The sixth seal is now broken and the great day of God’s wrath begins. Tonight we will look at the effects of God’s wrath upon the universe, the effects of God’s wrath upon the people, and the reason for the catastrophes and the panic of men.
We have to remember that this is still not the end of the world. It is still not the final judgment. The seals of the Book of Destiny have to be broken before the book can be read. So tonight we see the beginning of God’s wrath against the violence, hatred, and rebellion of a corrupt and evil world.
In verses 12-14 we see the effects of God’s judgment on the universe.
1. There will be a great earthquake. Note the word great. This will be no ordinary earthquake. Jesus predicted there would be more earthquakes in the latter days than ever before. The Book of Revelation mentions three great earthquakes. Here in Rev 6:12, then in Rev. 11:13, and then in Rev. 16:17-19. The Old Testament predicted earthquakes in the end time.
Ezekiel 38:19 – “In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.”
Jeremiah 4:24 – “I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.”
Amos 8:8 – “Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt.”
Joel predicted earthquakes. (Joel 2:10) Haggai predicted earthquakes. (Hag. 2:6). So this is nothing new. But we are also told in verse 12 that the sun and moon will be eclipsed and blackened and stars or meteorites will shower the earth.
And practically speaking, there are times when these things happen right now. We have eclipses. The heavens are darkened by volcanic eruptions and such. Stars or meteorites fall from outer space to earth quite often.
Is this what is meant by these passages or is there to be something worse? There is no way to really know right now. All we know is that there is going to be a severe intensification of these happenings and they will begin right before the end time comes.
Scripture is pretty cleat that these events will occur during the end times. We might want to note that the stars fall to earth only two times in Scripture: here when the sixth seal is broken, and after the tribulation when Christ returns to earth.
Verse 13 says the stars will fall to the earth like the figs drop from a tree when shaken by a strong wind. This will occur right before the end time. Then when the tribulation comes, we will see again some astronomical happenings. Rev. 8 and 9 and 16.
There will be more astronomical happenings right after the tribulation when the day of the Lord comes. Jesus spoke of it Matt. 24:29 - “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”
And again throughout the Old Testament these happenings are prophesied.
Isaiah 13: 9-11 – 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.”
Isaiah 24: 21-23 –“21 So it will happen in that day,
That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high,
And the kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together
Like prisoners in the dungeon,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed,
For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.”
Ezek. 32: 7-8 – “7 “And when I extinguish you,
I will cover the heavens and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud
And the moon will not give its light.
8 “All the shining lights in the heavens
I will darken over you
And will set darkness on your land,”
Declares the Lord GOD.”
Joel 2: 30-31 –“30 “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns of smoke.
31 “The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”
Joel 3: 15-16 –“15 The sun and moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16 The LORD roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the LORD is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.”
Then in verse 14 it says that the heavens will disappear and the mountains and the hills will be moved out of their place. What does this mean?
Note that the men are so frightened that they cry for the mountains and rocks to fall upon them. This is a prophetic way to describe the devastation of the astronomical happenings and the great earthquake and meteorites falling to earth.
Again you find references to this in Isaiah 34:4, Ps. 102: 25-26, Jer. 4:24. Even Nahum predicted in 1:5, “5 Mountains quake because of Him
And the hills dissolve;
Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence,
The world and all the inhabitants in it.”
So all these are the effects of God’s wrath on the universe. Then in verses 15 & 16 we see the effects of God’s wrath upon people. Note two significant things.
1. Great fear will grip all unbelievers on earth. And note the list of those who fear: the kings and rulers of the earth, the great and powerful of the earth, the rich and wealthy, the military chiefs, the mighty and the strong, the slave and insignificant, the free and independent.
Every unbeliever on earth will be stricken with terror. No one is going to escape the judgment of God. God doesn’t play favorites. The world of unbelievers will quake in fear. The very atmosphere of the earth will be heavy with the feeling that the end is at hand.
2. Secondly, note that all unbelievers will cry for death. The terror and fright will be so maddening that the world will panic. People will be madly rushing to HEB to stock up on food. But food isn’t going to make any difference then. People will be trying to hide in dens and caves, begging to die and to be annihilated in order to keep from having to face God’s eternal judgment.
Jesus said in Luke 23:30 “30 “Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.’”
It’s not going to be a pretty picture. That is why it is so important that we tell as many as we can about these end times. Because there will be no second chance. Comment on Jehovah’s Witness saying those in paradise on earth will be given a second chance to learn.
Finally tonight in verse 17, we see the reason for the catastrophes throughout the universe and for the panic of men—the great day of God’s wrath is at hand. Just what is the great day of God’s wrath?
- It is the day when all unbelievers must stand before the face of God who site on the throne.
- It’s the day when all unbelievers must face the wrath of the Lamb.
- It’s the day of His wrath.
- It’s the day when no unbeliever shall stand.
The Day of the Lord is a period of time in which God will deal with wicked men directly and dramatically in judgment. Today a man may be a blasphemer of God, an atheist, can denounce God and teach bad doctrine. And it seems like God does nothing about it.
But the day designated in Scripture as “the day of the Lord” is coming when God will punish human sin, and He will deal in wrath and in judgment with a Christ-rejecting world. One thing we are sure of, that God in His own way will bring every soul into judgment.”
Now remember this is a picture of what will be happening right before the Day of the Lord comes. It hasn’t come yet. This is just the breaking of the seals of God’s Book of Destiny. The worst judgments are yet to come.
So here is our message and it is twofold.
1. All believers will stand face to face with God on the great day of His wrath:
- The wrath of God is coming on the rich and the powerful who thought they were self-sufficient.
- The wrath of God is coming upon the religious who thought they could be good enough and do enough good to be acceptable to God.
- The wrath of God is coming upon the poor who thought they were too insignificant or else thought their oppression would cause God to look upon them with mercy.
- The wrath of God is coming upon the intelligent who thought they were too knowledgeable to believe in Christ.
- The wrath of God is coming upon the scientist and technician because they thought they had progressed so far they could disprove God.
2. The second point of our message is that we must trust Jesus Christ and escape the great day of God’s wrath.
That is what we mean when we say that none of our good works will keep us from God’s wrath. No amount of being a good Samaritan will get us there. No. What will bring God’s wrath on someone is not accepting His Son Jesus Christ.
Paul said in Romans 2:5, “5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,”
So if you have never made that decision or if you know someone who has never made that decision, now is not too soon to give your life to Christ or to witness to those you know and convince them to give their lives to Christ.
Believers will not have to go through the Great Tribulation. Thank God for that.
