The fact that the so-called New Testament is in reality the natural extension of the Old Testament is proven by the connection of the seals of Daniel 9 and 12, the prophecy of Jesus of Nazareth in Matthew 24 and John’s vision in Revelation 6-8.  In Daniel 9:24 we learn that God has given the prophet a vision and a message concerning the future of the world in general and his people in particular.  In 12:4 God says to him: “But you, O Daniel, SHUT UP THE WORDS (he had heard from God) and SEAL THE BOOK (containing God’s Words and visions) until THE TIME OF THE END (of the age).  Many will (at that time) run to and fro and knowledge will be increased.”  The Almighty has told Daniel to write what he has seen and heard and roll it into a scroll (“book”) and seal it so that it cannot be opened until a future date unknown to man.  According to the signs God gave to warn His people that the time of His Son’s return is approaching, we are now living at the end of those days which began in 31 A.D.  Read The Signs of the End of the Age.  Key word: “Age” or “Signs.”  The Lord tells us that at the time of the end knowledge would be greatly increased and people would be traveling all over the earth, which perfectly describes today’s world.  Daniel writing about the final days of the world solidifies the connection that exists between the two man-separated parts of God’s Word.  There should be no break between the Old and New Testaments.  God’s Word should be one seamless book called the Holy Witness.  In Matthew 24:14 Jesus said this about that ONE BOOK: “This (one/singular) GOSPEL (Word) of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a WITNESS to every nation, then the end will come (He will return).”  Recall that the church established in 31 A.D. is founded on the teachings of both the PROPHETS AND THE APOSTLES (Eph. 2:20).  Recall also “the Scripture” (the Word–Jn. 1:1-4,14) preached the gospel to Abraham, the same gospel that is preached today by God’s true ministers (Gal. 3:8).

Jesus Christ spoke at length about Daniel’s sealed book in the 24th chapter of Matthew and spoke to John about it in chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation where He laid out the history of the world from 31 A.D. until His future return to earth to establish the Kingdom of God.  The seals represented events that would take place during that time which would explain how God would punish sinning mankind.  The seals give us a broad overview of the prophecies concerning the time between the ministry of Christ and the beginning of the Millennium.  In Matthew 24:4,5 Jesus spoke about the future in what has come to be known as the “four horsemen” prophecy.  We must remember that when a horseman rode onto the world scene he would continue riding until the return of Christ to earth.  The following horsemen would simply add to the misery spread world-wide by the previous horsemen.  The first horseman was false Christianity which would later divide false Christianity into two camps: Catholicism and Protestantism that have thoroughly corrupted the world since their respective foundings.  The second horseman represented war.  At any one time there are at least 10 wars going on globally.  The third horseman represented famine.  Today, in spite of our advanced knowledge of agriculture, some 30,000 people starve to death daily, 20,000 of whom are children.  The fourth seal is called “pestilence” which is translated sickness, disease, etc.  I do not need to explain the meaning of this seal to people wearing masks and remaining separated from other people.  This brings us to the fifth seal which revealed what will take place during the Great Tribulation.

Let us pause at this point and take a brief look at the four seals and their effect on mankind today.  As stated earlier, once a horseman begins to ride, he continues to ride until the return of Jesus Christ.  The connection between Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 is clearly seen.  The first horseman–false religion–came onto the scene shortly after the establishment of God’s church in 31 A.D. and continues spread his deadly  today.  Wars then began to break out all over the earth and will continue to do so.  Then came famines that have taken many lives and will take many more.  Then came disease epidemics and pandemics which will grow worse in the future.  Note: Horsemen #’s 2-4 began to ride because of the success of horseman #1–false religion..  They are all still riding because the world has continued to reject God and His Word early on and continues to embrace heathen religions to this day.  This brings us to the present world condition which features false Christianity, wars, famine and disease which were prophesied thousands of years ago and are increasing in both intensity and duration.  This alone tells us where we are chronologically on God’s time table.  Now let us examine seal #5.

In Revelation 6 we find the Lamb opening the seals of the Book (scroll) Daniel had written and sealed with seven seals.  The first seal was removed not long after 31 A.D.  As the world and many in the church (Mat. 24:24) began to follow the first horseman, the other three soon followed in time order.  Before long all four were riding at full gallup throughout the earth and growing ever more deadly as people refused to repent and embrace God and His Word.  The world experienced the rise of false religions from the East and their exodus into other countries, the bubonic plague, World War I,  the flu epidemic, World War II, the Great Depression, the Eboli epidemic, Swine flu, all types of “natural disasters,” and now COVID-19 which, though terrible enough to get anyone’s attention, has not done so and will therefore get much worse.

The Great Tribulation and Seal #5 lie just ahead of us.  I predict that the Great Tribulation will begin within 4-6 years.  In the midst of that 2 1/2 year period of terror, desecration and death Jesus will remove the fifth seal which will bring about the mass martyrdom of God’s true saints.  It is here that so many who do not have God’s Holy Spirit have tried to guess who these people will be and why they will be martyred.  Let us allow the Spirit to tell us God’s Truth about the subject.

To fully understand the activities surrounding the opening of the fifth seal, we must realize that God has promised to take His true saints to a place of safety before the Tribulation begins.  As I mentioned in the previous posting, these are the few (Mat. 7:13,14) who are walking in holiness in this life who will be forced to leave their respective nations.  God will protect them and take them to a safe haven where He will care for them throughout the horror the world will suffer for next 3 1/2 years.  So, some might ask, if God’s true saints are being sheltered during the Tribulation, who are those who will “be slain for (believing and obeying) the Word of the Lord?” as we are told in Revelation 6:9,

These are they who find themselves in the midst of hell on earth and without help of any kind. When reality sets in they will come to recognize the colossal mistake they had made during their pre-tribulation lives.  Some will have been atheists.  Others will have been members of various heathen religions such as Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. who had rejected and ridiculed that heretical group who observed the Sabbath on Saturday, who observed the Biblical Holy Days while rejecting the doctrines and practices of the Institutional Church.  Those in the Tribulation will have been instrumental in forcing those church-rejecting crazies to leave the country.  Some of those facing the Tribulation will be the families, friends and acquaintances of those whom God had earlier taken to their place of safety, which I believe will be Petra in Jordan.   God’s people will have been removed from the Tribulation scene, so why will those suffering through the Tribulation be called God’s people?  And why will they be martyred for the Word of God? Next time. L.J.