Book of Revelation (14)
Notes
Transcript
Last week we stopped on seal 5 this week we are going to discuss 6 and the prelude. So the 6th seal:
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,
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
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,
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,
for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
This is what many Theologians refer to as the “Cosmic Catastrophe.”
First starts with 7 tragedies 1)The first of Three Earthquakes, 2) The sun is black, 3) the moon is like 4) blood, 5) the stars fall, 6) sky vanished, 7) mountains and islands removed.
7 is the number of completion. This is also not foreign to the Jewish people as this event is also prophesied about in the Old Testament.
When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord God.
The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
Jesus also spoke about this:
“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.
Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And the same record is in Mark and Luke.
I love this quote:
Dr. Vance Havner- The day will come when the most expensive piece of real estate would be a hole in the ground.
Then we see the sevenfold depiction of humanity
Kings 2. Princes 3. Generals 4. the Rich 5. The mighty 6. Slaves 7. Freemen
They all flee looking for escape, but as we seen prior God doesn’t go looking for them. It’s like a Sim builder—He just deletes them and people fall out.
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
And Jesus repeats this in Luke 23:30
We again see the Throne of Jesus more than likely to emphasize his authority. Then we see this weird saying
Wrath of the Lamb
Which symbolizes the 2nd coming of Jesus, first he came as the lamb for forgiveness now he comes to separate and to judge.
Then we go onto the 144,000 Jews.
The gentiles, which we will talk about are considered in the multitudes—too great to number.
Some people believe that the 144,000 and the multitude are the same, but No where in the NT are gentiles every called Jews. We are grafted into the vine, but we are never classified with the Jewish people. There has always been a definitive line when it came to the NT.
With all of this information we can only assume it’s meaning. Many theologians believe that the time between the rapture and the end will be much like the time after the death of Jesus. That these 144,000 Jews will be set apart and protected to being the Jewish people back together under the salvation of Jesus Christ. This could be true because the NT revelation-and the end the Jews were waiting for are the same. This again could be true as there is biblical evidence that God leaves of remnant of his Jewish people who always return to him at their end of their time in slavery.
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,
and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
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,
Theologians believe these are the gentiles who were saved after the rapture and before the end.
saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
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.
“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
First we see them coming out of the great tribulation where they are praising in victory. The fact that they are in robes washed white symbolizes their death before the last and final seal is open and they are being ushered into heaven.