Disciples Global Network

An angel pronounces a coming time of indignation upon the people of God such as they have never experienced . Daniel’s final vision concludes with the description of a period of intense “ tribulation ” that would befall the Jewish nation, one more severe than any preceding trial in its history. There are no chapter divisions in the original Hebrew text, and contextually, Chapter 12 is the continuation of the vision of Chapters 10 and 11.

The Lamb opened the first seal, releasing the rider with a “bow” and seated on a white horse, “conquering” and to “conquer.”   Immediately after ascending the throne, the “ Lamb ” begins to open the “ seven seals ,” starting with the first four. His right to open the scroll is based on his sacrificial death. But the opening of the seals does not yet reveal the contents of the “ sealed scroll ” itself. Breaking its seals is the preliminary step necessary before the scroll can be unfolded.

In Chapter 5, John saw the “ Sealed Scroll ” held tightly in the right hand of the “ One Who Sits on the Throne .” A search was made of the entire creation for someone who was “ worthy ” to open the scroll. Alas, no one was found, and this caused John to begin to weep profusely. If the scroll remained sealed, its contents could not be implemented. However, one of the twenty-four “ elders ” tells John to cease weeping, for the “ lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David overcame .”

In Chapter 5 of  Revelation , John saw the Scroll that was sealed shut with Seven Seals and tightly held in the “ right hand ” of the “ One Who was sitting on the Throne .” He dispatched a “ mighty angel ” to discover whether anyone in the created order was “ worthy ” to take and open the “ Sealed Scroll .” Despite an exhaustive search, at least momentarily, no one “ worthy ” could be found.

Next, John sees the scroll again, only now it is unsealed and open, signifying the time for his call to prophesy once more to peoples and kings – Revelation 10:1-11.  The first six trumpet plagues  failed to cause the “ inhabitants of the earth ” to repent. Instead, they only hardened their hearts even more.  Something more is needed to complete “ the mystery of God .” The narrative now takes a new direction. Rather than another plague, John sees the scroll unsealed, then he is commissioned to prophesy to “ nations and kings .”

In many interpretations, the forces unleashed by the breaking of the “ Seven Seals ” are linked to the horrific calamities that unfold on the Earth prior to the coming of Jesus at the end of the age, especially so when the first four seals are opened. Apparently, His patience with humanity exhausted, God pours out plagues on the world in a last-ditch effort to bring men to their knees in repentance.