By: Tom Lowe Date: 11/17/2015
Title: (19) Sixth Seal: Cataclysmic Disturbances (Revelation 6:12-17)
Revelation 6:12-17 (KJV)
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Introduction
Verses 12-14. The opening of “the sixth seal” precipitates a series of ominous cosmic phenomena: first, “a great earthquake”; then “the sun became black”; the “moon” turned to “blood”; the “stars fell” to “earth” like “figs” in a storm (v. 13); the sky vanished as if it was rolled up like a “scroll” (v. 14; compare 21:1) and every “mountain and island” was moved from its position (v. 14: compare 16:18). Earthquakes were a common occurrence both in Asia Minor and in Revelation (compare 8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18). A number of these same omens precede the day of the Lord in Joel 2:10 . . .
“The earth shall quake before them;
the heavens shall tremble:
the sun and the moon shall be dark,
and the stars shall withdraw their shining.”
The falling of the “stars” like figs and the rolling up of the heavens “like a scroll” were predicted in Isaiah 34:4— “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.” These cosmic disturbances, both celestial and terrestrial, are a sure sign that the end of this age is drawing close, and that the martyrs will soon be avenged for their sufferings.
Verses 15-17. These terrible signs on earth and in heaven cause all people on earth, from the highest to the lowest, both free and slave, to be filled with great fear. In their fright they vainly seek safety by fleeing to the “caves” and “rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains” to fall on them so as to hide them from the “face” of God and the “wrath of the Lamb.” They realize that “the great day of their wrath,” which no one can withstand or escape, has arrived.
Commentary
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
The martyrs cried, “Avenge us!” but the unbelievers on earth will cry, “Hide us!” The opening of the “sixth seal” will produce worldwide convulsions and catastrophes, including the first of three “great earthquakes” (Revelation 6:12; 11:13; 16:18-19). All of nature will be affected: the “sun, moon, and stars,” as well as the heavens, the mountains, and the islands. Compare this scene with Joel 2:30-31 and 3:15 as well as with Isaiah 13:9-10 and 34:2-4.
The breaking of the sixth seal results in catastrophe on a world-wide scale. This is not the final judgment; it is not the end of the world. The judgments issuing from the first four seals were at the hands of the Antichrist, but with the opening of the sixth seal, the judgments are supernatural and come from heaven. This is evidently the beginning of the last half of the Great Tribulation. The great day of His wrath is before us. The Great Tribulation opens and closes with these upheavals in the natural universe: (1) The beginning of the Tribulation (compare Joel 2:30-31 with Acts 2:20) and (2) the end of the Tribulation (see Joel 3:9-17; Isaiah 13:9-13; 34:1-4; Matthew 24:29). While the first five seals will result from human activity God used to accomplish His purposes, at this point He begins direct intervention (Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25). The events described in this seal unleash the seventh, which contains the trumpet judgments (chapters eight, nine; 11:15) and the bowl judgments (chapter 16).
There have been many earthquakes prior to this (Matthew 24:7), but this will be more than an earthquake. All the earth’s faults will begin to fracture simultaneously, resulting in a cataclysmic global earthquake. The fact that we are having an increase in earthquakes today is no fulfillment of prophesy at all. This is to take place in the Great Tribulation. But the interesting thing is that in the past earthquakes have really destroyed a great deal of the population of this earth. Professor R. A. Daley, in his book Our Mobile Earth, has written this: “In the last 4,000 years earthquakes have caused the loss of 13,000,000 lives, and the most awful earthshock is yet to come.” “And there was a great earthquake, such as there was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty; and the cities of the nations fell” (Revelation 16:18). What a picture we have here! The earthquakes today are not a fulfillment of this prophesy. They merely show that it could happen as God’s Word says it will.
Accompanying the earthquake will be numerous volcanic eruptions; and large amounts of ash and debris will be blown into the earth’s atmosphere, blackening the sun and giving the moon a blood-red hue— “On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light” (Zechariah 14:6, 7).
Even more dramatic than the earthquake was the transformation of the heavens with “the sun” turning “black” like sackcloth{2], the “moon” turning “blood” red, and “stars” (v. 13) falling like late “figs” from a “fig tree” (v. 13). The Apostle Peter, in the speech he gave on the day of Pentecost quoted the prophets who foretold of a day when the heavens would become dark (Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7). Peter told the crowd, “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20); it was fulfilled shortly after that by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Peter’s listeners could remember the supernatural darkness at noon on Good Friday seven weeks before; whatever darkened the sun on that day may well have caused the Paschal{1] full moon to rise blood-red. That was the day of the Lord, the day when this feature of apocalyptic symbolism was experienced by hundreds, maybe thousands, and the Holy Spirit has recorded it in our Bible as rock-solid fact. The two images of sackcloth and blood are meant to convey the destruction that is coming. Blood symbolizes death, and sackcloth represents the mourning that comes along with it.
The reason the sun and moon are both a part of this vision is that God is going to move at the same time all over the world; in some places it will be night and in other places it will be day. Notice the sun will be black as sackcloth. This is a reference to the black sackcloth worn by mourners. The garments were made out of the hair of black goats so they were naturally very dark. If the sun ever became that dark, there would be no light. Without light, the entire world will be disoriented.
If the sun goes away, the natural fallout will be that the light given from the moon will also cease to exist, since it merely reflects the sun’s light. John records that the moon looks like blood. The idea is that there is a covering of the moon to such a degree that it will give no light. Instead, there will be darkness and the moon will look as if it has been covered in blood. Remember that blood is maroon in color when in large quantities, so this describes a darkening of the moon more than a reddening of it. One theory of how this will be accomplished is that accompanying the earthquake will be numerous volcanic eruptions; and large amounts of ash and debris will be blown into the earth’s atmosphere, blackening the sun and giving the moon a blood-red hue— “On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light” (Zechariah 14:6, 7).
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
The word “stars” can refer to any celestial body, large or small, and is not limited to normal English usage. There are two ways in which the word “stars” can be translated. It could mean the actual stars in the sky falling, but it more likely refers to meteors falling from the sky to the earth (a meteor shower). While some have interpreted the result of the falling stars as a violent occurrence, like an earthquake, the illustration John actually gives is of ripe figs that could fall when the wind shakes their limbs. The best explanation is a massive asteroid or meteor shower.
“The stars of heaven fell unto the earth” (compare Mark 13:25). As for the stars falling to the earth, Scripture describes natural phenomena as they would appear to the spectator, not in the language of scientific accuracy; and yet, while adapting itself to ordinary men, it drops hints which show that it anticipates the discoveries of modern science. Some Bible scholars believe that what is meant here is the collapse of established authority.
Compare the last part of the verse, “Even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind,” with Mark 13:25— “The stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” And then compare it to Isaiah 34:4— “All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree”—where on the day of the Lord the host of heaven is compared to “figs” from the “fig tree.” The “untimely figs” (winter “figs”) are the green figs which appear before the leaves, and which readily fall off when the wind blows.
Even though John wrote using symbolic language, these verses described a scene that would frighten even the most courageous person. People will try to hide from the face of God and from the face of the Lamb! Imagine wanting to hide from a lamb!
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
At the same time that all these “cataclysmic disturbances” were happening, the earthquake caused all the mountains and islands to move from their places. Under the stress created by the global earthquake, great segments of the earth’s plates will begin to slip and shift, realigning whole continents. Here again in the sequence of events, the end had not been reached because there was still another seal. But this was the most dramatic judgment thus far in this time of great distress before the Second Coming. For the first-century believers, the picture of such cosmic disruption would signal the end of the world. Yet they could find comfort in knowing that God still was in control. Peter wrote to persecuted believers, “As you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:12-13; NLT).
The heavens appeared like “a scroll” being “rolled” up; and disappeared. One explanation is that the earth’s atmosphere will be somehow dramatically affected and the sky, as we know it, will disappear (Isaiah 34:4). Some fine Bible scholars add that we have here the picture of the sky opening up so that the atmosphere, the blue canopy that is over the earth, will split open and form a hole.
Many teachers of the Word of God have attempted to see a figurative fulfillment to this prophecy. They hold that the earth shaking convulsions are to be viewed figuratively, that is, they are moral and political upheavals. For example: Ford C. Ottman says: “The description is figurative, for the heavens do not literally pass away until after the millennial reign of Christ. The great earthquake speaks of the upheaval of human government. Anarchy and riot-rule followed in the path of war, and stable forms of governments are overthrown.”
Dr. Ironside wrote: “It is therefore not a world-wide, but literal earthquake that the sixth seal introduces, but rather the destruction of the present order—political, social, and ecclesiastical—reduced to chaos; the breaking down of all authority, and the breaking up of all established and apparently permanent institutions.”
I think, however, that this passage is to be taken quite literally. The trumpet and bowl judgments, to be revealed later in Revelation, also include great disturbances in the heavens and on the earth before Christ’s second coming. We see the same thing in Nahum 1:5 and again in chapter 20, verse 11. Such bold figurative descriptions of great changes abound in the prophecies of Scripture; for these events are symbols, and declare the end of the world and the day of judgment. The total disruption described here shall be the precursor of the new earth, just as the pre-Adamic convulsions prepared it for its present occupants. Earthquakes have occurred in the past when God acted in judgment. Mount Sinai quaked when God descended upon it in the fire (Exodus 19:18), and the people recognized the quake for what it was (Exodus 20:18-19). In the days of Elijah there was an earthquake which broke rocks in pieces (1 Kings 19:11). When Christ died on the cross of Calvary there was an earthquake— “At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead” (Matthew 27:51-52). Dare we suggest that these recorded incidents were not literal? By what principle of Biblical interpretation may we explain away these historical incidents? I know of none. But to properly understand these events, we must go beyond the literal meaning. These word pictures were common to many of John’s readers and stood for the coming “day of the Lord” or “day of judgment.” The earthquake in Scripture always pictures God’s presence (see Exodus 19:18; Isaiah 2:19-21; Haggai 2:6—when He visits, the earth shakes).
The disturbances under this sixth seal judgment were foretold by our Lord when He said, “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26). These words of our blessed Lord mean precisely what they say. The people who will be living on the earth at that time will actually see the fulfillment of the astrological signs in connection with the heavenly bodies. Christ then added the time element of these happenings, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
“The kings of the earth . . . hid themselves in the dens (caves) and in the rocks of the mountains” sounds like an echo of Isaiah 2:10, 19, where men flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground, from dread of the Lord. This is a picture of the blind panic of the last days. Men’s hearts are now failing with fear as they look at what is coming on the earth. They feel that the day of wrath has come. In this they are wrong, for these things are only “the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8).
As the earthquake moved the mountains and the sky was filled with terrifying signs, everyone on the earth—from the rich and powerful to the “middle-class” citizens to the slayings—all hid from God they recognized that the end of the world had come and they hoped to hide . . . But from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. The people were so terrified of the one seated on the throne that they would prefer that an avalanche fall on them rather than have to face God. The evil people on the earth dread God more than they dreaded death. They do not realize that even death cannot help them to escape their judgment by God.
On that day, all people will be made equal before the Lamb, for all will bow before Him (Philippians 2:10). The kings and magistrates who had ultimate authority, the generals who were used to warfare and being in command, the rich and the powerful who felt secure in their possessions—they, like Adam and Eve in the garden, ran and hid from God (see Genesis 3:8). Everyone else, slave and free, also attempted to hide from God’s wrath, for they knew that these signs could mean nothing else (see also Zephaniah 1:14-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).
The completeness of the panic is described for us by the Apostle. It affects every class of society from the poorest laborer to the greatest king. Men lose all hope and can find no place to hide from the anarchy which grips the globe. We know about kings and rich men, chief captains (military leaders) and mighty men, bondmen and free men; but who are the “great men”— they probably are the statesman and high public officials. By listing the kings, tycoons, generals, the rich, and the powerful as well as the slaves, John was emphasizing that those who had escaped previously would not escape this. Those who thought they were safe and secure would find that they had no place to hide from God.
Forces of anarchy already are active in the world. Lawlessness is evident in every country on earth, in the mighty nations which controlled international affairs and in the newly emerging nations which are just a step removed from the jungle. Lawlessness will be an important factor in making possible the eventual power play of the beast. He is called “the lawless one” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, NASB. He profits from lawlessness and uses it for his own advancement. The hundreds of radical groups, dedicated to the overthrow of society as it is now constituted, preaching the death of the establishment are, at present, divinely restrained. One day the seal of restraint will be broken and, as during the days of the French and Russian revolutions, the old order will be swept away. A new society will emerge, with its constitution drawn up in hell.
The practical effect of the judgment was fear in unbelievers from all walks of life. Dread and fear would seize on all sorts of men. Neither grandeur, riches, valor, nor strength, can support men at that time. They would be glad to never be seen again—to no longer exist. Though Christ is a Lamb, he can be angry, and the wrath of the Lamb is exceedingly dreadful; for if the Redeemer himself who appeases the wrath of God, be our enemy, where shall we find a friend to plead for us?
“Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others . . .” (2 Corinthians 5:11). There is a Rock to which we can still come for refuge. That Rock is a Person, the Rock of Ages, our Lord Jesus Christ. There is both salvation and security in the cleft of that Rock.
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
They (unbelievers) called on “the mountains and the rocks” to “fall on” them and to hide them from God’s “wrath.” Their fear was so great they would rather be killed by a falling mountain than to face “the wrath of the Lamb” (“Their wrath,” referring to the anger of the Triune God.) Again this is not a picture of ordinary trouble but the period of the greatest distress in world history.
“The wrath of the lamb” is a paradoxical phrase. The Bible is filled with paradoxes, and I am sure that you have discovered that. A paradox is a proposition which is contrary to received opinion; that is, it is that which is seemingly contradictory. On the surface the assertion seems contradictory but closer examination reveals it is factual. Here we have the greatest paradox of all; “The wrath of the lamb”— lambs are gentle animals—but this Lamb was bringing great wrath upon a world that had refused His sacrifice, mocked His name, and persecuted His people (see Luke 12:49).
The wrath of God is the Day of the Lord, that day that is spoken of all the way through the Old Testament prophets, a day that is coming upon the earth and is yet future. It is called here “the wrath of the Lamb”—that is a strange statement. “Wrath of the lion” would be more consistent. We are so accustomed to emphasizing the meekness and gentleness of Christ (Matthew 11:28-30) that we forget His holiness and justice. The same Christ who welcomed the children also drove the merchants from the temple. God’s wrath is not like a child’s temper tantrum or punishment meted out by and impatient parent. God’s wrath is the evidence of His holy love for all that is right and His holy hatred for all that is evil. Only a soft and sentimental person would want to worship a God who did not deal justly with evil in the world.
Here we have “the wrath of the Lamb.” The lamb is a familiar figure of Christ. Suppose a little lamb, which is noted for gentleness and meekness, did get angry? What then? It is like a tempest in a teapot. From the days of Abel to those of John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus is depicted as a lamb. The apostle John calls Him “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In other words, God did not choose the lamb because it possessed characteristics of Christ, neither did He choose it for the sacrificial aspect. God created such an animal to represent Christ. Christ is “the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world,” before any lamb was ever created.
The Lord Jesus Christ has the qualities of a lamb. He was meek— “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). He was gentle— “. . . Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). He was harmless—You never see a sign saying, “Beware of the lamb.” You see the “Beware of the dog,” but not of the lamb. He was humble—Christ washed the feet of His disciples.
But what about “the wrath?” Wrath is strange and foreign even to the person of God, is it not? God loves the good. God hates the evil. He does not hate as you and I hate. He is not vindictive. God is righteous, God is holy, and He hates that which is contrary to Himself. He is strong and mighty. He is mighty in battle. The gospel reveals the wrath of God. Paul said, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Look at this world we are in, my friend. It already reveals the wrath of God, the judgment of God, and the hopelessness the situation. It is clear that no person has control of his or her own fate. Furthermore, the people mentioned here are impenitent. They refuse to submit to God’s will. They would rather hide from God in fear (remember Adam and Eve?) than run to Him in faith. They are proof that judgment by itself does not change the human heart. Not only will men seek to hide from God, but they will blasphemy Him as well (Revelation 16:9, 11, 21).
It is like mixing fire and water to bring wrath and the Lamb together, but all the fury of the wrath of God is revealed in the Lamb. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He made a scourge of small cords, and He drove the moneychangers out of the temple. Was He bluffing? He was not. He called the religious rulers a generation of vipers, whited sepulchers. He cursed the fig tree. He said “Woe unto thee, Chorazin and Bethsaida” (see Matthew 11:21). Christ rejected Jerusalem, but He had tears in His eyes when He did so. He still controls the forces of nature, and He uses them in judgment. God has declared war against sin. I say, Blessed be His name. He will not compromise with that which has brought such havoc to the human family! There is a day coming when the wrath of the Lamb will be revealed. Someone says, “I thought He was gentle and would not punish sin.” My friend, God said, “Be wise now therefore, O ye Kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psalm 2:10-12).
We will see more of “the wrath of God” as we progress through Revelation (Revelation 11:18; 14:10; 16:19; 19:15). We will also encounter the wrath of Satan (Revelation 12:17) and the wrath of the nations as they oppose God (Revelation 11:18). If men and women will not yield to the love of God, and be changed by the grace of God, then there is no way for them to escape the wrath of God.
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
The picture of destruction after the opening of “the sixth seal” is frightening. Men know something about volcanoes, something about earthquakes. They had seen what they doubtless called falling stars. But at the summons of the justice of God these became the very order of life. Nature went mad and all its orderly life turned to chaos. But the disorder and the chaos were held in the firm hand of God. The Creator and the Redeemer had set loose this cosmic storm. The world was united in the awful expectation of doom. Rank lost its privileges; social distinctions lost their meaning. Only the black dread held men together in a strange fellowship amid the destruction of the world. And the hand that unleashed all this was a hand that had been nailed to the cross. The wrath is “the wrath of the Lamb” (v. 16) and it turns out to have a more final and awful menace than the wrath of a lion. When love turns to white anger there is indeed something to fear.
“The great day” can only be the last “great day.” After the Lord has exhausted His ordinary judgments—the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, and still sinners are unrepentant— “the great day” of the Lord itself shall come.
Taken as a whole, chapter 6 is one of the most important and pivotal chapters in the entire book. It describes the first six seals and also introduces the seventh seal which consists of and introduces the seven trumpets and the seven bowls of the wrath of God in chapters 8-9; 16.
The contents of chapter 6 should put to rest the false teachings that God, being a God of love, could not judge the wicked world. It also raises the important question contained in the closing words of verse 17; “Who can stand?” Only those who have availed themselves of the grace of God before the time of judgment will be able to “stand” when God deals with the earth in this final period of great distress. Only those who have received the righteousness of Christ can “stand” justified, and not condemned before the Judge. Thus the sixth seal brings us to the verge of the Lord’s coming; the day of the Lord. The ungodly “tribes of the earth” tremble at the signs of His immediate approach. But before He actually inflicts the blow in person, “the elect” must be “gathered” out of the world.
My dear reader, are you ready for that judgment day? If you are not, in the words of Amos, “Prepare to meet by God!” The way to prepare is to simply trust Him by faith. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
Those who will be saved during the Great Tribulation are described in the next chapter.
END NOTES
{1] Paschal. Things relating to Passover and Easter.
{2] Sackcloth. One kind of sackcloth was made of the “hair” of Cilician goats, and was called “cilicium,” or Cilician cloth, and was used for tents, etc. Paul, a Cilician, made such tents (Acts 18:3).
