The Seven Seals Of Revelation Overview

This Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible study gives an overview of the fulfillment of the seal judgements in Revelation 6.

Rome is the fourth kingdom of the prophecies in Daniel 2 and 7, and it was at the height of its power, when white horses were used in victory parades, and the Cretan Emperors wore a wreath, representing a crown.

The Early Church would have been familiar with those symbols, so they would have understood that the seal judgments were about the Roman Empire.

They would have deciphered the connection to Zechariah 6, whose red, black, and white horses, spoke of God’s judgment on Gentile powers.  But the Romans would not have known the Old Testament references.

John couldn’t say that the seals were about the fall of the Roman Empire, as that would have invited severe persecution from the Romans, so he used symbols to convey the message.

During the time of Rome’s rule, Messiah set up His kingdom which grew into millions of followers in a short period of time, because the Apostles and Early Church were scattered due to persecution, so the Gospel was spread around the Roman Empire.  Each of the Apostles traveled to other countries, sharing the Gospel.  Paul’s missions expanded the kingdom and established many Churches.

 “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Daniel 2:44

Christ was going forth on His victorious mission of taking control of countries with His Gospel, and of avenging the martyrs deaths by causing the Roman Empire to collapse during the rest of the seal judgments.

Christ is overthrowing the greatest power the world has ever known, the mighty Roman Empire, and He is doing it not with weapons, but with the sword of His Word.

And He will return on a white horse to destroy the last phase of the Roman beast.

Who is Worthy to Break the Seven Seals of Revelation?

John was given the Revelation in 96 A.D., and in Revelation 1:1 Messiah told him that these things would take place shortly.

To the Church of the first three centuries the fulfillment of the Apocalypse had already begun, and was to continue without a break to the final consummation of all things.

The early Church interpreted the first vision, that of the crowned rider seated upon a white horse, armed with a bow, going forth “conquering and to conquer,” as a representation of Messiah going forth on His victorious mission.

The fact that Messiah had founded a Kingdom whose power was greater even than that of Rome, became early apparent. The words of Origen in his answer to Celsus strikingly exhibit the conviction of the primitive Church, that its marvelous progress could only be explained by attributing it to the action of supernatural power.

“Anyone who examines the subject will see that Jesus attempted and successfully accomplished works beyond the reach of human power. For although from the very beginning, all things opposed the spread of His doctrine in the world, — both the princes of the time, and their chiefs captains and generals, and all, to speak generally, who were possessed of the small influence, and in addition to these people, —yet it proved victorious, as being the Word of God, the nature of which is such that it cannot be hindered; and becoming more powerful than such adversaries, it made itself master of the whole of Greece, and a considerable portion of barbarian lands, and converted a countless number of souls to his religion.” Origen against Celsus, Ch. XXVIII

Historian Edward Gibbon said “While the Roman world was invaded by open violence, or under minded by slow decay, a pure and humble religion quietly insinuated itself into the minds of men; grew up in silence and obscurity; derived new vigour from opposition; and finally erected the triumphal banner of the Cross on the ruins of the Capital.

And in the vision thus interpreted is found a key to the entire prophecy; for this is the starting point of the whole. Seals, trumpets, and vials set forth a continuous course of history stretching to the consummation, having as its commencement the going forth of the Gospel of Christ to accomplish its world-subduing work.

No other interpretation was ever known in the Christian Church till the rise of futurism.

Messiah was the only one found worth to open the seals, so naturally it points to His exacting vengeance against the Satan-empowered Roman Empire; not to an end-times one-man antichrist.

Here is a summary of the fulfillment of the seals, which will be explained in greater detail on the study pages.

1st Seal – The white horse represents the conquering Roman Empire, from 96 – 180 A.D., as it was a time of its greatest expansion and their military conquests were celebrated by riding white horses in their victory parades. Cretan Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, each had a bow as their symbol. The crown represents the laurel wreathes of victory that were worn by the Caesars after their armies had won a military battle.

2nd Seal – The Red horse represents a bloody time in the Roman Empire from 185-284 A.D., as it went into a phase of revolution and civil war for 90 years, during which there were 32 emperors and 27 contenders for the throne.

3rd Seal – The Black horse represents a period gloom and despair, as the Romans suffered under excessive taxes that were needed to pay for wars. The prices for wheat and barley that the Lord decreed were the exact prices from 222-235 A.D.

4th Seal – The Pale horse represents 1/4th of Romans dying from famine, plague, pestilence and violence, from 250-300 A.D.  The word ‘earth‘ means land, not the whole Earth.  The Roman Empire is the land/earth of prophecy.

5th Seal – It represents the millions of martyrs who were killed by the Roman Empire, especially the Smyrna church martyrs who Emperor Diocletian persecuted for 10 years, from 303-312 A.D. Their blood is crying out for the Lord to avenge their deaths.

6th Seal – Earthquakes in the prophecy represent great political upheavals. Eastern Emperor Constantine defeated Diocletian’s army in 312 A.D., which ended the persecutions. Diocletian (the Sun) was so panic stricken, he died insane. Constantine defeated emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become sole ruler of both west and east by 324 A.D. The Roman leaders (stars) fell and their power receded as a scroll. The mountains and islands that were moved out of place, were the countries and people that were affected by this political change.

7th Seal – It represents the Lord sealing His servants before He sounds the 7 trumpets of judgment against the Pagan Roman Empire.

David Nikao Wilcoxson

Next Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible Study: Revelation 6 – 1st Seal White Horse

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27 thoughts on “The Seven Seals Of Revelation Overview”

  1. David, I’m not sure if I found an error in your writing:

    First you say,
    The early Church interpreted the first vision, that of the crowned rider seated upon a white horse, armed with a bow, going forth “conquering and to conquer,” as a representation of Messiah going forth on His victorious mission.

    The paragraphs after that part seem to confirm the idea that the conquering white horse rider is Jesus.

    But then you write,
    1st Seal – The white horse represents the conquering Roman Empire…

    Which is it?

    Reply
    • Since the other seals are about the Roman Empire, and the bow applies to the Cretan Roman Emperors and not so much to Messiah; it makes sense to me that the 1st seal is about the Roman Empire, so that’s why I gave the explanation in the seal summary.

      But I think that it’s important to share what some early church saints perceived was the fulfillment.

      I think that both aspects apply, as Messiah started His Kingdom during a time when the mighty Roman Empire was at its pinnacle of power. And even though Satan used the Roman Empire to try to wipe out Messiah’s assembly of saints, the saints prevailed by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.

      I cover this in more detail on the First Seal of Revelation study page.

      Messiah’s kingdom endured and grew; while the mighty Roman Empire declined from the seal judgments, and fell from the Trumpet judgments.

      The Roman Emperors had white horses representing them as conquering leaders, and when Messiah returns on a white horse, He will capture the Roman antichrist Pope and false prophet Jesuit General, and those who are with them; which is His victory over Satan’s Roman beast.

      Reply
  2. Thanks Nikao, for the last 5 months am on this website, Am learning great mysteries which i really desired to learn. For me I will never depend on what my pastor in the church tells me. Our website Revelation timeline decoded is now my bible college. Keep moving forward with the truth.

    Reply
  3. David, why would Messiah seal his people (the 144,000) around the fall of the western Roman empire? Would it have something to do with the pope coming into power? Or does the sealing of the 144,000 not correspond to any specific time period?

    Reply
  4. Hi David, where did you get the info that Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius were from Crete?

    Reply
    • Hi Rick, the challenge with writing the book is that you can’t include all of the reference information or the book would have too many pages.

      The book The Last Prophecy from E.B. Elliott records, So the vision indicated that new emperors would arise, in character quite contrasted with the then ruling emperor, Domitian, and would be the main causal agencies in the foreshadowing prosperity and triumph.

      In further illustration of the imagery of this seal, there may be noted the frequent Roman custom, when an emperor was going to war, and success came to him. Of the senate striking a medal, whereon the emperor was depicted galloping forth on horseback, and striking down the enemy, with the motto underneath, “Augustus going forth.”

      Further, if success really attended him, the plan was to represent him on an arch going forth between trophies and captives; with Victory personified, either crowning him, or crown in hand preceding him. Such a medal was struck for Claudius when he conquered Britain.

      The date of St. John’s writing was 96 AD; the Emperor Domitian then reigned, but died the same year, and was succeeded by Nerva. Trajan followed; next Adrian; after him the two Antonines; until the accession of Commodus, 180 AD. In order to see whether the character of their reigns agreed with the figuration of the first Apocalyptic seal, turn we to Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, our best standard English work upon the subject, and peculiarly valuable as the testimony of an infidel. For somewhat remarkable, his history commences with this very period.

      We said that there were triumphs, too, indicated in the vision; for the rider “went forth conquering and to conquer.” It was the same in the history. We read even in the short reign of Nerva of a triumph over the Pannonians. More especially the reign of Trajan was memorable in history for its triumphs. Dacia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and other provinces were then added to the Roman Empire.

      Romans used the javelin or sword as the weapon in their hands, not a bow. To solve this we must refer back to the time when the bow was first invented, the fable is that the Grecian god, Apollo, first discovered it, and then instructed the inhabitants of the island of Crete with its use. Subsequently the Cretans, of all the Grecian people, were most famous as archers; and their manufacturer of bows, too, was in much repute.

      The five Roman emperors who reigned during this time were Cretans. Thus, then, is the enigma solved. Had a sword or javelin been pictured in the conquering rider’s hand, it would have indicated nothing peculiar or characteristic. But He who cannot err, and who knew that the very year this prophecy was given, a foreigner in respect of extraction should for the first time govern Rome, with a distinctness peculiar to all these pictures, give the precise badge to mark the country of his ancestry.

      Reply

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