In this article, we mainly share the order of the disasters mentioned in the book of Revelation, because we will share the corresponding scriptures in detail in this order in the future. We first discuss what happened next with the sixth seal, which included the sealing of the Israelites, and we pointed out that this had been discussed in which article before, and why in the text, we see what the book of Job says likewise, what Satan cannot do anything which exceeds the scope allowed by God. Second, we talked about how the sixth seal ends, and those in white. Next, we have to look at the order of events in the seventh seal, so in the third section, we first mention that the seventh seal begins with the seven trumpets, and in the sixth trumpet there are sealed seven thunders, among which there is also the reference to the golden altar in heaven. In the final fourth section, we talk about the seventh trumpet among the seven angels that started the seven plagues of bowls, and looked at the end time of the seventh trumpet from the consistency of the Bible, as well as the seven plagues of bowls and other plagues in the seventh seal. In the end, the sequence of tribulations spoken of in the book of Revelation is finally seen.
1. What happened next after the sixth seal and the sealing of the Israelites
”After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.”(Revelation 7:1-8)
“After this” means after what has happened in the sixth seal, it is still in the sixth seal, and the four angels have the authority to harm the earth and the sea, but they cannot hurt the people that holds the seal of the living God. The another angel mentioned in the verses was definitely from God. In a similar situation, we can clearly see from the beginning of the book of Job (see Job 1:6-2:8) that what Satan cannot do anything exceed the scope allowed by God. God’s nature is not to do anything that is not good. God knows Satan’s personality and does not have to do anything bad Himself. He only needs to include Satan’s natural reaction in His plan like in the book of Job.
In the book of Job, Satan uses all means to attack Job, including attacks from enemies, supernatural phenomena in the material world, attacks on the human body with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, and attacks from the closest person (wife) , and the attack of supernatural phenomena from the spiritual world through Eliphaz the Temanite, there are only so many kinds of attacks that a person can withstand! The range of the first attack is “…all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him. …”(Job 1:12) As long as there is no personal attack, this includes the loss of most of the property. His seven sons and three daughters suddenly died together, but his wife was left behind. Did Saran mean well when he kept his wife alive in the first time? Come on, it’s just leave her available for the second attack. The scope of the second attack is “…he is in your power, only spare his life.”(Job 2:6) The book of Job makes it very clear why Satan launches personal attacks, so we won’t go into details. It can be seen that as long as God allows a certain range, Satan will use all possible means to attack within the allowed range. Let’s look at the final outcome then, “The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters.”(Job 42:12-13)
We have seen that his blessings in the world are that in addition to the same number of children, everything he loses is doubled, so the number of children should also be doubled. From a human perspective, children are indeed not doubled, but from God’s perspective, they are doubled. Why do we say this? Because God’s view of death on earth is very different from that of man. We can see this by what happened to the apostle James,
“Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.” (Acts 12:1-2) James was martyred for the Lord very early! But what does it say in the book of Revelation, “And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”(Revelation 21:14) Although James died young on earth, he has a crown of glory in heaven. Although the Bible does not clearly say where are Job’s dead children now? But from the consistency of the Bible, from God’s perspective, everything including His children is doubled, so it is self-evident where His dead children will be.
Job encountered many hardships, but God would personally intervene when needed, because “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:”(Job 38:1) Although the Lord did not directly answer any of Job’s questions, but Job understood it, so “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. …I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.””(Job 42:1-6) He repented! As the Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:9)
Satan’s natural response is to leave his wife alone for the second attack, attacking him through the intimacy of his wife. But if Satan hadn’t left behind his wife, how could he have as many children? So we see that God does take into account Satan’s natural response.
What the book of Job says is actually exactly the same as what the New Testament says, for “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”(James 1:17) The disasters that Job suffered came from Satan. How could they be good? We also know that Satan is not only a rebel against God, but also has his messengers who follow him, and these messengers are also fallen angels. Although the Bible does not explicitly say that these four angels should be fallen angels, if these four angels came from God, how could the things they did be good? Doesn’t this contradict what God tells us through the Bible? Therefore, judging from the consistency of the Bible, these four angels should be fallen angels. God allows them to have the authority to harm the earth and the sea, but they cannot go beyond the words of another angel who comes from God.
The message given by the other angel to the four fallen angels was very simple, that is, before the Israelites were sealed on their foreheads according to what was said, they could not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees. Please note that twelve thousand is repeated twelve times here to make sure that you will not fail to see it. To achieve the same purpose, the Bible could simply say that each tribe had twelve thousand, and then said that it was now included the tribe of Levi but not the tribe of Dan. But this is a way of writing in the Bible. Similar writing does not only appear in this one place. The Bible wants to make sure that you have seen it and understand the information it contains. As previously discussed in “2. The throne in heaven” in “1093 Look at heavens opened, throne and four living creatures – Revelation (4),” the tribe of Dan was included in the counting of the peoples in the Old Testament, but the tribe of Levi was not counted. Now in the book of Revelation, the tribe of Levi is included, and the tribe of Dan is replaced by the tribe of Manasseh, and the information contained therein will not be elaborated on this point. Those who are interested in this can go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/“, click “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article.
As for why there are twelve thousand, the twelve may be related to the twelve tribes. The Bible does not clearly say it, respecting God, we will not speculate it. But we can at least see that in the eyes of God, each tribe is the same, because the same number of people are sealed. This is just like what the Old Testament says, “For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, you shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs).”(Numbers 3:46-47) You see, everyone’s ransom price is the same, so in the eyes of God, everyone is equally important, “For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
2. The completion of the sixth seal and the men in white
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.””(Revelation 7:9-17)
First, let us look at the time of judgment of the great white throne, ” Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.”(Revelation 20:11) The great white throne is at Revelation 20, which happens way after this event. So these verses say at the beginning that there will be many people in heaven before the great white throne judgment. Why is this? For elsewhere it is said, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”(2 Corinthians 5:10) Those who have been judged before the judgment seat of Christ no longer need to be judged by the great white throne and are worthy to stand before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white robes. It is obvious here that the judgement seat of Christ and the Great White Throne are talking about two different things and should not be confused. Some people think that all Christians will be judged before the throne of Christ and no longer need to be judged by the great white throne. This really changes the words of the Bible. It is not that Christians will not die. The Bible says, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, …” (Revelation 20:12) Those who have been judged at the seat of Christ are already alive in heaven. We also see that the source of the water of life is in the city of New Jerusalem, so these people dressed in white are the ones who can enter the city. We have also seen that the Triune God is merciful and gracious, and will protect and shepherd them.
3. The seventh seal begins with seven trumpets and includes seven thunders and the golden altar in heaven
“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.” (Revelation 8:1-6)
Why is there silence when the seventh seal is opened? Because “…the peaceful folds are made silent (H1826) Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”(Jeremiah 25:37) The disaster brought by the seventh seal is still very different from the first six seals combined. Even the heavens were silent for about half an hour. As for why it is about half an hour, the Bible does not clearly explain it, and we do not need to guess to explain it. This is the absolute sovereignty of God! The thunder and other things mentioned are just warnings from God, and nothing bad that is inconsistent with God’s nature has happened. Sometimes these would be signs that God was coming, such as “So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?””(1 Kings 19:11-13) So it was said, “…O LORD my God, …He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers.”(Psalm 104:1-4)
The book of Revelation clearly talks about the disasters from the first to the fourth trumpet (see Revelation 8:7-13). “Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. …The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.”(Revelation 9:1-12) “Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.”(Revelation 9:13) “I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.””(Revelation 10:1-4) Here we see John’s obedience, he indeed did not write down what the seven peals of thunder said. When we realize what is supposed to happen after the seven peals of thunder is really happening, we’ll know what they said if we’ll look back at that time. “but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.”(Revelation 10:7) The mystery of God is fulfilled, for what follows is, “Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.””(Revelation 10:8) The fifth angel sounded the trumpet and brought the first plague, so it’s said, “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”(Revelation 11:14) “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.””(Revelation 11:15)
We notice that there is an altar of incense in heaven, because the tabernacle also has an altar of incense, and the Lord said to Moses, “According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”(Exodus 25:9) So let’s take a look at what else is there in heaven besides the altar of incense? This scripture clearly says that there is an altar, “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.”(Revelation 6:9) There are also lampstands, because the scripture says, “These (the two witnesses)are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.”(Revelation 11:4) There is also the ark of the covenant, because the scripture says very clearly, “And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, …”(Revelation 11:19 ) The only thing that is missing is the physical table, because when “…every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.””(Revelation 5:13) The four living creatures and the elders representing the church will act like this, “And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.”(Revelation 5:14) This replaces the physical table with actions. Things on earth must accurately reflect things in heaven. No wonder Jehovah has said many times, “according to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain.” Regarding the fact that the four living creatures also represent the church, please see this article “1093” for a detailed description.
4. The seven plagues of bowls in the seventh seal and their completion
The mystery of God was completed, but God’s wrath was not exhausted. Just as this scripture says, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.”(Revelation 15:1)
The last seven plagues refer to the plagues of the seven bowls, because
“…I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.””(Revelation 16:1) Obviously, when the plagues of the seven bowls are completed, all the plagues of the seventh seal are completed. This can also be seen from this scripture, “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.””(Revelation 16:17)
You may have noticed here that the Bible does not clearly say when the seventh trumpet ended, so some people would say that the seventh trumpet, the seventh bowl, and the seventh seal were completed at the same time. We have said that the completion of the plagues of the seven bowls is the completion of all the plagues of the seventh seal, so the seven bowls still come first. As for the order of the seven trumpets and the seven bowls, we must see it consistent with what God tells us through the Bible. All other woes are completed one way and then followed by another, and it should be the same here. Only when the seventh trumpet is completed can the seventh bowl begin. So when we use the consistency of the Bible, we can see the order of the disasters from the scriptures: the first seal to the sixth seal. The seventh seal begins with the seven trumpets and includes the seven thunders sealed in the sixth trumpet, then comes the completion of the seventh trumpet, and the beginning of the seven bowls. When the seventh bowl is completed, it is the end of the seventh seal, because “…seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.”(Revelation 15:1) We will share the corresponding scriptures in detail in this order later.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
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