The End

Seven Seals

Seven seals in the book of Revelation outline the entire pe-

riod of tribulation. Inexplicably, the sixth seal seems to be at

the very end, for the events that coincide with its “opening”

appear to be the same events that take place at the end of the

tribulation: The sun turns black, the moon turns red, the stars

fall, the sky recedes, the mountains move, and men hide (Rev.

6:12-16). Yet the sixth seal is opened before the seventh seal,

which contains the seventh trumpet, heralding the end time

events that bring in the Day of the Lord. This presents an

enigma. How can we have the Day of the Lord both at the

middle of the tribulation and at its end? As shown above, the

Day of the Lord begins after the multitudes are gathered in the

valley of decision, to await the Battle of Armageddon (Joel

3:14).

One plausible answer is that there is a proclamation at the

middle of the tribulation, a warning if you will, that has some

of the same signs as the Day of the Lord. The prophet Zephani-

ah associates a voice with the Day of the Lord, which could be

a type of preceding proclamation:

“The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and haseth

greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man

shall cry there bitterly”

(Zeph. 1:14) (KJV).

This voice then, preluding the Day of the Lord, apparently

acts as a warning three and one-half years before the actual

event. It is at the sixth seal (not the end, or day of the Lord)

that people will say to the mountains,

“Cover us”

and to the

hills,

“Fall on us”

(Hos. 10:8; Luke 23:28-30; Rev. 6:16).