Are the 7 Seals Part of the Tribulation?

 

Are the Seals PRE-Tribulation?

 

After learning about the Revelation 12 Sign back in 2017, I was diligently seeking the Lord to understand His Timeline for the Last Days.

 

“Father,” I prayed, “I cannot reconcile the ‘sudden destruction’ of 1 Thessalonians 5 we are to escape from with a Pre-Seal Rapture. You tell us we have not because we ask not, so please show me where my understanding is off.”

 

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. - 1 Thessalonians 5:3 KJV

 

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, - 1 Thessalonians 5:4 and 9 KJV

 

Later the same day I spoke that prayer, I came across Steve Cioccolanti’s video The Most Logical Timeline of Revelation. Whether this Brother’s teaching is correct or not, let me share what he said. Most Christians categorize the Seven Seals as occurring within The Tribulation period. Steve proposes that the Seven Seals are NOT part of the seven-year Tribulation but that they match the Pre-Tribulation Signs Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. (Jesus was addressing the Jewish remnant, of course, in these passages; but He did share Pre-Tribulation signs and events as well as things that would happen during Jacob’s Trouble.)

Rider on the White Horse

 

“What about the Antichrist being revealed with the First Seal?” I asked out loud to the TV screen as I watched Steve’s video.

 

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. - Revelation 6:2 KJV

 

But at about the 15-minute mark he asked whether it is possible that the Rider on the White Horse of Revelation 6 is NOT the Antichrist but someone who is portrayed as a peacemaker but is actually a man of war? He then submitted that the rider on the white horse could be the False Prophet because the Antichrist doesn’t come on the scene until Revelation Chapter 13.

“And a crown was given unto him”—The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid-20^th. [wikipedia.org]

 

Most people do not realize that the office of the Pope is a very powerful and political one (“he went forth conquering and to conquer”).

 

Pope Francis appears to be the Destroyer prophesied to come by St. Francis of Assisi when he said, “Our Lord Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor, but a destroyer.” Tom Horn and Cris Putnam, authors of Petrus Romanus, verify Vatican insider Malachi Martin’s worst suspicions in their book The Final Roman Emperor, the Islamic Antichrist, and the Vatican's Last Crusade.

 

Suddenly it became inarguable that now, during this papacy, the Roman Catholic organization carried a permanent presence of clerics who worshipped Satan…bishops and priests who sodomized boys and each other; of nuns who performed the “Black Rites” of Wicca, and …every day…acts of heresy and blasphemy…were committed and permitted at holy Altars by men who had been called to be priests. [The Final Roman Emperor, the Islamic Antichrist, and the Vatican’s Last Crusade  pp. 145-146]

 

At 17:40 minutes in the video Steve speculates that there is great commotion in Heaven and at the 6^th Seal the great excitement culminates in the Rapture and that the “silence in Heaven” that occurs at the opening of the 7^th Seal of Revelation 8:1 is due to the somber realization of Heaven’s citizens that the Tribulation is beginning.

 

Judgment does NOT always = Wrath

 

IF the Seals are opened Pre-Tribulation (Pre-Wrath of the Lamb) and IF the Rapture occurs at the 6^th Seal, it would make sense as to why the Lord has shown me and others specific judgments to occur prior to the Rapture.

 

The word 'wrath' is first mentioned in the Book of Revelation in Chapter 6 and is associated with the Lamb of God opening the Seals. When the Lamb opens the Seals in Revelation 6, He first releases the Four Horsemen. HORSES ARE SYMBOLS OF JUDGMENT (Horses in Scripture).

 

My studies of the Word of God and the research of many others (as I shared in 7 Churches 7 Seals--Is the Church Present at the Opening of the Seals?) led me to believe that the Church Bride will be present in Heaven at the opening of the Seals.

 

HOWEVER, is it possible that the opening of the first 4 Seals is Jesus releasing and thereby giving permission to the Riders to begin JUDGMENT but NOT WRATH? Remember that judgment does NOT always equal wrath:

So it would seem that the word “judgment” can be used as decisions that come down from God no matter what dispensation or age.  It can be a decision or judgment that leads to a reward, such as 2 Corinthians 5:10; or it can be a judgment that leads to a negative consequence. Source: Judgment Does Not Always = Wrath section of "New York, Chicago, L.A."

 

Derek and Sharon Gilbert in Unraveling Revelation: Chaos and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse believe the Riders of Revelation are agents of the entity Chaos which at this point is restrained but not destroyed. The world elite motto of “Order out of chaos” directly ties to this, of course.

 

Derek and Sharon Gilbert of SkyWatch TV do an excellent series on the Book of Revelation called Unraveling Revelation wherein they explain why they believe the Four Horsemen of Revelation are spiritual entities who presented themselves as gods in ancient times. The Gilberts, who believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, also believe these entities began their ride back in the 1^st Century after the resurrected Jesus entered Heaven’s Throne Room. Thus, they conjecture Seals 1 through 5 have already been opened and we are awaiting Seal 6 when the Resurrection/Rapture occurs. Source: 7 Churches 7 Seals--Is the Church Present at the Opening of the Seals?

Great Convergence

 

Starting in 2017 I believed that soon after the Revelation 12 Sign of the Woman occurred on September 23 we on Earth would see a Great Convergence of Events just before or simultaneously with the Rapture:

•  Nuclear war beginning
•  Catastrophes related to the nearness of the Planet X/Nibiru system including worldwide earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and meteor showers [In Pastor Paul Interview With MFATW New Year Preparation & Projections 12:29:22 insider Mike reports (around the 22 and 42 minute marks) we will definitely see a deep impact as the Planet X debris field wallops the earth in 2023!]
•  The collapse of the United States of America
•  The catching away or rapture of the Bride of Christ

 

Since then the Lord has revealed that the awaiting Bride of Christ WILL see a large earthquake in America accompanied by darkness (SEE  Prophesied Events Before the Rapture). Whether this is part of the Revelation 6 Great Earthquake resulting in the Resurrection of The Dead in Christ, I am uncertain. Some believe God has shown them that Those in Christ and Living at the time of this quake will be Raptured during the Days of Darkness (or shortly after the Days of Darkness) after a brief time of ministering to the unsaved.

 

This would align with what the Lord showed me as far as an apparent natural disaster occurring leading to a brief revival and then the Rapture (see The dropping of HIS shoe). “An awakening can happen in an hour,” as Youtube pastor Tim Henderson is known for saying.

 

If the list of converging events I keep referring to DOES OCCUR, it would line up with the description of the Sixth Seal. The Great Convergence could also be the “sudden destruction” referred to in 1 Thessalonians 5:3—

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. - 1 Thessalonians 5:3 KJV

BUT What About the 4^th Seal?

 

What keeps me from being fully persuaded that the Seals are Pre-Tribulation is the 4^th Seal:

 

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. - Revelation 6:7 KJV

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. - Revelation 6:8 KJV

 

The Rider on the Pale Horse is given the power to kill a fourth of the population of earth. Today that means the death of 2 Billion people!

 

This 4^th Rider is given the power to kill a fourth of the earth’s inhabitants, but does that mean 2 billion people will die before the Tribulation begins or that war, hunger, and plagues only begin to wipe out the population? The answer to that will give me the information I need to decide whether the Seals of Revelation are Pre-Tribulation or part of the wrath of the Lamb.

Is 5783 THE Year?

 

Whether the Seals are Pre-Trib or not, more and more evidence gives us great expectation for the Rapture to occur in the Hebrew Year 5783. In THE CROWNING & THE FINAL SIGN FOR A 5783 RAPTURE I list three compelling reasons why 5783 could be when the Overcoming Church is Raptured.

 

To add to those is an article shared in the Comments section at Unsealed (thank you Sherrill)--THE PROPHETIC EVENTS OF ABRAHAM'S LIFE. One look at the chart from this article shows the parallel of Abraham’s life to a potential 2023 Rapture:

T. W. Tramm recently posted this significant observation regarding where we are in this critical Sabbath Cycle in his article The Prophetic Year 2022: Looking Back, Looking Forward, and Looking Up:

 

SABBATICAL CONTROVERSY

 

Concerning the Sabbatical calendar, there are two widely recognized chronologies, which differ by a single year. The first chronology was published around 1856 by Benedict Zuckermann, an orthodox Jewish scientist. Zuckermann’s chronology represents what is considered the standard position, and is the Sabbatical calendar used in Israel today. According to this reckoning, the last Sabbatical year ended at Tishrei 2022, placing us currently in the first year of a new cycle.

 

The second chronology, which proposes Sabbatical dates one year later than Zuckermann’s, was published by Ben Zion Wacholder, a Christian Jewish scholar, in 1973. While Wacholder was not the first to advocate such dates, his name is commonly associated with this position.

 

. . . As the saying goes, “there are two sides to every story, but the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.” According to Zuckermann, the pivotal first year of the Sabbatical cycle (potential Jubilee) began at Tishrei 2022. According to Wacholder, it begins at Tishrei 2023. Reckoning Wacholder’s chronology from Nisan, however, the pivotal first year lands directly in the middle of the two Jewish reckonings, beginning at Nisan 2023.

 

What is interesting is that, whether one observes the standard fall reckoning of Zuckermann, or Wacholder’s version reckoned from Nisan, the pertinent harvest season is the same: spring–summer 2023. . .

 

That spring begins the year is especially important in the year following a Sabbatical, a potential Jubilee. There is a reason the Jubilee is declared in the fall, six months ahead of its arrival in spring: to allow time to prepare for the redemption of servants and property that occurs at the 50th year. 

Using the traditional Zuckermann method, many, including myself, believed Jacob’s Trouble was to begin at Rosh Hashanah 2022:

If Daniel’s 70^th week encompasses a 7-year Sabbatical Cycle, which I and many others believe it will, it is highly probable The Tribulation could begin in the Autumn of 2022 when the current Sabbatical Cycle or Shemitah ends and the 11^th Shemitah (11= disorder; chaos) begins. Source: September 2022 and the Year of the Bride

 

In Genesis 1 the Creator had to bring ORDER to the earth out of the CHAOS caused by the fall of Lucifer and the third of the angels:

This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, till out of this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to arise. Source: Commentary on Genesis 1:2 by ROBERT JAMIESON

 

In Revelation 12 we see that once again Lucifer and his minions are cast down but this time from the second heaven. Their mission is to once again cause havoc—terrifying chaos--BUT the Man Child/Bride is born into God’s throne room in Heaven before the destructive chaos begins (Revelation 12:4-5 and 7-9). How exciting it is then that by using Wacholder’s method, the 11^th Shemitah of Chaos will start in the Spring of 2023 when a potential Jubilee could begin—when SERVANTS RECEIVE REDEMPTION AND MAY RETURN HOME!

 

HAPPY (potential) RAPTURE YEAR, DEAR FAMILY!