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Seventh Seal Summary
Most of the content in the Book of Revelation is devoted to a discussion of "the seventh seal" from Revelation 8:1 to Revelation 20:15, including a significant "flashback" in chapters 12-14. The following table summarizes this complex content by chapter and verse as a reference tool. The BRDC Sections refer to specific sections in The Book of Revelation Doctrinal Commentary where these subject matters are discussed in detail. An overview of the complete contents of the Book of Revelation by chapter and verse can be found in the BRDC Table of Contents, which is a separate menu item in this website.
Revelation cites | Description | BRDC Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
Rev 8:1-4 | The seventh seal opens with a half-hour of silence. A solemn Day of Atonement is held in heaven and seven trumpet angels prepare to sound. | §§96-98 |
Rev 8:5-6 | Christ signals for the seven trumpet angels to begin pouring out judgments and plagues on the earth to begin the seventh seal. | §99 |
Rev 8:7-13 | The first four trumpet angels sequentially sound and their worldwide plagues are poured out upon the earth’s resources, but with only limited effect. An angelic warning is given concerning the last Three Woes yet to come. | §§104-108 |
Rev 9:1-12 | First Woe (fifth trumpet angel): The First Woe is a five-month period of spiritual darkness when evil spirits (described symbolically as locusts) are given great power on earth and people either repent or ripen in sin. | §§109-116 |
Rev 9:13-21 | Second Woe (sixth trumpet angel): The Second Woe is the physical battle of Armageddon that will last seven years. Mortal sons of perdition will be destroyed and only people living telestial law will survive. | §§117-126 |
Rev 10:1-11 | Chapter 10 describes John’s vision of the latter-day gathering of saints at Adam-ondi-Ahman to be held in Missouri at the midpoint (3½ years) of Armageddon. His “little book” mission prepares the Lost Ten Tribes for that gathering and for their ultimate return from the north at the Second Coming. | §§146-149 |
Rev 11:1-14 | These verses describe the 3½ year ministry of the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem that will occur after Adam-ondi-Ahman and during the second half of physical Armageddon (Second Woe). This period of 3½ years is called the “Great Tribulation.” The Second Woe will end when the Two Witnesses die in Jerusalem and are resurrected after 3½ days in the midst of a great earthquake. | §§168-178 |
Rev 11:15-19 | Third Woe (seventh trumpet angel): John briefly introduces the Third Woe which will occur quickly after the end of the Second Woe. | §§179-183 |
Rev 12:1-6 | After John’s brief introduction to the Third Woe, Chapter 12 begins a flashback to the premortal existence where John saw the premortal Church of God in the image of a glorious woman. He also saw an apostasy in heaven that foreshadows and mirrors the “Great Apostasy” on earth. | §§194-200 |
Rev 12:7-12 | John saw the premortal war in heaven and Lucifer’s defeat in that war as a foreshadow of Satan’s future defeat at the Second Coming during the battle of Armageddon. | §§201-209 |
Rev 12:12-17 | The flashback to the premortal existence shifts forward in time and from heaven to earth. Satan makes war on the earthly Church of Christ from the time of Christ’s crucifixion until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. John describes the end of the apostolic era as Satan successfully made war on the remnant of saints from Christ’s ancient earthly Church. | §§210-214 |
Rev 13:1-10 | Satan’s war against Christ on earth continues through the instrumentality of the First Beast (Roman Empire) from 70 AD until restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in 1830. These verses describe the power of the Beast during the period of the Great Apostasy, the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, and the Reformation. | §§217-225 |
Rev 13:11-18 | Satan’s war against Christ on earth continues in the modern era with the establishment of Satan’s latter-day kingdom through the instrumentality of the Second Beast and the False Prophet from 1830 until the Second Coming. | §§226-231 |
Rev 14:1-5 | Chapter 14 coincides with the end of the Second Woe when the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem are resurrected and taken to heaven in Revelation 11. After their resurrection, John sees a heavenly vision of 144,000 Servants that have the seal of living God. They stand with Christ on heavenly mount Zion prior to Christ’s first appearance of the Second Coming. | §§233-238 |
Rev 14:6-20 | Seven angels recount the events that bring about the redemption of the 144,000 Servants that stand with Christ on mount Zion. These events include the literal harvest of exaltation-worthy saints and the destruction of fully ripe grapes (sons of perdition) at the end of the Second Woe (physical Armageddon). | §§233-238 |
Rev 15:1-8 | John’s flashback that began in Revelation 12 is now complete and his account continues in Revelation 15:1 exactly where he left off with his introduction to the Third Woe in Revelation 14:15-19. The Third Woe begins with grand sign of the Son of Man immediately before the last seven bowls (“Vial Plagues”) of the Third Woe are poured out on the earth. The 144,000 Servants that stand with Christ on mount Zion sing the song of redemption knowing they are spared from the Vial Plagues that about to befall the earth. | §§252-257 |
Rev 16:1-9 | The first four Vial Plagues of the Third Woe destroy life on land and sea, including many telestial survivors from the physical battle of Armageddon. The first four Vial Plagues mirror the plagues of the first four trumpet angels, but the Vial Plagues are much worse and they occur at least seven years later in time. | §§259-263 |
Rev 16:10-11 | The fifth Vial Plague pours out darkness on the seat of the Beast to begin the spiritual cleansing of the earth and to rid it of evil spirits, who gnaw their tongues for pain and repent not. This is the start of the spiritual battle of Armageddon. | §§264-265 |
Rev 16:12-16 | The sixth Vial Plague gathers evil spirits to Armageddon to prepare them for the spiritual battle of Armageddon. They will be removed from the earth by the righteous kings of the east (Christ’s heavenly host) during the seventh Vial Plague. | §§266-273 |
Rev 16:17-21 | The seventh and final Vial Plague of the Third Woe occurs in these verses, but John provides only a brief summary of a final great earthquake that will unite the continents and a great hailstorm that will continue to destroy all corruptible things, including any telestial-worthy people still alive on the earth. | §§274-279 |
Rev 17:1-7 | An angel provides more details about the seventh Vial Plague, beginning with an explanation of the identity and history of the Great Whore of false religion that will be destroyed during the seventh Vial Plague. | §§280-285 |
Rev 17:8-18 | The angel explains the history of the Beast (both First and Second from Revelation 13), including the relationship between the Beast, the Great Whore, the seven kingdoms of Satan, and the ten kings of Modern Babylon. | §§286-294 |
Rev 18:1-5 | These verses describe the spiritual fall of Modern Babylon at the time the saints gather at Adam-ondi-Ahman and Christ begins to take physical dominion on the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. The saints will redeem Zion during the Great Tribulation, which is the last 3½ years of physical Armageddon. | §§295-296 |
Rev 18:6-24 | These verses describe the physical fall of Modern Babylon in one day during the seventh Vial Plague (Third Woe) at the Second Coming, which causes great rejoicing in heaven. | §§297-304 |
Rev 19:1-8 | The rejoicing and praise of Christ continues after the physical fall of Babylon. The marriage of the lamb to his bride (exaltation-worthy saints) occurs on heavenly mount Zion. The details here supplement the account of the 144,000 Servants that stand with Christ on mount Zion in Revelation 14:1-2. | §§305-308 |
Rev 19:9-10 | The marriage supper of the Lamb occurs on earth during Christ’s first earthly appearance of the Second Coming to the temple at New Jerusalem (Zion) in Missouri. John mistakenly worships his angelic guide. | §§309-310 |
Rev 19:11-18 | Christ makes his second appearance of the Second Coming (to the mount of Olives) with his heavenly host. He defeats the Gentile nations fighting against Jerusalem. Scavengers eat the bodies of the dead as part of the supper of the Great God. | §§311-318 |
Rev 19:19-20 | The spiritual battle of Armageddon continues in these verses as the spirits of the Beast and False Prophet‒with all other disembodied sons of perdition‒are cast alive into the lake of fire where they remain permanently. | §§319-321 |
Rev 19:21 | Christ makes his third appearance of the Second Coming in all the world to destroy the remnant of all telestial survivors still alive upon the earth. The supper of the Great God continues for scavengers to feast themselves on the bodies of the dead throughout the world. This completes the physical battle of Armageddon. | §322 |
Rev 20:1-3 | The spiritual battle of Armageddon ends in these verses with the binding of Satan and his unembodied sons of perdition in the bottomless pit during the 1000-year millennium. They will be released after 1000 years to fight the battle of Gog and Magog during the little season and then comes their final defeat and the end of the temporal earth. | §323 |
Rev 20:4-6 | The first resurrection begins at the Second Coming and continues until the 1000-year millennium. This includes both the celestial and terrestrial stages of the first resurrection. | §§327-337 |
Rev 20:7-9 | The little season takes places after the millennium when the battle of Gog and Magog will be fought until the end of the earth. | §§339-341 |
Rev 20:10 | Satan and his unembodied sons of perdition are cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (outer darkness). | §345 |
Rev 20:11 | The end of the temporal earth: Heaven and earth pass away (die). | §347 |
Rev 20:12-15 | The final judgment of all disembodied and unembodied sons of perdition | §§348-349 |
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