REVELATION 6

THE SEAL JUDGMENTS BEGIN

 

In chapters 4 and 5, when John was caught up to Heaven he was transported ahead in time as well as space to that future momentous day when Christ shall receive his kingdom from the hand of his Father. Standing at that event, John saw Christ take a scroll from his Father's hand. Here in chapter 6, the Lamb begins to open his scroll breaking off each of its seven seals one by one. As each is broken, the amazing drama of its unique, future, preordained event or events will unfold before us. Before we begin this chapter let's take a moment and talk a bit about the concept of the Tribulation it will describe.

Time-wise, the Tribulation will last seven years. It is divided into two parts, each consisting of three and a half years. The last three and a half year segment is called the Great Tribulation. The scriptural basis for these time periods are discussed in Appendix B. During the seven-year Tribulation, three great series of judgments will come upon the Earth from the Lamb. They are called the Seals, the Trumpets and the Bowls. Each of these contains seven judgments and the last judgment in each series introduces the first judgment of the next series. So, the breaking of the seventh Seal introduces the first Trumpet judgment and the blowing of the seventh Trumpet will introduce the first Bowl judgment. After the pouring out of the seventh Bowl, Christ will return to Earth with great power and glory to rule and reign here.

The gospel accounts that contain Jesus’ words about the coming Tribulation, are Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 17 and 21. The material we find in those scriptures exactly parallel the much-expanded version that we find in Revelation 6 through 19.

When Christ breaks the first seal off his scroll the Tribulation period will commence on Earth. The removing of the first five Seals will result in indirect judgments on Earth. When these judgments occur, the world may not realize that they are of supernatural origin or from Christ. People may assume that the terrible things they are experiencing are just due to fate. The sixth Seal, however, will be the first in a series of direct supernatural judgments from the Lamb. It will be a real eye opener for earth-dwellers. During the spectacular judgment of the sixth Seal we arrive at the beginning of the second half of the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation. The first six Seals take up all of Revelation 6.

The coming Tribulation is referred to by:

......................Daniel as "the 70th week" (Daniel 9:26)

......................Jeremiah as "the time of Jacob’s trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7)

......................Joel as "the great and terrible day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31)

......................Jesus as "Great Tribulation" (Matthew 24:21)

......................Paul as "the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" (Romans 2:5)

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THE 1ST SEAL BROKEN ... A WHITE HORSE RIDER

Rev 6:1-2

"Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the [NU adds ] seven seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."

Click to see "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" picture

6:1-2

When the Lamb broke the first seal of his scroll, John saw the first of the famous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride forth upon the earth. The scene has now shifted from Heaven down to Earth but the event itself was triggered from above. The Lamb's first Seal judgment came forth in the form of a man. In symbol, John saw him ride forth on a white horse carrying a bow (as in bow and arrow) and he received a crown, after which, he immediately went out conquering and to conquer. Notice that we are not given any explanation as to this man's identity. That is because the reader is expected to understand his symbol based on previous knowledge and study of the scriptures. Who is he? He is the symbol of a future person and events related to him that has been predicted in the Bible in several places. The symbol itself is an oriental one, depicting a military conqueror. In chapter 19, we will see Christ himself riding a white horse but that is the only similarity between the two. This rider is not Christ for the following reasons:

  • 1. It is Christ who sends this rider forth.

    2. This rider appears at the beginning of the Tribulation; Christ will appear at its end.

    3. This rider uses conventional weapons, a bow; Christ will fight with the sword of His mouth (19:15).

    4. This rider wears a victor’s crown, stefanos (stephanos); when Christ appears, he will be wearing many diadems, diadhmata (diademata) (19:12).

    5. This man initiates wars; Christ will end them.

    6. This man goes forth unnamed; but, when Christ appears, he will be wearing his name for all to see, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (19:16).

  • Who then is this white horse rider? The one who best fits the description and timing is called, among other names in the Bible, Antichrist. Very early in the Tribulation, due to Christ's breaking of the first Seal, he will begin his rise to power using militarily might and he will conquer the whole world becoming its undisputed dictator. Here are some scriptures that foretell the coming of this powerful world ruler.

    "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means. And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future. And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king's business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it." Daniel 8:23 -27

    "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain." Daniel 11:36 -39

    "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming." 2 Thessalonians 2:8

    "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour." 1 John 2:18

    "So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" Revelation 13:4

    These scriptures prophesy the coming of Satan’s man, Antichrist. They predict he will be a warrior who will conquer the world and become its undisputed dictator. His rise to power will be the first terrible indirect judgment of the Lamb on an unbelieving world who has consistently and stubbornly rejected Christ's own lordship.

    Before we move on, I would like to add a comment about the Daniel prophecy above in regards to the phrase, "He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women ..." In my opinion, this statement about the desire of women may well indicate that Antichrist will be a homosexual. His dual rejection of the God of his fathers and the desire of women follows the same pattern that is found in Romans 1:21, 24-27. There we read, "when they knew God, they glorified him not as God ...", then, we read the results, "God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts .... the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly..." (KJV). The tremendous explosion of homosexuality in our world today and the ongoing and unprecedented push to legitimatize it in every realm of society may well be laying the foundation for the future acceptance, and indeed adoration, of Antichrist. In a very short period of time, homosexuality has become accepted and is now aggressively being endorsed on a world-wide scale. I believe this is an indicator of the late hour in which you and I are living.

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    THE 2ND SEAL BROKEN ... A RED HORSE RIDER

    Rev 6:3-4

    "When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come.' [NU omits "and see"] Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword."

    6:3-4

    When the Lamb broke the second Seal from his scroll, another indirect judgment began to unfold down on Earth. John saw a rider come forth who was mounted on a fiery red horse and who would take peace from the earth. This symbol is pretty straightforward. It is a symbol for war. Immediately upon the rise of Antichrist, every nation on Earth will become embroiled in red war. Logically, this will be the result of the rise of the warrior-Antichrist, from the first Seal. Jesus, commenting on this judgment in Matthew 24:6-7, said...

    "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places."

    Early in the Tribulation, multiple devastating global wars will result from the Lamb's breaking of the second Seal . Is this World War III? Probably so. Whatever its number however, when the Lamb breaks the second seal from his scroll, world war is inevitable. Ultimately, even our beloved and powerful United States military will fall to Antichrist! I will comment a bit more on this when we get to Revelation 13.

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    THE 3RD SEAL BROKEN ... A BLACK HORSE RIDER

    Rev 6:5-6

    "When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."

    6:5-6

    Again, this symbol is a straightforward one. Famine will cover the earth after the breaking of the third Seal. In Matthew 24:6, just quoted under the second seal, you will notice that Jesus said famines would follow the wars and rumors of wars. Famine is typically the result of war. We see its ugly head all across the world today where wars are raging. Where men are engaged in fighting, there is no time for planting and harvesting. The specter of the black horse rider is graphic. He rides forth carrying a set of food scales clutched in his hand and, as he rides, the Father speaks from the midst of the four living creatures, sovereignly decreeing the conditions of this coming worldwide famine by saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine". With these words, he cements a great scarcity of food on Earth during those days. And, may I say to you, what the Father decrees in heaven is always a done deal. A denarius was a whole day’s wage in Jesus’ time. During the days of the black horse rider, a whole day’s wages will only buy enough food for one person. Further, the Father commands not to harm the oil and the wine. These words accentuate the thought that these usually abundant items will become so rare and precious that special care will have to be taken on Earth to preserve them.

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    THE 4TH SEAL BROKEN ... A PALE HORSE RIDER

    Rev 6:7-8

    "When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ’Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth."

    6:7-8

    When the Lamb broke the fourth Seal from his scroll, John saw the personification of Death itself ride forth. He rode on a sickly yellowish -green horse. The Greek word here for pale is clwros (cloros), from which we get our word chlorine, a pale greenish chemical. Death was closely followed by Hades, the Greek word that designates the holding place of the wicked dead. Someone has said, "Death never travels alone. Heaven or hell is always on its heels". Here is a terrifying apparition indeed. Hell was loping along behind Death eagerly gobbling up all those who Death destroyed! This reminds us that as spiritual beings made in the image of God, human beings will live somewhere for all eternity. The question is just ... "Where?". I can guarantee this much, you definitely will not want it to be Hades.

    Our text says, "And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill...". One quarter of Earth’s population will perish after the Lamb breaks the forth Seal. We are told that death will come from one of four quarters: the sword (wars); hunger (famine); death (includes all other sources, i.e.: sickness, heart attacks, old age, accidents, etc.); and wild beasts. Wild beasts are notorious for becoming ferocious when they have fed on human flesh. Man-eating tigers in Asia have well demonstrated that fact. Ezekiel also spoke of these four elements in the judgment that came upon wicked Israel in his day.

    "For thus says the Lord GOD: "How much more it shall be when I send my four severe judgments on Jerusalem; the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence; to cut off man and beast from it?" Ezekiel 14:21

    In summary, after the Lamb has broken the first four Seals off his scroll, the results will be the worst decimation by war and its by-products the world has ever seen. If it were to take place today, over a billion and a quarter people would lose their lives. Hopefully, these judgments will have a sobering and eye-opening effect on many people in that day. They are not merely designed to carry out the vengeance of God on a wicked and unbelieving humanity. They will also be sent to awaken the consciences of sin hardened humanity. Disasters can be powerful wake up calls from God.

    May we step aside here for a moment? One of the terrible things about this age of grace in which you and I presently live is the fact that multitudes of people slip away every day into a Christless eternity. They live out their lives blithely unaware of the eternal doom that awaits them just around the corner. This alone is more than ample reason to be against the push for euthanasia by society today. People without Christ, who are assisted in taking their own lives, think they are being delivered from their pain and suffering. Nothing could be further from the truth. They merely awake on the other side to discover that their real pain and suffering has just begun. How tragic! The Bible says...

    "For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion." Ecclesiastes 9:4

    Christ is really going to turn up the heat on mankind during the opening days of the Tribulation with his four Seal judgments. Hopefully, they will cause many sinners to reconsider and turn toward Christ. Jude 23 speaks of this method for reaching people.

    "...but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh." Jude 1:23

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    THE 5TH SEAL BROKEN ... THE TRIBULATION MARTYRS

    Rev 6:9 -11

    "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? ‘ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed."

    6:9-11

    With the breaking of the fifth Seal, the scene shifts back again from Earth to Heaven. Up there, throughout the first three and a half years of the rise of Antichrist, murdered saints have been constantly arriving from down below. The Greek word used here for slain speaks of a death by violence. The tense of this Greek participle (perfect passive) indicates that these saints were murdered because they were considered a nuisance. But in Heaven, John sees them under the altar which speaks of the fact that God views them as sacrifices. This is our first encounter in Revelation with Tribulation saints. It will be costly to believe in Christ under the reign of Antichrist. Those days will really separate the men from the boys. Many people are Christians today because it costs them nothing. In that day it will cost everything. Second Thessalonians 2:6-7 tells us that in that day the restraints on sinful man will be lifted. That being the case, men will be crueler and more without pity than ever, as cruel as their depraved natures will allow. This will be Satan and his Antichrist's day. Both Daniel and Jesus prophesied that the saints would be given into his hand in that day.

    "I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them," Daniel 7:21

    "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time." Daniel 7:25

    "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake." Matthew 24:9

    The question arises, "In what sense is the fifth Seal then a judgment of the Lamb when it is his own saints who are being killed?". The answer probably lies in the fact that those who are murdering God’s people are storing up for themselves vengeance against the day of vengeance (Romans 2:5). As Christ's murdered Saints swell in number in Heaven, the wrath of God will be swelling as well ... toward their murderers below. Psalm 9:12 says...

    "When he avenges blood, he remembers them; he does not forget the cry of the humble."

    John heard the Tribulation martyr's cry to their Lord for vengeance. This precipitated the handing out of white robes to each one followed by the Lord's words to them, "that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed". What a long-suffering God our Lord is! Even in that awful day, when his own beloved people are being slaughtered by the score, he will continue to delay his wrath for his great mercy’s sake.

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    THE 6TH SEAL BROKEN ... HEAVEN OPENED

    Click here to see "The Judgment of the Sixth Seal" picture

    Rev 6:12-17

    "I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and [NU omits "behold"] there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the [NU adds] whole moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!’ For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" ...

    6:12-14

    We come now to a spectacular and very very significant future event in history. I believe the breaking off of the Sixth Seal opens the door to the Great Tribulation. These judgments are the first direct judgments we have encountered in the book of Revelation and their nature fit with all the other judgments that are prophesied to occur during the last half of the Tribulation. You and I live today in the Age of Grace. It began at the cross, which abrogated the Old Testament dispensation of the Law and continues to this very hour. During the Age of Grace, direct supernatural judgments from God have been unheard of. It has been over two millennia since mankind has witnessed any direct supernatural judgments from God. During this present Age of Grace, the only sin God is holding mankind accountable for is unbelief. As you have it in II Corinthians 5:19...

    "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation."

    I repeat. The only sin that God is holding men accountable for today is the sin of unbelief in his Son and that sin has not yet brought judgment on mankind. However, at the end of the Age of Grace, it will. As you have it in II Thessalonians 1:7-9 ...

    "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power..."

    And, again in John 3:36...

    "He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall no see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

    God has directly intervened in judgment on the Earth in times and ages past. Before the Law was given, he judged mankind in Noah's day leaving only 9 people alive on the earth. During the age of the Law, God intervened many times in judgment during Moses and Joshua's day and during the days of the prophets. However, from those times up to today, it has been unheard of. That will all dramatically change  when Christ breaks away the Sixth Seal from his book. Then, the world will experience the first direct intervention by God in judgment that has taken place in nearly three thousand years. If you accept the supernatural, you will have little trouble with the description of his judgments from this point on in the book of Revelation. If not, you will have a good deal of difficulty from this point on with what the book of Revelation predicts is coming on the earth. Let's look at it.

    Jesus also was speaking of the judgment of the coming Sixth Seal when he said in Luke 21:11...

    "And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven."

    The judgments of the sixth Seal will fulfill Jesus prediction of fearful sights and great signs in heaven. When Christ one day breaks the Sixth Seal off his scroll up in heaven, things will occur around the globe like nothing before recorded in human history. As we have read, immediately there will follow:

  • 2. ... the total darkening of the sun
  • Needless to say, this events will be undeniably supernatural.

        A worldwide earthquake is scientifically impossible. Earthquakes are caused by shifting tectonic plates and thus only occur in specific and very limited locations. A worldwide earthquake cannot occur apart from the supernatural.

        A temporary and total darkening of the sun is scientifically impossible. It just couldn't occur apart from the supernatural.

        The reverse of earth's light source from the sun to the moon is scientifically impossible. Can you imagine how such an event is going to affect the scientific community in that day? For a period of time ... the moon will be earth's only light source.

        Stars falling to the earth is scientifically impossible. Many would say that the very fact that such a thing is stated in the Bible is proof that it is a scientifically inaccurate book. They would object, "Real, stars falling to the Earth? Do you realize the nature and size of a star? You Christians are so ignorant and unscientific! Why, if this literally were to occur, the stars wouldn’t fall to the earth, the earth would be sucked into the first star that got close and then burn up like a moth in a flame!

        The skies parting is a scientific impossibility. They would say, "The skies ... 'rolling back like a scroll' ... preposterous ... impossible!".

        The shift and relocation of every mountain and island on the face of the earth is scientifically impossible. How could that be? Yet, it shall.

        Finally, the rolling back of the heavens above like a scroll is scientifically impossible. But it will occur. Puny scientific man .. politically correct man .. sophisticated modern civilized man .. is scheduled for a rude awakening at the breaking of the Sixth Seal.

    How great and powerful our God is! How omnipotent. As Gabriel, the archangel, once said to a young girl who had been told she would have a baby apart from the normal impregnation by a man, "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37)? Do you really think that he who holds the whole universe together by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3), couldn’t do such things? Jeremiah 32:7 says...

    "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?"

    If God so desired, with a mere thought, he could cause every star in the universe to fall to the Earth and bounce along the ground like so many burning marbles ... as it appears will actually happen in that day. At the breaking of the Sixth Seal, God will arise and bear his right arm and the supernatural will become undeniable. Can you picture what effect that these things will have when men witness such a contradictions of their so-called laws of nature!? We don’t need to scientifically to prove that stars can fall to the Earth, by the way, nor how the heavens will roll back like a scroll ... we just need to believe the Word of God, dear saint, whether it makes sense to us or not. The burden of proof is on the skeptic. He must prove that these things will not occur as they have been written here in the Word of God. By the way, it doesn’t say that all the stars fell, although under the omnipotent hand of Almighty God they certainly could. We will still find stars shining in the heavens after this event later in the book, but it's my opinion that a good number of them will be conspicuously missing from their places above.

    After the Lamb sets in motion the amazing events of the breaking of the sixth Seal, mankind will have a difficult time denying the supernatural. These events will be a powerful blow to proud, haughty, so-called scientific minds ... and none too soon in my opinion. At the breaking of the Sixth Seal, mankind who view their universe from the vantage point of uniformitarian, naturalistic, humanistic philosophy will be proved the fools they have been.

    6:15-17

    Now let's look at the profound results these events will have on earthdwellers in that day. John says here, "And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves". What bedlam and abject panic this judgment will cause. The Sixth Seal will surely stop men’s mouths. They will only have one thing to say on that day and it will be said to the mountains and the rocks around them. They will cry, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sets on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb". Isaiah also prophesied of the chaos the Sixth Seal will cause saying...

    "Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up; and it shall be brought low; upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan; upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols he shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror o f the LORD and the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily." Isaiah 2:10-21

    May we step aside here for a moment. Notice that when this occurs, men will not simply stare curiously up at God Almighty and the Lamb above them. What will they do? They will attempt to do everything in their power to get away and hide from the presence of God and his Lamb. Anyone who thinks that they can look upon Holy God and his Lamb without the spiritual preparation which the imputed righteousness that Christ provides (1 Corinthians 5:21), is very sadly mistaken. Notice that when men look upon the Holy One's above in that day, their only motivation is to flee away from their presence. Sinners cannot stand in the presence of Holy God and his Righteous Lamb unless they have been specifically and supernaturally prepared for it by being born again, re-made into a new creature, and, having their sins washed away, have received the very righteousness of Christ himself by imputation (Romans 4:20-24). Any other scenario or scheme of man to prepare himself to meet his God will inevitably result in total panic and ultimate distruction. Are you ready to face Holy God and his Holy Lamb? Jesus alone can make you ready. Now, the question arises, "How long will the judgment of the sixth Seal last?". It doesn’t say here. But I expect its events will be comparatively brief in duration, especially when the heavens are rolled back for unregenerate men to see God and his Lamb.

    In conclusion, let me remind you that the events of the Sixth Seal are critical to the understanding of the rest of the book. At the end of the Sixth Seal judgment, when the heavens are rolled back like a great scroll, mankind will have historically come to the halfway point of the Tribulation (three and a half years in) and the Great Tribulation will then begin. There is an important verse in Joel that applies here. Joel 2:30-31 quotes God as saying...

    "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come."

    At the beginning of the Sixth Seal judgment, Joel's words, "The sun shall be turned into darkness" and "the moon into blood" will be fulfilled. Note that he prophesies these things will take place "before" the "great and the terrible day of the Lord come". The great and the terrible day of the Lord refers to the Great Tribulation or second half of the Tribulation. When we read that the sun was darkened and the moon turned to blood in verse 13 then, we are still in the first half of the Tribulation. But, when the sky is rolled back like a scroll in verse 14, we have entered into the second half of the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation ... Joel's great and terrible day of the Lord. Earth-dwellers will be eschatologically correct when they one day cry, "For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

    Although when people cry out those words in that future day ... they are eschatologically correct ... they themselves will no be thinking of the timing of end time events. They will simply mean that judgment day has arrived and that they are "toast!" However, that will not be the case. Suddenly, everything will become quiet and, as they crawl from their holes and hiding places and look up again, things will be relatively back to normal. Except, perhaps, the stars of heaven that will now be conspicuously absent and the changed topography all around.  

    Let's think about the effect that these things will have on the Jews for a moment. I believe that these events at the breaking of the Sixth Seal that will result in the conversion of thousands of Jews in that day. Along with the rest of mankind, they too will climb from their holes having visibly seen God and his Christ upon their throne in heaven. It will be very difficult, after that point in time, for a Jew to deny Christ is Messiah and the King of Israel. The breaking of the Sixth Seal will be the turning point for many a Jew and a certain 144,000, who we will shortly meet in chapter 7.

    In closing, let me say again, that you and I live in a very stable and predictable world in this Age of Grace. God's natural laws have been unchanging and consistent for a very very long time. So much so that men have adopted a uniformitarian, secular mind set and have taken it upon themselves to altogether deny the supernatural nature of the universe and world in which they live. They proudly declare that all things consist and merely function by predictable laws of nature apart from God whatsoever. At the breaking of the Sixth Seal, our Lord will dramatically point out the foolish error of their thinking.

     

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