• HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE END OF THE AGE AND THE HARVEST WILL HAPPEN AFTER THE FIFTH

TH SEAL?

To answer this question we must go back to the middle of Daniel's 70th week when the Antichrist desecrates the temple and declares himself God. At this time the beast is loosed from the bottomless pit or the abyss and
under Satan's direction indwells the Antichrist causing him to become a ruthless, demonic possessed human being who is also known as the beast. The deceptive mask of the Antichrist comes off and the opening salvos of
the Great Tribulation begin. The Jews in particular and eventually the entire God believing world will be under siege. In Matthew 24:9 Jesus says " 9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and
you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the
increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

During this onslaught of humanity by the Antichrist forces, Jesus opens the fifth seal (Revelation6:9) and John sees an altar under which are the souls of those who had been slain because of their stand on the word of God
and their strongly held testimony. This group inquired of the Lord how long will it be until the inhabitants of the earth are judged and our blood avenged? They were told that they must wait a little longer until the number
of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. In other words the Great Tribulation and the killing has to continue for yet a little while.

Meanwhile back on earth, the carnage is continuing and is so successful that it becomes necessary for the Lord to cut short those stressful days for the sake of the elect else no one would survive. That is, the killing
machine was so well honed that if it wasn't shut down it would completely annihilate the elect (the ones the Lord has chosen). Mark 13:20: 20If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the
sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.

The next thing we see is the sixth seal being opened. Revelation 6:12: 12I 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, 13and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

A parallel statement with added information is found in Matthew 24:29-30 " 29"Immediately after the distress of those days " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with
power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Again in Mark 13:24-26: 24"But in those days, following that distress, " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25the stars will fall from the sky, and the
heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 26"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the
four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Additional references well worth the reading may be found in Joel 3: 14-16, Joel 2:10, and Isaiah 13:10.

We can now see a sequence of events occurring.

1. The Great Tribulation is cut short.
2. The sixth seal is opened resulting in a number of cosmic disturbances
3. The Son of Man appears on the clouds of the sky.
4. The Son of Man sends his angels out to gather the elect from the four winds.
The next thing we see is John looking around only to see a great multitude that no one could count, coming from every tribe, nation, people and language, all standing before the throne.
Then John gets a question put to him by one of the elders. John is asked who these folk in white robes are and from where did they come. John says to the elder, don't ask me, you
already know who they are..
The elder goes on to say that this unnumbered mass are the saints who have come out of the great tribulation and because of their testimony have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. To this
end they are allowed to stand before the throne of God, serve him day and night in the temple, have eternal protection and care from the Lord, never again be hungry, thirsty, nor have the sun beat upon them and the Lamb
(Christ) will be their shepherd and lead them to springs of living water. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:9-17: 9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were
wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11All the angels were standing around
the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and
strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!" 13Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?" 14I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who
have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who
sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their
shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Now we can see how the harvest will be at the end of the age and after the fifth seal. The harvest and the end of the age occurs at the same time as the saints are gathered from the earth. We call this gathering together the
RAPTURE OF THE SAINTS. And since it occurs when the sixth seal is opened it necessarily occurs after the fifth seal which is the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

"THE END OF THE AGE" WILL NOT HAVE OCCURRED BEFORE THE FOUR HORSEMEN RIDE

The end will not have occurred because in:

Matthew 24:4-6: 4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive
many. 6You will hear of wars and rumours of wars (White Horse/Antichrist/1st Seal, Red Horse/War/2nd Seal), but see to it that you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Mark 13:5-7: 5Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.
7
When you hear of wars and rumours of wars (White Horse/Antichrist/1st Seal, Red Horse/War/2nd Seal), do not be alarmed. Such things must
happen, but the end is still to come.

Luke 21:8-9: 8He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. 9When you hear of wars and revolutions (White
Horse/Antichrist/1st Seal, Red Horse/War/2nd Seal), do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

Jesus goes on to say the end will not have occurred when in:
Matthew 24:7-10: 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines (Black Horse/Famine/3rd Seal) and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death (Pale Horse/Death/4th, 5th Seal), and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and
hate each other,

Mark 13:8-12: 8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines (Black Horse/Famine/3rd Seal). These are the beginning of birth pains.
9
"You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10And the gospel must first be
preached to all nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death (Pale Horse/Death/4th, 5th Seal).

Luke 21:11-19: 11There will be great earthquakes, famines(Black Horse/Famine/3rd Seal) and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
12
"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13This will result
in your being witnesses to them. 14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
16
You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death (Pale Horse/Death/4th, 5th Seal). 17All men will hate you because of me. 18But not a hair of your head will
perish. 19By standing firm you will gain life.

The events about which Jesus was speaking will occur at the beginning and as far in as the middle of the 70th Week of Daniel.....but the end will not have come yet.