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Revelation 6:12
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12 And [kai] I beheld [eido] when [hote] he had opened [anoigo] the sixth [hektos] seal, [sphragis] and, [kai] lo, [idou] there was [ginomai] a great [megas] earthquake; [seismos] and [kai] the sun [helios] became [ginomai] black [melas] as [hos] sackcloth [sakkos] of hair, [trichinos] and [kai] the moon [selene] became [ginomai] as [hos] blood; [haima] KJV-Interlinear
12 And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; NASB
Before we get to this sixth seal, lets review quickly the first five.
The first seal is of a white horse, the hero, the promise of the world as to solutions of whatever problems there might be.
The second seal reveals a red horse and the violence that the worlds promises always result in.
The third seal is the black horse and all of the economic and social disasters that result from mans efforts to solve his own problems.
The fourth seal is the horse of death. That is all that the world can provide. No promise, no hope, no future of any value, only doom and death.
The fifth seal is of believers who will have died due to the extreme violence. When the world is wrong, it looks for someone to blame, and violence is the result. But the fifth seal is also one of hope, for both the living believer as well as those who have been martyred. The world will continue to spiral downward into its own oblivion, but believers on either side of life or death, are all cared for with the greatest of protection.
Believers have both hope and peace, both promise and destiny. Unbelievers have nothing.
And thus far, these verses have revealed not in detail, but in summary, the pattern of the events that will occur in heaven and on the earth, during the Tribulation.
The sixth seal is now removed and the contents of the scroll are revealed.
Again, we do not see the details, but we do see the effect, and that is what is in view here.
Remember that in this vision, John is giving us not detailed activities, but symbolic impressions, in order to gain our attention, and especially to gain the attention of those who will be directly affected, in the future.
In many passages we have descriptions of disasters such as earthquakes and wars and such, and here we have descriptions of extreme activities. And these being revealed behind the sixth seal is an announcement and a warning, that God is behind and in full control, over all that is about to occur.
The first four seals reveal mans efforts and resultant disaster.
The fifth seal reveals Gods controls over the lives of those who belong to Him, regardless of what humanity does to them.
The sixth seal is a blast of sound designed to get your attention and to remind everyone that God is in charge.
The earthquake, is Gods presence, the rumbling, the power that is way beyond mans control, but demonstrates Gods presence, who man seems to have forgotten. The sun turning black, the moon turning blood red, all of these are expressions and symbolic of a world that has gone totally out of control.
Have you ever referred to someone who is crazy, as having gone nuts? Did you mean that they turned into a cashew or a peanut? No. It was an expression of their detachment from reality.
And so it is here, in this portion of our study. Other passages will get into the details of the actual events, but as for now, the removal of the seals only gives us the headlines, so to speak.
God gives us all bits and pieces of information. For some, that is enough to get them to follow His Word. For others, then more information, or experiences are required in order to get them to repent. For still others, even more, even violent situations are required in order to gain their repentance. And for still others, the violence has to be so horrible, that they will still reject God, even in the extremes of life.
This serves two purposes. First, you should learn that this world is the devils world and that imperfections are a part of this world, and that more and more tough times are needed in order to gain peoples attention. And second, there will be those who will reject God, no matter how ugly the world gets.
But God allows history to pass by, while events unfold at ever changing levels of pressure, so that the most folks who will believe and be saved, will have that opportunity.
Look into your own mirror and answer the question, ‘How much pressure will it take before you will get off your backside, and into a daily Bible study?’
For most folks, life is not tough enough for them to make that change. And as long as life continues along with relative east, or with not too much difficulty, then they will not make that commitment.
One day, they will wish that they had.
Look at those unbelievers who will miss the boat at the Rapture, and will have to live through or die during, the Tribulation. If not for one decision, faith in Christ, they would have missed the worst period in all of human history. But they refused to think six simple words, ‘Father, I believe in Jesus Christ.’ And look what they will face.
But then what about you. So you have believed and are saved, and if the Rapture occurs in your lifetime, then you will leave this world.
But then, your question is not of salvation, but of spiritual growth. What are you leaving or potentially losing for lack of a daily study? Well, you are leaving a treasure in heaven, that is worth far more than all the wealth on this planet. That is a lot.
By being equally as defiant or indifferent, you are no different than those unbelievers. And when you get to heaven, and finally see what you could have had, you will kick yourself, because you simply saw no value in pursuing a daily Bible study, each and everyday, for yourself while back on earth.
You can look around and see nothing spiritual in your life or in this world. You can lose track of God, blame God, even doubt God, while all you see are your day to day activities, friends, work, wants, entertainments, problems, etc.
But, do not get lost in concluding that the daily activities you face are all that there is to life. There is far more.
Many in the Tribulation will presume that theirs is the only answer to life’s problems, even as they observe life falling apart all around them. Remember over one-fourth of the worlds population will die. That has got to get the attention of some!
And whether it gets their attention or not, the thunder, the quake, the dramatic changes in life all around, are greater than anything in this world and they will overwhelm them all and all of mans plans.
Jesus Christ controls history. Jesus Christ is truth. And despite all of mans efforts to make his own history and destiny, and failures that result, God can still bring it all together and save and protect, and give all believers who look to Him, a great future. And there is nothing and no one who can block that from happening.
The symbolism is intended to be dramatic, and larger than life. God is larger than life. So when will people begin to take notice?
This sixth seal is the certainty of Gods judgment, Gods power, and Gods blessing.
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