever. The smoke will darken the sun, make the moon appear red, and prompt massive meteor shwoers (“the stars… fell”). Thus follows the first half of the Tribulation where God’s wrath consumes the earth. Such wrath does not harm the Church because it has already 'raptured' before the Tribulation started.

Idealist view
This is the end of the age when Christ returns, bringing cosmic upheaval on those who oppose God, the ones who persecuted His Church. The unrighteous are damned and the righteous enjoy the presence of God.

Seventh seal

Revelation 8:1-6
¹ And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
² And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
³ And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
⁴ And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
⁵ And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast [it] into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
⁶ And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Revelation 16:1
¹ And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

(--Authorized King James Version)

Preterist view
The “silence” is the preparation for the judgment about to fall upon Jerusalem in 70. Johann Jakob Wettstein (18th Century), went on to say that the “silence” conceded to the entreaties of King Agrippa I. This judgement was the divine response to the cry for vindication from the martyred Christians, such as: Stephen, James the brother of John, and James the brother of Jesus. The preparation of the altar, is the preparation for the destruction of apostate Jerusalem as if it were a whole burnt offering. This is in accordance with how scriptures of the Hebrew Bible declare an apostate city should be destroyed. The priest would burn the city’s booty in the middle of the city square with fire from God’s altar. (Deut. 13:16, Judges 20:40)

Historicist view
The “silence” spans a 70 year period from Emperor Constantine’s defeat of Licinius (A.D. 324) to Alaric’s invasion of the Roman Empire (395). The prayers are those of the Christians martyred by Rome. The seven trumpets represent the seven judgments that God had in store for the Roman Empire.

Futurist view
Baptist view: The “silence” is the hush of expectancy for the verdict about to be pronounced on the guilty. The prayers are from the Christians who will be martyred by the 666 Antichrist in the Great Tribulation, the last three and a half years of the “end-time” tribulation. Both the trumpet and bowl judgments will be unleashed on the wicked during the second half of the tribulation, each judgment intensifying to the next.

Idealist view
This silence quiets heaven so that it can focus on what is about to be revealed. It is the lull before the storm. The ensuing judgments vindicate Christian martyrs throughout the centuries. The trumpet judgments repeat themselves, again and again, throughout history, just as the seal judgments do, until the second coming of Christ.

Influence

Literature

• D.H. Lawrence wrote a poem called Seven Seals in 1916.
• The Book with Seven Seals (Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln) an oratorio by Austrian composer Franz Schmidt.
• The wheel of time by Robert Jordan.

Film

• The seals are portrayed in the 1991 film The Rapture.
• The Seventh Seal, a film by Ingmar Bergman.
• The Seventh Sign, a film starring Demi Moore and Michael Biehn about a woman whose child is tied to the opening of the Seven Seals.

Television

• History Channel's 2009 Nostradomus Effect - Secrets of the 7 Seals
• The fourth season of Supernatural revolved around the breaking of seals as heralds of a coming war between angels and demons.

Video games

• The video game Darksiders presented the Seven Seals and the main character is the second seal War.

Music

• The band Aphrodite's Child on their album 666 reference the seals in several songs. One is specifically entitled "The Seventh Seal".
• In the single "Special K" by Placebo there is a reference made "Can this savior be for real//Or are you just my seventh seal?"
• "The Seventh Seal" is the opening track of Van Halen's 1995 record Balance.
• Hip hop artist Rakim titled an album The Seventh Seal.
• Seven Seals is the name of a 2005 album by Primal Fear and also a track on that album.
• In the song "MoonChild" by the English Heavy Metal band Iron Maiden, a lyric is "Moonchild, Open the seventh Seal".
• British experimental (apocalyptic folk) band Current 93 has several tracks that refer to the seven seals: "The Seven Seals are Revealed at the End of Time as Seven Bows: the Bloodbow, the Pissbow, the Painbow, the Faminebow, the Deathbow, the Angerbow, the Hohohobow" on a 1994 album called Lucifer over London and a track on EP Seven Seals called "The Seven Seals, Their Appearance And Nature".
• Sounding The Seventh Trumpet is the name of a 2001 album by Avenged Sevenfold.
• "Cannon" is the name of a song by The White Stripes "john the revelator wrote the book on the seven seals."
• Clutch references the Seven Seals in their song "Profits of Doom": "Who's that writing? John the Revelator, he wrote the book of the seven seals".
• Ludo references the Seven Seals and the Horsemen in their song "Pt. III The Lamb and the Dragon": "Break the seven seals, let the horsemen ride!"
• The song "John the Revelator" by Depeche Mode references John and the seven seals-- "Seven lies, multiplied by seven, multiplied by seven again/Seven angels with seven trumpets/Send them home on the morning train/Well who's that shouting?/John the Revelator!/All he ever gives us is pain."
• Enigma cites Revelation 8:1: "When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, silence covered the sky" in their song "Back to the Rivers of Belief".
• Reggae artist Anthony B named an album Seven Seals and also references the Seven Seals in his song "Prophecy A Reveal".
• Glenn Danzig's pre-Danzig band Samhain's song "Archangel", from their first album Initium, includes the lyrics "Open up all seven seals/ The beast has come/ I am the end".

News

• The Seven Seals were part of David Koresh's teachings to his followers among the Branch Davidians.

See also

• Events of Revelation (Chapter 5)
• Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
• Seven trumpets
• Seven bowls
• The book with seven seals (oratorio)

External links

• Taylor (1995+) Commentary on Revelation. Chapter 6: The Seven Seals
• Ames (2003) The Seven Seals of Revelation. Tomorrow’s World 5 (2)
• Graham (2010) The Seven Seals of Revelation and the Seven Classical Planets. Esoteric Quarterly 6 (2), 45-58.
• "7 seals" explained as 'Beyond Einstein theories'