This is a condensed summary of a very detailed study of the letters, trumpets, bowls and seals of The Book of Revelation which goes verse by verse through the relevant sections of the Book. The Interpretations in the study and the summary below are based on the replacement of the numbers and Biblical symbols in the Biblical text with their interpreted meanings.
The seven seals appear to summarise the Church age from the viewpoint of a series of enfolding events. The opening of the seals reveals the state of God's people at their various stages, what is in store for them (declared by The Trumpets) and what the outcome will be (the Bowls) during that period in time. The opening of each seal details the successive external forces that would be at work, both collectively on the church as a whole, and individually, in the life of the followers of Jesus. They are called seals, because the events spoken of were sealed or hidden away, having been determined by the foreknowledge of God, but their contents hidden and unknown until they came to pass, or are revealed in prophecy, as is the case here.
The Trumpets are the declarations of the key events of that era relating to the followers of Jesus, both collectively and individually. They delineate the conditions which would characterize the successive stages in their progress.
The bowls represent what is "poured out" on the people of that era, and are therefore the consequences or outcome of the events taking place at that time.
The church at Smyrna is one of only two of the seven churches that God did not criticize or point out any shortcomings in their service of Him (the other was Ephesus). The church is commended for its works, and tribulation, and poverty, their letter acknowledges "the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." There is historic evidence that Paul's claim of being a Jew was hotly conested among the Jewish christians of the 1st century; it was at the centre of the dispute that led to Paul being thrown out of the church at Ephesus and subsequently by all the churches of Asia, so this may be a reference to their stand on the matter of Paul and his teaching.
Whether it was a reference to Paul, or to others who caused trouble in the fellowship, we do not know. What we do know is that Paul claimed to be a pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin, yet he preached that the Law of Moses did not apply any more and had been abolished (Ephesians 2:15), that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law (Romans 3:28), and that the Law was given by the disposition of angels (Acts 7: 53) rather than by God Himself as the Torah states. No person who is a true Jew would believe or teach such things as they are totally opposed to the principles of the Jewish faith. Hence, Paul would have been seen by true Jews as one who says he is a Jew, but is not.
The warning that the church at Smyrna would be reviled and slandered may be a reference to the opposition from other Christian fellowships that may have disagreed with their stance on Paul, but this is only conjecture. That the church at Smyrna would soon face tribulation, including being thrown into prison and for some, and being put to death, indicates that the period of time covered by the second set of "Sevens" was most probably the latter half of the 1st century, as the prophecy of the persecution of Christians is given as warning of what was to come.
An enemy sows weeds (tares) in among the wheat to destroy the crop. The farmer leaves the two to grow side by side, and separates the wheat from the tares upon harvest. In this series of parables, Jesus identifies the good seed as the word of God, so what Jesus is saying here is that, hot on the heals of him sowing the good seed of the word of God into the field (those to whom the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached), unbeknown to those left to take care of the field, an enemy of the owner of the field would sow seeds of tares among the wheat. The two would then germinate and grow side by side. The fact that tares have also been sown would only come to light at harvest time, when the fruits of each plant shows its true identity.
If we are correct in our speculation as to the identity of the one who claimed to be an apostle but wasn't, and was tried by the church at Ephesus and found to be a liar (see Letter to the church at Ephesus), we may also have identified who it was who sowed tares among the good seed. So, if we tie in this, the second parable with the second church, what it seems to be saying is that, hot on the heals of Jesus having taught the true gospel, someone is going to come undercover and plant seeds of an alternate gospel. It will look and sound like the gospel Jesus taught, and will only be able to be identified as a counterfeit gospel when the crop has reached maturity and bears fruit (outworkings of the characteristics of the seed). Who then sowed this seed? There seems to have been no doubt in the mind of James the brother of Jesus, whose "Epistle of James" in the New Testament is a step by step renunciation of certain key doctrines presented by Paul in his letters to the various churches, which now form a major part of the New Testament - James even uses the same Old Testament scriptures that Paul uses to discredit Paul's doctrine of salvation by faith.
There went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat on it a peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given to him a great sword.
Interpretation: Red signifies persecution; a horse signifies strength and Power in Battle. "Earth" signifies the place or nation involved in the prophesy. The second seal therefore reveals that the land of God's people (at that time, Judea and surrounds) will be invaded by a strong army, that will result in the deaths of many on both sides, and that that the land of God's people would no longer be a place of peace.
Summary: The land of God's people will be invaded, resulting in its destruction, and death of many. These events were also prophecised by Jesus in Matthew 24, and came to pass in the seven years of tribulation edured by Go's people between 67 and 73 AD.
A mountain is cast into the sea, a third of the sea turned to blood, a third of living creatures in sea died, third of ships destroyed.
Interpretation: A mountain in prophecy is a powerful religious faith people build their lives upon. The sea is a wide area of inhabited land some distance away, presumably the then known world. Thus John sees a major religious force on fire, drowning and its ability to spread its message ( symbolised by ships) gone. Fire represents the power of the Word of God in judgement. Could this be a reference to what Jesus prophecied in Matthew 24: "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down ... when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place ... for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be ... so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors ... verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." In hindsight, we know that all things Jesus prophecied came to pass and that the generation he was addressing when he said that did not pass until all those things were fulfilled. The mountain being cast into the sea appears to be a reference to the events of 68-73 AD, when Israel was decimated, the Hebrew faith as taught and practiced up until that time ceased upon the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, =and both Jews and Christians (God's remnant/third) were scattered throughout the then known world.
Summary:
The first Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Revolt, resulted in the destruction of Jewish towns, the displacement of its people and the appropriation of land for Roman military use, The destruction of Temple in Jerusalem resulted in Judaism (the mountain) in its existing form was wiped out. After the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE, various sects, including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots and Essenes, vanished. Christianity survived, but by breaking with Judaism and becoming a separate religion; in the long term, the Pharisees survived but in the form of Rabbinic Judaism (today, known simply as "Judaism").
Sea turned to blood, everything in the sea died
Interpretation: As the letter to the church at Smyrna indicates, the second era would see the beginning of a period of persecution against the followers of Jesus. The persecution would later subside when the Christian faith was adopted by the Roman government as the official religion of Rome, although with other tragic results. By the end of the first century the Christian church had left its first love to become mingled with paganism. This falling away from true Christianity eventually led into a period of religious apostasy that would last for many centuries.
Summary: The message proclaimed by the second trumpet and the outcome for the church and the followers of Jesus (the second bowl) are almost identical. The first Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Revolt, leaves the Jewish nation in tatters.
33 AD - 73 AD. The first century church. As the letter to the church at Smyrna indicates, the second era would see the beginning of a period of persecution against the servants of Jesus Christ. The Christian church is now centred outside of Israel and is strongest in Greece and Italy. Great persecution, particularly from the Roman Government, has hit the church, resulting in the martyrdom of many apostles and believers.
Chapter 8: The Third Era of the Church AgeDesign by W3layouts
