Revelation 6:12-17; 13:1-10
Purpose: To describe Satan’s futile efforts to rule the world.
Aim: I want the listener to wait confidently for Christ to return.
INTRODUCTION: Up to now, the effects of the first five seals, although unparalleled in their impact on the world, could still be explained away as having natural causes like war, famine, disease, drought, earthquakes or hurricanes.
The sixth seal begins to demonstrate God’s direct intervention into world affairs.
All of this is just part of God’s plan. The Lord is in the process of fixing what is wrong with our world as only He can do.
Let me share a story with you that illustrates what God is doing in here in Revelation. In a remote Swiss village stands a beautiful church. It was so beautiful, in fact, that it was known as the Mountain Valley Cathedral. The Cathedral was not only beautiful to look at - ¬with its high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows --but it was beautiful to hear. You see, this church had the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region. People would come from miles away to hear the majestic tones of this organ.
But that’s what the problem was. The columns were still there -- the windows still dazzled in the sunlight --¬but there was an eerie silence. The mountain valley no longer echoed the glorious fine --tuned music of the pipe organ. In fact, the valley was either totally silent or worse yet, filled with organ music that was unbelievably off tune.
Something had gone wrong with the pipe organ. Musicians and experts from around the world had tried to repair it. Every time a new person would try to fix it the villagers had to endure loud music that was off key.
One day an old man appeared at the church door. He spoke with the church janitor and after a time he reluctantly agreed to let the old man try his hand at repairing the organ. For two days the old man worked in almost total silence. The janitor was, in fact, getting a bit nervous.
Then on the third day -- at high noon -- the mountain valley was filled with the most glorious music you would ever want to hear. Farmers dropped their plows, merchants closed their stores -- everyone in town stopped what they were doing and headed for the church.
After the old man finished playing the organ, someone got up some courage and asked him how he could have fixed the organ, how could he restore music and harmony when even the world’s experts could not? The old man merely said it was an inside job, "It was I who built this organ 50 years ago. I created it -- and now I have restored it."
So it is with God and this world. It is God who created this world and He is the only one who can, and will, fix it.[1]
REVIEW:
1:1-20 I. John’s Vision of the Past "the things which you have seen"
2:1-5:14 II. Christ’s Vision of the Present "the things which are"
2:1-3:22 A. The testimony of the church on earth
4:1-5:14 B. The throne of God in heaven
Ch.6-22 III. John’s Vision of the Future "things which will take places"
6-7; 12-14 A. Satan’s war against God’s creation
1. The first seal
6:1-2 a. Heaven’s view: a white horse "a bow and a crown"
12:1-2,6a b. Earth’s view: Israel deceived "the woman fled"
2. The second seal
6:3-4 a. Heaven’s view: a red horse "slay one another"
12:3-4a b. Earth’s view: a red dragon "third of the stars"
3. The third seal
6:5-6 a. Heaven’s view: a black horse- world famine
12:4b-6 b. Earth’s view: a dragon-Israel’s oppression
4. The fourth seal:
6:7-8 a. Heaven’s view: a pale horse-a bloodbath
12:7-9 b. Earth’s view: a dragon-Satan’s demotion
5. The fifth seal
6:9-11 a. Heaven’s view: martyrs
12:10-17 b. Earth’s view: war on Christ’s followers
LESSON:
➽6. The sixth seal
When will these events take place? Many false Bible teachers have tried to pin down the exact time that Jesus will return and judge the earth, but the truth is that nobody knows.
Christ can return at any time. Matthew 24:43 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. (NAU)
Luke 12:37-39 37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. (NAU)
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. (NAU)
These events could begin at any time.
➽6:12-17 a. Heaven’s view: destruction
This is the beginning of the wrath of God on this earth. The seventh seal will unleash, in rapid succession, the seven trumpets of God’s judgments.
➽Vs.12-14 (1) Earth is shaken
Vs. 12-13 Jesus said that earthquakes & stars falling to the earth would occur before He comes back: Mark 13:24-25 24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. (NAU)
Listen to Christ’s words: Luke 21:25-26 25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (NAU)
Why does God crush His own creation? These judgments remove all hope in what God has created. All mankind is forced to recognize their utter dependence upon the Creator. Hope placed anywhere else is idolatry. So, God now begins a systematic destruction of the sun, moon, stars, and earth which men have often worshiped instead of the Creator. Romans 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (NAU)
In its failure to recognize the Creator, environmentalism eventually fails in its effort to preserve the creation.
Vs.14 What seems to be pictured here is a scroll that splits in the middle and the parchment then springs back to each end. What is probably happening is that God is splitting the skies open so that the wicked on the earth can get a glimpse of God’s throne.
➽Vs.15-17 (2) Sinners are shaken
Vs.15 It is ironic that those who persecuted the followers of Christ and drove them to hide in caves: (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:38 NAU) will experience what that is like.
Isaiah gives us some graphic detail about this judgment that God will inflict on the world. Isaiah 34:1-4 1 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. 2 For the Lord’s indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter. 3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood. 4 And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree. (NAU)
Vs.16 Those who have been covered in Christ’s righteousness long for His presence. Psalm 17:15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake. (NAU)
There are two possible reactions to the one true God. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? (NAU)
When the believers in heaven saw God’s throne they fell down in worship. When the wicked see the throne of God they scatter like roaches in the light.
Vs.17 "But then, amazingly, even this would pass. After these few terrifying days, the stars stopped falling and the terrible shakings ceased. The survivors emerged from their shelters and began again to rationalize their resistance to God. After all, these calamities could be explained scientifically, so perhaps they had been too quick to attribute them to God’s wrath. They quickly set about rebuilding their damaged structures and became more resolute in their opposition to the gospel of Christ."
Sin is the reason for God’s judgment: Isaiah 13:9-13 9 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. 11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. 12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts In the day of His burning anger. (NAU)
➽13:1-10 b. Earth’s view: the rule of the Antichrist
In the previous chapter, we saw a dragon with seven heads and ten horns who attempted to kill the promised child (the Messiah) and then persecuted the woman (Israel) who gave birth to the child.
Now, the scene shifts to a beast that also has seven heads and ten horns, which is closely identified with the dragon. He and another beast (the false prophet that we will learn about later) spew a series of satanically inspired lies which lure the whole world into obeying the beast with seven heads and ten horns, and then ultimately Satan himself.
What we have here is the revealing of the Antichrist.
"Is the beast out of the sea a man or an empire? The answer is both. (a) The beast is a man because his number is that of a man (Rev. 13:18). Also the use of the masculine pronoun αὐτόν [auton] (Rev. 13:8) to refer to the neuter θηρίον [thērion] (Rev. 13:1-2, 4) indicates that he is a human being. In addition, parallels between the beast and the Lamb indicate that he is a person: both have followers on whose foreheads are inscribed their names (Rev. 13:16-17; 14:1), both are conquerors (Rev. 5:5; 13:7), and both receive worship (Rev. 5:8; 13:4). (b) At the same time the beast is an empire over which the man reigns. This fact is demonstrated by the symbolism of the beasts of Daniel 7" [3]
The four beasts that Daniel saw in chapter 7 of his book all come out of the sea. From Israel’s vantage point this would refer to the Mediterranean Sea or the Gentile nations from Europe.
"The crowns were on the ’heads’ of the dragon (12:3) but on the ’horns’ of this beast. A beast usually has one head. The fact that this beast has seven heads implies at least seven Empires or kingdoms in past history, all dominated by Satan himself.
"The ’horns’ represent ten kings of the end times (17:12) who rule for a short time but eventually give up their power to one man -- the Antichrist." [4]
Notice: Rev 17:10-12 10 and they are seven kings; for kingdoms five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 "And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is {one} of the seven, and he goes
to destruction. 12 "And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. (NAS)
"The six one world empires that Satan has used are: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The seventh is a resurrected Roman Empire. The eighth is the Antichrist’s government that results from the collapse of the new Roman Empire." [2]
Daniel spoke about the same things in Daniel 2:31-44 31 "You, 0 king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 32 "The head of that statue {was made] of fine gold, [Babylon] its breast and its arms of silver, [Medo-Persian] its belly and its thighs of bronze, [Greek] 33 its legs of iron, [Roman] its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. [New Roman] 34 "You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. 35 "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time,[Jesus (the stone cut without hands) crushes all the Empires at once so they must be in existence in some form at the same time] and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 "This (was} the dream; now we shall tell its interpretation before the king. 37 "You, 0 king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory; 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, for the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. 39 "After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. 40 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. 41 "In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 "As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. 43 "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. 44 "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. (NAU)
➽Vs.1a (1) His authority "ten horns...diadems"
The seven heads probably refer to seven world kingdoms united together as one.
We know for sure that the ten horns refer to ten kings or rulers. Revelation 17:12-13 12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. (NAU)
Unless you think that a one world government is unlikely to happen, notice what some powerful people have said lately.
In his book, The Day the Dollar Dies, Willard Cantelon writes, "the only possible escape from total destruction of our civilization, will be a one world leader, court and government."
Dr. Robert J. Oppenheimer father of the atomic bomb stated, "because of the field of atomic energy, we must set up a one world power."
Dr. Arthur Compton, won the Nobel Prize in physics added his words saying, "A one world government has become inevitable."
Dr. Ralph Perry, senior fellow at Harvard University said, "A one world government is in the making, because we must move toward a one-world government, if we are to survive. The only alternative is total annihilation!!"
James Warburg, American banker and financial adviser to many of our presidents says, "We are living in a perilous period of transition from the era of the fully sovereign nation-state to the era of a one world government."
➽Vs.1b (2) His arrogance "blasphemous names"
In other words, the Antichrist will allow himself to be called things that rightfully only belong to God. Woe be unto us when we start looking to a man or a government to be to us what only God can be. Only God is our Savior, our deliverer, our hope, our judge, our joy, our master, and our provider.
➽Vs.2 (3) His power "leopard...bear...lion"
Satan told Jesus that he had been given authority over this earth and he offered to give it to Jesus Luke 4:6 And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. (NAU) The authority and glory that Jesus refused from Satan, the Antichrist will accept.
"John sees this beast with seven heads and ten horns as characteristic of all three empires from the time of Daniel until the time of John. The beast boasted of great things like Babylon, the lion; it had the feet of the Persian Empire, the bear -- strong, well-organized, and apparently stable; it was like a leopard as well, manifesting the swiftness at which the Grecian empire conquered the world. This beast would communicate arrogantly, control extensively, and conquer swiftly." [5]
The world will be in awe of this false Christ!
➽Vs.3 (4) His healing "wound was healed"
Paul told us that the Antichrist is someone, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4NAU)
"Man ignores the force of Jesus’ resurrection, but will choose to be fooled by the Beast’s recovery. Why? Jesus demands righteousness; the Beast will indulge sin." [6]
➽Vs.4 (5) His following "worshiped the beast"
Jesus refused to worship Satan. Matthew 4:8-10 8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, ’You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ " (NAU)
But, the masses of the world will flock to worship the Antichrist.
➽Vs.5-6 (6) His hatred for God "blaspheme His name"
To blaspheme God means to speak evil of Him or to reproach Him. For example, it is blasphemy to accuse God of making evil choices. This is why it is so important that we don’t accuse God of doing wrong because He isn’t doing what we want Him to do in our lives.
The Antichrist will blaspheme God, God’s name, and those who follow God. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship.... (NAU)
➽Vs.7 (7) His hatred for believers "make war with the saints"
"These are the tribulation believers introduced to us in chapter 7. The text says he will ’overcome them,’ indicating that these believers are killed (cf. 11:7). Revelation 13:15 says that ’as many as would not worship the image of the beast’ would be ’killed,’ and Revelation 20:4 speaks of the ’souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.’ It is clear from this that believers in the tribulation period are killed. Exceptions would include the 144,000 Jewish believers and a believing Jewish remnant who will turn to the Lord at the end of the tribulation period. Apparently all Gentile believers in the tribulation period are, in fact, killed." [7]
➽Vs.8-10 (8) His ultimate downfall "to captivity he goes"
Vs.8-10a Satan’s power will soon be broken. Isaiah 14:12-16 12 "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13 "But you said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ’I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. 16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, ’Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, (NAU)
Those who have not surrendered to Jesus Christ will share in Satan’s fate. Revelation 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (NAU) Revelation 21:27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (NAU)
Vs.10b the "perseverance and the faith of the saints" is through trusting Christ. We must trust that the Lord will punish those who persecute us, and that He will reward us with an everlasting reward.
CONCLUSION: God is an everlasting light to those who trust Him. Isaiah 60:19-20 19 "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. 20 "Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over. (NAU)
"Friends and brethren, what a mercy that day is not yet upon us! There is a Rock to which we still may fly and pray, with hope of security in its wide-open clefts. It is the Rock of Ages." [8]
Jesus said that anyone who does not trust Him to forgive all their sins that they ... will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36 NAU)
That which a man spits against heaven, shall fall back on his own face. Thomas Adams [9]
1 George Swanson, First Presbyterian Church, Hayward, California.
2 Henry Morris, The Revelation Record (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1983)
3 Daniel K. Wong, “The Beast From The Sea in Revelation 13,” in Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 160 no. 639 (Dallas, TX: Dallas Theological Seminary, July-September 2003), 337.
4 "The Coming World Leader" by David Hocking p.203
5 "The Coming World Leader" by David Hocking p.204
6 Monty S. Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the Revelation to John (Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries, 1987), Rev. 13:3
7 "The Coming World Leader" by David Hocking p.206
8 J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), 159.
9 Thomas, I. (1996). The golden treasury of Puritan quotations. Includes index of authors. General index created by Christian Clasics Foundation. (electronic ed.). Simpsonville SC: Christian Classics Foundation.
