Building Christians Up From The Foundation & Unto Perfection
Hebrews 6:1-3
Hebrews 6:1-3
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Before you read: This article is part of a larger series that builds on itself from the foundation up, with each study building on the last. If something in this article does not make sense to you or if you believe it to be incorrect please be sure you have read over the entire course before passing your final judgment. Also be sure to visit this page’s FAQ And Objections Page
In the last unit we discovered the seals in the book of Revelation begin with the coming of the antichrist and the sixth seal signals the end of the tribulation period. If you didn’t read that unit please go do so now. Because, what we are about to learn is what happens in the seventh seal.
This seal is opened at the END of the tribulation. We know this because Revelation 6:12-17 show us exactly what Jesus said would happen immediately after the tribulation. He didn’t say He would immediately return.
Matthew 24:29-30
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Notice He is giving a description of the sixth seal. He uses the word “then” saying after that He would return. BUT He doesn’t use the word “immediately” to say He would return after the sun is darkened.
Revelation 7:1-3
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And 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 given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
So in Revelation we see what happens AFTER the sun goes dark. The saints are sealed. They are protected from the events about to take place. But they are NOT removed from the earth as we will see in a moment.
Revelation 8:1-2
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.
Before we talk about the events of each trumpet I want to explain WHY God is doing this.
Revelation 9:20-21
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Just before the final trumpet sounds and just after the sixth trumpet we discover the reason God is doing this. He is giving men one last chance to repent. This is the time that God Himself pleads with men to repent. It is the hour of temptation that shall come upon the whole world as the Bible calls it.
God doesn’t tempt men to sin. But this hour (time) men will be tempted like never before to repent or to deny God. God tempts men to return to Him, while the heart of men tempts them to run. What an hour of temptation it will be!
Revelation 3:10-12
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
We see these people have the name of God written on them. This happens during the sixth seal and before any trumpets. They are told they will be kept from the hour of temptation which will try them that are on earth. It is now at the opening of the seventh seal that the hour of temptation begins.
Revelation 8:3-5
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.
Remember that in the fifth seal there were the souls of the saints under the alter crying out “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?” God is hearing their prayers and is now answering them.
The wrath of the dragon took place during the tribulation. But now after the tribulation has ended the wrath of God is about to be poured out. Thankfully the saints are not appointed to His wrath. So they will be sealed and protected from the judgments to follow as the seventh seal is about to be opened.
This has been a short unit. But the next unit will go over the seventh seal which are the seven trumpets of Revelation.
Continue To Unit 6B:10 – The Seventh Seal, Seven Trumpets, And Seven Last Plagues OR
Return To Christianity 101 Unit 6B – The Latter Days – A Detailed Look
April 26, 2022 at 8:54 pm | | No comment
