Examining the 24 Elders, the Souls Under the Altar, and the First Seal in Revelation 4–6
I am often informed by folks of 6th/7th seal rapture advocates that the 24 elders are OT saints, that the souls under the altar are praying for judgment to begin, and that the white horse of the first seal is the start of the gospel. This simply can’t be.
Consider the following observations from the Bible.
The 24 Elders
The 24 elders cannot be the OT saints who rose from the dead at the time of the cross. The 24 are rewarded (thrones, crowns, white resurrection robes) which tells us they have already been resurrected before the 1st seal is opened. The OT saints are raised at the second coming.
The Souls Under the Alter
The complaint of the souls under the altar does not prove that wrath hasn’t started. It only proves that wrath hasn’t risen to full crescendo and finished the job. The signs in the heavens (sun, moon, stars, planets) occur at the second coming, at the time of Armageddon (see Joel 2, 3, Is. 13 for example). These waiting souls must wait for full revenge while the judgment of God slowly increases in degree until it explodes in absolute wrath at the second coming.
The White Horse
The white horse can’t be the beginning of the gospel. This is playing with Scripture and ignoring details which forbid the notion. First of all, Revelation was written about 60 years after the beginning of the gospel. Secondly, the church age is “the things that are” (Rev. 1:19), while the rapture, tribulation, the seals, trumpets, bowls, etc. are “the things which shall be afterwards” (Rev. 1:19), which is meta tauta in the Greek. Revelation 4:1, after the letters to the 7 churches, begins with that very meta tauta. It should be noted that the fuller Greek grammars, lexicons, and commentaries point out that meta with the genitive indicates association and meta with the accusative indicates sequence. The events beginning in chapter four follow the church age in chapters two and three.
Eyes Wide Open, Brain Engaged, Heart on Fire
Lee W. Brainard
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