THE SIXTH SEAL UNIVERSAL CONVULSIONS Revelation6v12-17
"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: 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, and the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together: and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 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 the rocks of the mountains: and said to the mountains "fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath has come and who shall be able to stand?"
Clearly the details of this sixth vision of John take us to the extreme end of the period of time under discussion. The mention of "the heavens departing like a scroll" refer to the time immediately before the eternal state. In Revelation 20v11 it was said "and I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away." This is after the millennial kingdom and before the final judgment, just prior to the eternal state. It seems to me therefore that these first six seals are describing events from beginning to end of the period known as "the day of the Lord." Peter defines "the day of the Lord" in 2nd Peter 3v10. He says it will commence "as a thief in the night" (a reference to the secret rapture of the church) and it will end with the disintegration of heaven and earth. Therefore Revelation chapter 6 is a panoramic view of the day of the Lord from beginning to end. We could consider the first five seals as "the beginning of sorrows" of Matthew 24; and the sixth seal focusing on the extreme judgments of the end times. There is little doubt in my mind that chapters 7 - 20 are flashbacks to chapter 6; if you like, these chapters are fleshing out the structure that has been laid in chapter 6. It is also abundantly clear that chapters 8-19 focus specifically on the last three and a half years of this period. My friend James Neilson has suggested that Revelation chapters 4 & 5 answer to the phrase "the day of Christ." (1st Corinthians 1v8: Philippians 1v6: Philippians 1v10: Philippians 2v16: 2nd Thessalonians 2v2) while chapter 6 answers to the expression "the day of the Lord." The importance therefore of this chapter 6 cannot be understated. The whole tenor of this period of time is (as it says at the end of the chapter) "the great day of His wrath is come and who shall be able to stand?" At first men will pass it off as natural phenomena, but so intense will the judgments become, that all classes of men will be forced to admit that it is the hand of God. The tragedy will be, that, rather than repent and seek His mercy, they will call on the mountains to fall on them to hide them from His wrath. They hid from God in times of peace: they still want to hide from Him in times of trouble, but there will be no hiding place. The details as we shall see are in three parts:
- Convulsions in the heavens.
- Disintegrations on earth.
- Fear among men.
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