The breaking of the fifth and sixth seals
1. The breaking of the fifth seal.
By breaking the fifth seal, John reveals something that happened in heaven.
Revelation 6:10
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
i. “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.”
The Old Testament states that some of the blood of sacrificed animals was sprinkled on the sides of the altar, and the rest was poured at the base of the altar.
Exodus 29:12
Take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
Leviticus 4:7
The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
Therefore, most of the blood of the sacrificed animals was under the altar. Therefore, we see a strong connection between these words in Revelation 6:9 according to the orders given by God in the Old Testament.
ii. “of the dead”
It is important to identify whose souls are the souls that have been killed, but are still under the altar.
At the time of the rapture, the breaking of the fifth seal, they will be killed.
2. The breaking of the sixth seal.
Revelation 6:16-17
They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us[a] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their [b] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
The ‘great day of his wrath’ mentioned in Revelation 6:17 does not refer to a 24 hour period. It means a time of judgment without a time limit. This period of judgment begins with the breaking of the sixth seal, and will continue until the seven trumpet blasts and the end of the seven bowls of wrath.
Revelation 6:12-14
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.