REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 6.15
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
Chapter
Six
The
Sixth Seal (Continued)
(Verses 15 - 17)
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 in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, 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 is come; and who shall be able to
stand?
Review
From a visual assessment, the Apostle John has
just described to the readers the Sixth Seal. Elements of a catastrophic
judgment from God include:
A. A great earthquake
B. The sun becomes black
C. The moon turning blood red
D. The heavens opening
E. The earth moving
These actions were prophesied in the Old Testament
as such:
A. At the coming of the Lord, the earth will be
terrible (cf. Amos 8:8)
B. God will shake the heavens, earth, sea, and dry
land (cf. Joel 2:10; Haggai 2:6)
Upheaval in the universe occurs as the world has
ever known since the beginning of time – Greater than the Great Flood. This, of
course, originates with God and undertakes direct intervention into human
affairs as a result of divine judgment, or punishment upon a blasphemous unrepentant
world.
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
All classes and structures of society will not be
discriminated against when it comes to punishment, except those who avail
themselves of God's grace. And, God lists them all inclusively so there is no
doubt or confusion:
1. The kings of the earth – Monarchs, presidents,
dictators, emperors, and heads of state throughout the world
2. The great men – Nobles, lords, princes, dukes,
orders of nobility, magistrates (Greek: First in rank and power), high-ranking
officials in government
3. The rich men – Billionaires, millionaires, those
wallowing in wealth and luxury, those connected to commerce and business – The
top one percent
4. The chief captains – Commanders of every branch of
the military – Rank, and order will not matter
5. The mighty men – The strong, the wise,
philosophers, theologians, political reformers, doctors, lawyers, scientists,
engineers, CEOs, movie stars, music, and sports icons –Those who are
influential
6. Every bondman (Greek: a servant, anyone in bondage;
slaves) – From the fields to the cellars, those toiling at their tasks.
7. Every free man – White, black, red, yellow men,
every nationality, even men recently out of bondage
[They] hid in the dens and the rocks of the mountains
Out of sheer desperation, their reaction is a
frenzied desire to escape. Rather than admit to sin, repent, or face the
consequences for one's actions, the immediate response is to hide (conceal themselves
in a covering or hiding place) --- out of fear --- in the dens (caves or caverns)
of hills and mountains. It is quite fascinating to read this forecast from
Isaiah's mouth:
Isaiah
2:19 - 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. (NIV)
After walking and talking to God face to face, what
was Adam's reaction when he comprehended his sin of disobedience to God?
Listen:
Genesis
3:10 - And (Adam) said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid, because I was naked;
and I hid myself.
So, fear is instinctively universal to human
society. When the presence of God is revealed, people seek a place to hide
because of sin. Someone cleverly stated when said, "They rather hide from
God in fear than run to Him in faith." However, the reality is there is "nowhere
to run and nowhere to hide" from an all-knowing, all-seeing, and
ever-present (omniscient, omnipresent) God.
Having the realization their fate is near, sadly,
the unrepentant sinner's prayer is very precise and clear. Observe their prayer…
(Verse 16)
And [they] said
to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
Also, notice, there are:
a. No repentance
b. No plea for mercy
c. No asking for forgiveness
d. No cry for salvation
e. No turning back to God
They do acknowledge, however, there is an outpouring
of God's wrath and realize they are rejecting "the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sins of the earth" (cf. John 1:29).
During the introduction of Revelation, recollect
these words from the Apostle John:
Revelation
1:7 - Behold,
He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Once again, the Bible prophecy is fulfilled from the
text:
Hosea 10:8b
– They shall
say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
Luke 23:30
– [Jesus said], Then
shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
Cause and Effect
1. The
justifiable reason for God's
outpouring:
2
Thessalonians 2:11-12 - And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned
who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2. The
final solution: Jesus
emphatically stated:
John 5:24
- Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death
unto life.
Romans
10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (S.A. Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21)
3. The
believer's consolation: During
this calamitous hour, the Church will be in Heaven.
And [they] said
to the mountains and rocks…
hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne
A phrase referring to God Almighty - Writes John:
Revelation
4:2-3 - And
immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a Throne was set in Heaven, and One sat on the Throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a
sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the Throne, like an emerald in appearance.
Revelation
4:9-10 - And
when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne,
Who liveth for ever and ever. The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the Throne,
and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns
before the Throne.
And [they] said
to the mountains and rocks…
(And) hide us…
from the wrath of the Lamb
There appears to be a dramatic paradoxical
statement in this passage – the two words wrath
and lamb are like a mixture of oil
and water. Can anyone imagine hiding from a Lamb? Today's culture is not
familiar with or accustomed to associating wrath with a lamb. The contrast is
quite stark – the grace of a lamb versus indignation, anger, rage, and fury.
Comparative Passages
God's anger foretold:
Deuteronomy
32:39-43 – See
now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound,
and I heal: neither is there any
that can deliver out of My hand. For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, I
live for ever. If I whet my glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render
vengeance to Mine enemies, and will reward
them that hate Me. I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall
devour flesh; and that with the
blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the
enemy. Rejoice, O ye nations, with
His people: for He will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land, and
to His people.
The New Testament writer confirms:
Hebrews
10:28-31 – He
that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace? For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth
unto Me, I
will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God.
Both are contrasted with Jesus' actions:
John
2:13-17 - And
the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in
the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money
sitting: And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of
the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money,
and overthrew
the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make
not My Father's house an house of merchandise. And His disciples remembered
that it was written, "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up." (cf. Psalm 69:9; 119:-139).
When people see the face of Jesus during
Tribulation, it becomes evident judgment itself does not change the hardened
human heart. And, the sentiment demanding crucifixion remains the same:
Luke 19:14
- But His citizens hated Him,
and sent a message after Him, saying, We
will not have this Man to reign
over us.
(Verse 17)
For the Great Day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to
stand?
The Great
Day of His Wrath is another term
for the Day of the Lord (The wrath of the Lamb). This day is spoken of
throughout the Old Testament (cf. Joel 2:11; Zephaniah 1:14; Malachi 4:5) – A
day when Almighty God will judge like a lion, pointing to the ultimate judgment
day in connection with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The God of love now becomes the God of wrath.
Understand: Before the Great Tribulation there was a judgment on sin, during
Tribulation, it is a settling of accounts.
For believers, one of the 24 elders said to John:
Revelation
5:5 – Weep
not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open
the Book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Following His wrath, the consolation is ultimate
restoration – A day (1,000 years) of unusual blessing and grace labeled the Millennium when our Lord institutes
a theocratic state of governing the world.
Who shall be able to stand?
Millions of people will die in this catastrophe alone. Its reality will be fully understood. As discussed earlier,
those who have laughed, scoffed, and mocked God --- and the things of God ---
will now cry out in terror, for they will realize God is going to judge them
for their sin.
Therefore, the answer is: Only those who avail
themselves of God's grace, even though they had to suffer a martyr's death,
can withstand it.
To those who hear, Chapter 6 brings out the
importance of partaking in God's grace now (in this present age). Believers are
encouraged to wait patiently:
Titus 2:13
-
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Sixth Seal brings the reader to the first part
of the last unfulfilled week of the ninth chapter of Daniel - The Great
Tribulation. However, before the Seventh Seal is unleashed, there will be a
pause or parenthesis detailing those who are saved during Revelation Chapter 7.
QUESTIONS:
1. Who are the recipients of God's wrath?
2. What is their prayer?
3. What do they fear?
4. What is the root cause of man's punishment?
5. Why is judgment necessary?
6. Differentiate between God's love and His wrath.
7. What is the consolation of present-day believers?
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