Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD, USA
www.mycrossway.org
View this and other messages at: https://mycrossway.churchcenter.com/channels/8118
Introduction
It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve held our study on the Book of Revelation. The last time we were together, we covered the opening of the first 4 of the Seven Seals opened in Revelation Chapter 6. So before we get back into the study, let us do a quick review of where we are at.
You will remember that the Apostle John is in the Throne Room of Heaven. He was translated up to the Throne Room of Heaven after writing the 7 letters to the 7 churches in Asia Minor. I think it is important for us to understand that there is a direct link between the letters to the seven churches and John’s vision in the throne room of heaven. It was a wake-up call to the churches then and it should be a wake-up call to the churches today.
Now, John is in the throne room and he witnesses the awesome and mighty power of God. It is a fearful and dreadful sight as John describes the flashes of lightning and peals of thunder coming from the throne and all of heaven surrounding the throne and giving continuous worship to God. In chapter 4 we see the ongoing worship of God the Creator and Sovereign.
In Chapter 5 we see from the throne is the emergence of a scroll sealed with 7 seals. This is consistent with a legal document and likely nothing less than the title deed to the universe. And as the scene unfolds in the throne room the heavenly beings ask, Revelation 5:2-3 “2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,”
It is at this point we see the Lamb of God revealed, who was slain and is now alive. This is obviously Jesus. And it is he and he alone that can open the seals of the scroll. And as the resurrected Lord emerges onto the scene all of Heaven worships the Lord Jesus Christ. With that, we witness the commencement of the opening of the seals. Understand that the opening of the seals is the commencement of the execution of God’s judgment on the earth. As Jesus begins to break each of the 7 Seals, a judgment is released.
In every release, judgment, and verse, God is in control. This is not the prophecy of satan’s diabolical plan. These are not events that will happen ‘willy-nilly.’ This is God’s judgment on the world for the purpose of redeeming the entire world and extinguishing the damning effects of sin and evil forever. This is God’s plan, God’s power, and God’s sovereignty. The four horsemen are released because God commands it so. The seals are opened because God opens the seals. Therefore, our faith and our hope must always remain steadfast in Him and Him alone.
Now the last time we met we looked at the opening of the first 4 seals as they are opened one by one. With the opening of each of the 4 seals, a horse and horseman are released into the world. The first is a white horse and he concurs the entire earth gives a false peace (Rev 6:2). This is likely the antichrist or a world leader who will bring false peace to the earth. He has a crown, although not a diadem but a Stephanos or victor’s crown (Rev 6:2). This rider is going to bring false peace to the world. Perhaps because the world will be in such chaos after the rapture. He is going to do it through power, deception, and satanic worship.
The second seal is broken and a red horse appears. This horse will now bring war to the world that was enjoying a false peace. The third seal is opened and a black horse emerges, bringing famine and tremendous inflation. And then we concluded with the fourth seal being opened and a pale green horse emerging bringing death to the earth, killing 25% of the population. War follows false peace, Famine/Inflation follows war, and death follows famine.
What I want you to understand is that these are just not tragic events, but they are means of deception and control unleashed by the antichrist and his systems (and ultimately God's judgment on a world that has rejected Him). The same way we saw world control over the COVID pandemic. The same kind of manipulation we are now seeing through control of energy, the environment. The global stage is being set. Every single one of these seals is set up for opening at this very moment: Conquest, War, Famine, Death. This is a progression into the final judgment in a depraved and rebellious world that hates God.
Before we get into the remainder of Chapter 6, let me ask you something very important: What does all this mean to us today? Because all of this, including the 5th seal, is being set up in the global systems today. Our world is becoming increasingly depraved by the day and anyone who dares question the establishment, uses the wrong words, tweets the wrong message, is automatically censored or even jailed.
If you are to speak out of order on topics such as race, the war in Ukraine, homosexuality, climate change, or the pandemic, you are automatically censored or canceled. This should be an alarm bell to us all because they are not in harmony with Scripture. For instance, there is a bill in our legislation that would make it a crime for a doctor to refuse hormone therapy to a child wanting to chemically alter their gender by stopping their puberty or through genital mutilation.
Now, what does all this mean? The Bible tells us that God will turn a society over to their reprobate minds and ungodliness and it always centers around sexual deviance. This is what is happening in our culture and our entire world today. There is a story about Disney today about how they are intentionally including a character and message in every one of their films and shows encouraging homosexuality and transgenderism.
Romans 1:18-32 describes the wrath of God that is poured out in the world when people openly and defiantly rebel against Him and His creative construct. This will be seen like never before in the last days and we are seeing the foreshadows of that wrath today. There is eschatological wrath – that is the wrath that will fall on the Earth at the end of human history in a time called the time of tribulation. And it is the wrath of abandonment. Look at verses 24-28 of Romans 1:24-28
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:24–28)
Conscience, family, civil law/government, and the church are four ways the Spirit restrains sin in the world. Romans 1 shows what God does to societies when societies leap over those bounds; what happens is the sexual revolution, homosexual revolution, then reprobate mind. America has leaped beyond those restraints and God has given us over to those different kinds of perversity. When man abandons God as revealed in creation; when man abandons God as revealed in conscience; when man abandons God as revealed in Holy Scripture, suppressing the truth, God judges that society. (MacArthur) And though that society may consider itself to be wise, it is really debased. The heart becomes darkened when God is abandoned, and then God abandons the darkened heart. (Elizabeth Prata)
What you see in Romans chapter 1 is the sequence of what happens when God abandons a nation. First, verse 24 says, “He gives them over to the lusts of their hearts to impurity” The second thing that happens, when God abandons a culture, is found in verse 26, “God gave them over to degrading passions. In the third step, verse 28, “God gave them over to a depraved mind” – that’s a mind that doesn’t function; There is the lunacy in the minds of men as a result of their rejection of God. We are seeing this on a massive scale today in our country. Would you ever in your years imagine that we would be debating on whether we should be teaching kindergarteners how to change their biological sex… or even not know what biological sex really is?!
“A depraved mind (in the original language) is one that’s tested and found useless; therefore, disqualified for its intended use. The reasoning faculty has been corrupted by the influences that surround it. … A depraved mind, reasoning faculty so corrupt that it must be rejected as non-functioning.” (MacArthur)
Also characteristic of this depraved mind is they become “haters of God.” We’re living in the outpouring of the wrath of God in the category of His abandoning a culture, and we’re living in the sequence that is here: a sexual and homosexual revolution, a reprobate mind that is permissive of everything, including murder on a massive scale. Throughout history, wide-scale homosexuality has been an indicator that the culture has completely abandoned God.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17 ESV)
You say, “Well, our society cultivates tolerance, and you’re giving hate speech.” What I’m talking about is not hate speech. According to liberals and progressives, if you say anything at all that is not sanctioned by them, it is called hate speech. Is that tolerance. What is hate speech: affirming deadly and soul-crushing sin on the fear of not being seen as culturally sensitive, or warning someone of the wrath that is to come. I do not doubt that these struggles of the flesh are real and powerful in each person struggling with sexual sin. But being Mr. Nice Guy isn’t loving them - that’s the real hate speech.
?9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, (1 Corinthians 6:9 ESV)
We exist as a church to proclaim the kingdom of God. Why? Because we know there is no other way to be saved except by the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We have been given the keys to the kingdom of God and the truth of God’s word. We are entrusted to uphold that truth and lovingly share that truth of that word to an unbelieving world. That’s the ministry of the church. And I’m here to tell you that if you give your life over to sexual sin, adultery, and fornication you will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The exact opposite is being taught in public schools and dare I say the doctrine of demons is being shared in private schools as well. The devil is at war with our families, our children, and our very soul. It is our job to shine of light of truth into that darkness. It is not our job to bend the truth of God’s word to make people feel comfortable about their sins. I know that is hard to hear, but I would rather know I am facing my Lord after giving Him everything I got than face him with shame for compromising his saving grace.
Now, onto the fifth seal:
?9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:9–11 ESV)
We know from reading Revelation that there will be a great awakening during the tribulation. There will be many who come to know our Lord during this time. The first believers after the Rapture will be severely persecuted. “slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held,” that is to say, they will be killed for standing up for Christ and for His Word. The Word of God, faithfully declared, brings persecution from the world and the devil.
Today we see increasing hostility to the Christian faith. If you hold firm to the teachings of the Bible you will face certain persecution from the world. Jesus promised that to those who are faithful to him.
?9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. (Matthew 24:9 ESV)
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV)
At the start of the tribulation with the opening of the 5th seal, there is going to be persecution for those who reject the Anti-Christ’s world system like never before. It is not going to be a wholesale massacre; it will be the beginning of persecution. There’s a certain inevitability that will happen at that time. Persecution will be official. It’ll be government-led. All over the world, I believe there will be government-led and religiously-inspired persecution. I think the courts will get involved in it; the governors will get involved in it; the synagogues and the churches will get involved in it. It will be the kind of persecution that is sanctioned officially.
Revelation 17:6 “The false harlot church will become drunk with the blood of martyrs.”
4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4 ESV)
This persecution amplifies the already worldwide hatred for God and the Lord Jesus Christ. But even before the revelation of the Antichrist to the world, this persecution will begin. It’s already here. If you follow groups like Open Doors and Voice of the Martyrs, we know that violence against Christians is at an all-time high. But even more than that, there is active political and social persecution in the US. Churches were deemed “non-essential” and forced to shut down while Walmart and other big corporations were given a pass during the pandemic. All the while churches that defied that order were raided by police. As I said before the voice of the church for the sanctity of life or the sanctity of marriage is actively censored or shut down by liberal voices.
?10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. (Matthew 24:10 ESV)
When the Great Tribulation comes, the only way to come out of it and be saved is through martyrdom, sacrificing your own life for Christ
?9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9–14 ESV)
Now, back at Chapter 6 read, verse 10:
?10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:10–11 ESV)
So, here is a heavenly altar close to the altar of incense in the Old Testament, but unique to heaven, near the place where God has His throne. And within this altar are the souls who have been slain for preaching the full counsel and truth of the Word of God during the great tribulation. Note that they have not yet received their bodies. They have not yet received their bodies because their bodily resurrection has not yet occurred and will not occur until the coming of Jesus Christ when Old Testament saints’ bodies along with tribulation saints’ bodies will be resurrected according to Daniel chapter 12.
Also, note that these people are praying. These prayers are not personal vendettas or for personal revenge. Their holy desire is for the end of iniquity. Their holy desire is for the destruction of Satan. Their holy desire is for the devastation of the Antichrist and the false prophet and the whole satanic worldly system which is being constructed as we speak.
Some people think that that’ll be the Church because they don’t believe the Church will be raptured before the tribulation. But we know and have studied why this isn’t the case.
Lastly, let’s look at the 6th Seal:
?12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:12–17 ESV)
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31 ESV)
When you come to the sixth seal, God acts without men. The sixth seal portrays the end of the cosmos as humanity knows it. You’ve come to a level of intervention by God that is holy and solely His own. There will be terrifying events in the heavenly. Old Testament writers also used language for cataclysmic events (Jer. 4:24; 8:16; Mic. 1:4). But this earthquake seems to be no exaggeration: It is the climactic, eschatological earthquake that truly removes mountains (Rev. 11:13; 16:18; cf. Ps. 97:5; Ezek. 38:19–20; Zech. 14:5) (Keener). This is more powerful and more intense and more destructive than all the earthquakes of all time put together as if God himself is shaking the entire earth.
The upheaval – then shaking – shakes everything, and the upheaval is so enormous that it blackens out the sun the moon becomes like blood. And then a fourth feature, out of that blackness, verse 13, “the stars of the sky fell to the earth.” Fiery balls come careening out of the darkness. Then in terms that John can’t even describe, verse 14, “The sky was split apart like a scroll when it’s rolled up” It says, “The sky was split apart,” in John’s vision, literally ripped apart. It pictures the whole of the sky like a scroll held open at tension, and all of a sudden it’s just ripped down the middle, and the whole sky disappears. It’s all gone.
These comic events are also evidenced by Jesus and the rest of the Bible:
?29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Matthew 24:29 ESV)
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, (Luke 21:25 ESV)
6 you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. (Isaiah 29:6 ESV)
By the way, as a footnote, this sequence in Revelation 6 also fits exactly with the sequence in Matthew 24, because it follows the same chronology
Now, what will the response of man be? For nearly all men it will be anger and fear of God, but not repentance. For those who say they will take their chances now and not repent of their sins, this is the real danger.
?15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:15–17 ESV)
This is astounding. John sees six categories of condemned mankind (or seven, if the last couple is separated) who experience the great day of wrath. They describe all classes of society, showing that distinctions are lost in God’s judgment of unbelievers. Beale writes that this list shows that “God is no respecter of persons but judges all on an equal basis regardless of their social, political, or economic standing. (Ryken)
The people of the earth respond to the final judgment in two ways: First is a vain attempt to flee. Like Adam and Eve, they state that nothing is worse than facing the judgment that has come. Yet none will be able to escape. James Boice writes that when disaster strikes a country, “dictators will have deposited fortunes in Swiss bank accounts. Generals will have planes waiting to whisk them to a safe haven in South America. Even common people will have ways of avoiding the disaster. But not when God comes to execute his judgments.” On that day, all—high and low, rich and poor, free and slave—will cower before God’s wrath and yet fail to escape the universal terror of the day of wrath.
Secondly, they seek death as an escape.
Neither one will satisfy their attempts. Today is the day you may be certain of your eternal salvation
