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The Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible describes a lamb opening a book sealed with seven seals, each causing an apocalyptic event. The interpretation of this story varies from literal to metaphorical, with disagreement among Christians and no definitive meaning.
The seven seals are a set of elements referred to in the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible. In Revelation, a lamb is deemed worthy to open a book or scroll closed with seven seals. Each seal precipitates an event of an apocalyptic nature. For those who take the Book of Revelation as literal truth, these events and the opening of the seven seals signify the beginning of the final end for human life on earth. While some see this story as a prophecy, there are also many historical, metaphorical, and otherwise less literal interpretations of the seven seals.
As the Christian Bible tells, at the time of the Apocalypse there is a book or scroll held by the Lord, and this book is sealed with seven separate seals that must be opened by a worthy person. The Lion of Judah is determined to be worthy to break the seven seals that bind the book. This lion is actually a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes that was killed as a sacrifice, still bearing the marks of that sacrifice. In some interpretations it is said that this lamb is Jesus Christ, and in others that he is simply a worthy prince.
As the lamb proceeds to break the seals on the book, each seal brings forth an event. The first four seals bring out the four horsemen of the apocalypse. These are, in order, the white horse with bow and arrow that brings religious conquest; the red horse with a sword that brings war and strife; the scaly black horse that brings famine and drought; and the pale horse that brings death. The Christian Bible claims that each of these horses and their riders are sent to these tasks by God to bring about the apocalypse and divine judgment.
After the four horsemen, the fifth seal produces a vision of Christian religious martyrs who were killed for speaking the word of God. These martyrs cry out for vengeance and judgment upon those who live on earth. Each of the martyrs is given a white robe and told to wait a little longer, because those who should be punished will be.
When the sixth seal is broken, there is a great earthquake and the physical landscape of the world is highly disturbed. The sun turns black and the moon turns to blood, as the stars fall from the sky, the sky is freed of its contents, and the mountains shift. Also, as a result of this sealing, 144,000 of God’s servants from various tribes are sealed on their foreheads and clothed in white. This is sometimes understood as the Rapture, in which the worthy are lifted up to heaven. Those selected servants are destined for an eternity free from suffering.
Finally, the opening of the seventh seal first causes a half hour of silence, then begins the sounding of the seven trumpets by seven angels and the final judgment. Like the seven seals, each of the seven trumpets heralds an event, and so this begins another set of seven. While all seals are apocalyptic, the seventh seal is especially thought of as the beginning of the end.
Even in Christian thought there is much disagreement about the proper interpretation of this part of the Bible. There is a sliding scale of Christian interpretation, ranging from those who believe the account is accurate prophecy to those who believe this section of the Bible is purely symbolic. Some people who are otherwise strong adherents of the Christian Bible have had doubts about the text, including Martin Luther and John Calvin. For those reading the text from a non-religious perspective, the seven seals can be interpreted symbolically in many ways when read in conjunction with the rest of the Bible and stories from the period. While there are many theories from many perspectives, there is no definitive and exact truth about the meaning of the seven seals.
