Billy Crone in defending pretribulationism as you can see in the video below (starting at 10:10) argues fallaciously that since Jesus opens up the seals, therefore the seals must be God’s eschatological wrath. In other words, in his thinking Jesus cannot be sovereign and have good purposes in his divine decree for the persecution of his Church as depicted in him opening up the seals. I have refuted in the past the notion that the seals are God’s wrath, a topic for the record that Crone will not publicly debate. For Crone if the seals are expressions of man’s wrath or Antichrist/Satan’s wrath then God cannot have any involvement in them (tell that to Job!).
It’s like the proverbial Baptist pastor who runs down to the local hospital when one of his parishioners gets injured and immediately says, “Don’t worry, God had nothing to do with it.” If God had nothing to do with it then he is powerless when Satan acts and as such God concedes to Satan’s will. Not only is that the worst pastoral counseling for those suffering, indicating that God has no power and purpose in suffering, it is first rank heresy.
Crone’s seals’ interpretation stems from his larger dualistic theology. His interpretation, whether he is aware of it or not, commits the ancient heresy of dualism, where it is thought that God and Satan are sovereign independent powers fighting it out over the ages and into the last days. God happens to win in the end, but Satan can thwart his will.
God and Satan are not independent powers in the Bible, nor in the book of Revelation. God in his infinite—and unquestionable wisdom (be like Job and cover your mouth)—uses evil and suffering to bring about his good purposes (e.g. “As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.” (Gen 50:20; cf. Acts 4:27–28).
One other note, Crone does not mention specifically the fifth seal. Mr. Crone are you saying then that God’s wrath is unleashed against believers of the fifth seal? Crone actually does believe this because in his twisted view of the nature of the Church and atonement since the fifth-seal martyrs missed the rapture these blood-bought believers during the Tribulation period are not protected from God’s wrath.
Twisted, isn’t it? All in the name to protect the holy-grail of this doctrine of man: imminence.
