The events predicted in the seals of the book of Revelation should not take serious students of Bible prophecy by surprise given what is going on globally right now. Some speculate that these seals are currently open, while others believe they are yet to be opened and are awaiting more severe fulfillments in the future.

Both may be correct as a repeated pattern is building to a crescendo. The seals are not just a list of random events, however; they open to reveal a chain reaction of eventualities with a common root cause.

Unsealing the root cause of these events, as seen in vision by the apostle John, highlights for us the love and mercy of the Creator. The disasters coming are not sent as punishments by a deity bent on vengeance; rather, they are the natural consequences of humanity’s choices. The red horse, whose rider carries a deadly sword, is universally interpreted to represent war. War is the result of human greed and is not instigated by the Prince of Peace. Humanity covets pleasure without expending the work that is necessary to obtain it and with which it was cursed after Eden. Greater pleasure for oneself is instead obtained by forcibly taking and using the resources that others rightfully earned. 

Wars are begun when resources are limited – and the most coveted resource of all is energy. As a former petroleum industry insider, I can confidently say that the needed supply is not keeping up with demand, and future inventory is far lower than what many analysts predict. It may not appear that we are reaching a critical juncture because the elites of big business, the political class and the media are desperately trying to hide this from our attention. Demand is being artificially suppressed with lockdowns and a wishful transition to supposedly renewable energy. The climate change propaganda is just that—designed to take our focus off the inevitable decline of fossil fuel availability.

Their efforts are wasted on those who can see that, in reality, the fight over declining resources has already begun as indirect warfare engulfs much of the world. Even now, the present conflicts are beginning to escalate into wider, direct confrontation. All war requires and destroys resources and is financed by debts which need surplus energy to repay – and that simply does not exist. Debt spirals out of control and thus war is linked to economic turmoil. The rider of the black horse carries his scales, weighing the balance of the global financial system.

While more money and resources are transferred to those promoting and profiting from war, the majority suffers as needs go unmet. Famine ensues from wars because farmers are prevented from planting and harvesting, and the transport of food and other supply chains is disrupted. The costs of basic nutritional necessities skyrocket. Jobs are eliminated. Physical and mental health both deteriorate during war.

History has shown that wars and pestilence often occur together. The reason for this is due to the immunity of the population being reduced through inadequate nutrition and health. Such was the case with the Spanish Influenza, a contagion that killed as many as double those killed in active combat during World War I. As deadly as war is, it is more fitting that Death is the name of the rider of the pale, sickly horse. When the horses have ridden out, Revelation predicts that one-quarter of the world’s population will have been killed. With just over eight billion people alive today, that means the death of over two billion people, a truly staggering loss of life. 

But this coming great tragedy should not be blamed on the Creator or His people of peace. Rather than repent of their greed, most of humanity will turn on others. The after-effect of World War I was a severe economic hardship for the German people – and the Jews were blamed. Hatred, once kindled, was fanned into a terrible inferno of genocide with the Holocaust. Likewise, the very next seal to be opened is still part of the chain of consequences begun by the horsemen. The seal is opened and many martyrs – the followers of the Messiah – are blamed, persecuted and killed.

These saints cry out for deliverance, and the next seal describes terrible geologic catastrophes, which are the cover for their rescue. There is only so much blood, from the time of Abel until now, that the earth will soak up before the rocks themselves will cry out against such violence. This seal describes a sequence of natural catastrophes whose analysis goes beyond the scope of this article. In brief, there is a great earthquake in which mountains and islands are moved. A large enough earthquake to move mountains would certainly be associated with violent volcanic eruptions that may explain the darkness which veils the heavenly luminaries. 

It is at this point in the chain reaction of misery, described by the seals, that the Creator steps in, and not before. He is not the cause; rather with great love He sends the Messiah once again to be the solution. When “the face of Him who sits on the throne” is seen, instead of turning to their Creator for rescue, those who chose self say, “to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us’” (Rev 6:16). At the coming of Yeshua to earth, those who are still unrepentant choose their own death rather than rescue.

They are judged by their own actions. They have chosen greed and war. They have caused economic pain, famine and pestilence. They persecuted the followers of the Messiah, the people of peace. Rather than face the Truth, they turn towards certain death and are destroyed as the chain reaction of their own choices reaches its crescendo.

Today, it is essential that we choose a different path. That path may seem hard at times, but there are promises to claim the Creator’s protection through war and pestilence. “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Ps 91:7). His provision is certain: “Bread will be given him, his water will be sure.” (Isa 33:16).

Now is also the time to share the message of the love and mercy of the Creator as brought to us by our Messiah: “for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” (John 12:47). Catastrophes are coming – now, more than ever, is the time for us to ensure we are living in deep, intimate relationship with Yeshua our Rescuer.