The Third Seal

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.

-Revelation 6:5-6

The third beast, which is the beast that has a face like a man said to John “come and see.” The third beast represents wisdom since man is the wisest of all creatures on the earth. So it was the spirit of wisdom and knowledge that was sent to combat the cunning works of the devil in the age of the black horse.

What did the black horse represent? Black represents darkness and evil. “Gross darkness shall be upon this people.” It shows forth the work of the devil in the dark ages when Roman Catholicism ruled the land. The rider, again the antichrist spirit, controlled commerce and finance because he had a pair of balances in his hand. The balances were used for measuring precious metals and various other items.

This black horse rider not only brought  spiritual death, but also held temporal power over the leaders of the world. That power that was held over the temporal (kings and princes) led to spiritual death and many were killed because they would not submit to their false spiritual authority.

Then came a voice from the midst of the four beasts that said, ‘a measure of wheat for a penny’, etc. They controlled the farming and food production in the natural via their power over the monarchs of Europe. But in the spiritual they controlled the use of the bible, the bread of life. They made it illegal for the average person to own a bible. They knew it was dangerous for them if the people did because they would see the deception of their doctrine. The church could not allow the people to get their hands on the word of God so they controlled it and purported to be the arbiters of the bread (word) of God. They charged for mass and took people’s last pennies for their (false) service to them.

Then this same voice that spoke the worlds into existence said, ’see that you do not hurt the wine and the oil.” Wine speaks of the stimulation that is created when the word of God is revealed and oil speaks of the Holy Spirit. God tells them, ‘you can try to control my words in the bible, but you cannot control the revelation of it nor the new birth in the Holy Spirit.’

The Second Seal

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.

-Revelation 6:3-4

Each horse and its rider is a continuation of the work of the antichrist spirit working on the earth. Each “beast” or “living creature” is the cherubim or throne guard that typifies an attribute of God that is working in the elect of that time period.

This horse is red and it conquers and kills with the great sword that was given to it. This corresponds to the time when the true church began to be persecuted and killed for their faith. While certainly this started from the very beginning however, the great persecutions sponsored by the Roman Empire began in the 2nd century and it continued on even when the Roman Empire turned from being pagan empire to being a papal empire where the emperors were under the headship of the pope.

In fact the persecution and cruelty that this Popish spirit inflicted on mankind is beyond any doubt the cruelest in all of history. No other organization in the world at this time is responsible for more deaths, not even Islam. This cruelty and desire to conquer and kill is a continuation of the antichrist spirit that started with the white horse. Though this white horse was innocent in appearance it resulted in a rebellious and paganistic organization called Roman Catholicism. A denomination that prays to saints, bows before statues, exalts Mary to the level of divinity in that no one can come to Jesus, but first must come to Mary, they installed confession to a priest in order to control the minds and hearts of people. Here is the result of this red horse that was given a sword to kill.

“In addition to this regular, systematic process, the Romish church has been guilty of numerous, extensive, and sometimes national persecutions, in which hundreds of thousands of our Protestant brethren were butchered in cold blood. Need I point you to the bloody tragedy of St. Bartholomew’s eve, 80 in 1572, when at the nod of the Pope a hundred thousand of the best people of France were massacred in cold blood by order of their own priest-ridden king, Charles IX.? Need I speak to you of the treacherous revocation of the edict of Nantes, by approbation and applause of the Roman pontiff, in violation of all law, human and divine, by which half a million or more of the best citizens of France, because they would not renounce their religion, were compelled to flee from papal persecution and death, and, stripped of all their earthly goods, to seek shelter in foreign lands? Need I direct your attention to the millions of Waldenses and Albigenses who were butchered in cold blood by the minions of the pope! Need I speak to you to the thirty years’ war in Germany, which was mainly instigated by the Jesuits, in order to deprive the Protestants of the right of free religious worship, secured to them by the treaty of Augsburg? Or of the Irish rebellion, of the inhuman butchery of about fifteen millions of Indians in South America, Mexico and Cuba, by the Spanish papists? In short, it is calculated by authentic historians, that papal Rome has shed the blood of sixty-eight millions of the human race in order to establish her unfounded claims to religious dominion.” From S. S. SCHMUCKER, D. D.’s The Glorious Reformation.

However, the elect did overcome this wicked and evil spirit working through Roman Catholicism. How did they do it? By the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. God gave them a Spirit to overcome. This is the second beast or living creature that had a face like a calf. The calf typified the submissive and sacrificial spirit willing to lay his life down. This is the nature that the Christian was given as a gift from God for this time when the persecution was so deep and difficult. They had a willingness and a faith that transcended this world. They had a vision that death is simply a step from this evil world into a place of rest and peace where you have the joy of seeing Jesus.

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. (Revelation 6:1-2, King James Version)

Notice that it is the Lamb that opens up the seals not brother William Branham. There are many on the internet who believe that he taught that he opened up the seals, but he did not teach that. He taught that the Lamb opened the Seals and this is what we clearly read in the Bible. Only the Lamb was worthy.

Some teachers correspond the seals to the seven thunders of Revelation 10 because in the 1st verse we read that John heard the noise of a thunder. However, each subsequent seal does not have the noise of a thunder so we should not correspond the seals and the thunders. They are two separate events in the book of Revelation. The noise of a thunder is what Jesus heard after a prayer signifying that God was speaking to him. In 1963 just prior to brother Branham receiving the revelation of what the seven seals were there was a loud explosion that occurred when  seven angels visited him and was witnessed by two brothers who were out hunting with him. This event in Revelation corresponds to the loud explosion that he heard. It simply signifies that God is going to speak.

The four beasts would be better called four living creature. They correspond to the four cherubim who cover the throne of God. They reflect the glory of God and when they speak it thunders because they are speaking the words of God. This cheribum or living creature says “come and see” and John hears it as a loud thunder or explosion.

As soon as that seal is opened the living being thunders forth come and see. Then based upon that seal opening a revelation is given.

Then a vision breaks forth for John and he sees a white horse. White signifies purity and holiness. But then you see that the being that sat upon the horse has a bow, but it says nothing of arrows. Someone with a bow and no arrows is a bluff. It’s like a gun with no bullets, they pretend to have the real thing, but all they have is a toy.

This shows that it is not Jesus Christ that riding on the horse, but it is the devil because Jesus is not a bluff. He has the power and authority. The devil is then crowned and goes forth to conquer.

What event does this correspond to?

You will see that these events show a progression of how Satan worked to pervert God’s word and power throughout the church age. It started out at the beginning of the church age in white as an innocent and “holy” work.  Paul warned that wolves would come in to deceive the flock and so they did.  He also wrote “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7) John wrote that the spirit of antichrist was already at work (1 John 4:3) perverting the work of God purporting to be believers, but they were not.

The white horse was that innocent looking start to the spirit of antichrist working in the church to pull it away from the apostolic faith and doctrine. It was a subtle thing because it was working right in the middle of the church claiming to be the church, but it was the spirit of antichrist imitating Christ riding a white horse and carrying a bow without any arrows. A bluff, a deceiver pretending to be the Spirit of Christ.

This corresponds to the 1st Church Age, the church at Ephesus.

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. Revelation 2:6

The word Nicolaitanes comes from the Greek nikao which means “to conquer” and laitanes which means “the laity.” The first church age still hated the deeds of those who sought to conquer the laity. This white horse is how the divide between the laity and the bishops or pastors started. They sought to take away the gifts of the Spirit working amongst the entire church and keep the laity down. This was how the devil began to work to build up his church that has a pope, cardinals and arch-bishops. He used this tactic to take away the experience that each of us must have with God, the Holy Ghost baptism. It’s for all of us and the gifts of the Spirit that come along with it are for each and every believer.

This was Satan’s first work in the church age, pervert the gospel just a little bit and elevate the preachers to a higher position than they really hold.

So the white horse is the spirit of antichrist seeking to imitate and thus stand in the place of Christ, but he’s revealed to be a false christ in that he has a bow, but no arrows to make the bow effectual and he is seeking to conquer the laity.

Now, I want to go back to discuss the first beast and how that corresponds to this seal. The first beast or living creature that says, “Come and see” is the one with a face like a lion. I gather that this living creature is the one with the face like a lion because in Revelation 4:7 it is called “the first beast” and in the second seal the beast or living creature is called “the second beast” even though here he is called “one of the four beasts.”

The living creatures are the cherubim that cover or guard the throne of God. They are so close to the throne of God that they too reflect the glory of God. This first living creature with the face of a lion embodies the strength, power and untamed nature of God. The attribute of this living creature corresponds with how the Holy Spirit worked against antichrist spirit. The power of God went forth and worked through the true church of the living God of that time. Through this untamed and powerful nature the elect overcame the deceit of the antichrist spirit.

Do the Seals take place in the end-time?

This is a critical questions to ask. I would expand it to say do they take place in the end-time or are they to be opened and then revealed in the end-time?

Clearly we read that the Lamb opens the seals and when he opens the seals he is laying claim to a possession. Some believe that the seals were pealed back when John saw them, but it was unknown as to specifically what they would be until the time of the end.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. – Daniel 12:4

However, the book is sealed until the time of the end. It is not that the seals are taken off in 96 AD when John saw the vision. The very scroll of redemption is sealed until the time of the end.

What is the time of the end? It is not at the very end, but at the time of the end. Or as some tend to say, the end of the age. Clearly, the book is to be known by some people prior to the time of the end. Any time a revelation is given it is not simply an event taking place, but its a truth given to a specific people through a specific person. It’s to be grasped and understood by the people it is given to. It was sealed because it was not to be understood properly. It’s there in the bible, but it isn’t known exactly what it means.

So it will be known prior to the end of the age by a specific people that it is sent to.

We are living in that age. The truth of what the seals were about and the scroll of redemption was revealed to the Bride of Christ through the revelation of the Scriptures that God gave to William Branham. The seals have been opened by Jesus Christ, the process of redemption is beginning to come to an end and what the seals actually were have been revealed.

So they were put where they were in the book of Revelation because they are revealed in the time of the end, but they took place at specific periods throughout the church age.

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In subsequent posts we’ll discuss exactly what were each of the seven seals.

Seven Seals – What is the Book?

I will be writing a series of posts about the Seven Seals, the mysteries surrounding them and how they were revealed to us.

Revelation 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

First, let’s take a what this little book is all about. This is in actuality not a book, but rather a scroll. There are seals put on the scroll in order to prevent it from being easily opened by anyone. The scroll that is sealed with seven seals is in the hand of HIM that sat upon the throne, which is the Almighty God himself.

What is this scroll? What does it pertain to? In order to answer this question we need to look at the next few verses.

Revelation 5:2-6 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

No man was worthy to open the scroll. They were all unworthy to do so, but the Lamb was able to open it because he prevailed over death. It had to be a Lamb to overcome and break the seals to open the book. Why did John weep? Why was it so important that the book be opened? Why did it have to be a Lamb?

We see a lamb because the imagery that is trying to be portrayed is clearly in regards to sacrifice. When you speak of sacrifice you speak of atonement and redemption.

In the beginning when sin entered in through Adam and Eve there was a promise made that the Woman’s Seed would bruise the head of the Serpent’s Seed. Within this promise we understand that there is to be a redeemer to come and give us back everything that Adam lost. What happened when Adam sinned? Man lost his immortality and the ground was cursed.

This is what the Lamb, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah came to redeem. When he died he shed his blood as the purchase price of redemption. However, he needed to lay claim to the property. In Jesus’ time a land or property had a title deed associated with it. This title deed was written on a scroll and kept in the hand or possession of the owner.

Adam was the owner at one time, but when he sinned he lost the title deed and it went back to the one who gave it to him. In this scripture we see the title deed being given back to the second Adam. Jesus Christ is the possessor of earth and the title deed. He redeemed Adam’s race, gave them the right to immortality and the earth again. While the process of redemption has been going on since the fall of Adam we are witnessing in this scripture a transfer of ownership.

The only thing left in the process is for Jesus to come, the dead to be raised to immortality and the earth to be redeemed.

That is what that little scroll was. It was the title deed of redemption or the book of redemption.  John wept because he knew that his redemption and the earth’s redemption from the curse were all bound up in that title deed. If no “MAN” could claim it all would be lost.

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