The World To Be Part 9
John S. Torell and Charles M. Thorell
February 6 2026
Just a few weeks after the catching away of all Christians from the earth, life resumes its familiar rhythm.
The world did not collapse. Markets did not fail. Cities did not burn. In fact, by most outward measures, life on earth continues to improve. Prosperity remains strong, and the economic engine of the World Federation runs at full capacity.
Factories operate two shifts, some three, fueled by relentless consumer demand and the massive industrial buildup required to supply the International Defense Force (IDF). New housing projects rise on the outskirts of cities. Transportation corridors expand, medical research accelerates, and the machinery of global civilization hums with confidence.
Life appears good on earth. Yet something has changed. The Christians are gone. They vanish instantly, completely, and without warning. Those who had refused the Universal Resource Number (URN) system, who had lived as fugitives and outcasts, are suddenly absent from surveillance grids, detention records, and execution schedules. Their disappearance is recorded, categorized, and publicly dismissed. Official explanations flow through global media, framing the event as an anomaly connected to extremist instability. Any attempt to interpret the vanishings through the Bible is condemned as dangerous propaganda.
The majority of the population accepts the explanation and moves on. But not everyone. A small number of dissenters remain. They are not Christians. Some belong to other faiths. Some are atheistic. Some are ideologically opposed to centralized control. All of them share one thing in common – they hate the URN system. They reject biometric registration, economic conditioning, and total surveillance. They refuse to submit, not out of worship, but out of defiance.
They expected the Christians to fall first. They did not expect them to disappear. Their absence unsettles them. These remaining dissenters do not celebrate the rapture. They do not understand it. Some dismiss it as coincidence. Others quietly suspect something far more troubling. Whatever conclusions they draw, fear settles in. They realize that the system they oppose has not weakened. It has only gotten stronger. The removal of Christians has not slowed enforcement, but streamlined it.
The IDF redirects its focus. With the largest group of dissenters gone, remaining resistance becomes easier to isolate. Surveillance tightens. Informant networks expand. Camps reopen with new occupants. Executions resume – quieter now, more efficient. There are fewer bodies, fewer delays, fewer complications.
The supreme leader describes the event as a containment resolution, a spontaneous phenomenon tied to extremist instability. The false prophet dismisses any supernatural interpretation with practiced confidence, labeling such claims dangerous mythology. Any suggestion that the event represented fulfillment of the Bible is categorized as extremist propaganda and swiftly erased from public discourse. The general population stops talking about the dissidents altogether because life is good, and pleasant lives have a way of dulling uncomfortable questions.
The charismatic false prophet speaks of unity finally within reach, but beneath the polished language and confident broadcasts, he is uneasy. He and the supreme leader know what the Christians believed. They are familiar with what the Bible says comes next. They understand that the catching away was not judgment, but a divine removal. The rapture was a separation. It was a line drawn cleanly between those appointed to wrath and those delivered from it. They understand the sequence and know that time is not an ally because judgment is approaching.
THE FIRST SEAL
In heaven, the atmosphere is anything but calm. The throne room of God resounds with power and anticipation. Thunder rolls like distant war drums, and lightning traces across the expanse of glory. The air itself is filled with expectation as the Son of God approaches a book sealed with divine authority. Jesus breaks the first seal and the sound echoes throughout history.
One of the four living creatures standing around the throne lifts its voice. The words are not chaotic or angry, but spoken authoritatively, deliberately, and with finality. The time has come.
What is about to unfold on earth is not random, political, or accidental. It is not the result of human ambition or rebellion alone. It is the execution of judgment written sometime in eternity past before the foundations of the world were laid. Heaven has moved and earth is about to feel it.
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
A rider on a white horse appears. The color is intentional. White conveys legitimacy, peace, righteousness. All things the world desires in uncertain times. The rider appears controlled, measured, composed. There is no chaos in his advance. No bloodshed follows him. This is not war.
The rider holds a bow, but there are no arrows. The implication is obvious. It is coercive power without open violence. A bow is a weapon of potential, not impact. It threatens force, implies readiness, signals authority, and does not require immediate bloodshed. The rider does not need arrows because obedience is achieved before resistance forms. Fear does the work.
If arrows were present, this would be an open conflict with visible violence and unmistakable war. But this is the first seal, not the second. This conquest happens through systems, policy, economic leverage, surveillance, normalization, and social pressure. People comply because they understand what can happen – not because it is happening yet.
A crown is placed upon the rider’s head. It is not taken by force. It is not claimed by inheritance. It is given. Authority is granted by God. Yet even now, nothing occurs without divine permission.
Authority is granted by God.
Nothing occurs without divine permission.
The rider does not charge into enemy territory. He moves forward unopposed. Why? Because dissent is already criminalized and the population already equates order with safety. Resistance has been removed by the catching away.
The bow says “I have the power to conquer.” The lack of arrows says “I don’t need to.” On earth, the effects are already visible. It is a counterfeit peace. This is why the horse is white. The world does not see a tyrant. They see stability, leadership, unity, and progress. The bow without arrows allows people to believe the lies.
• “No one is being forced.”
• “This is voluntary.”
• “This is reasonable.”
• “This is for the common good.”
Yet the threat remains constant, invisible, and understood. The supreme leader controls buying and selling, identity, movement, speech, and survival. No arrows are needed when food can be denied, access can be revoked, accounts can be frozen, and existence itself can be switched off through the Universal Registration Number (URN) system.
The bow represents absolute leverage, but the rider does not conquer by killing; he vanquishes by making resistance unnecessary. This first seal does not unleash chaos, but formalizes deception. It is the moment when authority becomes universal, opposition becomes unthinkable, and submission becomes normal. Truth has been removed and fear now governs without resistance.
The World Federation expands effortlessly. Compliance deepens without resistance. The draconian surveillance grows more precise and economic participation becomes centralized. The URN system does not rush. It wraps itself around society. At first, the coil feels almost incidental – it is firm, but not crushing. There is still room for breath and movement, but the tightening inevitably comes. The pressure is unrelenting and absolute. The coils tighten so slowly that each moment feels survivable, right up until it isn’t.
Dissent disappears entirely. There are no protests. No uprisings. No competing truth. People call it peace. They praise the supreme leader for maintaining order after the mysterious disappearance of the dissenters. They credit his wisdom, his restraint, his leadership. The false prophet reinforces the narrative, speaking of unity, progress, and humanity’s ascent into a new era of enlightenment.
And the world agrees. The conquest is silent. Freedom is not taken; it is exchanged. Authority does not crush; it absorbs. Control advances without resistance because the opposition has largely been removed.
The first seal does not bring chaos. It establishes control. Heaven authorizes the final consolidation of power, and a large segment of humanity welcomes it gladly, completely unaware that the peace they enjoy is merely a prelude to judgment.
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”
The bow of this horseman is not about weapons technology; rather, it is about authority that compels obedience without immediate violence. This idea is taught clearly in the Book Daniel and the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians. The Book of Revelation is not introducing something new; rather, it is showing the same thing from a different angle.
Daniel repeatedly describes the Antichrist as gaining power without open conflict. He devours the earth, but not through constant war.
“The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” (Daniel 7:23)
He wears down the saints, but does not kill them instantly.
“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High…” (Daniel 7:25a)
The Antichrist will destroy many by peace.
“And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many…” (Daniel 8:25a)
The Man of Sin comes in peaceably and obtains the kingdom by flatteries.
“And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” (Daniel 11:21)
“He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.” (Daniel 11:24)
Daniel’s ruler conquers by agreements, policy, deception, centralized authority, as well as legal and economic control. That is the bow. A weapon that enforces compliance by threat, not by constant use.
Paul adds the missing mechanism. He discloses the Antichrist operates through lies and is empowered by signs and wonders.
“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)
This Deceitful Man succeeds because truth is rejected and he is allowed to rule the earth because God allows strong delusion. This explains why the bow has no arrows.
“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11)
The world is not subdued by violence, but because it believes and embraces the lie. People comply because they think the supreme leader is legitimate, resistance is dangerous, and submission is reasonable. That is coercion without visible bloodshed.
The Book of Revelation shows the following:
• a white horse (legitimacy)
• a bow (enforced authority)
• no arrows (no immediate war)
• a crown given (permission, not seizure)
Revelation reveals the obvious. Daniel explains how it works. Paul explains why it succeeds.
Jesus visually summarizes what Daniel and Paul have already taught in words
THE SECOND SEAL
Jesus opens the second seal. It is not a new evil, but the inevitable consequence of the first. The rider of the first seal no longer suffices. The world must now be ruled by the sword.
The second living creature announcing seal is not doing so out of curiosity. It is a summons. The Godhead is authorizing escalation and declaring that conflict must occur. The sound that follows this time is not thunder, but a command. The second living creature speaks, and the summons goes forth.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see..
A red horse appears, its color unmistakable – violent, urgent, saturated with bloodshed yet to come. The rider follows the path already carved by the first. He does not blaze a new trail. He traces the same routes, moves through the same cities and nations already unified under the first rider’s authority.
He follows conquest with consequence. Wherever the red horse arrives, peace is taken. It does not fade. It is not negotiated away. It is simply removed.
The calm enforced by fear collapses instantly. The order of society fractures. Tensions that were suppressed now explode. People turn on one another. Neighbors become threats. Groups splinter along every possible fault line—political, ethnic, ideological, economic. The restraint that once held violence in check is gone as they begin to kill one another.
This is not organized war between nations. It is internal violence – civil unrest, uprisings, purges, and retaliations. The system that promised unity now devours itself from within. The authority of the supreme leader that once absorbed pressure can no longer contain it.
This violence is not random chaos,
but judgment authorized by Jesus Christ.
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword..
This may sound ominously familiar in relation to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24, but Revelation chapter 6 is not a different prophecy. It is the same event described from two perspectives – the Mount of Olives versus the throne room of heaven.
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…” (Matthew 24:7)
The word “nation” is ethnos in Greek. It does not refer to political states, but people groups, ethnic groups, cultural groups, and ideological identities. Jesus was not only describing world war, but also an internal fracture.
If this were an instance of conventional warfare, Revelation chapter 6 would emphasize armies and borders and Jesus would emphasize kings and states. Instead, there is an emphasis on people killing one another. Jesus calls attention to ethnos against ethnos. Society will turn inward on itself through riots, civil war, ideological purges, ethnic violence, class warfare, and good old-fashioned neighbor against neighbor hatred.
THE THIRD SEAL
Jesus opens the third seal. The sound that follows is measured and deliberate. It is not thunderous like the first, nor sharp like the second. The third living creature lifts its voice from beside the throne and issues the summons with calm authority.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see..
A black horse appears. Its presence feels heavy, oppressive, draining. The color is unmistakable – the absence of light itself. This rider does not bring chaos or bloodshed, yet dread settles in his wake. The violence of the previous seal gives way to something quieter, slower, and more suffocating.
The rider holds a pair of balances in his hand. They hang evenly, motionless, waiting to be used. These are not symbols of justice or fairness, but of measurement and control. Every portion must now be weighed. Every transaction calculated. Nothing is free. Nothing is abundant.
This rider does not strike; instead, he measures. He does not destroy, but restricts. As he moves forward, the earth feels the shift. Production slows. Supply tightens. Abundance disappears quietly, replaced by careful counting and guarded distribution. Survival begins to hinge on access rather than effort, on permission instead of labor.
The black horse advances and with him comes scarcity that is precise and relentless. There is enough to endure, but not enough to thrive. The third seal is open and the weight of want settles upon the world.
The color black in the Bible consistently represents deprivation, mourning, scarcity, and affliction. This is not death. That will come later. This is economic suffering on a divine scale hardly imaginable.
Balances are scales used for weighing food, not money, revealing food is scarce, rations are controlled, survival is measured carefully, and every purchase is scrutinized. This is famine, but not total annihilation. It is controlled scarcity.
And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
The first seal granted authority. The second seal removed peace. With the third seal, scarcity must be defined or famine quickly spirals into extinction. The Beast system would collapse prematurely and the timeline would end abruptly. As the voice, Jesus sets parameters so that there is enough scarcity to crush, but not enough to destroy, with enough inequality for the supreme leader, the false prophet, the governing elite, and the administrative, military, and economic class that enforces the URN system to preserve their power.
Jesus sovereignly places limits on how far the judgment is allowed to proceed. He sets boundaries on suffering, defines what is touched and what is spared without surrendering control. The rider on the black horse does not decide prices, scarcity levels, what is spared, or what is protected. Those limits are set by the Son of God. This famine is not chaotic, but divinely regulated.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say…
A penny represented a day’s wages a long time ago and a measure of wheat was just enough food to feed a man for a single day. Therefore, if a man worked all day, he could only afford to feed himself, not his family. Hence, this is a slow economic suffocation.
…A measure of wheat for a penny…
Barley was cheaper and lower quality than wheat. It was considered animal-grade food. Three measures of barley could sustain a family, but it was downgrade in terms of food. Survival would replace the once thriving life.
…and three measures of barley for a penny…
…and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Jesus sets restraints so that there is enough scarcity to crush,
but not enough to destroy, but still ensure inequality.
When Jesus opens the third seal, famine follows violence. Food becomes scarce, prices become oppressive, inequality is preserved, and survival is controlled through rationing.
THE FOURTH SEAL
Jesus opens the fourth seal. The fourth living creature, standing near the throne, lifts its voice. There is no urgency in the call or escalation in its tone. The summons is once again steady, resolute, and final. The first three seals remove restraint, peace, and abundance, but the fourth reaches further and touches life itself.
The atmosphere in heaven tightens. The living creatures remain fixed in their places, their faces solemn, their posture unchanged. They have announced judgment before, but this seal is different. The first three seals introduced conditions, but the fourth governs consequence. God has previously allowed deception, removal of peace, and hunger. The fourth beast announces the end of restraint and authorizes death. He does not escalate, but concludes the cycle.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
The earlier beasts systematically escalated the pressure upon humanity. The fourth living creature is different because it harvests what The earlier beasts systematically escalated the pressure upon humanity. The fourth living creature is different because it harvests what pressure has produced. The fourth seal is about reaping and aligns with the spiritual law of sowing and reaping.
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8)
God does not delight in death, but it is the logical conclusion of rebellion fully matured.
“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a)
The fourth living creature is different because it does not introduce a new condition of suffering, but authorizes the consequence of all previous seals. It is a transition from controlled affliction to widespread death.
The next horse that emerges is dramatically different from the previous riders. This horse is pale. Its color is ashen, sickly, and like the color of decay itself. It has none of the brightness of conquest, the fury of violence, or the heaviness of famine. This color speaks of life ebbing away.
The rider is named Death. This is not a title. It is not a symbol. It is a name. And Hell follows behind him.
Death moves first, visible and active. Hell trails in his wake, silent and open, receiving what Death claims. One ends life. The other gathers the result. They do not compete. They cooperate.
They are granted power over a fourth part of the earth. The number is defined and limited with the express purpose because this duo does not represent annihilation, but judgment with boundaries. Enough death to devastate, but not enough to end all life.
Death advances through multiple means.
1. By sword – the violence already unleashed now completes its work.
2. By hunger – famine weakens bodies until survival fails.
3. By death – disease, plague, and unseen collapse spread quietly and relentlessly.
4. By the beasts of the earth – order dissolves so thoroughly that even creation becomes hostile.
The structures that once preserved power begin to crack. The elite are no longer insulated. Supply lines fail. Medical capacity collapses. Security forces thin. Control slips and privilege no longer guarantees protection.
The fourth seal effectively does the job for which the others laid the groundwork. It kills. Not selectively. Not symbolically. But tangibly. A quarter of the earth falls silent under the weight of Death’s passage. Cities thin. Regions empty. Families vanish. Names are lost. Hell fills.
Jesus does not struggle to restrain chaos,
He commands it!
And still, heaven remains ordered. The throne is unmoved. The Lamb stands. The seals continue. Death has been released, but only as far as it is permitted. The fourth seal is open. And the people of earth now understand the true cost of rebellion.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
DEATH AND HELL
Why are Death and Hell separated, but paired together? Jesus is making a theological distinction, not some kind of poetic repetition. Death is an event. It is the termination of physical life. It is the moment when the body fails. It is the separation of body and soul. Death is active because it kills.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…
Each person dies first. Then they are conscious in Hell. The order matters because Death goes first as life is taken. Hell follows as souls are gathered. Hell never leads; instead, it always receives. This shows that as Death is being unleashed on earth, the realm of the dead is expanding rapidly, and judgment is accelerating. This is not a random sequence of events.
Why are Death and Hell released together in the fourth seal? The first three seals affected the conditions of living, whereas the fourth seal touches existence itself. Death does the killing and Hell manages the consequence. This is not metaphor, but a divine judicial process. Even then, Hell is not a final destination.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This proves that Death is an enemy, but not an eternal ruler. Hell is merely a holding place, not a destination. Both will be abolished. They are temporary tools for divine judgment and have no power beyond the authority delegated by God.
By separating Death and Hell, the Bible shows that God governs over process, not chaos. Life ends and every soul will give an account of their time on earth. Judgment proceeds in stages and nothing escapes divine order. Even the mass death produced by the fourth seal is structured, measured, and temporary.
Jesus’ timeline in Matthew 24 is sequential:
• False Christs and deception (Matthew 24:4-5)
• Wars and rumors of wars (24:6)
• Nation against nation (24:7)
• Famine and death (24:7-8)
Revelation follows the exact same order:
• First seal – deception and conquest without war (Revelation 6:2)
• Second seal – peace removed, people kill one another (6:4)
• Third seal – famine (6:5-6)
• Fourth seal – death (6:8)
In Matthew 24:8, Jesus emphatically states “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Revelation chapter 6 is a fulfillment of what Jesus foretold on the Mount of Olives.
Matthew chapter 24 describes exactly what it looks like on earth and Revelation chapter 6 divulges why it is happening in heaven.
Jesus opens the seals in the Book of Revelation.
Jesus described the effects in the Book of Matthew.
It is the same speaker with the same authority and the same timeline in both accounts.
POWER IS NOT ABSTRACT
The Lamb stands at the center of the throne. He does not hurry. He does not debate. He does not react. History waits on Him.
When the first seal is opened, nothing explodes. No fire falls. No armies clash. Authority is released, and the world embraces it for better or worse. Power moves across the earth by permission. A crown is given. Conquest begins without bloodshed. Humanity submits willingly, mistaking order for peace and control for salvation. God reveals that He does not need chaos to rule. Even deception operates only because He allows it to proceed.
When the second seal is opened, peace is removed. It is not lost or eroded. It is simply taken. The calm that held society together collapses instantly. Violence turns inward. Neighbor rises against neighbor. Group against group. The sword replaces persuasion, and blood answers questions that lies no longer can. The world learns that peace is not a human achievement, but a condition God sustains – and removes at will. Jesus reveals that He governs restraint itself. What He withholds, no system can preserve.
When the third seal is opened, hunger follows violence like a shadow. Food is weighed. Bread is priced beyond reach. Survival becomes conditional. Scarcity tightens its grip, but not evenly. Luxury remains untouched. Oil flows and wine is poured. The powerful endure while the masses wither. The famine does not destroy the Beast system, but serves to strengthens it. God reveals that even judgment has boundaries. He defines not only what is struck, but what is spared.
When the fourth seal is opened, Death is named. Not symbolically or metaphorically. Death rides openly and Hell follows to receive what is taken. Authority is measured as a quarter of the earth’s population dies. Life ends by violence, by hunger, by disease, by the unraveling of order itself. Even the Beast structures that once preserved power begin to crack under the weight of divine consequence. God reveals that life and death are His jurisdiction alone. Death moves only as far as it is permitted.
Across all four seals, a single truth becomes unmistakable.
• Evil does not advance independently.
• Judgment does not spiral uncontrollably.
• History does not drift.
Every seal opens because the Lamb opens it. Every rider moves because authority is given. Every limit exists because God sets it.
The seals do not reveal a God struggling to restrain chaos; they reveal a God who commands it.
Power does not rival Him, death does not escape Him, and rebellion does not surprise Him.
Wrath unfolds in order, judgment serves purpose, and suffering answers to sovereignty.
The first four seals declare the following:
1. God does not react to history.
2. History responds to God.
Meanwhile, the Lamb remains standing.
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