THANK YOU, 1 Cor.10:31!
Thank you so much, dear brother, for your true Biblical responses to the erroneous teaching of the rapture at the sixth seal! I was even struck by the opinion that the pre-tribulation rapture is false teaching! So many people come with their own thoughts, theories and assumptions, and of course there are always Scripture verses to be found to confirm them; Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Seventh Days Adventists are a few examples thereof. In this time and age we truly need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern what is right and what is wrong.
At the fifth seal we see that the martyred souls under the altar are crying out to the Lord to judge and avenge their blood. That is not exactly a true church- or christian attitude, far from it (!), meaning that the church is not present anymore, that the age of grace is past (over) and instead Old Testament laws now rule the tribulation believers, and God will renew/restore His covenant with his people Israel.
In Revelation 1:19 the Lord Jesus himself divides the book of Revelation into three (3) parts:
(1) "Write the things which thou hast seen (the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, walking in the midst of the 7 candlesticks, the churches, chapter 1),
(2) and the things which are (the then existing 7 churches, representing the churches since Pentecost until today, chapter 2-3)
(3) and the things which shall be hereafter." (the judgements, following after the rapture of the church, Rev. 4-19).
This verse 19 alone blasts the whole theory of the rapture at the sixth seal to smithereens! It is not for nothing that at the end of every church-letter the warning is given: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches". Moreover, after the third chapter there is absolutely no mention of the church anymore, nowhere! While in the first 3 chapters the church is continually the subject.
The chapters 4 and 5 are the amazing preparations in heaven for the judgements, which will lead to the opening of the seals by the Lamb. I think the first 4 seals give an image of what a God-less humanity will bring to a world without God, without church and without the Holy Spirit. Yes, maybe the first horseman will bring a short-time peace, but it will not last very long, look at all the following destructive horsemen! And the anti-christian world church will persecute and kill all left-behind believers during that horrible time.
Although the apostate church of Laodicea now seems to reign in these last days, I believe that a remnant of the church of Philadelphia is still present today. This is the true church that has little strength, but has been faithful, expecting the coming of the Lord, and open doors are given to them that nobody can close! Rev. 3:10 makes it clear that this true church will be raptured before the tribulation hell breaks loose. I like the Dutch very clear version of this verse, in which (freely translated into English) Jesus says: "Because thou has kept my command to keep expecting Me, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth". How wonderful this sounds!!!
Please Lord, come quickly! May the Lord bless you all in these last hours. I am very much looking forward to meet Him in the air! Maranatha!
In Christ,
Johan