The 5th Seal — The Apostasy, Martyrs, The Peace Treaty, The Antichrist
BE ALERT: We are witnessing the Events of the 5th Tribulation Seal
The Great Apostasy, falling away from the faith in Christ
A great persecution of Christians,
The signing of a peace treaty between Israel and her enemies.
Revelation 6:9 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”
I was having a conversation with a Christian friend and during our talk, he made these four points:
1. “I believe the return of Jesus is near”.
2. “I am looking forward to the rapture”.
3. “I believe the tribulation will begin as soon as the rapture happens”.
4. “The antichrist will appear after the rapture and give the Mark of the Beast”.
When I asked him to elaborate by telling me where he gets his information, he said, “From the Bible”.
So, I pressed him a little, and asked “where in the Bible”. And, he answers with “The Book of Revelation and elsewhere”.
I decided to go to the ‘full court press’ and asked, “Yes, but, exactly where? And why do you believe what you have said?”
A bit exasperated, he responded with, “This is what I have always heard. It’s what my pastor says. Read it for yourself”.
I have had this same conversation with scores of well-meaning Christians, and it always ends the same way, “Someone else told me” but they cannot find it in scriptures OR they find a reference and ‘interpolate’.
Well, I have read it for myself – over and over for the last 10 years – I have studied eschatological matters and re-studied them, and used “good Bible study techniques and methods”, and here is what I found (for the ‘umpteenth time’):
Now, finally, well known and respected men like Pastor and teacher John Piper have come to this realization:
I. WHEN DID”THE LAST DAYS” BEGIN?
Hebrews 1:2 “In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Hebrews 9:26 “For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
*When was Hebrews written? (Around AD 60) What “timeline” clues do you see?
Acts 2:14 “But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15“For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
17‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;
*When was Acts written? (Around AD 60) What “timeline” clues do you see?
2 Timothy 3:1 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
*When was 2 Timothy written? (Around AD 60) What “timeline” clue do you see?
1 Peter 1:20 “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you”.
1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
*When was 1 Peter written? (Around AD 60) What “timeline” clue do you see?
2 Peter 3:3 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”
*When was 2 Peter written? (Around AD 68) What “timeline” clues do you see?
The “LAST DAYS” began with the 1st Advent of Christ.
II. WHEN WILL THESE THINGS HAPPEN
Matthew 24:3 “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 ¶ And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.
5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.
6 “You will be hearing of (1) wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
7 “For (2) nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be (3) famines and (4) earthquakes.
8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs (another term for “tribulation”).
9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” (5th Tribulation Seal)
III. WHEN IS JESUS COMING BACK?
2 Thessalonians 2:1 “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him (i.e., “raptured”) we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, until the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed (i.e., the antichrist), the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
IV. WHAT’S NEXT?
Every event and all the prophecies regarding Jesus’ 2nd Coming and the coming Great and Terrible Day of the Lord have been fulfilled up through the 5th tribulation seal – except for the revealing of the antichrist and the rapture of the saints.
The Opening of the 6th Tribulation Seal and The BEGINNING OF the 7 years of “THE GREAT TRIBULATION”, (Matthew 24 distinguishes between the (small “t”) tribulation, a.k.a., ‘the beginning of sorrows’ or ‘times of distress’). The Great Tribulation is also known as “THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD“.
The 6th Tribulation Seal – Cosmic disturbances, blood moon, darkened sun
The Rapture occurs at the end of the 5th Seal / the beginning of the 6th Seal as these events unfold and overlap, briefly.
Multitude from the tribulation before the Throne of God
Revelation 7:13 “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
V. WHAT AM I TO BE DOING?
1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is near; therefore,
(a) Be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
(b) 8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
(c) 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
(d) 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(e) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
(f) 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
(g) 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
(h) 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
(i) 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
(j) Matthew 10:7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
(k) 8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
(l) 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
(m) baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
(n) 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
I have tried my best to make this simple and clear: we are at the end, the precipice of THE LAST DAYS. Denominational bias and clutter have clouded these matters. But, now they are plain, and now several well known and credible Bible scholars, Bible teachers and pastors are shaking off the heavy cloak of denominationalism and coming to this revealed Truth. I want to give special credit to Marvin Rosenthal who pioneered the uncovering of this Bible truth through his tireless and groundbreaking teaching on this matter and his book, “The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church“. Also, to his son, David Rosenthal and the entire staff – THANK YOU. An untold number have benefited and been saved by your hard, selfless and God-centered work. May God protect, preserve and bless us all. Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
The Return of Christ
Luke 21:25 “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”