From this list comparing these two riders, the only thing truly the same about these two riders is that they are both riding white horses. Everything else is different enough to indicate that these riders are not the same person. Another important fact is that the Lord is in heaven during the vision of the rider on the white horse in the First Seal, and we know the Lord Jesus Christ is seated at the right a hand of God, His Father, until He returns. So, if the rider on the white horse seen in the vision of the First Seal is not Christ, who is he? The fact that he has some similarities to Christ in that he is riding a white horse and has a crown appearing to be a king or ruler could mean that this rider is intended to appear to be Christ but is not. That would mean the rider is a false christ. In Jesus’ warnings about the signs before the end and the Tribulation in Matthew 24:4 and Mark 13:6, the first thing He said was many false christs would come. The fact that Jesus said there would be many false christs indicates the false christs are a spirit and not just a person. The Apostle John called them antichrists. Let’s read what he has to say about that.

 

1 John 2:18 (NKJV)

18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

 

The Apostle John says, “you have heard the Antichrist is coming.” Singular. We know at the very end that there will be a single antichrist who is the beast in Revelation and the man of sin and son of perdition revealed by the Apostle Paul. Then John says many antichrists have already come, confirming there is an antichrist spirit that is moving in the earth and spreading. This would indicate the rider on the white horse is a spirit, and the horse represents the ability to cover more ground and move faster. A finite spirit cannot cover the earth instantly but has to spread its influence over time, but the horse, allowing faster movement, would allow the rider to spread its influence faster. John saying that there were already many antichrists in the early Church suggests the spirit was spreading its influence fast and early. We know from 2 Thessalonians 2 that the Lord is holding back this spirit from taking over the world, until He removes His Spirit, then this spirit will be able to quickly finish spreading and taking over the world except for those who truly belong to Christ. Since the Scripture does not say exactly who this rider on the white horse is, and only gives the clues we just covered, we cannot with one-hundred percent certainty identify who this rider on the white horse is, seen in the vision by John when the First Seal is released. Knowing with some certainty, he is not Christ, all the clues point to it being the spirit of antichrist. I think we can conclude with some certainty that the rider on the white horse who John saw in the vision of the First Seal is the spirit of the antichrist.

 

The Second Seal

 

Revelation 6:3-4 (NKJV)

3 When He opened the Second Seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 

4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

 

When the Second Seal is released, John is given a vision of a fiery red horse and its rider is granted to take peace from the earth and cause people to kill one another, and he was given a great sword. Again, the rider is not identified, but he is granted to take peace from the earth and cause people to kill one another. Just like the first horse and rider, no finite spirit can cause its influence to spread across the entire earth instantaneously. The horse providing increased speed and movement would cause it to spread faster, but still the spread of violence and war will be a progressive increase over time. Comparing the second horse and rider to the Lord’s warning of signs before the Tribulation and the end, the Lord said the second type of events that will occur will be wars and rumors wars. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, indicating an increase in war and violence, just like the rider on the fiery red horse is going to cause.

 

The Third Seal

 

Revelation 6:5-6 (NKJV)

5 When He opened the Third Seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

 

When the Third Seal is released, the third creature says to John “Come and see,” and John is given a vision of a black horse and its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. A voice from the four creatures said, “a quart of wheat for a denarius.” A quart of wheat is about enough wheat for a large loaf of bread, which is enough to feed one person for a day, and a denarius was a day’s wages, so a quart of wheat for a denarius meant it costs a full day’s wages to feed one person. Food costing that much can only mean one thing—Severe famine. The third thing Jesus said would increase before the Tribulation and end was famine.

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The Fourth Seal

 

Revelation 6:7-8 (NKJV)

7 When He opened the Fourth Seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 

8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

 

When the Fourth Seal is released, the fourth creature says to John “Come and see,” and John is given a vision of a pale horse and its rider’s name is Death and hell follows him. This is the first rider who has been identified, and his name is Death and hell is following him. If hell is following Death on the earth, it means death and a horde of evil spirits from hell have been released on the earth. Power was given to them over twenty-five percent of the earth to kill with the sword, hunger, death (pestilence), and the beasts of the earth. The word “death” here is also translated to pestilence and by the beast of the earth. Death and its horde from hell are given power over a fourth of the earth to kill, though it does not say that they killed a fourth of the earth but that they have power over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword, famine, death (pestilence), and the beasts of the earth.

 

Now this fourth horse and rider kills with the sword and famine, the same as the second and third horses and riders, but the fourth horse and rider also kills with death (pestilence) and the beasts of the earth. Pestilence is the fourth thing Jesus said in Matthew 24 that would increase on the earth before the Tribulation and the end. Considering the clues given, when the first horse and rider, who is presumably the antichrist, was released, Christ is seen as a Lamb who had just been slain, not sitting at the right-hand of His Father. The second clue is the Apostle John revealed that antichrists were already on the earth during the time of his ministry, and that would have been after the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ. With this, we can estimate that the first horse and rider was released on the earth sometime soon after the death of Christ. These horses and riders are finite spirits who cannot spread their influence instantaneously on the earth but would have to spread it progressively over time and would likely be experiencing some resistance from the saints, slowing their progression some. The warnings Jesus gave of the antichrists, war, famine, and pestilence increasing on earth before the Tribulation and the end, these are the exact same things released on the earth by the four horses and riders in the exact same order. Using the limited clues provided by Scripture to estimate when these horses and riders may have been released, the first horse and rider appears to be released soon after the death and crucifixion of Christ, and all four before the Tribulation, causing what Jesus called the beginning of sorrows, or birth pains, which continue to increase until they give birth to the Tribulation. All four of these horses and riders could have been released soon after the death of Christ, or any time after the death Christ, until sometime before the Tribulation. Early enough to increase to the levels that Jesus indicated they would before the Tribulation. The final take we get from this is summed up in what Jesus said, there would be antichrists, a significant increase in war, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places before the Tribulation. As we see these things increase to levels never seen or heard of before, and are continuing to increase, we know the time of the Tribulation is getting close.

 

The Fifth Seal

 

Revelation 6:9-11 (NKJV)

9 When He opened the Fifth Seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been 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, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

 

Notice John is now seeing a vision in heaven, and no one is telling him to come and see as they did during the visions of the first four seals. John sees the saints that have been martyred through the ages under the alter asking the Lord how long until He judges and avenges their blood on those on the earth who have killed them. White robes are given to them, and they are told to wait a little while longer until the rest of the saints are martyred as they were. There are two clues here as to possibly when the vision of this seal occurs—First, the martyrs of the ages are asking the Lord when their blood will be avenged, and they are already in heaven and may know that the time is near. Second, they are given white robes, the same thing the saints are wearing when they follow the Lord back to the earth at His coming. Third, they are told to wait just a little longer until the rest of the saints that are to be martyred are killed, and that would include the Tribulation saints. With these three clues, we can estimate this vision occurs sometime soon before the Great Tribulation.

 

The Sixth Seal

 

Revelation 6:12-13 (NKJV)

12 I looked when He opened the Sixth Seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 

13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

 

When the Sixth Seal is released, John sees a vision of a great earthquake. The sun turns black, the moon turns blood red, and stars fall from heaven to the earth. These are the same events Jesus taught would happen after the Tribulation and right before His coming in the sky to Rapture and resurrect the saints. Let’s compare the two passages.

 

Matthew 24:29 (NKJV)

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

 

Jesus says the sun will be darkened and John says the sun will turn black. The Lord says the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and John says the stars fall from heaven to the earth like a fig tree shaken by a mighty wind. Jesus says the moon does not give its light, but does not say the moon cannot be seen, and John says the moon was blood red or dark red. The moon was created to be a night light to the earth. The moon’s natural color is between a soft white and a light yellow, and when it is these colors, it is a good night light to the earth. A blood red or dark red moon would be visible but would not provide a bright enough light to be a usable night light to the earth. From our analysis of the first few verses of both passages, we can see that these are very likely the same event, and as we continue to study the rest of these passages, we will see that they are definitely the same event.

 

Revelation 6:14-17 (NKJV)

14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 

15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves 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 who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 

17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

 

John sees the sky rolled back like a scroll. From the greatest to the least, they try and hide themselves in caves, rocks, and mountains, and they want the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb. If they are so desperate to hide themselves from the face of God and the wrath of the Lamb that they want the mountains and rocks to fall on them, then they must really be seeing Almighty God on His throne and the coming of Christ. The sky receding like a scroll really means that the veil between heaven and earth has opened and they can see God and Christ, and that agrees with what Jesus said when He comes. Everyone will see Him!

 

Matthew 24:30 (NKJV)

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

 

The Lord says all the tribes of the earth will cry when they see Him coming from heaven with power and great glory. The two passages together complete this picture. Many people will know they are going to receive God’s wrath and they are going to try desperately to hide themselves. Many are going to cry because they know God’s wrath is coming and that there truly is no escape, and many will cry because they knew to be ready and to prepare for His coming, but they did not, and now they are going to receive His wrath. Revelation 11 is another passage that reveals the coming of Christ, the Resurrection, and His wrath to come.

 

Revelation 11:15,18 (NKJV)

15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

 

The Seventh and Last Trumpet of God is sounded, a declaration is made stating the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of God and Christ. The nations are angry because there has been great trouble on the earth. God’s wrath has come with the time of judging and rewarding His servants, the prophets and the saints and all those who fear His name, small and great. This is the first Resurrection. Jesus called it the Resurrection of the Just, and it will include the Rapture since the Rapture is part of the first Resurrection. This is the same thing John saw in the vision of the Sixth Seal being released, God’s wrath has come, and Christ is coming to execute His wrath after He judges and rewards all His servants. Let’s continue comparing this with what Jesus says.

 

Matthew 24:31 (NKJV)

31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

 

Mark 13:27 (NKJV)

27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

 

The Trumpet of God is sounded by an angel in heaven and the Lord sends His angels to gather His people from the farthest parts of the earth. This is the Rapture of those still alive on the earth. From the farthest parts of heaven are the saints coming back with Him who will be in the Resurrection and receive their glorified bodies. Now that we have compared the Scriptures of the vision John sees at the release of the Sixth Seal and the coming of Christ after the Tribulation in the Gospels, and the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet in Revelation 11, let’s look at a summary of them.

 

1. The Sixth Seal and Jesus both reveal the same events just prior to the coming of Christ, and they are: The sun is dark, the moon does not give its light, and the stars fall from heaven.

2. The Sixth Seal and Jesus both reveal that Christ is seen by the entire earth when He comes.

3. The Sixth Seal and the Seventh Trumpet both declare God’s wrath to the whole world has come.

4. The Sixth Seal says people will desperately try to hide from God’s wrath when they see Christ coming. Jesus says people will be crying when they see Christ coming.

5. The Seventh Trumpet and Jesus both reveal that the sounding of the Last Trumpet of God will be the coming of Christ, the Resurrection, the Rapture, and judgement to reward God’s servants.

 

Final conclusion—The Sixth Seal, the Seventh Trumpet, and the coming of Christ are all the same event.

 

This brings up an interesting situation, since we learned in a previous chapter that the Seven Trumpets are not revealed until the Seventh Seal is broken allowing the scroll to be opened and reveal the Seven Trumpets, how can the Sixth Seal be a vision of the Seventh Trumpet since the Seven Trumpets are not revealed until the Seventh Seal is released? I believe the answer is that the Seven Seals are just visions and not actual judgements being released, unlike the case with the Seven Trumpets being sounded. Let me explain, when John sees Christ open the seals, He is seen as Lamb that had just been slain, and this is the only time in Scripture that He is seen this way. It gives us a sign that Christ opened, or started to open, these seals soon after His crucifixion where He was the Lamb that had just been slain. The visions of the first four seals are events on the earth and are the same events in the same order as the birth pains that Jesus describes taking place before the Tribulation. We know from the Scripture in 1 John 2:18 that the spirit of the antichrist was on the earth soon after Christ’s death, and the other three plagues released on the earth by the other three horsemen; war, feminine, and death, will take time to build up to the level they will be at right before the Tribulation. There is no way to know for sure if they were actually released soon after Christ’s death or closer to the time of the Tribulation, but on the other hand, since they become the birth pains that lead up to the Tribulation, it is possible the events, not the vision seen at the release of the seals, are closer to the time of the Tribulation. The Fifth Seal is a vison in heaven of the martyrs under the alter asking God when their blood will be avenged, and they are told to wait a little while longer until all the martyrs, including those of the Great Tribulation, are complete. This gives us a sign that this event, not the vision of Fifth Seal, may be close to the time of the Great Tribulation. The Fifth Seal is clearly just a vision and not a judgement of God, as seen in the vision of the first four seals, and the Sixth Seal is a vision of the coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation and the Seventh Trumpet. If the First Seal’s horse and rider is indeed the spirit of the antichrist, which the spirit of the antichrist was definitely present soon after the death of Christ as John says in 1 John 2:18, and the Sixth Seal is a vision of the coming of Christ, then the release of the first six seals are just visions of what happens between the time that Christ was on the earth the first time until the coming of Christ the second time at the Last Trumpet. Since the only clue as to when the seals were released was Jesus appearing as a Lamb that had just been slain, which is the only time He appears this way, and the seals are visions, many of them being far in the future, it is possible these seals were released soon after Christ’s crucifixion, and John was seeing visions of the future at the release of each seal. Since the event of the Sixth Seal is the coming of Christ at the Seventh Trumpet, the seals are visions of events, and future events, and not the release of judgements that occur at the sounding of the Seven Trumpets. Next, in Revelation 7, John sees another vision.

 

Revelation 7:1-4 (NKJV)

1 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 

2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,

3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

 

Verses 5-8 describe twelve thousand who are sealed from each of the twelve tribes of Israel; Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin, equaling one-hundred and forty-four thousand that are sealed. John sees a vision of four angels holding back the four winds, and these same four angels have been given power to harm the earth and the sea. Then he sees an angel telling them not to harm the earth, the sea, or the trees until the one-hundred and forty-four thousand are sealed. The four angels are told to hold back these judgements of God until the one-hundred and forty-four thousand are sealed because the judgments of God are not against His saints but against the wicked. These are sealed to God before these judgements come on the earth, the sea, and the trees so that they can be identified as belonging to God and not be harmed by these judgements. Next, in Revelation 7:9-16, John sees a vision of a great multitude that no one could number from all the nations that have come out of the Great Tribulation. They are clothed in white robes, washed by the blood of the Lamb, standing before God and Christ worshiping Them. They will serve God before His throne and He will dwell with them, and Christ will shepherd them and lead them to fountains of living waters, and they will never suffer, hunger, or thirst ever again, and God will wipe away all their tears.

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The Seventh Seal

 

One important point to make about the Seventh Seal before we study it; the Seventh Seal is the last seal on the scroll, therefore allowing the scroll to be opened and reveal what is inside.

 

Revelation 8:1 (NKJV)

1 When He opened the Seventh Seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

 

Verse 1 says there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. The half hour of silence is in heaven so that the measure of time would be based on heaven’s timeclock, not the earth’s. So, what is heaven’s timeclock? I believe the following Scriptures will help us understand that.

 

Psalm 90:4 (NKJV)

4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.

 

2 Peter 3:8 (NKJV)

8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

 

These Scriptures say one day is a thousand years with the Lord. The Lord is in heaven, so I believe these Scriptures are saying heaven’s time is one day for every thousand years on the earth. If you do the math of converting one-thousand earth years to one day in heaven, half an hour in heaven would be approximately 20.8 years on the earth. Revelation 8:1 says about half an hour, so heaven is waiting approximately twenty years before continuing with what is revealed inside the scroll after the Seventh and Last Seal is broken, allowing the scroll to be opened. Continuing with the next verses in Revelation 8:2-6.

 

Revelation 8:2 (NKJV)

2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

 

The first thing John sees after the scroll has been opened, and after the half hour in heaven has passed, are seven angels who are given Seven Trumpets.

 

Revelation 8:3-5 (NKJV)

3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 

4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 

5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thundering’s, lightnings, and an earthquake.

 

John sees another angel with a golden censer who came and stood at the altar. The angel is given a lot of incense to offer with the prayers of the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne, and the smoke from the incense and prayers of the saints went up from the angel’s hand to God. The angel filled the censer with fire from the altar and threw it to the earth, causing noises, thundering, lightning, and an earthquake.

 

Revelation 8:6 (NKJV)

6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

 

John sees the seven angels with the Seven Trumpets prepared to sound them. Previously we learned that the Seventh and Last Trumpet is the Resurrection and Rapture of the saints. We learned some things about the Sixth Trumpet, including the three-and-a-half-year, or forty-two-month, rein of the beast who makes war with the saints, which occurs, or at least most of it, during the timeframe of the Sixth Trumpet. Now having learned what events lead up to the Tribulation; antichrists, war, famine, and death gaining control of one-fourth of the world’s population, and with power to kill with war, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, it is time to look at all the Trumpet Judgements from the First Trumpet to the Last Trumpet to better understand the events that will lead up to the Rapture and Resurrection.

 

The First Trumpet

 

Revelation 8:7 (NKJV)

7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

 

The First Trumpet releases hail and fire mingled with blood, and it burns up a third of the earth and trees and all the green grass. This is a serious judgment of God and leads to a question; Are there other judgments in Scripture that are like this one? The answer is yes, there are, they are in Exodus 9:18-29. The Lord sends down hail mixed with fire and destroys man, beast, trees, and vegetation in all the land of Egypt, except nearby in Goshen where God’s people lived where there was no hail. This similar judgement in Egypt shows that God can and does bring judgement on the wicked and protects His people from these judgements.

 

The Second Trumpet

 

Revelation 8:8-9 (NKJV)

8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.

9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

 

This Second Trumpet judgment sounds like a huge blazing asteroid, and since John would probably not know what an asteroid is, a huge blazing mountain would most likely be the way he would have described a huge blazing mountain size asteroid. There’s no doubt God could throw a huge blazing mountain into the sea, but in either case, a huge blazing mountain sized object is thrown into the sea. I don’t think we are going to find anything like that, that has ever occurred before in the Bible. So, is there anything the Bible can tell us about this? For one thing, since nothing like this blazing mountain or asteroid has ever happened before, we can be certain this judgment has not happened yet. In fact, nothing on the scale of this judgement, a semi-global event of one third of the earth suffering devastation, has happened since Noah’s flood, which was a full global judgment. There’s one part of this judgment that does have something in common with an earlier Bible event, and that is the sea turning to blood and everything in the sea dying. That is when the Lord in His judgment of Egypt in a series of plagues that were the same series of judgements the plague of hail and fire just mentioned are part of. The Lord turned the Nile into blood and all the fish in the Nile died. This is found Exodus 7:14-21.

 

The Third Trumpet

 

Revelation 8:10-11 (NKJV)

10 Then 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 water.

11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

 

A great star falling from heaven definitely sounds like an Asteroid, and the fact that it immediately follows the first blazing asteroid gives the possibility that this second asteroid could be another part of the first asteroid if it were to break up at some point. There is also another possibility that comes to mind, this second asteroid or second part of the first asteroid could possibly break up into many pieces striking many of the fresh water sources of the earth with its poison. Regardless of exactly how this burning poisonous object named wormwood strikes the earth, the result of this judgment is a third of the earth’s fresh waters being poisoned causing in many deaths. Since this is a judgement of God, and the Bible has a long history of God protecting His holy people who trust and obey Him from His punishment of the wicked, I believe those who walk wholeheartedly in faith and obedience to God will very likely be protected from these judgements since these trumpet judgements are against the wicked and not against God’s holy people.

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The Fourth Trumpet

 

Revelation 8:12 (NKJV)

12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night

 

Again, this Trumpet Judgement affects one third of the earth, and this time it is the earth’s natural lights, sunlight, moonlight, and starlight. Question—Are there any other judgements similar to this one in Scripture to compare and help understand this one? Yes, there is, as we have seen with the previous Trumpet Judgements, they are similar to the judgments against Egypt. When God delivered the Israelites from the harsh slavery of Egypt, the scale of those judgements were different. The judgements against Egypt were on a national scale and the Trumpet Judgements are on a semi-global scale of one third of the earth. In Exodus 10, God covered the whole land of Egypt with thick darkness, so dark that nobody could move around, yet God’s people had light where they lived. Again, this should encourage us that God can and does protect His saints from His Judgments. The entire account of this plague against Egypt is found in Exodus 10:21-23.

 

The Three Woes

 

Revelation 8:13 (NKJV)

13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the

remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

 

The next three Trumpet Judgements are declared as Three Woes. Not once, but three times, indicating these are going to be very severe and terrible judgments.

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The Fifth Trumpet

 

Revelation 9:1-2 (NKJV)

1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.

2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

 

Stars in the Bible are often symbolic representations of angels, since this star is a him, indicating a personage, and later in this passage it actually reveals it is an angel, and since he fell from heaven we know that he is a fallen angel. There is more detail about this fallen angel later in this passage, including his name in Revelation 9:11. The fallen angel is given a key to the bottomless pit and uses the key to open the bottomless pit, also called the abyss. It says smoke rises out of this bottomless pit like a great furnace.

 

2 Peter 2:4 (NKJV)

4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

 

2 Peter 2:4 reveals that hell is a prison for fallen angels, which the devil and his demons are all fallen angels.

 

Mark 9:43 (NKJV)

43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—

 

Mark 9:43 says hell is a place of fire and torment that will never be quenched. Revelation 9:1 says smoke rises out of the bottomless pit like a great furnace, so the bottomless pit is a great furnace of fire. 

 

Revelation 20:1-3,7 (NKJV)

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison

 

Revelation 20:1-3,7 says Satan is thrown into the abyss as his prison for one-thousand years, the abyss being a fiery furnace. Hell is place of fire and a prison for fallen angels, and the devil and his demons are fallen angels. As you can see, Scripture reveals the bottomless pit, the abyss, is located in and is a part of hell. With that understanding, we will be able to better understand the Fifth Trumpet Judgement.

 

Revelation 9:3-4 (NKJV)

3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

 

These locust creatures come up, and on, the earth out of the smoke of the bottomless pit that is in hell. That means these locusts are coming up out of hell. We know hell is a prison for the devil and his demons, and since these creatures are coming up out of hell, we know they are some kind of demonic creature. They are told not to hurt the vegetation or the trees, the things locusts would normally harm, but only the people who don’t have the seal of God on their forehead. Scripture says all true believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

 

Ephesians 1:13 (NKJV)

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

 

In Revelation 7:1-8, the one-hundred-forty-four thousand are sealed as firstfruits to God and Christ from all the twelve tribes of Israel. Scripture shows they are sealed before the Trumpet Judgments so they will not suffer the punishment of the Fifth Trumpet Judgment, or any of the other Trumpet Judgements. The Lord is making a distinction here between His people and the sinful people of the world just like He did with the judgements of Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Noah's flood. There is no mention of the mark of the beast, only those who do not have the seal of God. Remember from chapter seven; When is the Rapture? The mark of the beast is not implemented until sometime after the sounding of the Sixth Trumpet and during the three-and-a-half-year global reign of the beast. So, no one would have the mark of the beast during the Fifth Trumpet.

 

Revelation 9:5-6 (NKJV)

5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

6 In those days' men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

 

The torment these demonic locust-like creatures inflict is going to be so severe people are going to want to die from it, and Scripture says they won’t be able to die. They will seek death, but it will flee from them. Seeking death usually means attempting suicide, except in this case they will not be able to kill themselves because death is going to flee from them. It does not say they will not suffer, so those who breaks bones or do other bodily harm to themselves will increase their own suffering with the injuries they inflict on themselves. Think about this; with everyone who is not a truly sealed believer in Christ, which will be a majority of the human race at this point, it is very possible the world is going to notice that the saints are not suffering from this plague and will persecute them for it. It says that this torment will be for five months, verse 10 repeats the fact that this will be for five months, so why would the Lord repeat this time period twice? I believe it is because He wants His people to know that this Fifth Trumpet Judgement will only last for five months. This leads to another question—Why would God want us to know that this judgement is only going last for five months? Remember, the Fifth Trumpet is the first of Three Woes, and these judgments are getting worse, and though His people may be spared these judgements, it is very likely global persecution is increasing. I believe He is beginning to give His people the length of time of these judgements so they can begin to understand how close the end is. Maybe not the day or hour, but possibly the year or month since the Rapture is at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. We know this Fifth Trumpet is only five months, and we learned when we studied some of the Sixth Trumpet that it is at least three-and-a-half-years, which is forty-two months or one-thousand-two-hundred-and-sixty days, but it is actually a little longer than three-and-a-half-years, which we will soon learn as we study the rest of the events of the Sixth Trumpet. In Daniel 12, it says the wise will understand, so the saints will understand that the end is approaching. This will help them keep their eyes on the Lord Jesus and eternity and not their lives in this world.

 

The Sixth Trumpet

 

Revelation 9:13-16 (NKJV)

13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

 

These four angels who have been bound, will, with an of army of two-hundred million, kill a third of mankind. The next section of this passage describes the army of two-hundred million horsemen. Revelation 9:17 gives a vivid description of this army. The passage gives no indication that this army is from hell like the demonic locusts, only that it is used by the four angels who were bound in the Euphrates River. With that, I believe this army is a human army, beyond that I do not fully understand what this army is, and for the purposes of this study, we will focus on what Scriptures says is the result of this army’s campaign, and that is, it kills a third of mankind.

 

One thing of interest is the statement that they were prepared for the hour and day and month and year, with a year being the longest period of time mentioned and all other times can be contained in that year. Could this be saying this war will only last one year or even less? An army of two-hundred million is bigger than all the armies in the world combined at this present time. With an army of that size, it could be possible to kill a third of mankind in a year. The next passages describe the condition of the rest of mankind. We know from studying later events of the Sixth Trumpet that the beast rules all the nations for three-and-a-half-years, and he was at the beginning of his global reign being praised and worshiped for being healed of a mortal wound with the saying “who can make war with the beast?” indicating he was a great warrior and conqueror since this war occurred just before his global reign. It is likely that this is the war that led him to global power, and in fact, the book of the Prophet Daniel also mentions the beast being in war leading up to his final reign. The book of Daniel also says his rein is three-and-a-half-years, which is the exact same length of time as the forty-two months that the book of Revelation reveals will be the length of his global rein.

 

Revelation 9:20-21 (NKJV)

20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

 

Instead of fearing God and repenting, they continue in their wickedness. They are probably afraid of what is happening on the earth, but their hearts are so hard they seem to be unable to repent. They are responding to God’s Judgements in a similar way to Pharaoh in Egypt in Exodus 9:12. We should take this as a serious warning and realize the time of repentance may be over when these judgements come.

 

Revelation 11:13-14 (NKJV)

13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

 

The last event of the Sixth Trumpet is a great earthquake that causes a tenth of the city to fall and seven thousand people in the city to be killed. I believe that this city is Jerusalem because this earthquake follows the two witnesses being raised to life and called up to heaven, which the two witnesses were prophesying from Jerusalem. We see the rest of the people of the city are afraid and gave glory to God, the exact opposite to the response from the rest world, who after all the previous plagues, and a world war that kills a third of mankind, do not repent and certainly do not glorify God. How can this be? On one hand, the entire gentile world does not repent of their wicked deeds or glorify God after receiving severe judgements and global war, and on the other hand, we see what looks like repentance in the city of Jerusalem after this great earthquake. This is what I believe is happening, Scripture teaches the time of the gentiles will come to an end in Luke 21:24, the Gospel has been preached to the gentile world for over two thousand years, and Israel, God’s chosen people, for the most part have been blinded to the Gospel. God is turning His face and favor (grace) back to the Jewish people and the time of the gentiles is coming to an end. Of course, God is still with His gentile saints who are faithful to Him, but the time of harvest for the gentiles is coming to an end. Just like God hardened Pharaoh's heart and brought judgment on all of Egypt, I believe Scripture is showing us here that God will be hardening the hearts of those who have hardened their own hearts and refused to repent while there was still time before the judgment of the world. Next, a deeper dive into the Seventh Trumpet.

 

The Seventh Trumpet

 

Revelation 11:15-17 (NKJV)

15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God,

17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

 

As we have seen before, the Seventh Trumpet is the beginning of the Lord’s reign on the earth and the beginning of the end of the reign of the beast.

 

Revelation 11:18 (NKJV)

18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

 

The Seventh Trumpet is the Resurrection and Rapture but look what else it says— “and Your wrath has come.” If you remember, the Seventh Trumpet is also the Third Woe with the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets being the First and Second Woes. When you think that something has come, you think it is the beginning. So, from this reference it makes you think that God’s wrath has just started, but all three of the Woes are severe judgements from God, and for that matter, so are all Seven Trumpets. The judgements of the Seventh Trumpet and Third Woe start in Revelation 15:1.

 

Revelation 15:1 (NKJV)

1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.

 

This says the Seventh Trumpet and Third Woe Judgements are the last plagues and complete the wrath of God. Notice there are seven plagues that come after the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, which means the Seventh Trumpet has seven plagues for every one of the previous Trumpet Judgements, but at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, it says God’s wrath has come. The revealing of the seven last plagues that are the Judgements of the Seventh Trumpet, it says they are the last plagues and the completion of God’s wrath. How can something be the last and completion and the beginning all at the same time? For that to be the case, there must be two beginnings. Are there two beginnings to the wrath of God in the book of Revelation relating to the Trumpet Judgements? Comparing the Judgements of the Seventh Trumpet to first Sixth Trumpets will help answer this question.

 

Revelation 16:1-2 (NKJV)

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

 

Notice this first bowl is poured out only on those who have the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image, and they are tormented by foul and loathsome sores. This plague has some similarities to the Fifth Trumpet in that only the people who do not belong to Christ are tormented, but in this case, those who have the mark of the beast instead of those who do not have the seal of God, because the mark of the beast is not implemented until sometime during the Sixth Trumpet. This is after the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, so those with the seal of God will have just been Raptured.

 

Revelation 16:3-4 (NKJV)

3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.?”

 

Here we see again, like the Second and Third Trumpets, God is striking the waters, both sea and fresh waters. Just like those plagues, everything in the waters die and leave no drinking water, and in this case, this is a full global judgment, and all waters are now blood and unusable. The Second and Third Trumpets were semi-global, only striking a third of the earth. There are seven of these last plagues called the bowls of the wrath of God, making the Seventh Trumpet plagues not only full global plagues, but up to twenty-one times worse than any of the first Six Trumpets. We can clearly see that all Seven of the Trumpet Judgements are similar and terrible, but the Last Trumpet is many, many times more severe. If it is God’s wrath according to Scripture to destroy a nation like Egypt, and cities like Sodom and Gomorrah, how much more is it God’s wrath if the judgements affect a third of the world? The Seven Trumpets are revealed after the Seventh Seal is released and the scroll can be opened. The Seven Trumpets are the Judgements of God contained inside the scroll. The last Three Trumpet Judgements, which includes the Seventh Trumpet and its seven last plagues, are the three woes. Any of the Trumpet Judgements are worse than any judgement of God since Noah’s flood, and worse than the ten plagues of Egypt, all of which are the wrath of God, which can only mean one thing; all Seven of the Trumpet Judgements are the wrath of God, and the two beginnings are—the First Trumpet, because it is the beginning of the Trumpet Judgements, and the Seventh Trumpet, because Scripture declares God’s wrath has come at the Seventh Trumpet. Why does Scripture declare God’s wrath has come at the Seventh Trumpet when it began at the First Trumpet? I believe this is why; the first Six Trumpets are God’s wrath in part. Put another way, God’s wrath was restrained, releasing only one semi-global plague at a time. The Seventh Trumpet has seven full global plagues many times greater than the first Six Trumpet Judgements combined, bringing the full measure and completion of God’s wrath. Simply put; at the First Trumpet, God’s wrath comes in part, and at the Seventh Trumpet, God’s wrath comes in full and is completed.

 

The Trumpet Judgments are the wrath of God. This means the wrath of God and the Tribulation of the saints run together, up to the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. The seven last plagues come after the sounding of Seventh Trumpet. All Scripture references to the Rapture and Resurrection reveal they occur at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, indicating the saints will be with Christ when the final wrath of the Seventh Trumpet and Third Woe is poured out in the seven bowl judgments. Still, the first Six Trumpets are still the wrath of God on a semi-global scale and happen at the same time as the Tribulation of the saints, which means the wrath of God against sinners and the wrath of Satan against the saints occur together. The answer to this part of the question—When is the Rapture? It is after the first Six Trumpets of God’s wrath and before His final wrath of the Seventh Trumpet.

 

Adding the answers from part two to the answers from part one:

 

1. The Rapture is at the Coming of the Lord for all of His people, both those who have died and those still alive.

2. The Rapture is at the Last Trumpet of God, which is the Seventh and Last Trumpet of God in the book of Revelation, and the very Last Trumpet of God in the Bible, making it the true Last Trumpet of God.

3. The Rapture immediately follows the Resurrection of the saints.

4. The Rapture is after the Tribulation, which includes the great persecution of the saints by the beast, who is the antichrist. 

5. The Rapture is after the first Six Trumpets of God’s wrath.

 

Doesn’t Scripture say that we are not appointed unto wrath? Yes, it does, let’s see what Scripture has to say about this and what it means to not be appointed unto wrath.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NKJV)

9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

What does it mean to not be appointed to wrath? This verse says it is to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. So, what are we being saved from? Scripture says it is appointed to man once to die and then the judgment. Since all men are appointed to physical death, we know this salvation does not mean the saving of our physical bodies. Then the judgment, Revelation 20 says the final judgment for sinners, the unsaved, is the second death and the lake of fire. So, our salvation and the wrath we are not appointed to is from the second death and the lake of fire. With that, we also know God can and does protect His people from His wrath, often right in the mist of the judgment as He did with the Israelites in Egypt, Noah and his family in the flood, which was a global judgement, Lot and his family escaping the fire and brimstone that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego protected right in the middle of a fiery furnace heated to seven times hotter than normal, and many other times God has protected His people from His wrath.

 

Studying through the Trumpet Judgments by comparing their similarities to past judgements where God did protect His people, and the Fifth Trumpet of the demonic locusts, Scripture is clear that this judgment is not against His true saints but only against the people who do not have the seal God.

 

Revelation 9:3-4 (NKJV)

3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

 

With Scripture as our guide, not being appointed to wrath ultimately means escaping the second death—the lake fire, but it also means God can and does protect the people that are truly His. There is not a single case in Scripture where God removes or has to remove His people from the earth itself to protect them, because He has the power to protect them right in middle of the fire or plague or any other type of Judgment. Psalm 91 is a perfect picture of this.

 

I believe we need to understand how and why the saints throughout Scripture have escaped God’s wrath. It can help us be prepared when God’s wrath does come, and we can escape the judgements being poured out on the ungodly. We will start by looking at the many warnings about these times that will help us know what we need to do to escape the wrath to come and endure the time of Tribulation. That brings us to the next question, which I wanted to wait until this point to answer because we have now answered all the questions leading up to the Rapture.

 

Why is it important to know the Truth about the Rapture? After having learned so much about the Rapture, we should be coming to an understanding of this, but I believe it is a good idea to closely examine the many warnings in Scripture and to look at them together so we can see the magnitude of these warnings. With that, let’s begin to answer this next question.

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