THE FIFTH SEAL continued.

Revelation Chapter 6

VERSE 11 “Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while (A MICROCHRONOS) longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”

SARDIS

A.D. 1371 is as obvious a date in the history of John Wycliffe as A.D. 1160 is in the history of Peter Waldo.

In late 1370 there is a Papal bull against Wycliffe ordering him to silence. He ignores the bull. Instead, he comes out with a tract against the Pope. This gains him favor with the King of England who is in a running battle with Papacy against the demands for tribute money. The combination (late 1370 into 1371) of the Papal bull and the favor of the English King set Wycliffe in a position of great prominence which he took advantage of to proclaim all kinds of (temporarily) well-received truths.

Rev 9:5 and 10 add to the strength of the above date. If the “five months” (150 years) be added to 1371, it carries us to A.D. 1521 — the date of Luther’s excommunication.

It is interesting to note that in the cases of Waldo, Wycliffe, and Luther, it is a major event IN THEIR LIVES which seems to mark the beginnings of their respective Church periods. Previously, a major historic event seems to mark the date. This may simply be due to the Lord’s foreknowledge that history before Waldo would be insufficient in detail to allow us to find dates by events in the life of an individual.

Rev. 6:11 is another clue from the Fifth Seal regarding the length of Sardis. It requires a little BACKWARDS calculation to be meaningful. The passage seems to be a question from saints who had completed their courses inquiring of the date when the Lord would avenge their blood on them who “dwell on the earth” — a symbolism for the establishment (Papacy and its civil conspirators). We DON’T KNOW when they are asking this question — except that it is DURING the Fifth Seal. But we can calculate the date since:

1. We know it is a “little season” (micro Chronos) that they must yet “rest” (sleep). Why “micro” precedes “Chronos” is a valid question which, to our knowledge, has not yet been answered. We are assuming that 360 years are still intended.

2. We know when the Lord intended His casting off of Babylon. (A.D. 1878)

Thus, we can begin with 1878 (the casting off of Babylon AND the resurrection of the sleeping saints) and measure BACKWARD 360 years. This will bring us to A.D. 1518 — a remarkably important date in church history when Luther nails his objections to the church door in Wittenberg.

This LITTLE item is of GREAT IMPORT for us in calculating the date of the end of Sardis and the beginning of Philadelphia. Since this question occurs in the FIFTH Seal — even though it be on a date remembered for Luther — we must assume that Philadelphia had not yet begun. It would begin with Luther’s excommunication at Worms in A.D. 1521, which is BOTH 150 years from Wycliffe and 360 years from Waldo.

It is possible that “micro” (little) is added before “chromos” not as a change of time, but as a psychological comfort. While the period will, indeed, be 360 years, it will seem “little” in that the sleeping saints will not experience the passage of time. It is like a mother putting her child to sleep saying “Morning will be here in just a little while.” She is not changing time; she is imparting comfort.

The fact that this event of the Fifth Seal is at THE CLOSE of the Sardis period, and the fact that much of the Sixth Seal also deals with events TOWARD THE END of Philadelphia, leads to the conclusion that the Seals represent events TOWARD THE CLOSE of each Church period. This makes sense in that when the “Seal” is taken off our personal experiences (i.e., when we begin to understand what has happened to us), it is AFTER the experience is over or, at least, near its end.

Hence, the Seals SEEM TO REPRESENT a looking back by brethren of a given period to realize the total meaning of their Church period. This is helpful in trying to interpret the Seventh Seal which gives no clues regarding its timing. The best explanation it’s PROBABLY one which puts it at the end of Laodicea.

We move on to the Fifth Trumpet in our next post.