Before the Seventh Seal*

The events in the news this past week show our nation divided, as well as facing military threats from China and Russia. Israel, as well, is suffering rocket attacks from Gaza. Even some organizations claiming to be Christian have begun publishing Anti-Semitic, and other racist hate. A look at scripture will reveal that all of these things fulfill last days prophecies concerning the time before Christ's return. The Book of Revelation describes the unsealing of prophetic events: "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" (Rev. 5:1-2). John wept because no one was found worthy to open the seals of this book, or to even look upon it. However, there was One Who was worthy: "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." (v. 5). That Lion of Judah, the root of David Who was worthy to loose the seals of the book is described as "a Lamb as it had been slain...Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (v. 6-10). Only the slain Lamb Who redeemed many by His blood was worthy to open the seals of the book. Those who were redeemed came from every race and nation, and they were made priests and kings to reign. We will see again that the kingdom of God is made up of all nations of people. Do not be deceived by racist and Anti-Semitic lies, even if they come from those who claim to be believers in Christ. As the Lamb Who was slain opened the first four seals of the book, horses were released upon the earth. The horses brought warfare, murder, famine and economic turmoil, and death and hell over a fourth of the earth (Rev. 6:1-8). The fifth seal revealed those who had been martyred for their faith in Christ, who were crying out to the LORD for vengeance. They were given white robes, and told to wait for a "little season" until their fellow martyrs joined them (v. 9-11). We have seen this death, turmoil, and martyrdom already being loosed in the earth. The opening of the sixth seal is described as being great earthquakes, the sun becoming black, and the moon becoming as blood. Stars of heaven fall to the earth, the heavens depart, and the mountains and islands of earth are moved from their places. When the events of this opened seal begin to happen: "...the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman,, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (v. 12-17). We have not yet seen the events of the opening of the sixth seal occur on earth. The prophet Malachi, and also Jesus, both asked the same question: "Who shall stand when he/the Son of man appeareth?" (Mal. 3:2, Lk. 21:36). We also see in the Book of Revelation that a great harvest of believers, 144,000, called "servants of God". will come out of the twelve tribes of Israel. These servants from the tribes of Israel must be sealed before the angels of God can hurt anything on the earth. (Rev. 7:1-8). Then again we are told, "...a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands..." (v. 9). This multitude from every race and nation worshipped the Lamb. An elder in heaven described them as those "...which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (v. 14). Again, scripture states here specifically that racism is not of God, and contrary to what is often taught in churches, the tribulation will not just be for the Jews. As we saw in Revelation, the Lord has a harvest in these end times from among the Jewish people. The prophet Zechariah also wrote of the Lord's plans for Israel and the nations: "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee." (Zech. 2:10-11. In this same prophetic word, Zechariah wrote that the LORD would inherit Judah his portion, and shall choose Jerusalem again. The LORD has not turned His back on Israel, Judah, which means "the people of praise", or Jerusalem. We have seen the restoration of Israel and Jerusalem in our lifetime. The LORD calls Jerusalem "a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. Because of this, He is jealous for Judah and Jerusalem with great jealousy, and great fury towards any nations that come against them. (Zech. 8:1-3, 9:13-14, 12:4-9). As He said: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." (Zech. 12:9). Not only will the LORD fight for Judah and Jerusalem, but the LORD will bring a spiritual awakening to His people, and they will know their Messiah and see that He is one who is pierced: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zech. 12:10). Salvation comes to Jerusalem as Zechariah wrote: "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness." (Zech. 13:1). This fountain is the fountain of blood shed by Jesus for sin. There will be no doubt as to who that fountain will be: "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." (v. 6). They, like Doubting Thomas, will see their Messiah, Jesus, face to face, and they shall mourn for what they see. One way in which the Savior may be revealed to Israel is through the Shroud of Turin, with its deeply impacting image of Christ, bearing witness to His sufferings, death, and even His resurrection. In these times filled with the signs of the Lord's soon return, we see much hatred against those of faith, along with Anti-Semitism, and other forms of racism. Scripture tells us that there is a deceiver who accuses the brethren of faith, and even causes the brethren to accuse each other, as even the elect will be deceived if possible. However, he is defeated and cast down: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world...'Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Rev. 12:9-11). We saw earlier that martyrdom of the saints occurs when the seals of the book are opened. There may well be martyrdom to face in this era of hatred against faith, not only in the so-called third world nations, but it could also occur here at anytime. Time is progressing quickly, and these things are coming about with a vengeance. We need to know the Word, the facts, and the truth. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 8/7/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and endtimeschool, also on Facebook.