"9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
12 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, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 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, 16 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, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” - Revelation 6:9-17
Last week, I made the assertion that in Revelation 6:12-17 we find both the resurrection of the saints along with the "catching up" of the living saints and the onset of the "Day of the Lord" and His wrath. We acknowledged the remarkable parallels of this passage alongside the crucifixion of Jesus found in Matthew 27:45-54 (if needed, please reread these passages and/or refer back to last week's article).
Though there are no fewer than six unique occurrences that these two awesome events share (again, see last week's article), our objective today is to address one significant occurrence that they do not seem to share...at least not on the surface. That event is the resurrection of the saints.
Upon Jesus' resurrection, Matthew tells us that many previously deceased saints were also resurrected and went throughout Jerusalem appearing to others. I believe that, similar to the timing of the resurrection of saints in Matthew 27, the resurrection of the saints and also the "catching up" that are to come will occur precisely here, within the Sixth Seal. If that assertion is correct, then these two passages do indeed share this unique occurrence. Here are some factors which lead me to believe in this timing:
- Without question, the Sixth Seal (v. 12-17) is a coming of the Lord. The earth shakes, the heavenly bodies falter, and the sky vanishes among other things. But notice what the observers of all these events say out of their mouths...they say that the Lamb's wrath has come. They know what is happening. Jesus has now come to judge the wickedness of the earth!
- Scripture is clear that God's people will not undergo His wrath, but will be rescued prior to it. As we just stated, this Sixth Seal is the moment of God's wrath. In fact, according to the human observers, this is the "great day of their wrath". I ask you, if this is the day when God's wrath begins, then that means that what has happened previously in the first five seals cannot be considered God's wrath, can it? Admittedly, the events of those seals are terrible, but terrible by whose hand? These terrors come, not by God's hand, but by the hand of antichrist.
- It seems that in the Fifth Seal (v. 9-11), God's people are still present on earth and are undergoing severe persecution. Please reread Revelation 6:9-11 which is quoted above. Are the martyrs there not crying out to God, asking Him when His justice and vengeance will fall? And doesn't God respond to them by saying "Wait just a bit longer, there are more yet to be martyred for my Gospel's sake. When their full number comes in, then my wrath will fall."? It seems evident to me that the Christians are not already gone, but are present and experiencing intense persecution, even unto martyrdom. If you happen to believe that the first five seals are indeed God's wrath and not the wrath of the antichrist, doesn't that also require you to believe that God is the one who is martyring His own people in v. 11?
I think that's enough food for thought for this week. Next week, I'll give a few more reasons which I believe lead us to arrive at this conclusion. Until then..."Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might." With love in Jesus Christ,
Pastor Jeremy
