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The Seven Seals
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The second woe is past; and behold, the third
woe cometh quickly. Rev 11:14
The Turks mark 1697 as the fated limit to the
expansion of their empire. But E.B. Elliott
argued that the disastrous campaigns of
1769-1774 against Russia and 1787 against
Austria proclaimed to the world that the
Turkish power was no longer a Woe to Christendom.
But a third Woe was coming quickly.
The First Seal
A Most Unlikely Prophecy
In lonely exile, the last of the apostles had
his famous
vision which opened with a most unlikely
prophecy.
John saw that the Roman Empire was about to
embark on an era of victory, prosperity and
glory.
John's prophecy was unlikely because the Roman
Empire had been on a downward spiral since
Tiberius.
The First Seal - II
The Adoptive Emperors
At the death of Domitian, the Senate appointed an
elder statesman in his place. Nerva was a colonist
from the Island of Crete. He was the first to occupy the
Throne of Augustus who was neither by birth a Roman
or descended from an Italian family.
The First Seal - III
The Laurel Crown of the Conqueror
Nerva's chosen successor Trajan was an able ruler
whose primary interest was in the welfare of his
people and the expansion of the empire. He initiated a
brilliant series of campaigns which pushed the
borders of the empire to their greatest extent.
The First Seal - IV
The Golden Age of the Empire
"If a man were called to fix the period in the history of
the world, during which the condition of the human
race was most happy and prosperous, he would
without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the
accession of Nerva to the death of Aurelius."
The Second Seal
Rule by the Sword
The white horse passed from view and with it passed
the golden age of the Roman empire. Now appears a
red horse. Its arrival marked the end of Pax Romana
and the beginning of an unparalleled era of
bloodshed
and violence.
The Second Seal - II
Rule by the Sword
There went out another horse that was red: and power
was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from
the earth, and that they should kill one another.
The Second Seal - III
The Time of Chaos
Between 235 and 284 there were more than 50
rulers,
most of them generals backed by their troops who
claimed the throne. Only 18 had a legitimate
claim.
The others were "pretenders" or of the short
lived
Gallic empire.
The Third Seal
Economic Oppression
The crushing weight of Caracalla's "iron
scepter" discouraged industry and exhausted
the empire. The stifling oppression effected
the literature, art, philosophy and
architecture of the period.
The Fourth Seal
The Empire in Crisis
The chaos of civil war and the crushing
economic oppression prefigured by the second
and third seals weakened the empire to the
point where it could no longer defend its
borders.
The Sixth Seal
Divine Retribution
The pure flame of the early church had become
a virtual funeral pyre as a remnant patiently
endured trusting in the God who declares
Vengence is Mine.
The Sixth Seal - II
Constantine Becomes the First Crusader
Constantine achieved victory after victory
and his troops were emboldened by the banner
of the cross.
The Sixth Seal - III
The Downfall of Paganism
"The ruin of the Pagan religion" said Gibbon,
"is described by the sophists as a dreadful
and amazing prodigy; which covered the earth
with darkness, and restored the ancient
dominion of chaos and of night."
The Sixth Seal - IV
A Great Earthquake
The final destruction of Jerusalem and the
revolution which took place under Constantine
were the greatest events that have taken
place in the world from the flood to the 18th
century and may well justify the strong
figurative language here used. Adam Clarke
Articles on the Eighth Beast
The Beast of Revelation 17
The eighth beast is the last and most fascinating of
the beasts of the Apocalypse.
Additional Links on the Seals
E.B. Elliot - Horae online
The greatest exposition of the seals of
Revelation
was done by E.B. Elliott in his monumental work
Horae Apocalypticae. You can read this online in
a nice presentation on www.historicist.info.
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