THE SIXTH SEAL IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?     Revelation 6:12-17

The sixth seal is fulfilled at the Second Advent of Jesus.

When Christ shall come, the earth will tremble before Him, and the heavens will be rolled together as a scroll, and every mountain and every island will be moved out of its place..‘And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.’     Signs of the Times June 20 1895

After these signs, John beheld, as the great event next impending, THE HEAVENS DEPARTING AS A SCROLL, WHILE THE EARTH QUAKED, MOUNTAINS AND ISLANDS REMOVED OUT OF THEIR PLACES, AND THE WICKED IN TERROR SOUGHT TO FLEE FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE SON OF MAN.     Great Controversy 334

THE SEVENTH SEAL FOLLOWS THE SIXTH SEAL

And when he had opened the seventh seal, THERE WAS SILENCE IN HEAVEN ABOUT THE SPACE OF HALF AN HOUR.     Revelation 8:1

This is the last of the seven seals of the Book of Revelation. The sixth seal describes the scenes upon this earth, at the end of the Time of Trouble – just before the Second Advent of Jesus.

This seventh seal refers to the silence in heaven when Jesus comes forth at His Second Advent, with all His holy angels with Him, to gather together His elect from the four corners of the earth, so that they can reign with Him throughout eternity. Heaven will be emptied of ALL its angels at that time, and this is why it is said that there will be silence in Heaven.

There is a special reason why Heaven will be emptied of all the Holy angels when Jesus comes. Apart from the fact that not one angel would want to be left behind, there is another reason. Every child of God on this earth, going right back to Adam and Eve at Creation, and right through to the final close of human probation, has had his or her own personal guardian angel to watch over them , and care for them in this life. At the Resurrection of the saints, at the Second Advent of Jesus, the first being to greet each child of God as they are raised up from the grave will be their own personal guardian angel. So every angel of heaven will have to come back with Jesus at His Second Advent.

Every redeemed one will understand the ministry of angels in his own life. The angel who was his guardian from his earliest moment; the angel who watched his steps, and covered his head in the day of peril; the angel who was with him in the valley of the shadow of death, who marked his resting place, WHO WAS THE FIRST TO GREET HIM IN THE RESURRECTION MORNING – what will it be to hold converse with him, and to learn the history of divine interposition in the individual life, of heavenly co-operation in every work for humanity!    Education 305

As you know, in Bible prophecy, each day stands for a year.

And..thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.     Ezekiel 4:6

After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know My breach of promise.     Numbers 14:34

About the space of half an hour, therefore, in Bible prophecy, would be about 7½ days. [There are 360 days in a Bible year and there are 48 half-hours in each 24 hour day. Therefore the space of half an hour would be 360 divided by 48, which is seven and a half days].

The Second Advent of Jesus, when every eye shall see Him, will be over a period of about half a day, as His Advent is first seen as a small black cloud in the east. The return back to heaven by all the redeemed, with Jesus and all the angels, after the saints have been raised to meet Him in the air, will be over a period of 7 days.

Soon our eyes were drawn to the east, for a small black cloud had appeared, about half as large as a man’s hand, which we all knew was the sign of the Son of man. We all in solemn silence gazed on the cloud as it drew nearer and became lighter, glorious, and still more glorious, till it was a great white cloud. The bottom appeared like fire; a rainbow was over the cloud, while around it were ten thousand angels, singing a most lovely song; and upon it sat the Son of man.     Early Writings 15,16

We all entered the cloud together, AND WERE SEVEN DAYS ASCENDING TO THE SEA OF GLASS, when Jesus brought the crowns, and with His own right hand placed them on our heads…. Angels were all about us as we marched over the sea of glass to the gate of the city.     Early Writings 16,17

The reason for this period of time is that only those who have kept God’s Ten Commandments will be able to enter through the Gates of Heaven, and have a right to the Tree of Life.

The nations that have kept the truth enter in to the city of God, and a voice is heard, clear and distinct, ‘Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the City.’ [Rev. 22:14].     Sermons and Talks Volume One 34

During this 7 day period of time, from the Second Advent to the entering into Heaven by all the Redeemed, every saint who has died as an honest Sunday-keeper, not having heard and realized the truth about the Seventh-day Sabbath, will have kept a true Bible Sabbath with Jesus and all the angels on the way back to Heaven, and will enter there – through the gates into the City – as a Sabbath-keeping Commandment Keeper.

One final point we need to mention. When Jesus comes back again, with ALL His heavenly angels with Him, the only One who will stay behind in Heaven will be God the Father. There is a special reason why the Father stays behind, and it is explained in this following statement:-

The sacrifice of our Saviour has made ample provision for every repenting, believing soul. We are saved because God loves the purchase of the blood of Christ; and not only will He [the Father] pardon the repentant sinner, not only will He [the Father] permit him to enter heaven, but He, the Father of mercies, WILL WAIT AT THE VERY GATES OF HEAVEN TO WELCOME US, TO GIVE US AN ABUNDANT ENTRANCE TO THE MANSIONS OF THE BLEST.     Bible Commentary Vol. 7 950

God the Father, just like the prodigal son’s father in the parable that Jesus told, will be standing at the Gates of Heaven, to welcome back with open arms all the redeemed but previously prodigal sons and daughters of this earth, who have been restored to Heaven’s favour by the precious blood of His Son.

Oh, what a wonderful day that will be.