Does the Day of God's Wrath Begin During the Time of the Seventh Seal? -Sam A. Smith

Does the Day of God’s Wrath Begin
During the Time of the Seventh Seal?

While it may not be possible to be dogmatic on this point, the day of the Lord (which includes the divine wrath) seems to begin during the time of the seventh seal (Rev. 8:1-6). Consider the following reasons. Of the three major passages from which it is possible to discern any tribulation chronology (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:3-31; and Revelation 6-19) the only passages that specifically delineate elements of the tribulation as “divine wrath” are Revelation 6:16-17 (spoken after the events of the sixth seal) and 15:1-16:21 (in regard to the seven bowls of wrath). Revelation 6:16-17 says,

…and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has [is]come; and who is able to stand. [Explanation in brackets added]

John’s statement in Revelation 6:16-17 is made after the terrifying astrophysical event which occurs during the time of the sixth seal. Whether it is spoken in an “actual” or “anticipatory” sense is not known [Gr. elthe “is come” is 2^nd aorist, indicating definitive (rather than past) action]. It seems likely that the sixth seal is the final warning of the wrath to come with the opening of the seventh seal. Remember, the two witnesses will have been prophesying the coming day of the Lord for some time before this event happens. When the astrophysical event occurs during the time of the sixth seal, it will convey an unmistakable message: “Time has now run out”—even those who reject Christ will be fully aware of the fact that divine judgment is imminent. While it is tempting to include the sixth seal as part of the day of the Lord simply because of the nature of the event, and the fact that it is so similar to the first four trumpets (which are clearly divine wrath), from a purely literary standpoint, it is clear that the intended break in the flow of events falls between the sixth and seventh seals, not between the fifth and sixth.

There seems to be a profound qualitative shift with the opening of the seventh seal. Consider the following. In Revelation 7:1-8, John records information revealed to him concerning the sealing of the Jewish witnesses. Why are the 144,000 Jewish witnesses sealed at this point (between the sixth and seventh seals)? If the sealing is some form of protection from at least some of the effects of divine wrath, does the time of their sealing not suggest that the divine wrath is yet to come? It is perhaps not without significance that from this point forward, God’s witness in the world becomes the domain of these Jews, twelve thousand men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We see also that immediately after the sealing of these witnesses, John describes the great multitude of saints in heaven, of every nation, tribe, and people; a multitude so great they are without number. Who are these people, and where have they come from? Why are they described here, between the sixth and seventh seals? When John finally comes to the breaking of the seventh seal (Rev. 8:1ff.), our attention is immediately arrested in the first verse, for here John records something of great significance that is said in relation to no other seal; he wrote, “And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” How could there be “silence” in Heaven? What sound is in Heaven other than the continual praise of an infinitely worthy God? Was there ever silence in Heaven since the creation of the world? We don’t know, Scripture doesn’t tell us of any other such occasions; but one thing we do know is that God is communicating something to us in the most powerful imagery imaginable: Something is about to happen that is unlike anything else in this period, or in world history, or (so far as we know) in cosmic history. As John proceeds with his description, we see neither horses called forth as in the first four seals, nor circumstances merely described as in the fifth and sixth seals, but we see seven angels who stand before the throne of God, each given trumpets. We also see another angel holding a golden censer with much incense, and added to it the prayers of the saints from the golden altar that is before God. We have seen this altar before; it is the same altar that is mentioned in 6:9, from which the saints, who were so cruelly killed (after the breaking of the fifth seal), made their petition to God for vengeance (wrath) upon those who dwell upon the earth. The imagery is clear. God is now ready to judge the world through the undiluted outpouring of His wrath. The implication is unmistakable, what has happened up to this point is that God has allowed evil people (with the help of demons) latitude to manifest their nature as never before in history. They have made war, caused destruction and death, and killed the saints. God now intends to judge them by an unprecedented outpouring of divine wrath. It is also worth noting that the activities recorded as occurring during the time of the first six seals are what one might call “ordinary.” That is to say, they are the kinds of things (qualitatively) that happen in the course of human history. But the elements of the seventh seal seem altogether of a different quality: devastating destruction from space, an ocean destroyed, a poisonous substance released contaminating much of the earth’s fresh water, a third of the sun and moon and stars stricken, a global demonic plague, demons released to provoke a war killing a third of mankind, loathsome sores on all mankind (except the sealed 144,000), life in the seas perishing, scorching heat from the sun, darkness over the earth, and finally Armageddon at which Christ will personally return to slay His enemies. One cannot help but see that there is more than a quantitative difference between these events and those that precede it—there is a profound qualitative difference.

To the above we need to add two additional observations. 1) In 2 Thessalonians 2:1‑9, Paul clearly teaches that the day of the Lord cannot begin until sometime in the second half of the tribulation period; he says,

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come, until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceived those who are perishing. They perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness”

In this passage, Paul states that the day of the Lord isn’t going to begin until after the Antichrist is “revealed” and the great “falling away” (NASB “the apostasy”), or “rebellion” takes place. Some have interpreted the “falling away” as a veiled reference to the rapture, and the revealing of the Man of Lawlessness as a reference to the appearing of the Antichrist at the beginning of the period. However, Paul clearly intends for us to understand that the “revealing” of the Lawless One is his revealing in the temple, and that event, according to Daniel 9:27, occurs not at the beginning but at the midpoint of the tribulation period. Since verses 3‑5 are all one sentence in the original and must be read together, and the grammatical structure requires us to understand that the “falling away” and “revealing” are temporally related events, the associated “falling away” or “apostasy” to which Paul refers must be the apostasy that will take place in conjunction with the Antichrist’s revealing in the temple. If we look for a Scripture parallel to these events we don’t have to look far. In Matthew 24:3-25 the Lord outlines the events of the tribulation. In verses 4-8 he outlines the events of the first half of the period, and in verses 9-14 the events of the second half, with what appears to be a recursion (jumping back) to the midpoint beginning in verse 15 (see Sam A. Smith, What the Bible Says About the Future, Figure 7.4, p. 175). The thing we need to notice is that the particulars of the events given by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 is the same set of particulars given by Christ in Matthew 24:9-25. The Lord said the abomination in the temple will be accompanied by false miracles and spiritual deception (v.24) and will be followed by a great persecution and martyrdom of the saints (v.9), along with a great “falling away” from the faith (vv. 10‑13); apparently not all who profess Christ will be willing to suffer and die for Him. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 describes the same set of events (the revealing of the Antichrist in the temple, with false miracles and spiritual deception, and the associated “falling away” or “apostasy”). If we allow Scripture to interpret itself, we see that both Jesus and Paul were describing the same set of events. That being the case, the day of the Lord (and the wrath associated with it) does not begin until sometime in the second half of the tribulation period. 2) The event which occurs during the time of the fifth seal (the martyrdom of believers) seems to indicate that the period of divine wrath has not yet begun. The events of the fifth seal, recorded in Revelation 6:9-11 (cf. Matt. 25:10), involve the martyrdom of many, if not most, of the saints living at that time during the tribulation. How can the suffering and death of perhaps millions of God’s faithful be attributed to a direct act of God—especially an act characterized as “divine wrath” (which by implication must be “just”)? The problem, of course, isn’t that believers are going to die (believers have died for their faith in every generation); the problem is whether or not God makes His redeemed the objects of His wrath. Unquestionably, divine wrath is by nature “active” rather than passive. If the event that happens during the time of the fifth seal is divine wrath, then this would depict God actively making His redeemed the objects of His wrath. If on the other hand, the martyrdom occurring at this time represents an event that God has sovereignty decided to allow, it is the direct causes (Satan, his agents, and evil men), not God, who are responsible for this evil. That the martyrdom during the fifth seal represents moral evil allowed by God, rather than divine wrath executed by Him, can be seen from the fact that the martyred saints beseech God for justice in avenging their deaths at the hands of evil men (Rev. 6:9‑11). To maintain that this event is divine wrath would be to imply that God is the active cause of this evil against the saints. If God righteously punishes the evil committed during the time of the fifth seal (which He does in Revelation 8:1-6, esp. v.3, cf. 6:9-10), how can it be maintained that the fifth seal is God’s righteous judgment upon the world? If the event that occurs during the time of the fifth seal does not represent divine wrath, then it seems likely that the day of the Lord has not yet begun by that time.

When we recognize that the day of the Lord clearly doesn’t begin until after the midpoint of the period, sometime after the time of the fifth seal, and we see the qualitative change between the seventh seal and what precedes it, we have good reason to believe that the day of the Lord (and the wrath of God) begins during the time of the seventh seal.

Published at: http://prophecy.biblicalreader.com

Adapted from What the Bible Says About the Future

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