Revelation 4-9

Chapter 4 represents a shift into the 3rd and largest section of the book, which focuses on “those things that will take place afterwards”.  John is caught up into heaven, and he sees a vision of the throne room of God (compare Isaiah’s vision of this in Isaiah 6).  Jesus appears as a lamb that had just been killed, and He alone is worthy to open the book, and all of heaven bows down and worships Him.

The book was sealed with 7 seals, and the Lamb of God started opening those seals.  The four horses and their riders went out into the four corners of the earth, heralding war, and famine, and economic disasters.  The 5th seal revealed many martyrs who had been slain for Jesus, and the 6th brought great natural disasters upon the earth.  Then 144,000 Jews are sealed for protection, and a huge multitude of people were gathered around the throne of God, who had come out of great tribulation.

The Lamb broke the seventh seal of the book, revealing another 7 angels with trumpets, who all prepared to blow their horns in their given order.  The first four trumpet blasts brought succeeding forms of destruction and judgement upon the earth, with much life on the earth dying.  The 5th trumpet heralded the opening of the bottomless pit, where demonic hoards came out to torture (but not kill) unbelievers on the earth.  The 6th trumpet released an army of 200 million warriors from the east of the Euphrates river, and another 3rd of mankind died.