What is the placement of the seven seals?

Many have made the wrong assumption that because there are seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, etc. each one corresponds with one of the seven periods of time. The seven letters (Revelation, Chapters 2-3) do indeed correspond with each of the seven periods of the Gospel Day. However, many of the other series are not so. The seal series is one of these. 

The seal series portrays a depiction of the spirits that ultimately produced religious systems. Thus, the seals had to precede the systems. Therefore, the seal (the Holy Spirit revealing the spirits) is shown in a period before the actual system they produced is shown arising. Bear in mind, each series is not necessarily portraying the exact same truths; they are presenting different aspects of the truth.

When you look at the horses of Revelation, Chapter 6, it is revealed in Zechariah 6:5 that these represent "spirits." These horses and their coloration reveal the type of religious spirits that they are. 

 The First and Second Seals: The Holy Spirit (represented by the white horse) and the spirit of unbelief (represented by the red horse) were both working in the first portion of the Gospel Day (A.D. 33-270). The Holy Spirit instituted the church on the Day of Pentecost, and the spirit of unbelief gave rise to the pagan Roman Empire as the first opposing force of the church. 

The Third Seal: This seal is portrayed by the black horse (the spirit of apostasy) and his rider. This spirit was working from A.D. 270 to A.D. 530, producing the Dark Ages. The system this spirit produced was Roman Catholicism.

The Fourth Seal: The opening of this seal introduces the pale horse, which represents a mixture of light and darkness, of truth and error. It is the spirit of compromise, and it gave rise to the system of Protestantism. This seal symbolizes the period of time from A.D. 530 to A.D. 1530. 

The Fifth Seal: Every one of the predominant spirits in the first four seals was portrayed by a horse. However, the fifth seal is a variation. During this time (A.D. 1730-1880), the predominant message was holiness. Yet, the saints continued to be bound in the Protestant system and God's true people were divided.

The Sixth Seal: The sixth seal mentioned in Revelation, Chapter 6, does speak of the same time period as the beginning portion of Revelation, Chapter 14. They also correspond with the Philadelphian letter in Revelation, Chapter 3. The time period is A.D. 1880 to A.D. 1930.

The Seventh Seal: The opening of the seventh seal in Revelation, Chapter 8, lines up with the Laodicean letter of Revelation, Chapter 3. The time period is A.D. 1930 to the end of time (the Consummation).

When Revelation talks about the "seal" being "opened," it is a portrayal, in figurative expressions, of the Spirit of God bringing understanding. When Christ saw the time was right, He loosed the Holy Spirit (the "seal") to bring spiritual understanding. In the opening of every one of these seals, Jesus was actually letting the Holy Spirit help people to see spiritual conditions in their particular day as God saw them.

Earl R. Borders

From the  May 2023 issue of The Gospel Trumpeter