Revelation 6:12-17 “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (13) And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. (14) Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. (15) And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, (16) and said to the mountains and 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 His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
As we mentioned earlier, the opening of the sixth seal manifests itself chronologically in the natural after the seventh seal is opened, which is why we are discussing the sixth seal’s opening in this section. And so in this section we want to discuss the opening of the sixth seal and what impact that will have on the earth. The above quoted passage of scripture describes the following taking place when the sixth seal is opened; a great earthquake and the sun becoming black as sackcloth of hair and the moon becoming like blood. It describes the stars of heaven falling to the earth and the sky receding as a scroll being rolled up and every mountain and island being moved out of its place. It describes the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hiding themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains and saying to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” And so we see that when Jesus opened the sixth seal of the scroll that the apostle John was shown a vision of the Lord’s second coming. Clearly from this passage we see that every eye will see the coming of Christ, and as a result they will try to hide from His presence. For too late, they will realize that they have been deceived all along by not believing in the truth of the gospel. The only people who will not try to hide from the Lord’s presence when He returns are the followers of the anti-Christ, for they will still be deceived into thinking that their god will be able to defeat the Lamb and His army of saints. Thus as we have seen in the previous section, they will be waiting for the Lord at Armageddon. Although the rest of mankind will think that the Lord is about to judge them, which is why they will try to hide from Him, that is not the case. For when our Lord Jesus returns to the earth, other than the anti-Christ and his followers, it will not be to judge the inhabitants of the earth, but rather to begin His millennial reign over them.
Matthew 24:29-30 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus prophesied about His second coming. As we can see from this passage, Jesus prophesied almost word for word that which was shown to the apostle John in his vision of the sixth seal being opened. For Jesus prophesied that the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Notice also in this passage that Jesus refers to His second coming taking place immediately after the tribulation of those days. The tribulation of those days referred to by the Lord, is the period of God’s wrath poured out on the earth with the sounding of the seven trumpets and the pouring out of the seven bowls.
Revelation 19:11-19 “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. (12) His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. (13) He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (14) And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. (15) Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (16) And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. (17) Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, (18) that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." (19) And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”
In the first section of this series we saw that the church was removed from the earth prior to the wrath of God being poured out. And so now that God’s wrath is complete we see the church returning to the earth with the Lord Jesus. The above quoted passage of scripture describes the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus to begin His millennial reign on earth, accompanied by His bride the church. This passage also describes the anti-Christ and his armies waiting at Armageddon to confront the Lord Jesus and His armies in the upcoming battle.
Michael E.B. Maher
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