The seven seals represent the conditions necessary to open the Large Scroll. The opening of which will release the Day of the Lord's judgment upon the earth. It also represents the coming [parousia] of Yeshua and the rapture of the Church on the same day... the two cannot be separated. The rapture, and the Day of the Lord, both happen on the same day - the two are tied together. The rapture always triggers God's wrath in Scripture.
[Mat 24:3 LSB] Now as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming AND of the end of the age [Day of the Lord]?”
[Isa 2:17c LSB] ...And Yahweh ALONE will be exalted in that day
When Yeshua came the first time, He came as the Lamb. When He returns He will come as the Lion of Judah.
When Christ speaks of "the end of the age" or just simply, "the end", He is referring to the Day of the Lord.
Only He can break the seven seals because:
[Act 17:30-31 LSB] “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, [31] because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man [Yeshua] whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.”
When the Antichrist is rendered useless (the "cutting off"), at the appearance of Christ in the Heavenlies, those "who do not obey the Gospel of God" (1 Pe 4:17) will find find themselves within the Day of the Lord.
The Sign of the Day of the Lord
Because of the severity of the Day of the Lord, God has promised to first give the world a sign in the heavens announcing that the day of His wrath is about to begin.
When the cosmological sign of the sun, moon, and stars is given in the heavens, the whole world will be terrified. On the other hand, the reaction of the saints of God will be just the opposite! Christ instructed His disciples:
[Luk 21:25-28 LSB] “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, [26] men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the POWERS OF THE HEAVENS will be shaken. [27] “And then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. [28] “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
When will this sign occur?
The sixth seal is the cosmological sign initiating rapture and the Day of the Lord. These cosmological signs are mentioned throughout Scripture and refer to the coming of Yeshua and the Day of the Lord.
[Rev 6:12-17 LSB] Then I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; [13] and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. [14] And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. [15] Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man HID THEMSELVES IN THE CAVES and among the rocks of the mountains; [16] and they *SAID TO THE MOUNTAINS AND TO THE ROCKS, “FALL ON US AND HIDE US from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, [17] for the great DAY OF their WRATH has come, and who is able to stand?”
(See: Joel 2:10; Joel 2:31; Joel 3:15; Isa 13:9-10; Isa 34:4; Eze 32:7-8; Mat 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luk 21:25-26; Acts 2:19-20)
Joel provides us with what is called the terminus a quo, which means the earliest possible starting point for something. In our case, Joel reveals that the Day of the Lord cannot begin until these celestial disturbances happen first—before the Day of the Lord.
While Joel explicitly specifies that this celestial disturbance will signal the day of the Lord, Jesus adds another piece of information. Matthew 24:29 begins with "immediately after the suffering of those days". What days? The days of great tribulation (verse 21).
In every case the cosmological signs refers to the same thing: the sign that God has promised to give when Yeshua returns and His wrath upon the unrighteous has come.
The Church is rescued from the wrath of Satan (Rev 12:12) and brought into the presence of Yeshua, before the wrath of God [trumpets & bowls] is poured out on those who remain on earth.
The breaking of the seventh seal allows the Large Scroll to be opened and the Day of the Lord commences "for the great DAY OF their WRATH has come, and who is able to stand?". This will occur on the same day as the rapture.
[Mat 24:4 LSB] And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one deceives you.
Definition
What exactly is the Day of the Lord?
The Day of the Lord is described in graphic detail by eight prophets in the Old Testament, mentioned explicitly by Luke, Paul, & Peter, and alluded to by all of the remaining New Testament writers.
The OT writers use the specific term "Day of the Lord" twenty-six times (KJV). Luke, Paul, and Peter use the term in five passages, all of which deal with God's wrath upon the wicked. The concept is alluded to or expanded in many more passages ("that day," "the great and terrible day," or descriptions of divine judgment without the exact wording).
There are additional passages, primarily in Philippians, using the phrase "Day of Christ". This term is generally understood as the event which initiates the "Day of the Lord". While "Day of the Lord" has a negative context, dealing with God's wrath on the wicked, the "Day of Christ" has a positive connotation for the Church. It deals with the rapture and the great hope of every believer. It focuses on blessing, completion of salvation, rewards, and glory for the church.
All instances, whether near/far application of the prophecy, deal with end time events.
The events associated with the second coming (parousia) of Christ and the Day of the Lord are one and the same. The coming of Christ will simultaneously involve the deliverance of the righteous (Day of Christ) and the beginning of God's Judgment on the wicked (Day of the Lord). Yeshua returns as both Saviour and Judge.
Old Testament
In one example, Zephaniah tells us that the Day of the Lord is when God will pour out His wrath on the wicked.
[Zep 1:14-18 LSB] Near is the great day of Yahweh, near and coming very quickly; O the sound, the day of Yahweh! In it the mighty man cries out bitterly. [15] A day of fury is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of clouds and dense gloom, [16] a day of trumpet and loud shouting against the fortified cities and the high corner towers. [17] I will bring distress on men so that they will walk like the blind because they have sinned against Yahweh; and their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. [18] Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the fury of Yahweh; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete destruction, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.
New Testament
In response to mockers who ask "where is the promise of His coming?" Peter responds:
[2Pe 3:4-12 LSB] and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” [5] For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the Word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, [6] through which the world at that time was destroyed, being deluged with water. [7] But by His Word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. [8] But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. [9] The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be found out. [11] Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, [12] looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens burning will be destroyed, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
Note, that nowhere in Scripture is the phrase "in the last days" referring to the end of the Millennium (as some pre-tribbers would have us believe). The phrase is frequently used in relation to the rapture (John 6:39-40, 54), to the resurrection of the dead (John 11:24), and to the end of this present Church age (Acts 2:17; 2 Tim 3:1). Secondly, if it did refer to the end of the Millennium, nobody would be asking questions about Christ's "coming".
It's clear, to anyone without an agenda, as to the timing Peter is speaking of.
This day is referred to us, by Yeshua, as comparable to the days of Noah and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. On the day that Yeshua is revealed, He says, it will be just as it was in the days of Noah and Lot. God will deliver His faithful from persecution (Satan's wrath) and then, on the same day, begin His destruction of the wicked who remain (God's wrath).
Noah:
[Gen 7:11, 13 LSB] In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the great deep split open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. [13] On this very day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,
Lot:
[Gen 19:17, 22 LSB] Now it happened, as they brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away.” [22] “Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
As soon as Lot was safe, yet still able to see... destruction came.
Judgment by Fire
Just as Peter told us, the Day of the Lord will be a fiery, supernatural judgment. Throughout Scripture, fire is symbolic of judgment. That does not mean that this "fiery judgment" is to be taken symbolically though. It will be literal fire (for example: Isa 66:15-16; Joel 2:1-3; Zeph 3:8; Mat 3:12; Mat 13:39-40; Luk 12:49; 2 Th 1:7).
Everyone on earth will know that this fiery calamity on earth is judgment from God (Eze 38:23; Isa 2:17; Rev 6:16-17).
Seventh Seal
Once the seventh seal is broken, the large scroll can be opened and the Day of the Lord's vengeance will begin within half an hour.
The first six trumpets sound in succession releasing progressively more destructive afflictions on mankind. The first three trumpets involve fire. Only the fourth and fifth do not involve fire. See Revelation 8-9.
Purpose
The Day of the Lord is the unleashing of God's wrath on the wicked world. God is equally a God of Holiness, Righteousness, and Judgment. He will not, and cannot, let the wickedness, sin, and rebellion of the children of Satan go unpunished.
Every opportunity will have been given to the ungodly to repent and turn to God in repentance. Those who will be killed during His wrath:
When all is said and done, between the wrath of Satan and the wrath of God, only a third of unbelieving Israel will survive the 70th week (Zech 13:8-9).
