“Who Is Able To Stand?”
The Unveiling - #21 of
Jerry Watts
Revelation 6:9-17
* The last question in verse 17 is our first challenge of today. “Who is able to stand before the Lamb and the One on the throne in their day of wrath?” Just as surely as God sent the flood waters on evil during the days of Noah and sent the fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah during the days of Abraham, He will send His wrath on this evil world in the ends of days. In those days, “Who will be able to stand?”From the scripture we are getting a picture of the post-rapture and tribulation conditions of this world. Last week we watched as the Lamb popped each of the first four seals and were stunned by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the devastation to this world. In the context of eschatology (end times), we still have 3 mores seals, 7 trumpets, & 7 vials (bowls) of judgment, so things are definitely going to get much worse for the inhabitants of earth. Already over 1.7 billion people have died. What’s next?
* Focus your attention, see the Lamb break the next seal, & we see 2 things;
1) The Protection of the Persecuted – Don’t miss this truth; these two seals are all about the workings of God Himself. We get a picture of souls under the altar.
a) What this means – Let me remind you what the scripture teaches about the tabernacle; the furnishings were a ‘pattern’ of the worship center in heaven. This means in heaven there is a ‘perfected altar’ of sacrifice in the throne room. In the Bible, it was the brazen altar where the animals were sacrificed. The blood poured out at the foot of the altar symbolizing that the animal was sacrificed for the person offering it. NOW get this picture; those souls who are under the altar have literally offered their lives up for our Lord. Their blood was broken and spilled out because of their faith in Christ so now, in heaven; they are afforded a special place. God has a special place for everyone who is faithful until death. They are under the altar & under God’s providential hand.
b) What they endured – We know they were killed or martyred for their faith, but Verse 9 uses a very graphic term to punctuate just exactly what they endured. KJV uses the word “slain”. I suggest that because of our civilized culture, that word which is very violent has lost its punch because we have never witnessed anyone being killed sport in a Lion’s den, or seen a beheading, or watched someone put to death. HCSB uses the word ‘slaughtered’ which is a picture word for us today. These guys were massacred, beheaded, torn apart, and even butchered for one reason; they trusted in Christ. We get upset when someone gets our seat at church, what would happen if persecution were to really come?
* I found this story from the WorldNet Daily (2008)
Hindu extremist groups are offering money, food and alcohol to anyone who murders Christians and destroys their homes. The violence is nothing new in Orissa, India, where India's Communist Party estimates that more than 500 Christians have been killed by Hindu mobs in Orissa since late August, 12 times more than official government claims of only 40 homicides. But now the stakes are even higher and pastors have a bounty on their heads. Faiz Rahman, chairman of Good News India, said Hindu militants are targeting Christian leaders, the Christian Post reported. "The going price to kill a pastor is $250," he said. Rahman, a head of several orphanages in Orissa State, said he's helped 25 pastors to leave refugee camps, but 250 Christian leaders are still in shelters. "All of the pastors are high value targets," Rahman told the UK-based Release International. "We've got to get them out of the refugee camps." An All-India Christian Council spokesman said, "People are being offered rewards to kill, and to destroy churches and Christian properties. They are being offered foreign liquor, chicken, mutton and weapons. They are given petrol and kerosene."
* This was in 2008; can you imagine the price today? What would change in our lives if we knew that the government was offering a reward to find & kill us?
* Those precious souls under the altar are those who have been killed for Christ.
c) What they want – At first blush you may get the ideal that these martyrs are only out for vengeance on those who have mistreated them. Yet their cry is to the Lord saying, “Lord How long will you wait” not to get vengeance for them but vindication for Him. Even as these saints of God are under the altars because of their sacrifice, they want evil to be dealt with so that God & His righteousness can be seen, celebration, and enjoyed by all. Their honorable and righteous desire is for Satan and Sin to be judged and for the Savior to rule on high. And once again we see God’s grace. He gave them a white robe. What a beautiful picture! Remember Jesus desires to present His bride pure, chaste, and spotless. In Revelation 19 we read of the bride of Christ arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. They are given a white robe and told to rest.
* Please never forget, God always protects His children. His protection is eternal and not necessarily from trouble in time – but certainly for all eternity. The secret is to be HIS CHILD! We are all His creation, but not all are HIS Children.
2) The Penalty of the Prosecuted – With the breaking of the 6th seal, our attention is redirected from the persecuted to the prosecuted. We see a rise in the level of the judgment of God upon the earth and her remaining inhabitants. The first thing we notice is that the planet, the firmament, starts falling apart.
a) Fracture of creation – It begins with an earthquake, but this is no normal earthquake, this is a mega earthquake. As I was praying through this, several thoughts came to mind. First, God is the creator and sustainer of this universe so it is entirely likely that in a supernatural way, He speaks the word & all His creation begins to fall apart. Don’t miss this: He spoke it into being, so He could speak it out of existence. As an aside: for any non-creationist here – you have faith which exceeds the Pharisees. How can there be such an intelligent design without an intelligent designer? If God started this (and He did), He can certainly end it with a word. However, other possibilities exist. Next, since Genesis this planet has been cursed by sin and as a part of that curse, we all know that earthquakes happen frequently because this planet is in a constant state of adjustment. The planet groans and shakes as it changes naturally. So this huge earthquake could be a part of God’s allowing nature to devolve and erupt. Another possibility is that God allows mankind to continue to be his own worst enemy. Nuclear bombs could be used in such a large number in that day that the planet is blown off its axis & out of its orbit. Were this to happen, all the reactions spoken of on earth would likely follow suit. Some would say, “God wouldn’t do this or even allow it to happen.” Yet the Bible demonstrates that God is all about redeeming His creation (I.E. Noah & Moses).
* The earth will start to fall apart by divine design as God judges & redeems it.
b) Fall of creation – Verses 13 & 14 give a clear picture of what can happen in the aftermath of multiple nuclear events. The sun, stars, moon, and more shake & fall. Please remember that the first readers of this Revelation were the Jewish people and to them, this passage would have been unnerving. The order of the universe was the divine guarantee of God’s unchanging faithfulness. This picture spoke of the chaos coming. Yet to the child of God, it is simply one more expression of God’s heart beat to restore all creation to her original form.
* One final thought on the fracturing & falling of creation; nothing will be spared. The prophet, in Jeremiah 4:24, paints a picture. (READ) The love of God for His people and the anger of God at sin and wickedness collide & even those things thought to be unshakeable are shaken. They are shaken to the degree that the arrogant, prideful, and self-reliant, are impacted.
c) Fear of the created – Look at this list of people who are brought to their knees. They are all listed. Those who have had no use for God and certainly no respect for Him are brought down. They now know who makes the decision, who is the greatest of them all, and who is really in control. And finally, they decide to pray. But even then, they pray to mother earth and not Father God. What does it take to get us to pray?
* I’m not talking about a “Sunday School” type of prayer but rather, a gut-wrenching, heart-revealing, and life-changing type of prayer? Does it take ‘end of times’ type of catastrophic events to break our pride? Does it take financial ruin? Does it take the death of a loved one?
* Today, God still His arms of grace open to you. Make no mistake, you cannot come to God on YOUR terms, you must come on His.
* The prophet Amos gave this message, “Prepare to meet THY GOD!” How does a person do this? “He who hears my word, and believes in Him that sent me has everlasting life and shall not pass into condemnation but is passed from death to life.”
* Who is able to stand? Only those who have followed Christ…who are you following today?
