Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (Matthew 24:29)
The first seal,[1] the white horse, introduced the Antichrist. The second seal,[2] the red horse, brought global wars. The third seal,[3] the black horse, brings economic collapse. War and economic collapse result in famines and pestilences. The fourth seal[4] releases the pale horse bringing death by way of war, hunger, and pandemics. These will not be start and stop events. Once the start, they will progress throughout the Tribulation period. The fifth seal brings persecution and death to those who profess Christ during this time. These Christians are not the Church which was raptured before the beginning of the Tribulation. These are those who come to faith in Christ during the Tribulation. They are the “Tribulation Saints” who are seen under the altar of God in heaven.[5]
“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” (Revelation 6:12-14, emphasis mine).
It is difficult to determine from this passage exactly when these events occur. We know the Tribulation is seven years from Daniel’s prophecy,[6] but within that period of time, pinpointing the specific events presents a challenge. The seventh seal that follows presents seven trumpets that herald more severe judgments.[7] The seventh trumpet (that seems to come at the midpoint (3½ years into) of the Tribulation[8]) announces the seven bowl judgments[9] that occupy the final 3½ years of the Tribulation and are even more severe. When the judgments of the final bowl are completed, Jesus returns to earth with all of His saints, i.e., the Church.[10]
Jesus said that earthquakes, the sun darkening, the blood moons and stars falling from the sky would take place during the Tribulation,[11] but He did not specify a time sequence. Perhaps in His humanity, He was not privy to that information. Remember He said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). However, now in His resurrected body, in His place at the right hand of the Father, He surely knows every detail, which He then reveals to John.
My guess is that the sixth seal judgments begin one or two years into the Tribulation. We already experience an increase in seismic activity all around the globe, even in places where these things rarely happen. Eastern Turkey and northern Syria have been continually shaking since February 6, 2023. In the same time frame, other Magnitude 5+ earthquakes have been reported around the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of Lebanon, Israel, Cypress, and others. This, along with the looming world economic collapse, wars and rumors of wars, and the efforts of globalists to bring in a one-world government, is what Jesus called the “beginning of sorrows,” i.e., “labor pains.”[12]
The sixth seal also brings astronomical events. Jesus predicted these too. On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse crossed the United States from the northwest, beginning in Washington state, to the southeast, exiting the South Carolina coast. On April 8, 2024, another total eclipse will cross the southern border of Texas, just below the Big Bend along the Rio Grande, and will take a path northeastward and exit around the middle eastern border of Maine. Its trek will intersect the previous eclipse path at Carbondale, Illinois, which lies in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.[13] Minor earthquakes frequent this area; however, in the winter of 1811-1812, it experienced an earthquake estimated to be between magnitude 7 and 8, and geologists predict another big one in the future.[14] From 2017 to 2024 is seven years – a biblical number of completion. Could 2024 bring a devastating earthquake where X marks the spot that further removes America from end-times prophecy? It is certainly possible. What we do know from Scripture is that earthquakes will play a major role during the Tribulation.
Jesus and John both predict stars falling from the sky. The Greek word translated “star” is astēr, and it refers to any luminous celestial body – a star, a planet, a comet, a meteor, etc. Some have suggested that what John saw were modern incoming missiles falling from the sky. They do look like “falling stars” – meteors. However, neither Jesus nor John employ simile (“like” or “as”) in their descriptions of these falling objects. So, where we can assume that they are not actual stars or planets which would obliterate the earth, we can conclude that these are meteors or asteroids. They do light up when they enter our atmosphere and they do have the potential to cause severe damage. The possibility concerns NASA enough to keep watch on asteroids crossing earth’s orbit.[15]
With all the chaos taking place on the earth during the Tribulation, I am dumbfounded by the attitudes of the people going through these judgments. “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?” (Revelation 6:15-17, emphasis mine). They fully understand the source of these judgments and still they persist in their sin and refuse to repent. Later on, when things get even worse, they not only hide, but they blaspheme God knowing that the judgments come from Him.[16]
Before the seventh seal is broken, there is an interlude that explains what else is taking place on earth during this time. I will examine that later.
Reader, are you prepared for what is coming to the world? You do not need to go through the Tribulation, God’s wrath, that is coming upon the world. Read my page on “Securing Eternal Life,” and ask Jesus to save you from the wrath to come.
Notes:
[13] The New Madrid Seismic Zone | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)
[14] New Madrid Fault Line Could Unleash Catastrophic Midwest Earthquake (prepforthat.com)
Ernie's Musings 