Here is something I told 'Doc' on lookupfellowship.com under the subject 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.'
Doc, you are right. There is nothing in the book of Revelation that says the "opening of the seals has to wait until tribulation time;" although there are some principles in the seven seals that can be applied to all times, including ours.
I heard a long time ago about something called the 'law of double reference.' This states that Bible prophecies can have two meanings, that is, prophesying about two different events in the same prophecy. From what I have seen, it should be called the 'law of multiple reference,' because there are a lot of prophecies in the Bible that have applied to multiple situations in multiple time periods.
The general context of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ goes as follows: John the apostle on the isle of Patmos in prison for the witness of Jesus Christ (then current times). Next, our Lord speaks to John through the Holy Ghost and gives John the message of the seven churches. At this point, the book of Revelation starts overlapping in time. When Jesus was talking with John on Patmos, there were seven churches in seven cities in Asia. I can't remember their names right now, so I won't try.
In any case, not only does the message Jesus gives John refer to current events, it also refers to periods in, from our vantage point, history that speaks of the spiritual state of the churches from the time that Jesus ascended into heaven up to current time. All things written of the churches in the book of Revelation are verifiable. There are articles related to this very subject, so you can verify what I am saying for yourself.
The last church mentioned, which is in Revelation 3, is the Laodicean church. Jesus chastised this church for its moral relativism and spiritual bankruptcy. The church of Laodicea was more concerned with making money than with gathering spiritual truth. They said some things that were sin were not sin, which our Lord Jesus hates. They also were indifferent to doctrinal truth as Jesus being the only way to Heaven. Some people think that Jesus can get you and me to heaven, but Wicca is the way for them.
Proceed now to chapter four. 1 "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." Notice in verse one and two that John hears a voice that sounds like a trumpet him telling him to "Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." The Bible says John was "immediately in the spirit." This is our Lord Jesus Christ calling John to Heaven, a.k.a. the Rapture.
Given that chapters 1-5 are in a chronolinear order, with overlapping as I have already noted, the book of Revelation should be taken as chronologically linear, meaning that when one event occurs, the next event should be taken as happening after.
You are correct that that there have been antichrists, wars, pestilences, and famines in the past, even as they are now. However, the coming of THE antichrist in the first seal should not be taken to mean that it is the beginning of the tribulation. When Jesus opens the first seal, it is Satan's flesh and blood son being brought into world recognition. This, I believe, will happen very shortly after the Rapture, because a lot of people will be very scared, and looking for someone to tell them what is happening.
The actual beginning of the Tribulation occurs when Antichrist gets Israel and the Muslim world to sign a peace treaty for seven years, i.e., Daniel's seventieth week: "...and the people of THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 AND HE SHALL CONFIRM THE COVENANT WITH MANY FOR ONE WEEK: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:26, 27; caps type mine)
I haven't heard the tradition that Revelation 5 occurs immediately after Jesus ascends to Heaven to God's right hand. I believe it to be false, however, because Revelation chapter 5 does not show Jesus preparing a place for us. I think the most solid case would be that Jesus has finished preparing a place for us, as he said he would when he walked the earth, and is now, in Revelation 5, about to issue the judgments on mankind that we deserve.
Thanks for voicing your thoughts on the subject. It's very hard to find anyone who wants to talk about prophecy. I really enjoyed it.
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