May 4, Monday

SCENE 2 – The Scroll is Opened

I saw the Lamb take the scroll and break open the first seal. Suddenly a voice thundered, “COME!” It was one of the four creatures who spoke, and a rider on a white horse sped past. The rider had a crown and took his bow to wage war on the earth.

When the second seal was broken, another of the four living creatures shouted, “COME!” Then I saw a rider on a red horse. He was carrying a great sword, and his job was to stir up conflict and remove all peace from the earth.

The third seal was broken. The third creature called for a rider on a black horse, who rode past holding a pair of scales. A voice in the midst of the creatures declared, “A loaf of bread for a whole day’s wage, so also three loaves of barley. Do not touch the oil and the wine.” He brought intense famine upon the whole earth.

As the fourth seal was broken and the fourth creature said, “COME!,” a pale yellowish-green horse approached whose rider was Death. The Grave followed close behind and they were given authority to wipe out one fourth of the earth by means of sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts.

The fifth seal was very different. Beneath the altar I saw the souls of all who had been martyred because of their testimony and the offense of the Word of God. They cried out in unison, “How long, O Lord, Holy and True, will You hold back from avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then I watched as each was given a white robe and told to wait just a little longer until more of their brethren joined them as martyrs.

When the Lamb broke the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, the sun was darkened, and the moon turned blood red. Stars fell to the earth like ripe figs falling from trees in a windstorm, the sky was rolled up like a scroll, and mountains and islands disappeared.

By this point terror swept over the earth. From the highest world leaders, the rich and famous, and military generals, to the lowest class slaves, everyone ran for the hills and hid wherever they could find cover. I heard them praying to the rocks around them, saying, “Fall on us! Don’t let that One who sits on the throne see us!  Hide us from the wrath of the Lamb! The dreaded Day of Their anger has arrived and who can stand up to Them?”

SCENE 3 – Freeze Action on Earth, Protection Provided

A little later I could see four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the winds so that they would not blow at all. Then another angel came up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. He called out to the four angels who had power to destroy, “Don’t touch the earth, the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads!”  These angels went out and marked twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel (Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin), a total of 144,000.

Then suddenly a huge crowd was approaching the throne of the Lamb. They were dressed in dazzling white robes and held palm branches in their hands. I could tell that among the millions were people from every corner of the earth: every nation, every tribe, every language. In a thundering chorus they shouted, “Salvation belongs to our God Who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb!”

I saw encircling the throne all the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures, bowing down to the throne. Together they declared, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and authority and might belong to our God forever and ever!”

One of the twenty-four elders asked if I knew who this huge crowd dressed in white was or where they had come from. “No sir,” was my reply, “but surely you know.”

“Yes,” he answered, “they have just come out of the great tribulation. The white robes show that they have cleansed themselves in the blood of the Lamb.  That is why they have been given the honor of serving before God’s throne.

“Day and night as they minister to God, He will shelter them and be all that they need. Never again will they suffer hunger or thirst. The Lamb Who sits front and center on the throne will shepherd them, leading them to springs of living water and shading them from the scorching heat of the sun. God Himself will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Then, as the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was total silence throughout Heaven for what seemed like half an hour.