THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS - SEVENTH SEAL

SEVENTH SEAL - The Coming of the Lord

REVELATION 8:1
“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.”

Reverend Branham said this, “The Seven-sealed Book is revealed at the time of the Seven Thunders of Revelations 10.” (The Breach). Thus, we can say that Revelation 10 is the SEVENTH SEAL.

When the SEVENTH SEAL was unveiled, it revealed a MIGHTY ANGEL coming down with an OPEN BOOK, and there was silence in heaven for half an hour. There was HUSH in heaven for there were no angels singing because Christ came down on earth during this time bringing the OPEN BOOK to God's seventh angel-messenger in Sunset Mountain. From a bloody LAMB, He shifted to a LION a-roaring, revealing the mystery of the "seven thunders" to His prophet.

Reverend Branham, gave us this information about the "THE SEVEN THUNDERS":

“Now this messenger of Malachi 4 and Revelation 10:7 is going to do two things. One: According to Malachi 4 he will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers. Two: He will reveal the mysteries of the seven thunders in Revelation 10 which are the revelations contained in the seven seals. It will be these Divinely revealed `mystery-truths' that literally turn the hearts of the children to the Pentecostal fathers. Exactly so.” - (LAODECIAN CHURCH AGE CHAPTER 9.)

The seven thunders are the "mysteries" contained in the SEVEN SEALS. These are the "mystery truths" that will bring rapturing faith to the church. The seven seals were just coverings of the Book, but the inside contents within those seals were the seven thunders, as you have read them above. We can then conclude that the first thunder-mystery was the "White Horse Rider". Who was this white horse rider? Now, we know. The second thunder-mystery was the "Red Horse Rider". The third thunder-mystery was the "Pale Horse Rider". The fifth thunder-mystery was the "Souls Under the Altar". The sixth thunder-mystery was the "Tribulation Period". And the seventh thunder-mystery was the "coming of the Lord" in three stages: the shout, the voice and the trumpet". Spiritually knowing these mysteries will then give you rapturing faith as we obey and live out this manifested Word for our day.

In the Question and Answer series, Brother Branham concluded this (QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.title JEFF.IN COD 64-0830E):

Q-395. "Have the SEVEN THUNDERS which EQUALS SEVEN MYSTERIES already been revealed? Were they revealed in the Seven Seals, but are yet--but are yet NOT known to us as the thunders yet?
Answer: No, THEY WERE REVEALED IN THE SEVEN SEALS; that's WHAT the THUNDERS WAS ABOUT. They was TO REVEAL... The SEVEN THUNDERS that had uttered their VOICES and no one could make out what it was... John KNEW what it was, but he was forbidden to write it. He said, "BUT the SEVENTH ANGEL, in the days of his sounding, the SEVEN MYSTERIES of the SEVEN THUNDERS would be REVEALED." And the SEVENTH angel is a "MESSENGER" of the SEVENTH church age. See?"

The Seventh Seal is a time spoken of also in Luke 17:30, "In the days when the Son of man is revealed again". The SON of MAN came down to minister to His Bride on earth through the body of a prophet (This event has began to take place in 1963 and is continuing to transpire until now, looking for the last elected seed whose name is written in the Book of Redemption. As it was in the days before Sodom was destroyed with fire, God came down to Abraham through Melchisedec, to prepare him for the promised son, Isaac. Today, God came down to Abraham's royal SEED to prepare them for the coming of the Promised Son, Jesus Christ.

Then and only then can the rapture take place when the last name on that Book is declared on this earth. Christ is still in His mediatorial job and mercy is not yet over until that last elected seed comes in to the fold. You may be that last one.

Don't miss the rapture, my friends. Recognize this Day and its End Time Message and be counted worthy to be called the "Bride" of Jesus Christ".

THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS - SIXTH SEAL

SIXTH SEAL - Tribulation Period

REVELATION 6:12-17
“ And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

The sixth seal is three-fold. First, it is the TRIBULATION PERIOD, the purging of nature. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, nuclear weapons, will purify the earth in preparation for the coming millennal reign of Jesus Christ. II PETER 3:10, 12-"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up... wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? The "righteous shall walk upon the ashes of the wicked". . after that.

Secondly, it will be purging time for the FOOLISH VIRGINS of Matthew 25. The foolish virgins are those who are left behind, missing the rapture. They missed to heed this End Time Message, and were devoid of the "OIL" or the baptism of the Holy Spirit that's why they were left behind, weeping, wailing and gnashing their teeth. They will be hunted down like dogs by the AniChrst and will be tortured to death during the Tribulation Period. They have to shed their blood in order to attain their salvation.

Thirdly, it will be the CALLING of the 144,000 Israelites back to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. When God is through with us Gentiles, He will turn back to the Jews and open their eyes to the true Gospel of salvation. God will send His two prophets, Moses and Elijah (the 2 olive trees of Revelation 11), to call upon the elect of Israel. Jesus will be preached to them and they will accept Him as their Messiah. This event will be like that of Joseph revealing himself again to his brethren, yet in nail-scarred hands, while they wail in sackloth with tears in their eyes, realizing that it was JESUS CHRIST really who was their real Messiah.

THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS - FIFTH SEAL

FIFTH SEAL - Souls Under the Altar

REVELATION 6:-11
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried 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? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they [were], should be fulfilled.”

The FIFTH SEAL revealed the SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR. These were the Jews that died under the cruelty of Eichmann, Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini during the Jewish Holocaust. We can read in these verses that they were asking for revenge and were crying for vengeance against the cruelty which they received from these dictators when they were killed, tortured in gas chambers and in firing lines.

Yes, they held on the "Law of Moses", which was the Word of God for them. And for the testimony which they held as being ‘Jews”, they were killed and martyred and here they are "the souls under the altar".

These souls that's been martyred down through here, real true Jews, they had their name on the Book of Life, they lived the right life, and done the right thing, lived Judaism to the dot; and they were martyred by Eichmann and many others. Honest people, millions of them down there and them Germans shot them to death, and murdered them, and killed them, and hung them on fences, and burned them up, and cremated them and everything else. That bloodless, blood-hearted hungry, Hitler and Stalin and Mussolini, and all them people that hated them Jews... God hardened the hearts of these dictators to kill these Jews, just like God hardened the heart of Pharaoh in the time of the great Exodus of the Jews. Why? It's because they had, in their blindness before, martyred their very own Messiah, and here they were reaping what they’ve sown. They were guilty of murder, so they got murdered, too. We remember that these Jews cried out in the time of Jesus, “Crucify Him! Let His blood be upon us and upon our children.” And here they are, they reaped what they’ve claimed.

But it was promised unto them to wait for a little while for their TWO prophets - Moses and Elijah of Revelation chapter 11 to call out their fellow brethren, the 144,000 Jews that have to be called out from Judaism to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ during the tribulation period, before God could avenge their blood against them that killed them. This final vengeance will take place during the Armageddon War when God shall fight for Israel and the remnant Jews against Gog and Magog - Russia, Iran, and the Arabs who will attack Israel, along with the great Whore and her daughters comes World War III (Revelation 19:11-16).

THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS - FOURTH SEAL

THE FOURTH SEAL - The Pale Horse Rider

REVELATION 6:7-8
“ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. “

The Fourth Seal revealed a Pale Horse Rider. This is the final ride of Satan during the seven Gentile church ages.

The color "PALE" is nothing but a mixture of "white, red and black". It is the combined forces of the power of Satan mixing WHITE (deception), RED (persecution), and BLACK (spiritual famine) into ONE, the AntiChrist turned into a False prophet, riding his last trail, his final stage of leading his people to the "Mark of the Beast" which is happening in our age now.

Notice that "Death and hell followed him". This speaks of both natural and spiritual death. To receive her teachings, dogmas and creed, means death or "eternal separation" from God.

Sword, hunger, pestilence, and death are what Satan brings the people today in his final ride... a true fulfillment of MATTHEW 24:7- “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

The PALE HORSE RIDER is riding in our our age right now, controlling politics, military, economics and religion. He is the "prince' of the power of the air. EPHESIANS 6:12 states-" For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]." High places mean governments, nations and kingdoms.

But God cannot be defeated by Satan. God in this last age, has raised His standards once again by giving his people the power to overcome the evils of the PALE Horse Rider. God gave the Christians of this age the power of the "FLYING EAGLE" – the spirit of "prophetic utterance", the spirit and capability given to today's believers to dig deep down on the revelations of God, to soar and understand the deep mysteries of the Bible, until one is filled with the Holy Ghost ready for the "catching away" in the rapture! This is our age, my friends, the Eagle Age.

THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS - THIRD ESEAL

THE THIRD SEAL - The Black Horse Rider

REVELATION 6:5-6

“ And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”

The THIRD SEAL revealed the coming of a BLACK HORSE RIDER. Satan was not contented with just persecuting the Christians, here he changed his horse again from Red to Black. Introducing a new way of squeezing the lives of Christians during the succeeding ages - The Sardisean and the Philadelphian Ages.

"BLACK" is a color which signified the "greed and abuse" of the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church began charging money for novenas, and charging money to get souls out of Purgatory, when there's no such thing as a Purgatory in the Bible. The Roman pope began to sell "indulgences" to rich individuals, offering positions in the church in exchange with properties, gold and land. These symbolized the "PAIR OF BALANCES" that the Black Horse Rider was holding in his hand.

The Roman church began acquiring properties from the people in exchange for spiritual favors. The whole thing explains the phrase "A MEASURE OF WHEAT FOR A PENNY, and three measures of barley for a penny". The Roman church started to weigh the goods that she can get from the people and made salvation an expensive "commodity". They turned religion into a big business and were teaching creeds and dogmas out of man's ideas instead of the pure Bible. They taught that people can only be saved by "works" and "obedience" to the tenets of the Catholic church, rather than by believing by faith in the Word.

The wealthier of them found it a happy situation when Pope Leo X allowed them to buy indulgences for sins not yet committed so that they with ease of conscience could plan their awful crimes and then proceed to carry them out, knowing that the pope had already remitted their sins. The Word of God was kept from them, so who was to know the truth! Since truth comes only from the Word, the people were shut up in a dungeon of the Roman Church, awaiting death, and after death the judgment. But the great whore, drunk with the blood of martyrs and with no thought of the judgment, reeled savagely on to kill men with both spiritual and physical death.

Yet in this age, God's people cannot be defeated. God raised up again the standards of the true Christians by giving them out the spirit of a "MAN". "Man" is gifted with "wisdom and knowledge". Man is "smart". And so, this age started the AGE of the "REFORMERS". It was the “Age of Reformation”. An OPEN DOOR was set by God before the Christians in this age to evangelize the whole world with the truth of the Bible. Revelation 3:8 states:"Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my Name."

This was also the time when "separation of church and state" was finally enacted as a law. It made the way for the reformation of the church by men who were filled with the Holy Ghost. This was also the age when the "Printing Press" was invented in Germany by a man known as Gutenberg. It made way for Bibles to printed again which made way for the truth to come out.

This age was the age of Martin Luther, a Catholic priest who protested the Roman Catholic Church by exposing the abuses of the papacy and its false teachings through his "95 thesis". He spearheaded the printing of the Bibles in this age. He introduced the doctrine of "justification", teaching the people that "the just shall live by faith".

This age was also the age of John Wesley, who introduced 'sanctification" or "holiness" to the church of the living God. Other well-known evangelists that appeared in this "MAN" age were Knox, Calvin, Moody, Sankey, Finney, along many others. These men blasted out the injustices of the Catholic Church and exposed the follies of their teachings. Truly, "touch not my anointed" was the message which God has for the DEVIL. The verses "hurt not the oil and the wine” has a spiritual connotation - "Oil" signifies the "anointing" of the Holy Spirit which God gave these reformers, while "wine" signified the "stimulation of revelation" which these men experienced in knowing and delivering the truth for their age.

THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS - SECOND SEAL

THE SECOND SEAL - The Red Horse Rider

REVELATION 6:3-4 “ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 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.”

The SECOND SEAL revealed a RED HORSE RIDER. It was the same rider, Satan himself again, just changing horse from "White" to "Red". This was the next stage of Satan's trail. It was a fulfillment of prophesy wherein Christians will be perecuted for their faith as it is written in Matthew 24:9 which states, " "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.”

"RED" Horse symbolized persecution and tribulation leading to the Holy Inquisition of Rome. It was the time when the Roman Church began to persecute the Christians. Millions of Christians were burnt at stake, fed to the lions, and tortured to death by the Roman Catholic Church, which even included Joan of Arc and St. Patrick.

As recorded in history, from the time of St. Augustine in 300 AD until AD 1850, 68 million Protestants have been killed by the Roman Catholic Church just because of disagreeing with their doctrine. This was the time when Satan rode the "Red Horse" to kill them all with the sword of affliction.

 
The Nicolaitane system moved on throughout this age. It ex-communicated the righteous teachers and burned the scrolls. The false church said, "It takes a special education to read and understand the Word. Why even Peter said that many things Paul wrote were hard to understand." Having taken away the Word from the people, it soon came to the people listening only to what the priest had to say, and doing what he told them. They called that God and His holy Word. They took over the minds and lives of the people and made them the servants of a despotic priesthood. Those who fought this terrible anti-Christ church were destroyed. Those who stayed with it found themselves the pawn of the church whether they be peasants or kings. Their lives were not their own, and neither were their lives Christ's, but they belonged body, soul, and spirit to the Church of Rome.

The name, Christian, which originally brought persecution, now became the name of the persecutors. It was in this age that Augustine of Hippo (354-430) set forth the precept that the church ought and MUST use force if necessary to bring her children back into the fold, and that it was in harmony with the Word of God to kill the heretics and apostates. If you want to refer to the writing of Schmucker, the Schmucker's "The Glorious Reformation," here's what it stated, that "From the time that Saint Augustine of Hippo passed this verdict to the Catholic church, it throwed the doors wide open for them to kill anything they wanted to then, that denied that pagan church. And from the time of Saint Augustine, about three hundred years after Christ until 1850, the great massacre of Ireland, there was eighty-six million Protestants killed by the Catholic church." That's recorded on the Roman martyrology.

Yet while Satan through the Roman Church was destroying the Christians during the Smyrnean, Pergamean and Thyaterian ages, his evil power was then counteracted by God's higher standard – God’s second BEAST, the CALF – which is the spirit of a "beast of burden, a beast of sacrifice". The saints during this time willingly gave their lives for the Gospel no matter what the cost. It was given to the Christians in this age that they should bear the 'OX" spirit, to bear the "burden of sacrifice" till death. Though they were persecuted, tortured, burned at stake, fed to lions, they still were so courageous and were faithful until death, giving their lives gladly for the sake of the Word of God. Surely this RED HORSE is driven by a blood-hungry devil. HEBREWS 11:36-38 talks about the saints in this age-“And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword..."

THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS - FIRST SEAL

WHAT THOSE SEALS CONTAINED

Here now is a brief summary of what the mysteries of the SEVEN SEALS contained.

THE FIRST SEAL - The White Horse Rider

REVELATION 6:1-2 explains the OPENING and contents of the First Seal:

“And I saw when the Lamb OPENED one of the SEALS, and I HEARD, as it were the NOISE of THUNDER, one of the FOUR BEASTS saying, Come and SEE. And I saw, and behold a WHITE HORSE: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”

Take note that the first FOUR SEALS, which involve events that transpired within the timeframe of Pentecost to our current day, are announced by the FOUR spiritual CREATURES of God. These creatures are (1)the LION, (2) the CALF, (3)the FACE of a MAN, and (4)the FLYING EAGLE.

Revelation 4:7 speaks of them : “And the first beast [was] like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast [was] like a flying eagle.” God raised these beasts to counteract the power of the four horse riders, which is Satan himself, riding through the seven church ages.

The FIRST SEAL talks about Satan's DECEPTION. Yes, "White Horse" symbolizes an "impersonation of Christianity." Many Bible theologians throughout the ages thought that this white horse rider symbolizes the Holy Spirit coming forth to the church. But the revelation to the seventh angel proves them wrong. The White horse rider is Satan, riding through with his false teachings in the early church thorugh "false prophets and false teachers to deceive the very elect if it were possible" (Matthew 24:24).

Notice that this rider had a "bow", but he had no "arrow". It just goes to show that he is just a "bluffer". He is a deceiver and a liar. Notice also that he was "crowned". The "crowning" refers to the founding of the "Deeds of the Nicolaitanes", a force that brought hybrid doctrines and creeds injected into the true church of God. "Nicolaitan" is a Greek word which was coined from "Nikao", meaning to "conquer", and "Laus", meaning the "laity".

This was when politics started to pollute the church and propagated the "man-over-man hierarchy", perverted men (grievous wolves in sheep's clothing) invading the church of God by teaching "man-made creeds and dogmas".

With Nicolaitanism, the leadership of the Holy Spirit was superseded by a human hierarchy. The pure Word of God and its free benefit to all men was deposed for creeds, dogmas, and church orders. The worship in the Spirit and Gifts of the Spirit and all that which pertains to true community fellowship of the saints was cast aside for liturgy and literal idol worship and pagan feasts. Men began to vie for the office of bishop with the result that this position was being given to the more educated and materially-progressive and politically-minded men. Human knowledge and program began to take over Divine wisdom's place and the Holy Spirit no longer controlled. This was indeed a tragic evil, for the bishops began to maintain that it no longer required a transparent Christian character to minister either the Word or the rites in the church for it was the elements and the ceremony that counted. This allowed evil men (seducers) to rend the flock.

God hated such man-made system as evident in His words in REVELATION 2:6- "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate", and also in REVELATION 2:15-" So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."

As all Israel is NOT Israel, so all Christians are NOT Christians. Thus we learned that the church is made up of two vines, the true and the false. The two vines are motivated by two kinds of spirits; one has the Holy Spirit while the other is endued with the spirit of antichrist.

Just as we showed you that `antichrist' means `anti-Word' so these false prophets come perverting the Word, giving it a meaning that fits their own devilish ends. Have you ever noticed how the people who lead others astray bind them closely to themselves by fear? They say that if the people don't do what they say, or if they leave, then destruction will follow. They are false prophets, for a true prophet will always lead one to the Word and bind the people to Jesus Christ and he won't tell the people to fear him or what he says, but to fear what the Word says.

The whole time frame of the First Seal refers to the ensuing ministry of Apostle PAUL when he started ministering unto the Gentiles, which then started the Ephesian Church Age. The WHITE HORSE RIDER is none other than the ANTICHRIST spirit, bringing an impersonation of the Truth, trying to deceive the elect if it were possible.

This evil force of the White Horse Rider was combatted by the LION Spirit from God. "Lion", which was the first beast that announced the opening of the first seal, signified "BOLDNESS of the preaching of the Gospel". This overpowering spirit was released through apostle Paul, to counteract the force of this white horse rider. It was evident that Paul was fearless in preaching the Gospel. He rebuked and reproved all those who were claiming to be Christians but were fake. This boldness of Paul was evident in his preaching such as that of Galatians 1:8-"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."