If you are one of those who hate to read the book of Revelation, an end to such hatred is just a click away. What you need to do is get the book, “Seven Seals and the Antichrist Agenda” written by Afolabi Dollars. It is available online.
The publication carefully deconstructs some of the mysteries in Revelation while also creating in the reader a love for it.
Dollars’ in his preamble makes the reader understand that Revelation is the only book of the Bible where it is said ‘blessed is he that reads the words of this prophecy’.
Unfortunately, only a few Christians love to read it. The reason is that it is full of abstract symbols and allegories.
Understanding Revelation
But in 12 chapters, Afolabi Dollars unravels the seven seals (events) and the Antichrist as revealed in the book of Revelation.
He notes that “The book of Revelation is a series of VISIONS shown to John through an angel using FIGURATIVE SYMBOLS and IMAGERIES to explain spiritual realities.”
Having this key understanding according to him, “would make us decode for instance that the “streets of gold” is not literal but figurative in John’s Vision, just like the “Valley of dry bones” in Ezekiel’s Vision.”
The author also notes that “There is a sequential use of the number seven occurring as a peculiar feature about 52 times in the book of Revelation. Among these number seven features are SEVEN stars, SEVEN churches, SEVEN spirits, SEVEN horns, SEVEN eyes, SEVEN trumpets, SEVEN thunders, SEVEN beatitudes, SEVEN signs, SEVEN crowns, SEVEN hills, SEVEN plagues, SEVEN Kings, SEVEN golden bowls SEVEN seals,
The Seven Seals is the concern of the book. He explains that the SEVEN SEALS describes the events before and during Christ’s RETURN to rule the earth.
Dollars painstakingly dissects all the seven seals enumerated in the book of Revelation with a verdict that the 7th seal is the culmination of all the events.
He notes in the introduction that Revelation has been subjected to four different kinds of schools of thought thus giving the book a wide range of interpretations.
End Time phobia
Chapter One of the book captures the End-Time phobia among believers. Dollars explains that what is referred to as End-Time, started way back in the days of Jesus. He gives a graphic description of how people had hoped that Christ would return in the past only to be disappointed.
He then cautioned that “As believers, we are not supposed to be caught up in the end-time phobia because God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, power, and sound judgment, even as we grow in the knowledge of the SON of God who alone should get our attention and be our focus in these last days;”
In chapter two, he analyses “the seals and the four living creatures” Here we are presented with a down-to-earth explanation of what these symbols mean.
He explains that “the four living creatures within the context of John’s vision in Rev. Chapter 4 are COLLECTIVELY God’s agents and heavenly representatives of the created order, who worship and call every living thing to worship the Father, the Being qua being, and founder of the universe.
“They also represent the different expressions of Christ incorporated in the eternal agenda for MANkind and history.”
The White Horse
In chapter three titled, “the white horseman and the Horseman/rider in the first seal” Dollars explains that the white horse is a symbol of dominion and triumph because, in the biblical era, even John the Seer is familiar with the fact that it’s customary for a conqueror to ride in triumph on a white horse, not red, black or any other colour. The conqueror only rides in white horse and not in any other colour, in order to emphasize his dominion.”
He also points out that the “The white horse RIDER/HORSEMAN is neither the Antichrist nor Christ, and to understand that the rider/Horseman is not Christ, we need to decode that in the entire book of Revelation, there are only two white horses riders mentioned, the first is the one we are already checking out in chapter 6 (Book of Revelation), the second is the one in chapter 19( Book of Revelation).”
The author goes on to describe the fiery red horse and horseman of the second seal in Chapter Four. The LAMB’S OPENING of a particular SEAL according to him doesn’t put an automatic end to a previously opened seal, “so the activities of the second seal meet the activities of the first seal already on the ground, and both coexist in operations, the third seal comes and joins the two previously opened seals, the 4th seal also, and it keeps rolling into themselves till it gets to the last seal which is the SEVENTH SEAL”
The Black Horse
He goes further in chapter five to unravel the Blackhorse and the horseman in the third seal. Here he explains that “Black is often connected with famine in the Bible; the BLACK HORSE represents DEPRIVATION, while the RIDER/HORSEMAN represents FAMINE.” He notes that famine will be a major phenomenon in the days before the coming of the Lord.
Chapter six dwells on “pale horse and the rider horseman in the fourth seal”. Here the author notes that the first four seals (events) that will precede the coming of Christ will happen as a continuum. He explains however that the pale horse in the fourth seal represents decay and corruption. He also gives further explanation on the proper interpretation of hell noting that the fire in hell that Jesus talked about is not literal fire as some may want to believe.
Voice of the martyrs
Chapter 7 dwells on the 5th seal. The author makes a distinction between the 5th seal and the first four seals (series of events) He states that the four living creatures stopped calling the attention of John after the first four seals. “There’s a shift in the opening of the SEALS, and here in the 5th seal, it’s the voice of the martyred saints that captivated John’s attention, not anymore the voice of the 4 living creatures.”
He explains further that the 5th SEAL pertains to kingdom MARTYRS adding, “ that an apocalyptic shift occurred in John’s visual representations, doesn’t mean that the 5th seal is not also connected to the previously opened 4 seals like I established in previous chapters, all the whole 7 SEALS are connected and the opening of a seal doesn’t put an end to the events of an existing SEAL”
Chapter 8 of the book discusses the 6th seal. Chapter 9 dissects the 7th seal, chapter 10 talks about the Last Trumpet by the 7th angel while chapter 11 is about the beast and the mark. The book wraps up with a chapter on the Antichrist Agenda in chapter 12.
In the last five chapters, the author goes to great lengths to explain some of the hard nuts in the book of Revelation. He states for instance that “the Antichrist is not coming to directly oppose Christ, but to indirectly replace Christ!”
He also states that “receiving” the MARK OF THE BEAST on the RIGHT HAND means giving THE BEAST (Satanic SYSTEM) the rights and authority to be in control over your life, it means you’re giving the beast maximum COOPERATION to establish its AGENDA, more like giving a right-hand of FELLOWSHIP and acceptance. It also means many would irresistibly be in PARTNERSHIP with the beast.”
Appraisal
The book is undoubtedly an invaluable contribution to the body of knowledge and specifically to a better understanding of the book of Revelation. The author’s efforts and painstaking examination of the series of symbols and metaphors in the Book of Revelation are commendable.
There are several layers of truth embedded in the 112-page collection. The language is fluid and interactive. There is strong evidence of independent scholarship in the work. The book is a treasure that every Christian would do well to read.
Review by Gbenga Osinaike
Interested readers can get a copy through this link:
