Seven Seals of Revelation

1. Introduction

The Seven Seals of Revelation play an important role in the first 40 years of Jesus’ prophecy.

In our lesson on the Introduction to the Great Tribulation, we answered the questions.

1. When was the Great Tribulation?
2. What was the Abomination of Desolation?
3. Had the gospel been preached to all nations before the Great Tribulation?
4. Why does Revelation equate Jerusalem to Sodom and Egypt?
5. Who was Josephus, and is he a credible historian?

In this lesson, we will answer these questions:

1. What are the Seven Seals?
2. How did the seals relate to the Great Tribulation?
3. Was one quarter of the population killed, as Revelation says?

Then, in the following lessons, we will answer these questions:

1. Understanding the various calendars of the Great Tribulation.
2. Who were the 144,000? When did this number stop counting?
3. Who were the armies crossing the Euphrates in Revelation?
4. Was one third of the population killed, as Revelation says?
5. Why did Jesus say His coming would be like lightning from the east to the west?
6. How long was the Great Tribulation — seven years or 2300 days?
7. When did the Great Tribulation begin?
8. When did it end?
9. When did the Christians flee Jerusalem?
10. How many people were killed during the Great Tribulation?
11. Why was there thirty minutes of silence in heaven?
12. When was the forty-two-month prophecy of Revelation?
13. What is the significance of the five-month prophecy in Revelation 9?
14. What was Daniel’s 1290 and 1335-day prophecy about?
15. What is the importance of Antioch in the prophetic calendar?
16. What was the blessing to those who lasted 1336 days?

A. Use of Dates

*In line with the agreed international standard, all dates, unless mentioned otherwise, are based on the Roman (Julian) Calendar. To convert them to our Gregorian calendar, add two days. For example, Jesus’ appearance over Jerusalem on the 21st May, 66 CE, will be 23rd May on our calendar. In the next lesson, we will look at the different calendars.

2. The Seals are Opened

Revelation chapter five begins with Israel’s judgment through the seven seals that will be broken.

A. Scroll with Seven Seals

Revelation mentions seven seals related to the Great Tribulation.

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Revelation 5:1

The seven seals on the back of a scroll tied up the prophecy of judgment.

B. Scroll with Seals Inside

The scroll with writing inside represents prophecy.

Now go, write it before them on a tablet,
And note it on a scroll,
That it may be for time to come,
Forever and ever:

Isaiah 30:8

From this and other similar scriptures, we learn that scrolls symbolise prophecies.

C. Only Jesus can take the scroll:

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

Revelation 5:5

This scroll contains Jesus’ prophecies concerning the forty-year generation. However, before the Tribulation, the scroll is taken from the Father, and the seals are broken. Each of these signifies the unfolding of the scroll it encases.

D. Timing of the Seals Being Opened

The seals are opened after the Lamb is slain and while He is standing.

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Revelation 5:6-7

Here, Jesus is standing, but elsewhere, Jesus is seated.

E. Jesus is Seated 60-65 CE

In Hebrews, Ephesians, and Colossians, Paul states that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father,

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.

Hebrews 8:1

These three epistles were all written between 60 and 65 CE, so Jesus would be seated then.

F. Jesus is Seated 30 CE

He was seated at the right hand of the Father after His ascension.

which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 1:20

From these scriptures, we learn that Jesus is seated on the throne in the heavenly throne room after His death and ascension. He is also seated around 60-67 CE, at the time these three epistles were written. Why, then, is the Lamb of God standing in Revelation?

G. When is Jesus Standing?

In Revelation 5, God is seated on the throne, but Jesus remains standing. There is another moment in Scripture when Jesus stands. This happened during the first martyrdom in 33 CE, when Stephen was stoned.

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.

Acts 7:55-58

Thus, Jesus is seated during His ascension when the three epistles were written between 60 and 67 CE. The only other time in Scripture when Jesus is described as standing occurs in 33 CE. The moment when Jesus opens the scrolls also appears at the beginning of persecution. Stephen is the first martyr, and Jesus, the Lamb, martyred for humanity, stands when the seals are opened; four of these seals involve martyrdom.

The seven seals were opened in 33 CE, when Jesus stood for Stephen’s martyrdom, marking the beginning of Jesus’s prophecy of judgment and persecution. They will reach their peak during the 42-month climax, as foretold by Daniel, beginning on Nisan 15, 67 CE and ending Elul 14, 70 CE.

3. The First Conquering Seal

A. Persecution of the Jews Begins

In 37 CE, shortly after the martyrdom of Stephen (around 15th October 33 CE), the Jewish religious leaders approached the new Emperor Caligula, lodging complaints against the Christians, hoping he would start persecuting them. Instead, Caligula turned against the Jews, fulfilling Matthew 24:51, becoming the only Emperor to cut people in half.

But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:48-51

This prophecy is directed at the unwise servants (Jews) who persecute the wise servants (followers of Jesus).

B. Conqueror on a White Horse

The first seal is when someone is given a crown so he can ride out to conquer.

And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Revelation 6:2

This is not Jesus on the white horse, as He is the one who opens the seals. In our lesson on the Beasts of Revelation, Emperor Vespasian is the conqueror of Samaria, Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. You will recall that Vespasian did not attack Jerusalem earlier; instead, he weakened the Jews by letting them fight amongst themselves before sending his son, Caesar Titus, to besiege Jerusalem.

4. The Second Seal of Conflict

When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

Revelation 6:3-4

In Wars and Rumours of War, we see that the first 40 years after Jesus’ prophecy were the most intense period in Jewish history. The rider probably represents Nero or Vespasian, both of whom initiated significant conflicts during that time.

5. The Third Seal of Famine

The third seal to be opened is scarcity.

When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

Revelation 6:5-6.

As we saw in Last Days Proofs, there were major famines throughout the 40 and 100-year generations, which worsened during the Great Tribulation.

Over two hundred thousand deaths before the siege of Jerusalem started drastically decreased the population’s ability to produce food. The Roman armies would confiscate the Jews’ food sources to supply their troops as they fought the Jews. The resulting lack of animals and crops led to further starvation among the Jewish population. I have referred to the piles of bodies in Jerusalem, causing pestilence, in our lesson on Last Days Proofs.

But the famine was too hard for all other passions, and it is destructive to nothing so much as to modesty; … that children pulled the very morsels that their fathers were eating out of their very mouths, and,…so did the mothers do as to their infants; and …were most dear were perishing under their hands, they were not ashamed to take from them the very last drops that might preserve their lives; … the old men, who held their food fast, were beaten; and if the women hid what they had within their hands, their hair was torn for so doing; … They also invented terrible methods of torment to discover where any food was, and they were these: to stop up the passages of the privy parts of the miserable wretches, and to drive sharp stakes up their fundaments!, and a man was forced to bear what it is terrible even to hear, to make him confess that he had but one loaf of bread, [wheat] or that he might discover a handful of barley meal that was concealed;

Josephus War.5.10.3

This account offers a small glimpse into the depravity that Josephus describes in his volumes on the wars of Israel during this period.

6. Seal Four: One Quarter of People Die in the Great Tribulation

When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Revelation 6:7-8

Vespasian moved through the towns in Judea and Samaria, slaughtering anyone who resisted. The number of people killed was so large that the bodies filled the rivers, warning the downstream settlements of their impending slaughter. The lions, wolves and bears would also have fed on the injured and malnourished, who were too weak from injuries, pestilence, and famine to defend themselves, thus fulfilling this prophecy.

A. Deaths for first 100 years

In the table below, we estimate that 26.6% of the Jewish population died in the fall of Jerusalem. This is approximately one-quarter, as stated in Revelation.

In the following chart, we see how severe the first 40 and 100 years were. When examining this, the first worldwide population estimate is based on available data. The world population figures are based on an assumed 0.1% annual growth rate for the first century. Here is the spreadsheet calculation for these figures, as it is difficult to interpret them for those who want to double-check them.

7. The Cry of the Martyrs

The fifth seal is the next one to be opened.

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been 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, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Revelation 6:9-11

A. Persecution Starts

The persecution of Christians by Jews began with the first martyr, Stephen, in October 33 CE. Later, the persecution of Jews by the Romans started under Caligula in 37 CE, which would have included Jewish Christians.

B. Persecution Under Nero

Persecution of Jewish and Gentile Christians increased under Emperor Nero, who reigned from 56 CE to 68 CE. Remembering that Nero (not Domitian) had sent John to the Island of Patmos, probably after the fire of Rome, there were already martyrs under Nero (the Antichrist). It was likely these that John saw beneath the altar. They were told to wait a little while (not 2000 years) until the rest of their fellow servants and brethren joined them.

C. The Fire of Rome

An example of this persecution was the Great Fire of Rome in late July 64 CE. Most historical accounts state that Nero deliberately set the fire to bypass the senate’s restrictions on buildings. Nero aimed to rebuild Rome according to his vision of its appearance. The fire started in the merchant stalls and quickly spread throughout the city, aided by people Nero had paid to keep it burning. After six days of relentless flames, the fire died out, and those same people reignited it. Looking for someone to blame, Nero accused the Christians, and 979 of them were crucified.

D. The Number of Martyrs Completed

The scripture above states that those under God’s altar are to rest a while longer until the number of martyrs is fulfilled. We are not told how long they were to wait, but it could have been until the hundred-year generation finished or until Rome made Christianity legal in the 5th century. It might also mean until the end of the age when all who are ‘sleeping’ are raised for the Great White Throne of Judgment for eternal life or eternal separation from God and death.

8. Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances

Here is a table of all the signs that occurred between 63 CE and September 8th 70 CE.

We have a separate lesson on signs in our Last Day Proofs lesson.

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

Revelation 6:12

A. Great Earthquake

We need to consider the large earthquakes that have happened. The first forty years saw a rise in seismic activity across the known world. There was one “mega-earthquake” when Jesus died, as the graves were opened. In our section on the first year of the Great Tribulation, we will examine an earthquake that occurred on June 7, 67 CE.

B. Blood Moons and Black Suns

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

Revelation 6:12

Whenever there is a “blood moon”, futurists start saying that we are in the last days. However, on average, there are 228 moon eclipses every century; in the 7th century, there were 255. Which one will signal that Jesus is coming?

It’s easy to find information about lunar and solar eclipses during the Great Tribulation on the NASA website. Looking at this website, we see a lunar eclipse on the day Jerusalem was surrounded. There was also a full moon on the 8th of September, the day and night Jerusalem burned. For this reason, the sun was darkened, and the full moon appeared like blood.

C. Hiding in the Subterranean Caves

However, a quick look at the following verses about this seal will tell us we should not take current blood moons too literally:

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,

Revelation 6:15

There are not enough caves and rock formations for eight billion people to hide in. Yet, in Jerusalem, we see that this is precisely what happened. There were underground caves in Jerusalem that both rich and poor tried to use to hide from other Jews, and Edomites attempting to steal their riches or the last scraps of food left during the siege. After the siege, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem in 71 CE, it took them months to find these treasures in the subterranean caves. Simon and the 700 Idumeans were able to hide from the Romans for weeks after the siege ended, until they ran out of food.

There were also found slain there above two thousand persons, partly by their own hands, and partly by one another, but chiefly destroyed by the famine. Still, then, the ill savor of the dead bodies was most offensive to those that lighted upon them, insomuch that some were obliged to get away immediately, while others were so greedy of gain, that they would go in among the dead bodies that lay in heaps, and tread upon them; for a great deal of treasure was found in these caverns, and the hope of gain made every way of getting it to be esteemed lawful.

Josephus 6.430-432

9. Seventh Seal.

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Revelation 8:1-6

The seventh seal is opened at 3 am on 19th April 67 CE. However, we will leave this for another lesson, as we need to establish a foundation before examining this seal. We will find that the 30 minutes of silence corresponds to the glory of the Lord leaving the Temple.

The noises, lightning, and earthquakes occurred on June 7, 67 CE, and marked the start of the 42-month, 1290-day, and 1335-day prophecies found in the Bible.

10. The Scroll is Opened

There were seven seals on the scroll. As we have learned, the scroll represents the prophetic words of Jesus, who was found worthy to open them. Once the seals are opened, the seven trumpets are prepared to sound.

So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Revelation 8:6

We will examine each of these as we review the events of the Great Tribulation, which began in late 66 CE.

11. Summary

1. The first seal was broken when Jesus was standing for Stephen’s martyrdom around 15 October 33 CE.
2. A conqueror on a white horse is the first seal, symbolising the Roman Caesars’ conquest.
3. The second seal brings conflict between Jew and Gentile, which escalated in 37 CE under Caesar Caligula.
4. Seal four represents the quarter of the Jewish population killed during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
5. Martyrdom from Stephen onwards, reaching a peak under Nero and Vespasian, is the fifth seal.
6. The sixth seal refers to the cosmic disturbances that took place from 63 CE to 8 September 70 CE.
7. The seventh seal begins with three events on 9th April 67 CE, followed by a further event on the 29th of May, the significance of which we will understand later in this series.
8. The seventh seal releases the seven trumpets, which likewise are all fulfilled in the Great Tribulation.

In the next lesson, we take a deeper look at the 144,000 in Revelation 7. Grasping this is essential to explaining how all the dates precisely align with the prophecies of Jesus and Daniel.

© Use by Permission Awakening Impact Ministries / Dr Neville Westerbeek van Eerten D.Miss, 2026