Expectations and the Seals
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsBlurb: Judgment. War. Conflict. Famine. Death. Suffering. God's Wrath. Terror. This is where Revelation gets stranger and scarier. How are we to understand this passage? How are we to react to a passage like this? And what does this teach us about God and the future? Join us as we receive encouragement and hope from God's Spirit through His Word today.
Notes
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Bring up Tim Johnson...
Please turn to Revelation 6.
Revelation 6.
This is the day some of you have been waiting for...
This is where Revelation FINALLY gets good—we get to the weird stuff…war, conflict, famine, death, suffering, wrath, terror, the moon turning to blood, earthquakes
bring it on…this is what we think of when we think of this crazy book...
I want to read the whole thing of chapter 6....
before I do that—
look at verse 1 to help us get oriented to the book.
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
this is the Apostle John writing...
and remember—in chapters 4 and 5, the Apostle John just received an incredible vision of God on the throne and the Lamb, Jesus Christ reigning.
and the one on the throne has a scroll sealed with 7 seals, a well sealed document.
no one was worthy to open the scroll, except the Lamb
we said last week that scroll represents God’s plan or decree to bring his kingdom to completion on the earth.
to judge his enemies once for all
to save his people once for all where he will rule and reign for eternity...
and only the Lamb can open this scroll, execute it to bring it about.
and so the Lamb begins to open the scroll, opening 1 seal at a time…and here’s what happens
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,
13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
Nancy Guthrie in her book “Blessed” on Revelation, talks about how expectations make all the difference.
Expectations do make a huge difference!
I remember having the privilege of visiting Haiti on a mission trip a few years ago. Some of you know I was actually born in Port-au-Prince Haiti—my parents were msisionaries there. and I went with a gentlemen from our church who had been there before.
and he tried to prepare me—we were staying in a Haiti home in a poor village…and he tried to prepare me by saying:
“When you go to sleep at night, you will have to sleep on the floor, so bring a mat for the floor.”
“When you eat food, they will cook you Haitian food, so just be prepared that it may be different than what you expect (It was delicious by the way!)
“When you go to the bathroom, you may have to use the outhouse… (they do have a toilet indoors, but doesn’t always work)
“you may see some bugs, you are not used to—like bigger spiders and some cockroaches—it is a tropical climate!”
and so I was prepared…I went in with those expectations
and came to discover…they actually had a bed for me.
their indoor plumbing worked more than expected
they even had a shower indoors…this wasn’t so bad.
expectations prepared me!
conversely, if I am going on a vacation with my wife and we are promised the honeymoon suite at a fancy resort, and we get there, and find there is a hole in the roof, the shower water is cold, that’s not what we expected.
one of the things I believe Jesus is doing here is giving John the Apostle, the early church, and us today—EXPECTATIONS of what life is going to be like when we follow Jesus.
what life is like between Jesus’ 1 coming (2000 years ago), and his 2nd coming.
because expectations make all the difference.
and let me show you how I interpret Revelation 6 as well as a lot of it.
When I started the series on Revelation, I said there are some main ways to view Revelation.
Some take a “FUTURIST” POSITION. this holds that all the visions John received from chapter 4 to the end—are all about what—the future. and usually take place in chronological or linear order. so the 7 seals happen here—and later they will be followed by the 7 trumpets…and then the 7 bowls…all the way until Jesus come back.
and this is a legitimate view that some hold...
I used to hold this view...
but I have changed my mind...
another way to take Revelation is what is called the “Recapitulation View” — this means to summarize or restate or repeat it.” this view holds that the various series of judgments—the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets, and the 7 bowls are actually describing the same events from a different angels.
So as you go to the 7 seals—it’s like the timeline goes to the end,
and then it backs up to the trumpets and the timeline goes to the end,
and then the bowls—it backs up and then goes to the end.
One reason why I hold this recapitulation or cyclical view—is because the 6th seal in verse 12—look at it:
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,
to me, I think it refers to the final judgment, when Jesus comes back and fully establishes his kingdom—judging his enemies, saving his people, bringing his kingdom.
when we get to the trumpets—when the 7th trumpet is blown it says “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.”
when we get to the 7th bowl—similarly, the description there seems to describe the end.
so I think what Jesus is showing John here—is describing what will take place between Jesus’ 1st coming and 2nd coming—and I believe they will intensify as we get to the end---
(now if you disagree with me—that’s fine—I think we can still get at some of the same theological truth. I hold these views loosely. I get nervous when someone says “I got Revelation figured man…get in line.” don’t listen to preachers like that.)
So back to expectations—what can we expect as we follow Christ:
Expectation #1: As Christians, we can expect difficult times in the world overall. (Conflict, War, Famine, Plagues, Wild Beasts.) (vs. 1-8)
if you look at the first four seals—famously called the 4 horsemen of the apocalyps
look at the first horse
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
some think this horse represents Jesus because is shown coming back on a white horse in chapter 19.
i don’t think that is the best choice.
this imagery comes from the book of Zechariah and those horses there.
some think it is a reference to one specific ruler or general.
some say it is the antichrist—some world leader in the future at the end.
my opinion, and it is my opinion, that we need to take these 4 horses and their riders ALLTOGETHER as pointing to certain themes that happened in John’s day, have been happening and will keep happening until Jesus returns a 2nd time.
these 4 horses and riders are showing what life is like for us between Jesus’ 1st and 2nd coming.
and this first one shows conquest, and conflict. it shows political power. the fact that it is on a white horse may be that riders like these deceive us. we often, even as Christians put our hope in celebrities or certain political rulers to solve our problems, but they cannot.
Jesus said famously in Matthew 24:4-5
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
we have seen and continue to see all kinds of rulers throughout history hungry for power, bent on conquest
the 2nd horse and rider is in verse 4
4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
war and conflict have been happening and keep happening until Jesus returns.
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Nancy Guthrie in her book on Revelation says: If you want to see how many wars are currently being fought around the world right now, you can go to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project at ACLEDdata.com where you will find a world map that highlights the conflicts around the world and breaks those down into battles, violence against civilians, explosions, riots, and protests. And then you can break those down further under each of those categories.
that website says for the 1st week of October of this year in the world—there have been over 2, 221 violent events.
the 3rd horse and its rider represent famine. the black horse holding a pair of scales.
6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
these prices were about 8 to 16 times the normal going rate for everyday staples.
the oil and wine represent luxuries that would be available only for the wealthy.
and then the 4th horse and its rider, the pale horse represents death, and Hades, the place of the dead. sword, famine, and plague and wild beasts.
so what we can expect—that hard things will continue to happen on this earth.
these things are depicted as affecting everyone—from non-believers to believers…
these are part of the expectations we should have of living in a fallen world until Jesus comes.
Guthrie, N. (2022). Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation (p. 108). Crossway.
2. Expectation #2: As Christians, we can expect suffering for following Christ (vs. 9-11)
when the 5th seal is open—John gets a vision of souls who had been slain or martyred for following Jesus under the altar.
look at what they say in vs. 10
10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
have you ever said that?
How Long, O Lord...
how long must I suffer?
How long must I endure cancer or Parkinsons or arthritis
how long must I wait for a job
how long must I wait for you to answer my prayer
here—these are saints who have already died—and they are crying out—How long O Lord—until you avenge our blood? and judge the earth? bring your kingdom?
that may sound kind of morbid to us—why aren’t they praying for their enemies to love them and for their salvation?
we are called to do that..but this good..because they are entrusting judgment to the King of the earth. they are putting justice and vengeance not in their hands but God’s hands. when we cry out like this—we are entrusting justice to the one who judges justly.
and look at God’s answer:
11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
Here’s the answer: a little longer...
in fact, you need to wait until more are killed for following me.
that’s not the answer that John and the church wanted.
nor we want
but it is a reminder…that when we follow Jesus—not only do hard things happen in the world, but also specifically for following Christ.
and the question is—are we going to have these expectations?
are we going to wait?
are we going to trust Jesus?
some of you know what it is like to face some suffering—we don’t know what it is like to face it compared to some parts—but I know plenty of your stories—that following Jesus is not easy. you maybe the only one in your family.
You may have come out of a legalistic background and following Jesus and grace has only brought on religious persecution
your friends may make fun of you “do you think you are better than us...”
we are to expect it, and wait.
so far it has been tough where is the good news—2 more expectations
3. Expectation #3 : As Christians, we can expect that the Lamb is still in control. (vs 2, 4, 8, 11)
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
notice—given...
verse 4
4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
verse 8
8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
who is giving these horses and riders these things—the one on the throne!
Revelation depicts these seals as all under the authority of God still. whether you believe He causes it or allows it (we talked about that in our Ripples groups on Wednesday nights)…whatever you believe about it…God and the Lamb are still ruling and reigning over it all.
and these seals---are part of Him bringing his kingdom.
they serve as judgments for non-believers
and for believers, they serve as ways of drawing us closer to Jesus.
they have a way of showing who belongs to Him
and the good news is if we remember that God is still reigning during political turmoil in the world, war in the world, famine, disease—we can cling to him. if we remember that God will one day bring our persecutors to judgment—that enables us to cling to Him.
God uses these sufferings to show who belongs to Him and who doesn’t.
God preserves us through those sufferings.
the longer I am a Christian, I am convinced we will only endure if we remember that God is still over everything, even over suffering.
(Pastorally—I have noticed this at funerals and hard times, hospital visits…) One of the biggest privileges we have as pastors—Mike Wilson mentioned it last week..is that we often get to be with people at the best moments of life, and the worst moments of life. and when we are with people at the worst moments of life—I have noticed that those who remember that God is still in control—not that’s it easy—but they have a sweetness about them. a peace. a trust. that is SUPERNATURAL. and makes all the difference. Those who don’t—I fear that they will not persevere with Jesus).
4. Expectation #4: As Christians, we can expect that God will bring about his final judgment (vs. 12-17)
this is the last seal in verses 12 and following.
earthquake
the sun turning black
the moon turning to blood.
the stars falling from the sky.
the heavens being rolled up
mountains and islands being removed.
this will be traumatic time!
whereas the first 5 seals point to what has been and is and will keep happening.
this 6th seal—seems to be all about the future.
when these things happen—everyone takes notice.
and then look at verses 15-17 again.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
everyone—regardless of money will be affected by this
everyone—regardless of status and position will be affected by this
and everyone will feel the need to COVER themselves. protect themselves from God’s wrath and the Lamb’s wrath.
it is true that this longing to cover ourselves and hide…has been there since Adam and Eve.
when they sinned, their eyes were opened, and they hid from each other, and from God.
when you and I sin—that is our tendency to…to hide, to isolate—we desperately long to be covered...
every person feels that and will feel that.
and the question is asked who can stand God’s wrath?
b/c if God is the Creator, and He created us—we are under Him.
and we have all fallen way short of His standard, his glory, we are all sinners.
we need covered.
the amazing answer is—that we don’t have to dig and hide to escape (in fact, you can’t…)
God has provided a way where we don’t have to flee but can enter his presence boldly.
where we can be protected from his final perfect justice and judgement.
and it’s because of Jesus…b/c Jesus is the Lamb—God sent Him to willingly and joyfully have Gods’ wrath for sin fall on HIm. and it wasn’t like God the Father was mad and Jesus said, “Calm down.” No the Trinity was in full agreement on this.
Jesus willingly took the consequences and punishment for sin in our place. He gladly did it. and God raised him from the dead, proving that our sin is paid for.
and when cease hiding, expose our sin, confess it, own it before God, trust in Jesus—we don’t have to fear the final judgment. we are invited in—intimacy, closeness with Jesus and the one on the throne. we enjoy Him.
as bad as the sufferings of this world are, and suffering for following Jesus—they are NOTHING compared to facing the wrath of God and the Lamb.
so....expectations—where do you need to realign your expectations with God...
suffering in this world
suffering for following Jesus
waiting...
trusting He is in control
looking forward to the day He sets everything right...
Let’s pray.