From the Book of Revelation    151 

Church's Passion and Crucifixion in the 25th century. This persecution will 

not be as intense and will not be worldwide, as that later persecution will be. 

    This great persecution and martyrdom of Christians will occur mainly in 

the countries which are occupied or controlled by the Arabs. This area will 

include most or all of Europe, the Middle East (except Israel), and  the 

northern part of Africa. France will suffer greatly. This persecution will 

begin in the latter part of the Forty Years, during the 2030's.  It  will last 

nearly seven years, but the most intense suffering will last only 3  years. It 

is a foreshadowing of that later suffering of the Church,  which  lasts nearly 

seven years, but the most intense part of the suffering lasts 3  years. 

    This terrible persecution and the extreme suffering of so many Christians 

will cause other countries in the world to give their support to the great 

monarch. He will undertake a war to free Christians  from persecution and 

oppression. This war will be successful, but much suffering and death will 

result from the war. The war of the great monarch, which will free the 

nations occupied by the Arab forces, is World War IV and it will take place 

at the end of the Forty Years, during the mid to late A.D. 2030's, sometime 

after the Great Martyrdom of Christians has begun. 

The Sixth Seal (6:12 17) 

     When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great 

earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became 

like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its 

winter fruit when shaken by a gale....  (Rev 6:12 13). 

    When the sixth seal is opened a great earthquake occurs. This is a 

punishment from God for sin and for the refusal to repent from sin. It will be 

a very large earthquake; perhaps affecting many places at once (but I do not 

know where it will occur). This great earthquake will occur in the 2030's, 

sometime after the Great Martyrdom of Christians has begun. 

    The sixth seal also describes stars falling from the sky. This is a metaphor 

for nuclear bombs (including some pure fusion weapons) and a nuclear war. 

Nuclear explosions produce a very intense fireball which is hotter than a star 

and brighter than the sun. Figs falling from a tree is a fitting image; the 

falling figs represent the nuclear bombs. The explosion of a nuclear bomb 

leaves a cloud which resembles a mushroom or a tree. The fig tree represents 

the cloud left by the explosion. 

    Thus, the sixth seal tell us about a major nuclear war. When the fig tree is 

shaken in a winter storm, many figs fall to the ground. Many nuclear bombs 

will be used in this war, so many that the atmosphere will be effected and 

the sun will appear black and the moon will appear blood red. There will be