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PART 4 – THE REVELATION OF THE SEVEN SEALS ……………... 36
The Seven Sealed Book* Daniel’s Vision* John and the Mighty Angel* The Seventh Angel-Messenger* An Open Book* What Those Seals Contained* The First Seal – White Horse Rider* The Second Seal – Red Horse Rider* The Third Seal – Black Horse Rider* The Fourth Seal – Pale Horse Rider* The Fifth Seal – Souls Under The Altar* The Sixth Seal – Tribulation Period* The Seventh Seal – The Coming of the Lord*
The Revelation of the Seven Seals
Part Four
INTRODUCTION
We can read in the Bible that God has a book that’s been sealed with SEVEN SEALS holding the seven hidden mysteries of God which were kept secret through the ages. What could be the significance of this Book to us, Christians?
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.”
Revelation 6:1, “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.”
The prophet Daniel of the Old Testament saw this Book in his visions but was asked to seal up the words thereof until the time of the end. The content of this Book was also seen and heard by John in the Book of Revelation Chapter 10. Yet unknown to many today, these seven seals have already been loosed and the mysteries contained therein are already open to us. Yet only the predestinated people of God are qualified to understand the contents of the Book. It is hid from the unbeliever’s eyes. Jesus clearly said it in Matthew 11:25: “ I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.”
The reason why this book has been revealed today is to get the people of God ready for the second coming of the Lord. If your name is written on this Book, you will surely heed the end-time call today and will dig on these mysteries to make your “election and calling sure”.
THE SEVEN-SEALED BOOK
The seven-sealed Book is presented by John in Revelation 5: 1- 7, ”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. 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 Juda, 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. And HE came and TOOK the BOOK out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.”
Amidst these symbolisms, we can conclude that it is no other but our Lord Jesus Christ who is being referred to here as the Bloody Lamb, the Root and Offspring of David, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who took the BOOK out from the Father’s throne. It is Jesus alone who is worthy to take and claim this Book and to loose the seals thereof. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev. 5:9)
This Book was what Adam and Eve forfeited at the Garden of Eden when they chose to partake with the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil rather than staying with the Tree of Life. The Book contains the names of God’s elect all through the ages, those who were chosen and predestinated in Christ before the foundation of the world according to Revelation 13:8 and which are the direct subjects of God’s redemption. It is them also of which Romans 8:29-30 speaks about: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did ‘predestinate’ [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” This Book is also known as the “Lamb’s Book of Life”.
DANIEL’S VISION
The prophet Daniel saw the BOOK in a vision but was told of God to seal it up until the time of the end, as we read in the following verses: ”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. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what [shall be] the end of these [things]? And He said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the WORDS [are] CLOSED up and SEALED till the TIME of the END.” (Daniel 12:4,8,9)
JOHN AND THE MIGHTY ANGEL
John the beloved had seen and heard the messages in the Book in the form of the “seven thunders” and saw the OPEN BOOK being delivered down to the earth by the Mighty Angel of Revelation 10.
Revelations 10:1-4, “And I saw another Mighty Angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a Little BOOK OPEN: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud VOICE, as when a LION roareth: and when he had cried, “SEVEN THUNDERS” uttered their VOICES. And when the SEVEN THUNDERS had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a VOICE from heaven saying unto me, SEAL UP those things which the SEVEN THUNDERS uttered, and WRITE them NOT.”
This event started to take place in the year 1963 during our time. On February 28, 1963, over in Arizona, U.S.A., the coming of this Mighty Angel transpired. A Mystery Cloud, showing the face of Jesus Christ formed from a constellation of seven angels, which were the seven spirits of God, which appeared to Reverend William Marrion Branham in the form of
a ring shaped-Cloud. These seven angels came from the presence of God revealing to William Branham the hidden mysteries of the SEVEN SEALS which were sealed in the time of Daniel to inform the people of God of the perfect will of the Father in preparation for the oncoming millennial reign of Jesus Christ upon this earth.
It was as these seven angels left Brother Branham that they formed this mysterious cloud which Life Magazine had featured in their May 17, 1963 issue, and Science Magazine in their April 19, 1963 issue. The original glossy prints reveal the full face of the Lord Jesus Christ as the picture is viewed from the right side angle “like unto the Son of Man, His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow” (Rev.1:13).
THE SEVENTH ANGEL-MESSENGER
If we continue reading in the succeeding verses of Revelation 10:1-7, we will notice that the Mighty Angel, which was Michael, delegated the revelation of these mysteries to the seventh angel which was the messenger to the Laodecian Church Age. This seventh angel is an earthly messenger who was commissioned by God to fulfill the final work of revealing these mysteries contained in these seven-seals to God’s elect in these last days, as clearly stipulated in the 7th verse of Revelation 10:
Revelation 10:7 states, “But in the days of the VOICE of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, ALL the MYSTERY of God should be FINISHED as he hath declared to His servants the prophets.”
Jesus told John to send this Book to the seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:11): “What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. I have discussed already in the previous chapter that these seven angels who were commissioned by God were seven men sent through the seven church ages to bring enlightenment to each of these age. The first angel or messenger to the church at Ephesus was Paul. The second angel to Smyrna was Irenaeus. The third angel to Pergamos was St. Martin. The fourth angel to Thyatira was Columba. The fifth angel to Sardis was Martin Luther. The sixth angel to the Philadelphian church age was John wesley. The seventh angel to Laodicea is none other than William Marrion Branham.
Hear the seventh angel’s “VOICE” today and learn of the hidden mysteries of God for you to be counted worthy to go in the rapture before this world is destroyed by the fire and by the wrath of God.
AN OPEN BOOK
To those who believe in the End Time Message, the unveiling of the Seven-sealed Book is already history to us. This mysterious book has been opened to us by a prophetic ministry which started the THREE STAGES of the coming of the Lord.
We have learned from Brother Branham that the Rapture or second coming of the Lord comes in three stages:
(1) There has to be a “shout”, which is a Message, calling the people of God out from Babylonian confusion (Rev. 18:4 & Matthew 25:6);
(2) there has to be the voice of the “archangel”, and
(3) there has to be a “trumpet” sounding. That’s according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a “shout”, with the “voice of the archangel”, and with the “trump” of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
WHAT THOSE SEALS CONTAINED
Here now is a brief summary of what the mysteries of the SEVEN SEALS contained as preached to us by Rev. William Branham.
THE FIRST SEAL - The WHITE HORSE RIDER
REVELATION 6:1-2 explains the opening and the 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.”
Please take note that the first FOUR SEALS, which involve events that transpire within the timeframe of Pentecost until 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 these beasts: “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 up 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 transpired 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 the introduction of Nicolaitanism, the leadership of the Holy Spirit was superseded by 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 of the church that counted. This allowed evil men (seducers) to rend the flock.
God hated such a 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 the prophet showed us 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.” (-WMB, Seven Church Ages Book)
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.”
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 persecuted 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 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 t 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 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. it’s the AntiChrist turning 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 right 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 rulerships, 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 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”.
Brother Branham describes them as follows, “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.
Yet it was promised unto them by God to wait for a little while for their TWO prophets - Moses and Elijah of Revelation chapter 11. These two prophets will call out their fellow brethren, the 144,000 Jews that have to be summoned out from Judaism back 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 SIXTH SEAL - THE 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 millennial 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 a purging time for the FOOLISH VIRGINS of Matthew 25. The foolish virgins are those Christians 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 Antichrist 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 sackcloth with tears in their eyes, realizing that it was JESUS CHRIST really whom they crucified who was their real and true Messiah.
THE 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.”
Rev. 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 (Read Revelation 10:1- 6), 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 regarding what the “THE SEVEN THUNDERS” was about:
“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 `mysterytruths’ that literally turn the hearts of the children to the Pentecostal fathers. Exactly so.” - (LAODECIAN CHURCH AGE CHAPTER 9.) “This seven-sealed Book is revealed at the time of the Seven Thunders of Revelations 10.” (BREACH.THE.title JEFF.IN 63-0317E)
The seven thunders, therefore, are the “mystery-truths” 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 we have read them above.
We can now therefore conclude that the first “thunder-mystery” was the “White Horse Rider”. Who was this white horse rider? Before, we thought it was the Holy Ghost. Now, after the seals were opened, we know that it was the AntiChrist spirit being crowned as a Nicolaitanes doctrine. That was the “mystery-truth” behind the first seal. The second thunder-mystery exposed who the “Red Horse Rider” was. Then, the third thunder-mystery revealed who the “Black Horse Rider” was. The fourth thunder-mystery revealed who the “Pale Horse Rider” was. The fifth thunder-mystery revealed who the “Souls Under the Altar” were. The sixth thunder-mystery revealed a “Tribulation Period”. And the seventh thunder mystery revealed the “coming of the Lord” in three stages: the shout, the voice and the trumpet”. Spiritually knowing all these mysteries will surely give you the rapturing faith needed for the catching-away, 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 also 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, for God is still 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 His theophany body - Melchisedec, to prepare him for the promised son, Isaac. Today, God has come down to Abraham’s royal SEED through the body of a prophet 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 upon this earth.