Last week we saw the first four seals being broken open by the Lamb which released the four horsemen that symbolized four forces riding out into the four corners of the earth. These four forces were represented by different colored horses and their riders brought four different judgments upon the earth.
The first horse was white and carried a rider who held a bow and was given a crown. He went out conquering and to conquer. We discussed this represents the Antichrist not Jesus. At this time, Jesus is in heaven opening the scrolls. This Antichrist imitates the Messiah. He rides a white horse as Jesus does in Revelation 19:11 He sets himself up the Messiah to be worshipped, he is given a crown showing that the people set him up to reign over them and for a time there is popularity, peace and prosperity in the world under his leadership. Daniel chapter 11 says that he gains power through a scheme.
21 And in his place or office [in Syria] shall arise a contemptuous and contemptible person, to whom royal majesty and honor of the kingdom have not been given. But he shall come in without warning in time of security and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries, intrigues, and cunning hypocritical conduct. (Daniel 11:21, Amplified)
But this peace is a false peace that these false teachers, leaders and prophets lead the people astray with as in Ezekiel 13 and Jeremiah 8, when the false prophets would say lead God’s people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there was no peace. No one likes war. No one likes conflict. If any of us had our choice, I think we would all choose to live a life a peace and rest if we were able. But we live in a world and in a time of spiritual warfare where evil reigns, how can there be peace? The only way there can be “peace” with evil reigning is if the righteous do nothing and let the wicked, let those who hate God and his ways have their way. Quit trying to block them and stand in their way. Let homosexuals marry one another. Let abortion be legal. Let people commit adultery and sleep with whoever they want. Let people drink to their hearts content. This is their idea of peace. To be left alone to do their own thing, follow their own way. No conviction. No judgment. This is their definition of freedom- lawlessness to those who hate God and his authority over them.
This is why the Antichrist, the Abomination of Desolation is also referred to as the lawless one. Read 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12:
3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessnessis revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
This positioning of the Antichrist is key to marking the beginning of the seven year tribulation according to Matt. 24:15-16 when Jesus answers the disciple’s question of “When will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age?” The disciples wanted to know when the temple would be destroyed and what the sign of Jesus coming would be. Jesus replies by describing many of the events we are reading about here in Revelation chapter 6 in eerie similarity and he tells draws his disciple’s attention back to the prophecy of Daniel referred to in Daniel 9:24-27, Daniel 11 and Daniel 12. Jesus is telling his disciples that the time to flee, the time of this happening starts with the abomination that causes desolation standing in the holy place. This prophecy had a short term fulfillment in the actual destruction of the temple in AD 70 and a long term fulfillment as a sign for the end of time as marked by Daniel.
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation, ’spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matt. 24:15-16)
So the only time we are given for these events is what has already been revealed by the prophet Daniel in the Old Testament as described by Penny last week in Daniel chapters Daniel 9:24-27, Daniel 11 and Daniel 12. When you have an opportunity read and reread these chapters that describe in further detail the rise and the fall of this Lawless one known as the Antichrist.
The remaining 3 horsemen that rode out after this was the bright red horse, representing bloodshed and war when peace is taken away from the earth and men begin to turn on one another and slay one another. Kingdoms rise against kingdoms and Nations against nation which should only be expected when lawlessness reigns in man’s heart for each man, each kingdom will not be looking out for the interests of the other nations, there will not be genuine love for one another, but only self interest and selfish gain as pride, lust and self rules without hindrance. True peace only reigns when planted in the soil of truth, love and humility which cannot exist in the soil absent of these heavenly ingredients and nutrients that the earth dwellers despise.
The third horseman was a black horse that carried the force of famine into the world. Famine always follows wars as man’s resources are pulled to support the war effort and their resources are destroyed by their enemies in attempt to starve them and destroy their lands. Major transportation methods and distribution methods are often destroyed in a time of war as the infrastructure of a kingdom is attacked first. Buildings, Roads, Power Supplies…How will food be transported to the stores without these?
The fourth horseman is a pale horse carrying the force of Death with the grave, Hades following him. This pale horseman was the color of decomposing corpse and had the authority to kill one fourth of the earth, through the famine, the plagues and wild beasts. We talked last week about how during a famine, plagues go on the rise through the lack of hygiene. If all your money is going to go towards that days food supply, there will be nothing left over for medicine or proper hygiene if those items are even available. They will be suffering the same problems as the food supply only less of a priority since that days bread will be first priority. Sickness will run rampant and become contagious beyond imagination. Diseases will spread through insects, rats, bacteria; beasts will be searching and competing with man for food in desolate places that are now cities.
We have faced many of these Antichrists, contemptible rulers, wars, famines, and plagues in world history. These judgments are nothing new to the earth, but the scale and the intensity of these four seals is what is going to distinguish them. Usually when the earth faces such wars, famines, plagues, contemptible rules, they are rare and spread apart in their occurrences and limited to a single city, a single nation or a few nations in their scope. These sorrows will be wide spread across the entire world and become commonplace of everyday living during this time. Now if a city of a nation experiences a great catastrophe, just think of all the resources that are pooled and poured into that nation to help them bear the catastrophe. Food is shipped in. Medical supplies are sent. Money is poured in. People travel down to help. None of this is going to be happening much if at all because there will be no strong to come along side the weak. Everyone will be suffering. Everyone will be trying to survive for their self and for their own family. There may be some who would like to help others but very few will be able to in such widespread conditions of war, famine and plagues.
All of this paints a very dark and dreadful picture, but all of this is described by Jesus as the beginning of birth pains. This is not the actual Great Tribulation yet, but just the beginning of birth pains. If the beginning birth pains are this dreadful, how awful will the actual birth pains when the trumpets are blown and the bowls are poured out?
With this backdrop we begin to look at Revelation 6:9 which contain the opening of the fifth seal. With the opening of this seal our perspective is shifted from viewing the outpouring of catastrophes taking place on the earth back up to the throne room of God, which is seen as a temple in this verse for now we see an altar much like the altar of the Old Testament that was modeled after it present.
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
John looks and after the fifth seal is opened his attention is drawn to the altar and under the altar he sees the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had been borne. These would be the martyrs and it is believed that these are those who are slain, suffering violent deaths, tormented and tortured for refusing to renounce their religion, their faith in the word of God and their testimony during the tribulation.
This time of tribulation is going to be one of the most evangelic times this world has seen. It is sad that it often takes calamities, catastrophes, wars, famines, injustice, illnesses, and loss to get our attention and to shake us up so that we begin to look upward toward God and see that our life is temporary. Our world is temporary and we begin to look for God as the only stability that our souls have to cling to and to hold onto in an unstable world that is about to get even more unstable. During this time of great tribulation many will be saved and many will be slain for their faith.
Here John sees their souls beneath the altar symbolizing the laying down of their lives as a sacrifice to God. Leviticus 4 describes how the priests in the Old Testament would pour out the blood of the animal sacrifices on the base of the altar. The blood was the life of the flesh, the soul of the creature being poured out. The word ‘life’ and ‘soul’ is the same word “nephesh” in the Hebrew language.
10 “‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”
13 “‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.” (Leviticus 17:10-14
Because of this blood is sacred according to God. According to the Hebrews, the blood was the carrier of life. God was the source of life, giving us the breath of life, but it is the blood that carries that life in our flesh and when our blood is poured out, our life is poured out with it.
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)
When our blood is poured out so there is extensive bloodshed, it symbolizes a violent death. In order for the blood to be poured out in an animal as a sacrifice, the animal had to be slain; the flesh had to be damaged for the life to be released. So whenever an animal was sacrificed and its life was poured out on the ground, man’s life was symbolically released from the death penalty of sin.
In the same way, Christ, our Passover lamb was slain, he suffered a death of violence that caused his life to be poured out, his blood to be shed which released his life and gave us access to it so that we might share his life by sharing his blood.
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ( John 53:55)
In the same way, these martyrs were violently slain in such a way that their blood was poured out as a sacrificial offering to God because they gave up their lives in order to take a stand and maintained their faith in the word of God and their testimony during the tribulation.
Since the church is already present as symbolized by the elders, it is believed that these martyrs came out of the tribulation for several reasons. One is that they had no bodies. John sees their souls. Once the rapture occurs, we will immediately have our glorified bodies, we will all be changed in a twinkling of an eye and the dead in Christ will rise first. Since the dead in Christ are already with Christ in heaven because 2 Cor. 5:8 teaches us that to be absent from the body for the Christian is to present with the Lord, this must mean that the dead in Christ receive their glorified bodies at this time. It would follow that during this time, any that have been slain, martyred already for Christ before the tribulation would also receive their glorified bodies.
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Cor. 5:8)
14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thess 4:14-18)
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Cor. 15:51-53)
An additional reason this appears to be those slain during the tribulation period is because of their cry for justice against the earth dwellers in the very next verse.
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?”
There was no question of if God would avenge them, but there question was one of timing, when God would avenge them. “How long! Oh Lord!” they cry out. It also reminds me of David’s own plea from Psalm 13:
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
There cry, was a cry for justice. Often nothing causes our soul to cry out louder to God then when we cry out for justice against an injustice we have faced or been accused of. We want our enemies, our persecutors, our abusers, our loved ones murder’s to face justice.
They cried out the Lord using the same title the small church of Philadelphia of Revelation 3:7 was given in Revelation 3:7, “These are the words of the holy and true one.” These martyrs knew the Lord to be both holy and true. Holy that he would execute justice and true in that he would keep his word. There was no doubt about God avenging them; it was all a matter of when. Its one thing to know God will do something; it’s another to have to wait for God’s timing and to wait. The details of God’s timing are rarely revealed to us. God reveals to us his purposes, his plans, his will many times, but his timing we must faithful wait for as Abraham waited for Isaac his promised son. We must wait for his promises to be fulfilled. We must constantly learn to wait on the Lord. When will this trial end? When will our prayers be answered? When will Jesus come back again? When will the Great Tribulation period begin? We cry out like David, How long O Lord, will you forget us forever?
So these martyrs were killed unjustly, the kind of unjustly that twists your soul up inside in its blatant hypocrisy and unfairness and gives you no peace. If you have ever gone through this yourself or watched a love one go through it, you can feel the martyrs cry for justice, for the Lord to avenge his own, to set all things right.
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. (Genesis 4:10)
For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. (Psa. 91:12)
And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? (Luke 18:7)
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)
Rejoice with him, O heavens;
bow down to him, all gods.
for he avenges the blood of his children
and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him
and cleanses his people’s land.” Deut. (32:43)
These martyrs called out for justice against the earth dwellers. This means those who afflicted them were still alive. If you remember from our study of The Church of Philadelphia in Revelation chapter three the term earth dweller is a figure of speech for the lost. It is those who dwell on the earth or those who house permanently on the earth. It is those whose entire life is tied and wrapped up in the world and in earthly things and all that the earth has to offer in contrast to those who dwell in Christ and are sojourners looking forward to a heavenly kingdom and the promises it offers. We know the earth is not our home.
Revelation 6:10 – 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?”
Revelation 8:13 – Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
Revelation 11:10 – and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
Revelation 13:8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Revelation 17:2 – with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”
Revelation 17:8 – The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come
Another reason this appears to be Martyrs during the tribulation is because of the context of the verses and the sequence of events. During this tribulation period, we are seeing a tremendous loss of life on earth. One fourth of the earth had just died because of men slaying one another, famine and plagues but we know that this will be a great time of persecution of Christians as shown in this seal and also in Matthew 24:9-14 & in the very next verse Revelation 6:11.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24: 9-14)
And in Revelation 6:11
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.
Here we see these martyrs are told to wait a little longer because there would be additional brothers of theirs who would be killed in the same manner that they were killed. This emphasizes the persecution that is going on during this time period and also reveals to us that just as God has set a limit on those who would be martyred for their faith during the Great Tribulation.
This persecution is more than likely government led as a one world religion is set up and as people are called to worship the beast and will not be able to buy or sell without worshipping the beast and receiving his seal and mark upon them, showing his possession and ownership of them. This persecution of the Christians marks the midpoint of the tribulation, three and half years because three and half years into the reign of the Antichrist his true character and colors are revealed as he sets up the abomination of desolation in the holy place, the temple of Israel and he is no longer supportive and peaceful towards Israel and world peace. This is when the Great Tribulation begins and
Here these souls are told to rest and wait just a little bit longer for God to avenge their bloodshed on their enemies, the earth dwellers. These martyrs are given white robes, “stoles”, long fitting gowns that extended to the feet that were often worn by kings, priest, and persons of rank. These white gowns or robes are given to the martyrs as mark of dignity and victory. They may have been mocked, persecuted in undignified ways, but here is a down payment showing their high esteem, their worthiness to be respected that Jesus himself bestows on them and tells them to wait a little while longer.
The Lord hears our cries; he hears the cries of the lives of the departed and still whispers, rest and wait. God’s response is still to wait. Wait on the Lord. Sit still my daughter. Be quiet and know that I am the Lord. God’s timing is not our timing. He has a time for everything, salvation, justice and vengeance and an end to all our trials and sufferings.
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, 16calling 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?”
With verse twelve to seventeen we come to the breaking open of the sixth seal, which is next to the last seal of the seven seals on this scroll of God’s righteous decrees of judgment. We would think that with the sixth seal God’s wrath is almost complete, but it is not. And so when the seventh seal is open instead of seven showing completion of God’s wrath, we see the seventh seal showing seven more judgments of God enfolded within it and then there are seven more judgments of the bowls enfolded within the seven trumpets. So all of God’s judgments are encased within the seven seals of the scroll. We see God’s judgments much like the matryoshka nesting doll, when you open one you find another hidden with it. Only these judgments instead of having just one additional judgment in it has seven with the final one being seven more for three times until the wrath of God is complete. As God is Holy, Holy Holy, – holy to the third degree, the highest degree so you can see here God’s wrath being poured out on the earth and on man to the highest degree, the third degree.
Heb. 10:31 tells us that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” We face a lot of silly fears and phobias in this world, very few of our fears are legitimate. But the one thing we should fear, the one person we should fear, God himself, we do not fear. We often associate our salvation with being saved from suffering in this life, for a better life now instead of salvation from the wrath of God.
“Jesus did not die simply to give us peace and a purpose in life; He did to save us from the wrath of God.” – Jerry Bridges
This sixth seal is a little bit different from the previous seals in that we are once again looking at the earth and God’s judgment on the earth. However there is much debate on the timing of the events of this seal and how to interpret it because of the timing. Many commentators would say this seal is to be interpreted figuratively and not literally because of the sequence of the events. It is too soon for the cataclysmic destruction as described in the remaining verses of this chapter to be played out. There are still the seven trumpets and the seven bowls to go and the earth has to remain intact to receive the full wrath of God’s judgment. The cataclysmic events in this verse would destroy the earth entirely. There is no way for the earth to survive such an onslaught. It would be destroyed with several stars striking it. Those who lean towards this view interpret the earthquake as being a revolutionary change in government that is earth shaking to the world. The sun and moon being darkened are heavenly influences being darkened, leaders losing their position, knowledge being darkened. This view is supported by the same description of the earth being shaken, the sun and moon being darkened by the Old Testament prophets for the rise and fall of various kingdoms that had a prophecy both then and in the future. This was an exaggerated poetical form of writing to show the extreme judgment that would take place when the Israelites would be taken into captivity. Apocalyptic literature also used this same figurative language, so it was popular in the time period that John wrote the book of Revelation.
The other view shows this seal and the other seals not to be sequential but more of an overview of all the judgments of God being poured out until the very end, so this seal is set more at the end of the tribulation period and is descriptive of the Day of the Lord. In this view the events are actual in their proper place. There will be an actual great earthquake and the sun will be darkened and the moon will become red like blood and the stars of the sky, meteoroids will strike the earth.
When we look at the book of Revelation from this view, it becomes not a book to be read and interpreted in a linear matter but to be viewed more as a beautiful tapestry that has various pictures and symbols woven into it, all with meaning and all to be interpreted not only individually but as a whole as these symbols interplay with one another in ways that you have to take the whole tapestry into view for consideration. You have to step back and zoom out to see the interconnectedness of all the symbols and pictures.
This ties this sixth seal with the seventh and final bowl of God’s wrath in Revelation 16:17-21 as one and the same event:
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. (Revelation 16:17-21)
Along with Matthew 24:29-31
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.’
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earthwill mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31)
Acts 2:19-21
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.
(Acts 2:19-21)
Peter also describes the Great Day of the Lord.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:9-13)
In all four of these descriptions we see that the Day of the Lord is described as a day of darkness. In the bible darkness is associated with judgment. When Jesus was on the cross for six hours, it was during the last three hours that darkness came over the land. On the Day of the Lord, the sun will not give its light and the moon will not be able to reflect the sun’s light. The moon is said to appear red. There are many theories that may be the cause of this, some say nuclear warfare, meteors hitting the earth, causing volcanic eruptions.
Just as we do not know the exact time, we do not know how this will play out exactly; we just know this will happen. We know that unlike other disasters that have their limited scope of the earth, what is described in these verses affects the entire earth. This makes this earthquake to be a cataclysmic earthquake that the entire world feels. It’s not just one city, one location, or one nation; this is a worldwide earthquake of such magnitude that it moves the mountains and island out of place.
Zephaniah describes it as a Day of Judgment on the whole earth on the Day of the Lord in Zephaniah 1:2-3, 14-18
“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”
The great day of the Lord is near—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness—
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17 “I will bring such distress on all people
that they will grope about like those who are blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole earth will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live on the earth.
(Zephaniah 1:2-3,14-18)
Isaiah describes the Day of the Lord as day of laying waste to the Earth in Isaiah 24:1-3, 19-23.
See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth
and devastate it;
he will ruin its face
and scatter its inhabitants—
2 it will be the same
for priest as for people,
for the master as for his servant,
for the mistress as for her servant,
for seller as for buyer,
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.
3 The earth will be completely laid waste
and totally plundered.
The Lord has spoken this word.
The floodgates of the heavens are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken up,
the earth is split asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion
that it falls—never to rise again.
21 In that day the Lord will punish
the powers in the heavens above
and the kings on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
like prisoners bound in a dungeon;
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished after many days.
23 The moon will be dismayed,
the sun ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.
(Isaiah 24:1-3, 19-23)
In these verses we see that the earth is totaled. The earth is laid waste by the calamities that fall upon it. All the descriptions are similar and build on one another. Not only the entire earth is shaken, but the heavens are also shaken. This is something so cataclysmic that it starts not on the earth but in the very heavens itself and it shakes the earth. It causes all the mountains and islands to be moved from their places.
At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, (Heb. 12:26-28)
Because of God’s grace, we have never had to have the fear of an asteroid or meteor striking the earth in such a way that it would threaten life. As Christians, we know that God who created the earth and us, in his sovereignty he protects us. The fact that there are asteroids and meteors swirling around us and yet never come near enough to damage the earth should cause us to praise God. There are people who prep for this disaster and other disasters such as nuclear war, alien invasion, government takeover, etc. and live their entire lives around such fears. There are television shows built around them. But thanks to our knowledge of God we can live at peace and rest knowing the person who sustains us. We don’t have to worry about such things.
“The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else”. – Oswald Chambers
From these verses we can see some of their fears are valid. Something cataclysmic is going to happen, the only problem is none of their prepping to save this world, or to save themselves is going to be sufficient to save them from the wrath of God. Clinging to Jesus and is work as the sacrificial lamb on our behalf is the only rope of salvation that God extends to us to save us from the destruction of this earth.
Everything that we have always depended on as stable and unchanging since the beginning of time becomes unstable, the earth itself teeters, and the position of landmarks, mountains and islands are moved out of place. The sun that daily gives us light is darkened, the moon that guides us at night is darkened, the stars that we use to navigate suddenly begin to fall, and the very heavens rip like a scroll.
And Isaiah 34:1-4
Come near, you nations, and listen;
pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroythem,
he will give them over to slaughter.
3 Their slain will be thrown out,
their dead bodies will stink;
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
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.
(Isaiah 34:1-4)
In this cataclysmic shaking of the earth, it is noteworthy to mention that the people know who is doing the shaking. The heavens rolled back like a scroll. That which usually conceals God, his person, his activities, his purposes is completely unrolled before them. They see him who is on the throne. They know this is from the wrath of the Lamb. This is not just a random meteor shower or something that just happened. The people of the earth all know this is from the hand of God. He who they once poured out their wrath on without mercy is openly pouring out his wrath upon them without mercy. The whole earth and everyone who does not fear God now trembles before him as he shakes it. Who can stand?
Notices how Isaiah says it will be the same for all people, all ranks and in the same manner, John also emphasizes this in Revelation 6:15-17:
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)
God’s judgment shows no partiality. It will be the same with a king as with a slave. It will be the same with the rich as with the poor. It will be the same for the borrower as for the lender. God shows no partiality. You cannot take refuge in position, power, prosperity, popularity or anything other than the person of Jesus Christ. He is the only one who will be able to shield us from God’s wrath.
Also Isaiah 13:6-13 speaks of the day of the Lord
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every heart will melt with fear.
8 Terror will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.
9 See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.
Isaiah 2:10-21 The Day of the Lord
Go into the rocks, hide in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!
11 The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
and human pride brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The Lord Almighty has a day in store
for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
(and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
and human pride humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.
19 People will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
20 In that day people will throw away
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
(Isaiah 2:10-21)
Where do the people run for help? Revelation 6:15-16 says they hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 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,
On this Day of the Lord, the people know where this judgment is coming from. They know it is from the Lord. They know it is the wrath of the Lamb but instead of turning to the Lamb for salvation they hide from the Lord, just like the Garden of Eden and they turn to the mountains for refuge and salvation from the Lamb’s wrath. Instead of calling out to the Lord to save them, they call out to the mountains to hide them. They would rather face their own death then to face God. However, even death cannot save them from facing him who is seated on the throne, and the wrath of the Lamb. They have no hope. No salvation. Only a fearful expectation of the judgment to come and of the raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Heb. 10:27) They will flee from a lion only to meet a bear.
Amos 5:18-20 The Day of the Lord
Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
(Amos 5:18-20)
There will be no place to flee from the presence of God in that day or any day.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there (Psa. 139-7-8)
For many this day comes about as a thief in the night.
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. (1 Thess. 5:1-7)
So Jesus warned us about the day of the Lord coming unexpectantly.
But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matt. 24:36-44)
17. For the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand?
The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (Joel 2:11)
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ – (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
“The most terrible warning to impenitent men in all the world is the death of Christ. For if God spared not good own Son, on whom was only laid imputed sin, will He spare sinners whose sins are their own?” – Character Spurgeon
This is ‘the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth’ mentioned in Revelation 3:10 to the Church of Philadelphia that they could be kept from if they would continue to keep Christ’s word with patient endurance.
2 Peter 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the Day of Judgment,
We are still in the church age. This same promise that was held out to the Church of Philadelphia is still available to us if we would but keep Christ’s word with patient endurance. If we would choose to call on Jesus, the Sovereign one as the martyrs did, knowing he is in control of all these including the length of our lives. He alone is Holy and True and he will bring about his justice on the earth in his own time.
O that we would fear him, the Lamb of God who alone has the right to pour out and dispense God’s wrath because all of God’s wrath was poured out on him. If we would just hide in him for a little while until the wrath of God passes us by we will have nothing to worry about. If we don’t, then we have everything to fear for his perfect righteousness and justice would destroy us for all for each one of us in here is the world’s greatest sinner and the greatest sinner we can ever know. We have all hurt others. We have all broken the greatest commandment. We all deserve death but Christ has paid our penalty and saved us from the coming wrath of God that will be poured out on the Day of the Lord. The unrighteous have had their day, now it is time for Christ to have his Day and his Day will be a day that never comes to an end. For us that is great news! For the unrighteous that is terrible news. For they will never experience an end to their darkness and to the wrath of God. Their future is the lake of fire, the second death, which burns forever.
