The Sixth Seal is the Seven Last Plagues and Christ’s Return.

This article is relatively complex because it requires understanding several parts of the Book of Revelation. The green blocks provide summaries of sections. To reduce complexity further, more detailed explanations are hidden in ‘read more’ blocks.

Overview

Revelation 5 describes what happens in heaven when Jesus arrives after His ascension (Read Article). He received a book that was sealed with seven seals. He breaks the seals in Revelation 6. Each time that He breaks a seal, things happen on Earth. This article discusses the sixth seal.

The first part of the seal consists of natural catastrophes. There was a great earthquake. The sun became black, and the moon became like blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, and the sky split apart. These natural catastrophes are the signs of Christ’s return, as Jesus described in Matthew 24.

In response, in the second part of the seal, the people who had refused to repent hide in the mountains from the presence of God and the Lamb. They ask the question that explains the sixth seal:

“The great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The sixth seal continues in Revelation 7 with an innumerable multitude standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They are the answer to the question of the hiding multitude. This is the Day of Judgment. The sixth seal divides the people of the world between two great multitudes: one hiding in the mountains and one standing before His throne.

Since the current article explains how the sixth seal fits into the end-time events, it gives an overview of such end-time events, as described in Revelation 13 to 20. These events can be divided into the following three phases:

The end-time War – Revelation 13 describes the end-time war in which people are forced to receive the Mark of the Beast. Revelation 14 shows the response of God’s people. They will refuse the Beast’s Mark and receive “the Seal of the Living God.”

Seven Last Plagues – As soon as every person is marked, either with the mark of the beast or the seal of God, the seven last plagues (Rev 15-16) are poured out. 

Christ’s Return – The seventh and final plague is Babylon’s destruction (16:19). It is interrupted by Revelation 17 and 18 but continues in Revelation 19 with a great multitude praising God for judging Babylon. Revelation 19 ends with Christ’s return. Therefore, the seven plagues are followed by Christ’s return. 

This article confirms in several ways that the Sixth Seal is Christ’s Return.

1) Despite the huge earthquake, the people hide in the mountains, more scared of Christ than of death.

2) Since people hide from God in the sixth seal, it must be later than the plagues where people refuse to repent. 

3) The sixth seal separates the Living from the Dead, which is what Jesus said He would do when He returns.

4) The Sixth Seal is similar to Matthew 24:29-30, describing Christ’s Return.

5) The sixth seal is similar to the Old Testament Day of the Lord, which becomes Christ’s return in the New Testament. 

6) This article shows that the Sixth Seal and the Sixth Plague are linked because both refer to “the great day” and that the Sixth Plague and Christ’s return in Revelation 19 are linked because both describe the kings and their armies assembled for war. This again links the Sixth Seal to Christ’s return.

However, this article argues that both the natural catastrophes in the first part of the sixth seal and the seven last plagues are the revenge promised to the souls in the fifth seal (Rev 6:10-11). Therefore, these natural catastrophes must be the Seven Last Plagues.

Lastly, the seventh seal is only a single verse. Since it is so brief, the context must explain it. Since the second part of the sixth seal describes a time when the people realize that they are doomed, the silence of the seventh seal is the destruction of God’s enemies.

Overview of the Sixth Seal

Part 1: Natural Catastrophes

The first part of the seal consists of a great earthquake and signs in the sun, moon, and stars

The sixth seal is the longest of all the seals. It has two parts. The first part is natural catastrophes (Rev 6:12-14). There was a great earthquake. The sun became black, and the moon became like blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, and the sky split apart. Every mountain and island was moved out of its place. [Show More]

These natural catastrophes are the signs of Christ’s return. 

Jesus gave the following sequence of events immediately preceding His return:

There will be a great tribulation as never before (Matt 24:21, 29). Then:
The sun will be darkened,
The moon will not give its light,
The stars will fall from the sky, and
The heavens will be shaken. (Matt 24:29)

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky (Matt 24:30).

Part 2: People hiding from God

In response, in the second part of the seal, the people who had refused to repent hide in the mountains

The people who live in rebellion against God will attempt to hide in the caves and in the mountains “from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev 6:16): [Show More]

“Him who sits on the throne” is the Father. The Lamb is Jesus Christ (e.g., Rev 5:13). 

The “wrath of the Lamb” (Rev 6:16) is paradoxical. The third angel later similarly warns that people who accept the mark of the beast “will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence … of the Lamb” (Rev 14:10). Jesus will not become cruel. He will always love every creature (Rev 4:10-11). But He will execute God’s judgments. (See the discussion of Eternal Torment.) [Show More]

This is the Day of Judgment. 

The hiding multitude then asks the question that explains the sixth seal:

“The great day of their wrath has come,
and who is able to stand?” (Rev 6:15-17) 
[Show More]

Continues in Revelation 7.

The sealing of the 144,000 in the first part of Revelation 7 jumps back in time. 

Revelation 7 begins by describing the sealing of God’s end-time people (the 144000 – Rev 7:1-8). This must precede the worldwide turmoil of the sixth seal.

The innumerable multitude in the second part of Revelation 7 continues the sixth seal. 

The sixth seal continues in Rev 7:9 by answering the question in 6:17 by describing an innumerable multitude who are “able to stand.” They are “standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev 7:9). In other words:

1) The multitude hiding in the mountains and the innumerable multitude standing before the throne describe the same point in time.

2) This confirms that this is the Day of Judgment, for the sixth seal divides the people of the world between two great multitudes: one hiding in the mountains and one standing before His throne. [Show More]

The sixth seal is not literal

Literally interpreted, everything in heaven and on earth disintegrates in the sixth seal. [Show More]

But we should not interpret it literally because, even after the stars have fallen on the earth and all mountains have been moved out of their places, the unrepentant are still alive and hiding in the mountains. These are symbols of great upheaval on earth, which may, of course, include natural catastrophes. 

Overview of End-Time Events

The purpose of the current article is to explain what the sixth seal is and how it fits into the end-time events. For that purpose, this section provides a very high-level overview of the end-time events as described in Revelation 13 to 20. [Show More]

Revelation 13 and 14 describe the end-time war in which people receive the Mark of the Beast. 

Revelation 13 describes the end-time persecution of God’s people. The false prophet will convince the world to make an Image of the Beast (Rev 13:14). In other words, an end-time replica will be created of the situation in the Middle Ages when the Church dominated the European nations. (Read Article). With threats of violence, the Image of the Beast attempts to force all people to receive the Mark of the Beast (Rev 13:15-17). [Show More]

Revelation 14 shows the response of God’s people (the 144,000 at this time). They will refuse the Mark of the Beast and receive “the Seal of the Living God” (Rev 7:2). [Show More]

Revelation 14 ends with Christ’s return (Rev 14:14-20).

As soon as every person is marked, the seven last plagues (Rev 15-16) are poured out. 

The Seven Last Plagues in Revelation 15-16 jump back to before Christ’s return, for they describe the people with the Mark of the Beast as still refusing to repent (Rev 16:2, 9, 11, 21). Since the plagues begin by describing “those who had been victorious over the beast and his image” (Rev 15:2), and since they only fall on “the people who had the mark of the beast” (Rev 16:2), the plagues begin to fall when all people have been marked either with the mark of the beast or the seal of God.

In the sixth plague, demon spirits gather the kings of the world together at Armageddon for “the war of the great day of God” (Rev 16:14, 16). The sixth plague is not Armageddon itself. It is only the preparation for it. This is explained further below.

The seven last plagues conclude with Christ’s return. 

The seventh and final plague is Babylon’s destruction (Rev 16:19). This plague is interrupted by Revelation 17 and 18, which jump back in time to explain the origin, nature, and the end of Babylon. [Show More]

The seventh plague continues in Revelation 19 with “a great multitude in heaven” praising God because “He has judged the great harlot” (Rev 19:1-2; cf. Rev 16:19).

Revelation 19 ends with Christ’s return (Rev 19:11-20:6). The seventh plague, therefore, is followed by or continues into Christ’s return. [Show More]

In summary, the end-time can be divided into three main phases. 

The analysis above shows that Revelation 13 to 19 represents the end-time events as consisting of three broad phases:

      1. The end-time persecution (Rev 13-14),
      2. The seven last plagues (Rev 15-16), and
      3. Christ’s return (19:11-20:6).

The Sixth Seal is Christ’s Return.

This conclusion is based on the following:

1) Despite the massive earthquake, the people hide in the mountains. 

When He broke the sixth seal, there was a huge earthquake, and all mountains were moved out of their places (Rev 6:12-14). However, apparently, Christ has already returned because the people of the world were more scared of Him than of this earthquake, for they attempted to hide from Him in the rocks and caves of the mountains

2) Since people hide from God, the sixth seal must be later than the plagues where people refuse to repent. 

Both the sixth seal and the sixth plague refer to “the great day.” However, while the sixth plague is the preparation for “the war of the great day” (Rev 16:14), in the sixth seal, that “great day … has (already) come” (Rev 6:17).

The sixth seal is also later than the seventh plague. In the seventh plague, the people still refuse to repent (Rev 16:21; cf. Rev 16:9, 11), but in the sixth seal, they hide in the mountains from “the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev 6:15-17). [Show More]

3) The sixth seal separates the Living from the Dead, which is what Jesus will do when He returns.

As discussed above, the sixth seal divides the people of the world between two great multitudes:

      • Those who had refused to repent hide from Him (Rev 6:17) and
      • The innumerable multitude stands before Him (Rev 7:9). 

This is what Jesus said He will do when He returns, “as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt 25:31-32).

4) The Sixth Seal is similar to Matthew 24:29-30, describing Christ’s Return.

Matthew 24:29-30 bears a striking resemblance to the two parts of the sixth seal. While verse 29 is parallel to the first part of the sixth seal, describing the signs in the sun, moon, stars, and heavens, verse 30 is parallel to the second part, describing the response of “all the tribes of the earth” as mourning. Verse 30 explicitly states that they will mourn when they “see the Son of man coming” (cf. Luke 21:25-28; Mark 13).

5) The sixth seal is similar to the OT Day of the Lord, which becomes Christ’s return in the NT.  

Many Old Testament prophets referred to “the Day of the Lord.” [Show More]

The many similarities identify the sixth seal as that Day of the Lord. For example, both include the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, a huge earthquake, and people hiding “in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.” [Show More]

An important similarity is that both the Day of the Lord and the Sixth Seal are the Day of Judgment:

As stated, the Sixth Seal divides the people of the world between a multitude hiding in the mountains and another standing before God’s throne.

Similarly, the Day of the Lord will punish sinners. God will exterminate sinners from this Earth. [Show More]

Since the sixth seal is the Day of the Lord, and since, in the New Testament, the Day of the Lord becomes Christ’s return, the Sixth Seal is Christ’s Return. [Show More]

6) The Sixth Seal is equivalent to 19:19, which describes Christ’s return. 

Revelation 19 describes Christ’s return, beginning in verse 11. In that description, John saw, “The kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse” (Rev 19:19). This verse and the multitude hiding in the mountains in the sixth seal (Rev 6:15-17) describe the same event and the same people because:

Both describe all the people of the world as gathered. Revelation 19:18 describes them as “all men.”

Both are “the great day.” [Show More]

In summary, the sixth seal is Christ’s return, when He separates the Living from the Dead.

The section has argued for this conclusion by showing that the sixth seal:

      • Is later than the plagues,
      • Separates the Living from the Dead,
      • Is equivalent to Matthew 24:29-30, when they see the Son of man coming,
      • Is the Old Testament Day of the Lord, and
      • Is equivalent to 19:19, which describes Christ’s return.

The First Part is the Seven Plagues.

The natural catastrophes in the first part of the sixth seal are the Seven Last Plagues

So, the sixth seal describes a moment during Christ’s return when the people who refused to repent realize that there is no escape from a dreadful fate (Rev 19:17-19). However, as discussed, the sixth seal consists of two parts. For the following reasons, the first part (the great earthquake and the signs in the sun, moon, and stars) is the seven last plagues that precede Christ’s return:

1) Since the second part of the seal is the response of unrepentant humanity to the massive natural catastrophes in the first part, the two parts possibly describe different events.

2) Both the natural catastrophes and the seven last plagues are the revenge promised to the souls in the fifth seal (Rev 6:10-11). To explain:

We can assume that the natural catastrophes in the first part of the sixth seal (Rev 6:12-14) are that promised revenge because they follow immediately after the fifth seal, in which the souls who had been slain for their faith ask God, “How long … will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood?” They are told to wait “for a little while longer” (Rev 6:9-11).

However, according to Revelation 19:2, God will fulfill that promise of revenge through the judgment on Babylon, and that judgment is the seventh plague (Rev 16:19). [Show More]

Furthermore, the third plague is also part of that revenge. [Show More]

Therefore, all seven plagues are the revenge promised in the fifth seal. Therefore, since the natural catastrophes of the first part of the sixth seal are that revenge, that first part is equivalent to the seven last plagues.

3) Both the seventh plague and the natural catastrophes in the sixth seal begin with “a great earthquake” (Rev 6:12; 16:18) and conclude with the destruction of “every mountain and island” (Rev 6:12; 16:20).

Therefore, since the first part of the sixth seal is the seven last plagues, the second part is the return of Christ. A series of articles on the seven last plagues is available.

The Seventh Seal

Since the sixth seal shows the people realizing they are doomed, the seventh is their destruction. 

The seventh seal is very brief. It is only a single verse and says, “There was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Rev 8:1). Since it is so brief, the context must explain it. Since the second part of the sixth seal describes a point in time during Christ’s return, when the people realize that they are doomed (Rev 19:17-19), another article interprets the silence of the seventh seal as the extreme sorrow in God’s heart and the hearts of His people when God’s enemies are put to death (Rev 19:20-21). (Read Article)

Other Articles

The Seven Seals

Other

  • I recommend Jon Paulien’s commentary on Revelation for further reading. For general theological discussions, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.

God’s people are sealed in Daniel’s Time of the End.

Overview

While the first four seals in Revelation 6 describe the timeless realities of the church age, the fifth is a point in history. The purpose of this article is to determine what this important point in history is. 

The Sealing of the 144,000 (7:1-4) also refers to a point in history, namely, when the angel brings the Seal of God from heaven. This is the same point in time as in the Fifth Seal. 

Revelation 10 describes another event at a specific point in history, namely, an angel brings a Little Open Book from heaven, meaning that the church receives a special message. This is also the same point in time as in the Sealing and, therefore, in the Fifth Seal.

Daniel prophecied a period, called the Time of the End. Daniel’s prophecies were ‘sealed,’ meaning they were not understood. But, during the Time of the End, God’s people would understand Daniel’s prophecies.

The many allusions in Revelation 10 to Daniel 12 means that the Little Open Book in Revelation 10 is the promised understanding of Daniel’s prophecies, which God’s people would receive in the Time of the End. 

Conclusion

The Fifth Seal describes Daniel’s End Time, and both the Seal of God and the Little Open Book are brought from heaven during that period.

The Fifth Seal

The fifth seal implies a specific point in history

The first four seals (6:1-8) describe the timeless realities of the Church Age:

The first horseman (the first seal) symbolizes the gospel going out.

The bloodshed, famine, and pestilence of the next three horsemen are the consequences of preaching the gospel.

In contrast, the fifth seal points to a specific time in history after many of God’s people have been killed for their faith but before many more will be killed. At that point in history, white robes are given to those who have already been killed, and they are told to “rest” for a little while longer until the number of their brethren, who were to be killed even as they had been, was completed (Rev 6:9-11).

The purpose of this article is to determine what this important point in history is. 

Time of the End To be identified so specifically, it must be very important. It must be close to the End because it is followed by the signs of Christ’s return (Rev 6:12-17; cf. Matt 24:29). It must be much later than Christ’s ascension because there are four seals between Christ’s ascension and enthronement (as described in Revelation 5 – Read Article) and the fifth seal.

The Sealing

A Point in History

The sealing of the 144,000 (7:1-4) also refers to a point in history. 

The Seal of God is not always available. Revelation 7:1-4 describes a point in history when it becomes available. After four angels have been holding back the four winds of destruction, a fifth angel brings the Seal of the living God to Earth. While the four angels continue to hold back the four winds, the fifth angel seals the 144,000.

Parallel to the Fifth Seal

For the following reasons, the Sealing (7:1-4) is parallel to the fifth seal: 

1) As stated, both describe a point in history. 

Both describe a specific point in history that divides time into the past, the present, and the future. In both, what happened before that point continues afterward. [Show More]

2) Both announce a delay until God’s people are ready

Both announce a delay. In the fifth seal, the souls must “rest a little while longer, and in the Sealing, the release of the winds is delayed.

In both, the purpose of the delay is to allow God’s people to become ready:

Fifth seal: The delay is required to ‘complete’ their brethren (Rev 6:11). This has been interpreted as completion in character, not in literal number. [Show More]

Sealing: The delay is required to seal God’s people (Rev 7:3). 144000 are sealed (Rev 7:4-8). This number must be understood qualitatively, symbolizing the perfection of God’s end-time people, not as a literal number. [Show More]

4) In both, a token of salvation is given to God’s people

Namely, white robes in the Fifth Seal and the Seal of God in the Sealing (Rev 6:11; 7:3). [Show More]

5) Both precede the Sixth Seal. 

Since the Sixth Seal begins with the signs of Christ’s return (Rev 6:12-14) and ends with Judgment Day (Rev 6:15-17) (Read Article), the sealing of God’s people, like the fifth seal, logically precede the Sixth Seal.

6) Both are followed by the Seven Last Plagues. 

This point is very reliant on previous articles but is as follows:

In the first part of the sixth seal, a great earthquake displaces all mountains and islands (Rev 6:12-14). A previous article concluded that this is the Seven Last Plagues (Read Article). Therefore, since the fifth seal precedes the sixth, it precedes the Seven Last Plagues.

Another previous article concluded that the “winds” of Rev 7:1, which will “harm” the earth and sea (Rev 7:3), are another symbol for the Seven Last Plagues (Read Article). Since the Sealing precedes the release of the winds, it also precedes the Seven Last Plagues.

Conclusions

Given these similarities, the Sealing and the Fifth Seal describe the same event from different perspectives. In particular:

1) The Fifth Seal is the point in history when the angel brings the Seal of God from heaven.

2) The ‘completion’ of their “fellow servants” after this point (Rev 6:11) is the same as the Sealing of the 144,000 (Rev 7:3-4).

The Little Open Book

Revelation 10 describes another event at a specific point in history. 

In this chapter, an angel brings something else out of heaven at a specific time, namely a Little Open Book (Rev 10:1-2), meaning that the church receives a special message from heaven. He gives it to John to eat and tells John to “prophesy again” (Rev 10:9-11).

This is the same point in time as in the Sealing and, therefore, in the Fifth Seal.

For the following reasons, the Sealing (Rev 7:1-4) is parallel to the Little Open Book in Revelation 10:

In both, something is brought down from heaven. In the Sealing, it is the Seal. In Rev 10, it is the little open book (Rev 10:1-2).

Both the Sealing and the Little Book are the first of a two-part interlude between the sixth and seventh elements of their respective series. [Show More]

Both describe a point in history, with things happening before that time and continuing after that time. [Show More]

Daniel’s End Time

We expect to find this important point in time also in Daniel’s prophecies. 

Since the Book of Daniel is the foundation on which Revelation rests, and since this point in history is so important in Revelation, we should expect to find it also in Daniel.

Daniel prophecied a period, called the Time of the End, which will conclude with the End of Time.

Daniel’s prophecies were ‘sealed’ (Dan 12:4), meaning they were not understood. But, during the Time of the End, the church would learn the meaning of Daniel’s prophecies (Dan 12:4, 9). Therefore, the End Time is a period and not a point in time. [Show More]

The End Time will conclude with the “End of the Age” (Dan 12:13) when God’s people will be rescued during a period of great distress (Dan 12:1), and the dead will be raised (Dan 12:2, 13). 

Daniel also prophecies a “time, times, and a half” preceding the Time of the End.

Daniel 12 mentions the “time, times, and a half” (3½ times) in the context of the End Time but it is first mentioned as the period when the 11th Horn of the fourth animal in Daniel 7 would persecute God’s people (Dan 7:25). Since the 11th Horn has been identified as the Church of the Roman Empire that survived as a distinct organization after the Roman Empire fragmented and which grew in power to become the Church of the Middle Ages (Read Article), the 3½ times possibly refers to the Middle Ages when the Church reigned over the kings and nations of Europe. That would mean that the 3½ times precede the End Time.

The Little Open Book was brought to Earth in Daniel’s Time of the End. 

The Little Book (Rev 10) symbolizes the understanding of Daniel’s prophecies which Daniel 12:4 and 9 promised would be received in the Time of the End. This is made clear by the many allusions in Revelation 10 to Daniel 12. In brief summary, the allusions include the following:

(a) Both Dan 12 and Rev 10 include an oath made by a supernatural being, standing above the waters, symbolizing the people of the world (Dan 12:7; Rev 10:1, 2, 6).

(b) Both lift their hands to heaven and swear by Him who lives forever and ever (Dan 12:7; Rev 10:5, 6).

(c) Both oaths are about “when the end will come” (Dan 12:6-7; Rev 10:7) and are made in the context of a book that is first sealed and later opened. [Show More]

(d) In both chapters, there are two other beings in the context, namely, the two witnesses in Revelation (Rev 11:3) and one on each side of the river in Daniel (Dan 12:5).

(e) John has to preach about kings, which fits the book of Daniel (Rev 10:11). [Show More]

The Time of the End begins when the angel brings the little book from heaven.

These similarities imply that the book in Rev 10 is the same as the book in Dan 12, which symbolizes understanding of Daniel’s prophecies. Consequently, John’s eating of the little book (Rev 10:10) symbolizes acceptance of the message from heaven, and the “prophesy again” (Rev 10:11) is the preaching of that understanding.

Since Daniel 12 promised that the book of Daniel would be understood in the Time of the End (Dan 12:4), the End Time begins when the angel brings the little book from heaven.

Conclusions

(1) These four prophecies – the Fifth Seal, the Sealing, the Little Open Book, and Daniel’s Time of the End – describe the same period.

(2) Both the Seal of the living God and the Little Open Book are brought from heaven at the beginning of Daniel’s End Time. In other words, God’s people will be sealed during Daniel’s End Time.

(3) The Fifth Seal begins Daniel’s End Time. [Show More]

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