In Revelation chapters 4 and 5, John was given a view of the throne room of heaven where the Father sits upon His throne in the presence of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by creatures, as well as 24 elders, representing all of creation and all of God’s people. All are praising His name. To the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, is handed a scroll that is sealed with 7 seals. The scroll represents God’s plan for the establishment of His eternal Kingdom and Christ, by virtue of His life, death and resurrection, is the only One who is able to break open the seals that will set things in motion.
The breaking of seals 1-4 set in motion a series of judgments upon the earth: war, revolution, inflation and famine, death and pestilence. All unleashed upon the world both as judgment and as a call to repentance. These began back in the days of Christ and they continue today.
As we listen to the news today and hear stories of upheavals across the globe, we cannot think of the future as unfolding according to the whims of unhinged world leaders. These events unfold according to the wisdom of the King of Kings who is bringing the nations under His judgment and is calling the lost to repentance as He demonstrates that we cannot trust in earthly kings any more than we can trust in earthly possessions.
That has brought us to the 5th and 6th seals. Last time, we considered the breaking of the 5th seal in which we are given a look at the many martyrs who have lost their lives because of their faithful confession of Christ. They are calling upon the Lord asking how long it will be before their blood is avenged on those who persecuted them. The answer comes back that the Lord will bring vengeance upon the wicked, but not until the number of martyrs who will die for the faith is complete. And, in that message, we are given a hint as to what we will find written on the scroll once it is finally opened. Namely, that it is through the witness of believers unto martyrdom that the Lord will save the final number of those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life which will, in turn, bring about the final day.
Christ now opens the sixth seal which is described all the way through chapter seven. What does the opening of the sixth seal reveal? It is, in essence, an elaboration of the response to the question asked by the martyrs in the 5th seal. They asked, “How long will it be before the judgment?” The response came back “Not until the full number of martyrs is complete.” The sixth seal, now, presents a picture of encouragement to those who may find this message a bit disarming.
In 6:12-17 comes the assurance that God’s vengeance will not be delayed indefinitely, but judgment will, indeed, come. This seems to be given in the same spirit of what Peter writes as he finishes up his letter we call 2 Peter. In chapter 3, Peter writes:
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Peter knew the delay of Christ’s return could be a stumbling block for believers. It opened them up to ridicule by unbelievers and, as persecutions intensified, they may find themselves questioning whether the cost of standing firm is worth it. Faith. It also could raise the questions, “If God is going to bring about judgment, why does He continue to delay? Why not come back now? Does God not care about what we are going through?”
Peter’s answer is, “God is delaying in order that others might believe along with you and, so, His delay is born out of love. He will come in accordance with His promises and, when He does, those who mock you will pass away along with all of the other temptations the world is throwing at you. So, the call is to stand firm. Notice this language in verses 11-13:
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
“Hastening the coming of the day of God.” Isn’t that an interesting statement? People ask, “When is Jesus coming back?” We don’t know but Peter says we can speed up the process “by standing firm in lives of holiness and godliness.” How does that follow?
Well, what did we read in Rev. 6: 9-11? The reason there is a delay is that the full number of martyrs has not come. So how do you shorten the delay? It is by believers being willing to stand firm in their faith, knowing that to do so is to invite persecution and, even, martyrdom. It is through that strong witness that others will come to faith. It is not without cause that Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” That is exactly what nations like Iran and China are experiencing. The harder the persecution, the more the church grows. That is the wisdom of God which seems foolishness to man. So, Peter’s call could be read: “Stand firm in holiness and godliness as witnesses to Christ even unto death. As you bear witness in this way, those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will come to faith, and you will be shown to have hastened the day of God.”
And notice how Peter’s description of, what he calls, “the day of God” which is clearly the final day of judgment and how his description matches what we find here in chapter 6. There are disagreements over what day is being described here in Revelation 6, but it seems clear doesn’t it? If you insist on Revelation being a linear unfolding of events from the beginning of the book unto its end, you will get twisted into knots. Instead, what we will find is a repetition of events from different vantage points giving us a deeper understanding each time we examine them. To insist on a linear progression requires one to deny that this is the day of judgment. But if it is not, how do we explain the sky vanishing like a scroll here in chapter 6, which matches Peter’s description of the day of judgment, not to mention that it will be described again in Revelation chapter 20:11-12: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.” It is clear that these are all descriptions of the same event and, as Peter notes, this is all in accordance with the prophecies that had already been given. Descriptions of this final event can be found in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Habbakuk, Amos, Jeremiah, the Psalms. They are also referenced in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. All of these passages speak of one day which resembles what we read here in Revelation 6:12-17. One of the clearest of these passages is Isaiah 34:4 which reads, “All the host of heaven will rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.”
So, a picture of the final day is being given now as a preview of what is to come and as a part of the response to the cries of the martyrs in the fifth seal. How are we to understand these images of the blackened sun, the moon like blood, etc.? Well, John describes what he sees, but remember this is a vision and these visions involve word-pictures and symbols. Recall that John even saw Jesus presented as a Lamb with 7 eyes and 7 horns. So, we need to be careful in how we interpret these things. What we do know for sure is that this is a picture of the great terror when God unleashes His wrath upon the world as the old universe will be given over to a new heavens and new earth. If we stay there, we will be good.
Will there be earthquakes? Well, whenever God presents Himself in the OT we read of the quaking of the earth, so I think it is reasonable to expect so. That said, we do know that some of what is described here is symbolism because we are told, for example, that the stars from heaven will fall to the earth. That is, literally, not possible. But we do find this type of language already in the OT to describe the fall of Babylon. The lesson is that we need to be careful and sober in our interpretations.
You may recall popular pastor John Hagee publishing a book back in 2013 called “The Four Blood Moons.” He wrote it because astronomers said that in 2014-2015 there would be four lunar eclipses and they would have a reddish hue to them. In response, Hagee took, among others, Revelation 6:12 and began to spin wild predictions that, “Something is going to change.” It was all nonsense, but people were getting worked over this. We need to do better and be students of the Scriptures not those guilty of, what I heard someone call, “Scriptorture.” This is when you torture the Scriptures to make them say what they never were intended to say. This is what Hagee does and he sells a lot of books. I can assure you that you don’t need Hagee to tell you when God’s judgment comes and you are not going to have to look for a lunar eclipse to know it is here. You’ll know it.
First something to followers of Christ, secondly something to those who know they are not.
To followers of Jesus, we note that the consolation given to the martyrs and, in turn to the church, is not a promise of relief from suffering. What is given is the promise of God’s wrath. So what do we learn from that?
1) Once again, we are receiving the call to be willing to suffer for Christ’s sake.
2) The children of God should not fear God’s wrath. The martyrs are calling for judgment day to come. Why would they do that? Many today- even Christians, shudder at the thought. Shouldn’t they fear the judgment seat of Christ?
No. They know that, as believers in Christ, God has already poured out His wrath for their sins upon Christ.
Romans 5:6, 8-9: 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.... 8 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
They know that God is not angry at His people. Romans 5:10 “For while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
We know that we are not who we ought to be nor want to be, but we HAVE been reconciled with God. He is our Father we are His children. And when we sin we have an Advocate with the Father- Jesus Christ. Because He was condemned on our behalf, Romans 8:1- there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, we should be as they are- not fearing the final judgment but looking forward to it. Calling for it. Saying “Lord hasten the day!” Because on that day, we shall experience (1 Peter 1:7) praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We should, therefore, (Hebrews 12:28-29) be grateful for His coming because it is the means by which we will receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
And it is with this conviction that we should have the same boldness as those martyrs who have gone before us.
Paul writing from the Philippian jail, says in 1:20: “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” and he even says that he is torn between the two (life or death) because is desire is to depart and be with Christ.” And then says in 3:13 “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
The prize. What awaits believers on that day? “The prize” of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
In other words, for Christians, this is not scary stuff.
In fact, by reading of the judgments past, the judgments present, and the judgments to come, for the believer these are a picture of just how much God loves you. Because those judgments are what our sins deserve. But God loved us so much that He sent His Son to take those judgments upon Himself. Every time we read of the torments awaiting the unbeliever on these pages we should say, “there but for the grace of God go I” and that should lead to, not just our relief, but our joy. A deep-seated joy of assurance and anticipation. We should exclaim: “God you are so good to me, and your judgments drive home just how good you are to me…I can’t wait to behold Your glory and thank you face to face, for that will be a day of celebration.”
3) For those who have not come to Christ, the message is bit more somber isn’t it?
Chapter 6 reminds us that when Jesus comes again, He will not come as a Lamb but as a Lion. This time He will not come meek and lowly with words of peace, kneeling down, to wash feet. But He will come with eyes of flame, crown on His head, judging and making war, striking down the nations and ruling with a rod of iron, treading the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God. (Rev. 19:11-12)
As Hebrews 10:31 tells us “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
This is scary stuff, but we Christians do not want you to be afraid. We want you to be as confident as we are, that when Jesus comes, it will be a glorious, joyful sight. That you will know that this is your King, coming to welcome you into His kingdom, not to cast you away. The only way for you to have this assurance is to believe upon Christ. Don’t delay. Today is the day of salvation. You do not know when the Master will return.
1. The imagery of the judgment day of God is fascinating and the cause of much speculation from popular “end-times” storytellers.
As with other elements of John’s vision, these images hearken back to the Old Testament. We find the images of earthquakes, heavenly convulsions, etc. in passages such as: Isaiah 13:10–13; 24:1–6, 19–23; 34:4; Ezekiel 32:6–8; Joel 2:10, 30–31; 3:15–16; and Habakkuk 3:6–11. There are echoes of these also in Amos 8:8–9; Jeremiah 4:23–28; and Psalm 68:7–8. Jesus references them in Matthew 24:29 and Mark 13:24–25; and the same type of imagery is used in Acts 2:19–20 ( Joel 2:30–31) for the day of Pentecost.
How does seeing similar descriptions used to describe, for example, God’s judgment on Egypt (Ezekiel 32:6-8) and the events of Pentecost (Acts 2:19-20/Joel 2:30-31), help us to understand their use in Revelation and how to be discerning with popular approaches to end-times events today?
2. Read Revelation 16:17-21 and Revelation 20:11. What common features are found in these passages as with Revelation 6:12-17. What might this tell us about how we should approach a reading of Revelation?
3. Many Christians find that the idea of the day of judgment unnerving at best. Certainly not something to look forward to. Yet Revelation 22:17 pictures believers calling on Christ to return saying that “the Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’
How have you thought (if at all) about the day of Christ’s return?
Why do some Christians feel fearful about standing before Christ?
How would you encourage a believer to be, 1) confident, 2) joyful, regarding the return of Christ?
4. For some the fear of the future comes from a lack of assurance of their standing in Christ.
Does the Bible teach us that we can be assured that we are in Christ?
By what means does assurance come?
If we can have assurance, what are some of the reasons we doubt?
