Revelation 6: Terror, Confusion, Rejection (vs 12-17)
So far in our return to Revelation in the past few weeks, we have studied five of the seven seals in the scroll opened in sequence by Jesus Christ. These judgments upon evil mankind include the metaphors of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, representing the rise to power of Antichrist by diplomacy and intrigue, world war, famine and death. Last week we discussed the Tribulation saints that would be tortured and martyred for their faith in Christ, and how they were told to rest for a while until all of their brethren yet to die would be martyred as well.
As I had mentioned last week, the church--in the USA and in other "developed" countries--has largely fallen asleep. Or, better, said, fallen asleep to the necessity of serving others. Most people that profess Christ are looking for what they can get from the church and God, and are not interested in what they can do for Him.
A few years back, a popular book was written based on this verse:
1 Chron 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested. NKJV
So many people bought into the idea that they should ask the Lord to bless them. I feel that a large part of the prayer is just fine and dandy; there is nothing wrong with asking God to be with us in a powerful way, or for us to not cause pain to others. However, you have to remember that in the Old Testament it was a system of blessing and cursing; do well, be blessed, do bad you would be cursed. However, we live under grace, where you are already blessed because you have been saved by the blood of Christ.
Over the past ten years, I have seen people come and go from our little church in the country. Only two have left our church for doctrinal reasons, some have moved away but the vast majority of them have left because of just plain stupid reasons to be honest. One of the reasons that people have left is because they are looking for "the bigger, better church" with more programs and more "fun". They have become consumers in Christ instead of serving right where they are. Most often, people of this ilk want others to serve them and do not serve others; they are instead trying to get more "bang for their offering buck".
In countries of great persecution such as China, such thoughts are completely foreign to them. They are interested in furthering the gospel of Christ first and foremost. In fact, they are willing to suffer and die for that privilege that God has given them. Oh, how I wish this was the case here in our country, that we would have that same passion for lost souls!
There is coming, very soon, that day when the church will be no more; it will be in Heaven. We must strive to not look to be blessed, but to bless with the Gospel. And there is great blessing in the doing!
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. Rev 6:12, NKJV
Today, we begin a study of the opening of the sixth seal entitled in the New King James Version Bible as "Cosmic Disturbances". I think that perhaps a better title would be "Earthly and Cosmic Disturbances". In short, this will be perhaps the most terrifying time on Planet Earth up to that point in time.
The Koine Greek word for earthquake is seismos, the word we get "seismic activity" or "seismologist" from. It means "a shaking or shock" (Vine's) or "a tempest". In either case, it is a violent action. And the term for great in Koine Greek is megas; we get the words megaphone (bigger voice) and megaton (a unit that describes the power of one million tons of TNT) from this. What is being described by John is what is being predicted by many seismologists (those that study earth movement) today: The Big One. The biggest earthquake of all time.
There is much debate about the increase of earthquakes or the perception of such today. Some scientists feel that we are seeing more earthquakes because of more sophisticated monitoring equipment, and because of the vast number of such equipment compared to 20 years ago. However, it does not take a rocket scientist to see the increase of activity across the world. We have seen devastating earthquakes hit all over the world in the past twenty years; the Oakland CA area, China, Chile, Haiti, Japan, Russia, New Zealand--they are all across the globe. And it is not just the earthquakes that do the damage, but the resulting tsunami that has devastated Japan and the Indian Ocean region was shocking.
People that have survived these huge earthquakes and tsunamis have had their lives drastically changed. John MacArthur notes in his Revelation commentary:
Earthquakes have always frightened people. Many who reside in earthquake country live in constant fear of the "big one." After experiencing an earthquake some people are so unnerved that they camp outdoors for days, or even weeks, afraid to stay in their houses. Some permanently move out of an earthquake-prone area altogether. The number of appointments in psychiatrist's and psychologist's offices also rises, as those who remain struggle to overcome their fears.
But this earthquake will be different. It will be "The Big One" that nearly all seismologists have been predicting. Because of the wording in the Koine Greek, seismos megas egeneto, this means that it will not be a locally occurring earthquake, but one that will be world wide.
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The first five seal judgments are all man related; although God superintends all things that happen on the earth, men will act to put Antichrist in power. Men will go to war, and the secondary results will be famine and death. Evil men in an evil time will kill Christian martyrs. However, these sixth seal judgments will be uniquely of God, in the power of God, in the wrath of God. And men will fear.
And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. Rev 6:12b, NKJV
The book of Revelation is a book of great drama. It is a future account of great persecution of Christians, of the exposure of the true evil nature of men without the influence of the church in the world. But most importantly, it is a book that reveals the very nature and power of God, including most prominently the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The title of the book, is not Revelation, it is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ". This word for revelation is the word apokalupsis, which means "to unveil". Jesus Christ will be unveiled to the nation of Israel as the true Messiah, and He will be revealed to the world as the conquering King.
To the Jew in that time, as we will see in upcoming devotionals in Revelation, will rejoice when Jesus is unveiled to them, and millions and millions will come to Him in faith. There will be many Gentiles--or non-Jews--that will rejoice, even though persecuted, that He will have saved them from their sins. However, there will be many millions upon millions that will not depart from their sins and turn toward God; it will be a time of great fear and mourning.
Not only will there be a great earthquake,and the fear that surrounds that time because of it, but there will be great atmospheric changes. Here is why. Scientists state that the earth is basically covered with a thin crust, and that crust is divided into great plates that shift and move over a center of magma, or liquid rock. This magma can be seen in a volcanic eruption, and these eruptions are caused by earth movements and variations in the temperature of the magma and other factors.
As I had mentioned yesterday, seismologists and other scientists across the board predict a coming huge earthquake, and along with huge earthquakes there is often volcanic activity. With a worldwide earthquake, there is little doubt that there will be a huge amount of volcanic activity.
Some of you might remember when Mt. St. Helens erupted back in the 1980's. The devastation was incredible within many miles of the site, forest was leveled and all life was destroyed in the path of the blast. But just as significant was not what dust, rock and magma landed on the earth but the dust that was launched into the air. It was very visible from outer space, and the area was rendered dark as the sun was blotted out.
The latter part of verse 12 states that the sky would be "black as sackcloth of hair", a reference to mourning garments made of black goat hair, and that the "moon became blood". These are explainable from the history of some volcanic eruptions Dr. Tim LaHaye notes in "Revelation Unveiled"
...Theime tells of the eruption on August 27, 1883 of Krakatau on an island in the Dutch Indies. The explosion was hear in Rodriguez, South America, 3000 miles away. As a result of the volcano, the sun was blotted out. Volcanic ahs makes the moon look red and the sun was blotted from view at Batavia, 100 miles away. And at Bondune, 150 miles away, the sun was blotted out, and the moon appeared red.
The world will be in a state of terror; but this will only be the beginning.
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. Rev 6:13, NKJV
If you think about it, verses 12-17 sound like one of those great disaster movies that have been popular since the 1970. The movies Volcano, Earthquake, Meteor, Deep Impact, The Core, Dante's Peak and last year's 2012 come to mind. Of the disaster movies, perhaps none were more inappropriately named than Armegeddon, a movie about a huge asteroid on a collision course with earth; Bible scholars know that Armageddon is a place, the site of a great war that is described later in the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
However, what we have seen so far, sure does fit a disaster movie, doesn't it? Because of the earthquake, the earth will be in great disarray as highways will be destroyed, airport runways rendered useless, trains will be derailed, and the list goes on and on. And fear will strike the hearts of men and women as the world will go dark, and the moon will be blood red. But God has only begun.
Of course, we must remember in Biblical interpretation that the Bible was written in terms that would be understood during the day. These "stars of heaven" would not have been literal stars, as a star colliding with the earth would obliterate everything and everyone. However, wer are all familiar with the term "shooting star"; it is a meteor that has entered the atmosphere and burns up in a streak across the sky. Also from time to time there have been larger meteors that have come down upon the earth; Meteor Crater (also known as Barringer Crater) in Arizona is a well known example. It is said that this meteor is 4,000 feet in diameter, and is 550 feet deep. Jeff Lasseigne in his Revelation commentary "Unlocking the Last Days" noted that 20 football fields would fit inside the Barringer Crater. These "stars from heaven"--meteors--are not described is terms of size, but if some were to fall that are half the size of the Barringer meteor the damage would be incredible. In addition, the dust kicked up--in addition to the volcanic dust already in the air--would make the situation much worse.
The amount of meteor fall will be massive. John MacArthur notes:
There will be so many such bodies hitting the earth that John, in a vivid analogy, likens the scene to a fig tree that casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. With the whole earth being pummeled by fiery balls plunging out of the blackness there will be nowhere for people to flee, nowhere for them to hide.
I grew up on the farm, and have seen what happens when a huge windstorm would hit the orchard; unripened fruit would litter the ground. Another picture here is that unripe figs would be hard as stone, like a meteor would be. Not only will people have to deal with the earthquake, darkness but will have falling meteors traveling at speeds of between hundreds of miles per hour to hundreds of miles per minute. It will be a time of sheer terror; and a time that will leave no doubt as to the Person behind these great disasters-- God Himself.--JH
Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. Rev 6:14, NKJV
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
(Last stanza, It Is Well With My Soul)
I love to sing the song "It Is Well With My Soul". What a wonderful song, knowing that no matter what we face in life, God is always there. We also can look forward to that great day when Jesus returns, and will rule the earth.
Quite honestly, the last stanza shown above should not be viewed as referring to the scripture above, but instead should refer to Revelation 19:11 where "heaven is opened"; the same word is used for the unrolling of the scroll in Revelation 5 but a different word is used that means "to depart". It is as though the heavens were a rolled out scroll and restraint removed and the scroll would roll back up. I think a better illustration would be a window blind. I don't know if you have been awakened in the night when a pulled down window blind all of a sudden rolled up but I sure have!
What would cause this? There are a number of possibilities. First, the clouds could "depart" because of a meteor strike, or because of a volcanic blast. But some scholars feel that it could be the result of a nuclear blast (Lindsey, Lasseigne, Hindson, et al) from war. That may well be the case, but I think if you follow the immediate context of this passage God is the one that initiates these actions not man.
In my "sanctified speculation" (in other words, a guess!), I happen to think that it will be from nuclear power plants going super critical and the resulting "China syndrome" that would occur because of it.
All of these earthly and cosmic disturbances will be so powerful that every mountain and island was moved out of its place. Can you possibly imagine the force involved? I remember how long, how many months it took for heavy machinery to clear off the top of the hill above Interstate 79 where Wal-Mart was built--and that will only be a drop in the bucket compared to what scripture says here.
It will be a time unparalleled in the history of the world. And, as we see, mankind will have no doubt as to the Person behind all of this: God the Father, who sits on the throne, and The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.--JH
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?" Rev 6:15-17, NKJV
Salvation is not just available to the elite, the privileged, the rich; it is available to any that "shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead" (Romans 10:9, KJV). On the flip side, however, it does not matter your station in life when it comes to being condemned either.
We see here that men from all walks of life are in some deep trouble here. Kings of the earth, the great men (politicians), the rich men and mighty men (economic leaders), the commanders (military), every slave and every free man (the not-so-powerful) will all react alike (Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary). But what is interesting with these men listed is who they call out on, and the attitude of their reply.
These men, out of fear because of all that is going on will go underground. I find that unusual to be honest, and not just unusual but irrational. If the earth is shaking more violently that it ever has been, why in the world would you ever think about crawling in a cave? In short, I guess, there will be no safe place to be.
But look who they cry out to for safety: the rocks and mountains. In other words, Mother Nature. Again, we see irrational behavior.
However, there is no doubt as to Whom is behind all of the disasters going on: Him who sits on the throne and...the Lamb! You see, even though they call upon Mother Nature to save them, to protect them, to cover them over they do understand that the One True God is behind the whole shebang. Easley notes that there is no misunderstanding, they are not crying out to God, they are angry with and yelling at God!
Many times we wonder why it is that people do not come to faith in God. There are so many evidences for God. They see the work of God in the lives of others. Often, we present the gospel, it all sounds great and they agree that they have sinned, they agree that Heaven is where they do want to go, but when it comes down to asking for forgiveness of sin and giving their lives to Jesus Christ they decline. And we are left to ask one question: Why?
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. Rom 1:18-19, NKJV
In short, many of the unsaved do not want to have God tell them what to do. They love their sin, the want to stay in it and are even willing to die to keep themselves in sin. We see the same thing with Pharaoh in Exodus, with the plagues visited upon Egypt; the more plagues that God sent, the harder the heart of Pharaoh became. They suppress the truth, and reject God...in their pride.
