The book of Revelation is an outline of events which "must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1). The addresses to the seven churches (chs. 2,3) are a well known prophetic outline of the Church's history from Pentecost to the second coming of the Lord. Chapter four marks the beginning of the "things which shall be hereafter," which is the last great division of this prophetic book (see ch.1:19).
The first verse of this fourth chapter is full of significance. John hears a voice as of a trumpet which summons him away from earth. "Come up hither," says the voice, "and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." It indicates to us the time of the removal of the Church to heaven, when, with the "voice of the archangel and the trump of God," the Lord Himself shall descend to raise the dead in Christ and to change the living, that together we may be caught up to be forever with the Lord.
Recalling the Lord's words concerning John, "If I will that he tarry till I come" (John 21:21,22) it becomes evident that John is a figure of those saints who are "alive and remain" unto the coming of the Lord, and who will be caught up at that time. He represents the redeemed people of God who are translated from earth to heaven, and the wonderful scenes related in this and the following chapters until then await fulfilment.
It has been apparent for some years that the professing Church has arrived at that period in its history which is described in the last church message-that to Laodicea- and that we are rapidly approaching the moment of the Lord's return from heaven to take out His own people. So here we are introduced to new scenes and surroundings. We view a throne set in heaven and One sitting upon the throne encompassed with indescribable glory. We see the activities round about the throne, and our souls are enraptured as we hear the four living creatures saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." And there, sitting upon four and twenty seats, or thrones, are seen "four and twenty elders," who prostrate themselves before Him who sits upon the central throne, and cast their crowns before Him, proclaiming His worthiness.
He who occupies the throne holds a book sealed with seven seals, and a challenge rings out to all the universe, "Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?" There is at first, no response, as there is none other worthy even to look upon that book but the Son, to whom all judgment has been committed (John 5:22), and He, the "Lion of the tribe of Judah," appears as "a Lamb as it had been slain." Spontaneously there arises from the lips of the vast redeemed throng assembled in heaven, that new song, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."
"Hark! ten thousand voices crying,
'Lamb of God!' with one accord;
Thousand thousand saints replying,
Wake at once the echoing chord.
'Praise the Lamb,' the chorus waking,
All in heaven together throng;
Loud and far each tongue partaking,
Rolls around the endless song.
Grateful incense this, ascending
Ever to the Father's throne;
Every knee to Jesus bending,
All the mind in heaven is one.
All the Father's counsels claiming
Equal honors to the Son,
All the Son's effulgence beaming,
Makes the Father's glory known.
By the Spirit all pervading,
Hosts unnumbered round the Lamb,
Crowned with light and joy unfading,
Hail Him as the great 'I AM.'"
The throne then resounds with the mingled voices of angels, living creatures and elders, in myriad hosts, saying, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."
Soon the moment arrives for the
Seven-sealed Book
to begin to be opened. The Lamb opens the first seal, and with a voice of thunder, one of the living creatures says, "Come!" and upon the stage of this world appears one who is likened to a rider upon a white horse.
The nations hope for a "super-man" to arise who shall be capable of leading them out of the present morass of suspicion and jealousy and strife, one who can banish fear and successfully arbitrate their differences, cementing them together in a union of peace and prosperity. Our Bibles teach us that such a leader as the world vaguely hopes for will arise. There will appear upon the scene one who will be able to bring about that confederacy of the nations in a powerful political union such as diplomats envision but are unable to produce. There is a realization of incompetency in the present leaders to handle the gigantic tasks which confront them. At Geneva the diplomats of all the nations who are members of the League of Nations struggle in vain to accomplish their objectives. There is a deadlock which cannot be broken. Something must happen. Some hindrance or restraint must be removed.
The white horse rider of this opened
First Seal
will be hailed by the world as the man of their expectations. He will hold the world's military power in his hand as a "bow," and by this means will intimidate all other powers not under his direct leadership. He will wield this power with such ability that it will appear the long-desired era of peace and prosperity has arrived, and the nations will rejoice, believing that they have finally achieved the wished-for goal of their ambitions.
This union of powers, we believe, is none other than the ten-horned Beast of chapter 13:1, who is the crowned head of the League of Nations in its prophetic form. This at present cannot be brought into being. God's time has not yet come so long as the Church is here. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church prevents the rise of both the political and ecclesiastical leaders of the end-times (see 2 Thess. 2:6-8). The translation of the Church to heaven will clear the field for the activities of this great leader who will continue for a short space only (see ch. 17:12).
He is identical with the "Prince that shall come" of Daniel (ch. 9:26,27), who will make a covenant with the Jews, and the affairs of the nations will be so arbitrated that further war will be thought to be impossible. The world's great ones will exult in believing that they have arrived at the Utopia of their dreams and that the conditions which guarantee world peace have been attained.
"And when he had opened the
Second Seal
I heard the second living creature say, 'Come!' 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."
With what consternation and distress the world's great men will be seized when the peace they thought so secure is broken! Under this second seal the world will be plunged into a war of such magnitude that its resources in both money and man-power will be terribly crippled. Then will be fulfilled the Lord's words to His disciples, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" (Matt. 24:7,8).
This will be followed by the opening of the
Third and Fourth Seals
Under the third seal the black horse rider comes forth, and there is a time of dire distress and famine, the aftermath of war, which, in its turn will give place to the opened fourth seal, that of the "pale horse" of death and hell. The sword too, still unsheathed in some parts, and the wild beasts increasing in sections depopulated by war and famine, will cause further desolation.
When the
Fifth Seal
is opened it is manifest that during the course of the previous seals there has been persecution directed against the godly remnant of the Jews, and these call for vengeance on their enemies. Referring again to the Lord's words to His disciples as to the character of the end of the age, we read, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake" (Matt. 24:9). Hatred is seen blazing out against the Jews in some countries at the present time, but with this important difference that in the future time here contemplated they will be a godly remnant who will suffer martyrdom for "His Name's sake." This cannot be said of unbelieving Jews who are persecuted or slain to-day because of racial hatred. Then the
Sixth Seal
is opened, and there is depicted a great earthquake, with signs in the sun and moon and stars. All this seems to suggest the collapse of those institutions in the world-system which men have regarded as secure and stable. It would appear that the whole fabric of the social, political and commercial world comes down as with a crash. It is the logical sequence of events following a world-upheaval and universal war. Everything in which men have trusted will fail them, and the ruin will be such that it will be thought the end of the world has come. The rulers and great men of the world will begin to realize that it is indeed the hand of God that has afflicted them, and they cry out in fear and seek to escape from His wrath.
Judgments more severe and terrible are yet to follow as the Lord proceeds to deal more directly with an apostate and guilty world. Roger B. Eames