Where Will You Stand?
Notes
Transcript
Reformation began in 1517 - 5 solas…sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ), sola fide (faith), sola gratia (grace), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone)
The first Queen of England…Mary ascended the throne of England in 1553…
Only ruled to 1558 wanted to restore Roman Catholicism to England.
During her reign, she had 200+ people put to death (often by fire) for their religious convictions…became known as "Bloody Mary”.
On October 16, 1555 If you are familiar with the English Reformation…Hugh Latimer & Nicholas Ridley…
Bishops in the English Catholic church were burned at the stake…considered to be heretics…
Because they simply believed God’s Word alone… followed only Christ alone…by grace alone… through faith alone…for the glory of God alone
They wanted God’s people to have God’s Word in the English language so it could be read and understood.
As the flames were being lit…Latimer turned to Ridley…
“Be of good cheer…master Ridley…and play the man…for we shall this day light such a candle in England that by God’s grace will never be put out.”
The fires of the English Reformation would not be extinguished and Protestantism took hold and the Word of God became central.
Let me ask you:
Would you be willing to DIE for the WORD of God and for Jesus?
Grab your Bibles please and turn with me to Revelation 6:9-17
Here in Revelation 6 the SCROLL of God is being opened by the Lamb, the Lord Jesus.
It has been a few weeks so let’s quickly review…apostle John is in exile…taken on a heavenly journey where he visits the glorious throne room of God. (Revelation 4-5)
There he saw the Almighty God holding a scroll with seven seals…a title deed of absolute ownership of the universe.
Only one Person in heaven and earth was found worthy to open the scroll, to open its seals and begin the process of snatching control of the world from evil and forever vanquishing sin and death…Jesus Christ
The scroll…God’s plan for salvation and judgement of the earth and its inhabitants.
One by one He opened the seals…each seal representing part of God’s judgement on the earth.
Seal 1…a WHITE horse…whose rider went out CONQUERING and to conquer.
Seal 2…a RED horse…whose rider TOOK PEACE from the earth…causing people to kill one another.
Seal 3…a BLACK horse…whose rider brought great FAMINE & SCARCITY…
Seal 4…a PALE horse…whose rider brought unimaginable DEATH to 25% of the world
Not sure what that does to you…it can be hard to come to terms with how severe the judgments are.
6 Facts to NEVER FORGET About God…
i. Never forget… God is absolutely JUST and FAIR in punishing evil.
ii. Never forget…that while He allows this evil to happen in the world…He does not cause it. He is not the author of evil…He allows it…
iii. Never Forget…He uses evil to accomplish His purposes. (ex.Joseph, exile, Jesus’ death)
As we continue to look at the judgements in Revelation…it may appear that the world is spinning out of control because of the terrible judgements unleashed across the globe…
iv. Never forget…God is ALWAYS in control…Daniel 4:35
v. Never forget…God is uncompromisingly JUST…Deuteronomy 32:4
vi. Never forget…God never lets go of His GOODNESS…Psalm 31:19
After watching the first four seals opened…and the four horses and their riders gallop across the darkening landscape,
…the apostle John witnessed the Lamb breaking the fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-11)
This is the next event of the Tribulation and provides us information about believers during this time.
1. What Did John SEE?
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.
“He”=the Lamb=Jesus…broke the fifth seal…and another sequence in the Tribulation unfolds.
a. He saw SOULS…John saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain.
“the altar”…possibly representing the altar of incense…where prayers ascended to God
“souls”… because the bodily resurrection has not yet taken place.
This would include believers killed during the time of the judgements…but also believers down through the past 2000 years and up to and including today.
Make no mistake…for the past 2000 years men & women young & old have been martyred for their faith and testimony in Jesus Christ.
Open Doors International report 5,621 Christians were killed for their faith in 2023…
Keep in mind that prior to this great Tribulation…the church will have been already raptured.
But during the Tribulation period…previous 4 seals and this one…people will still be turning to Jesus Christ…but they too will be killed for their faith in Jesus.
There will still be widespread persecution of believers, led by Satan, demons, and the final anti-Christ.
Jesus described the first 4 seals in Matthew 24:1-7 This fifth seal is described in Matthew 24:9
b. Notice…Why These Believers were Martyred….
“…slain for the Word of God and for the witness they had borne.”
What would you die for? Another person? Maybe a good man one may dare to die for.(Romans 5:5)
Die for family? Home or Country? Maybe a cause near to your heart…abolition of slavery, abortion, as a soldier for your country…defending rights…striving against injustice, fighting for freedom?
Let me ask you: Would you die for the Word of God & for your testimony for Jesus?
Look at what these souls had died for in v.9 “for the Word of God and for the witness they had borne.”
A familiar phrase in Revelation
1:2 “…who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ…”
1:9 “…on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus…”
20:4 some were beheaded…for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God…”
Here in Revelation 6 these Christian martyrs (witnesses) lost their lives because:
They believed the Word of God...treeasured and defended it…and did not water down…the Word of God.
They saw what was going on around them in light of Scripture and proclaimed that God will judge sinful humanity and they will call people to repent & believe the Gospel.
They testified to who Jesus is what He did and what He accomplished and that He is coming again…they refused to compromise God’s Word in the face of life threatening hatred and animosity.
There were many ways to compromise in the first century…
They did not bow to the emperor as lord…
They did not worship the culturally accepted idols…
They did not go with the flow that “anything goes”…or “if it feels good do it”…
They held fast to the Word of God and in word & deed they bore witness (marturia) to Jesus
They said “This is where we would rather break than bend…we would sooner be broken…even if it means that we die…”
They refused to compromise the truth of God’s Word.
It was because of the Word of God they were SLAIN…
It was because of their testimony for Jesus…
2. What did John HEAR?…The Cries of the Martyr’s
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?”
Some will probably say: “That doesn’t sound Christian to me.” (i.e. so unlike Stephen or Jesus)
Remember these people received wrong and unfair treatment…they wanted vindication.
They had been maligned, treated unfair…hostory records this…
Accused of incest…called each other the family of God, brothers and sisters…
Accused of promiscuity…because they had love feasts…
Accused of cannibalism…because they supposedly ate of the body and blood of Jesus at communion…
Accused of being atheists…because they had no idols or images…worshipping a false god, they were a disturbance to society and backward…
Accused of arrogance…because of their claim that Jesus is the only way.
As humans we are wired to cry out: “That’s not fair!” How long till we get justice?
This plea to God for justice and vengeance is rooted in OT.
Perfect examples of this sentiment…Psalm 35:1,17, 23. Psalm 94:1-5
Their prayer for God to judge and vindicate acknowledges some important theological truths.
That God is SOVEREIGN… a God of JUSTICE…HOLINESS and TRUTH
Make no mistake…God will keep His promises of salvation for His people and as He promised throughout the Scriptures…retribution against His enemies.(Deuteronomy 32:5)
Paul reminds the Romans in Romans 12:19 “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
The martyred believers will have to wait a little longer while their fellow tribulation martyrs join them
But the Lord will keep His promise to avenge the number of His saints (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8)
That’s when the sixth seal will be opened.
3. How Does God RESPOND?
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.
a. He gave them a white robe…
Commentaries point out the robe is symbolic of God’s gift of grace, eternal righteousness, blessedness, dignity & honour…symbolizing all the glory that redeemed saints will enjoy in heaven.
Remember that in the church of Sardis in Revelation 2:4-5 were a group who had not soiled their garments and God promised them they would walk with Him….the one who conquers.
b. He told them to rest…
“…a little while longer…til the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”
Are you wiling to be in that number?
There is a number preplanned…a predestined # of martyrs waiting to be fulfilled.
God knows what that # is…God is sovereign…God reminds them how His timing is perfect.
Principle: Yes…even the suffering of God’s people is predestined, planned and allowed by a good, loving God.
Can you say to God “I am willing to be in that number.”
Many believers will suffer persecution & martyrdom…but the perpetrators of these horrors will not go unpunished.
c. He told them to TRUST His sovereign plan…
It is as if God answers the cries of the martyrs with the very next seal.
Seal #6 reveals the horrors that awaits the unbeliever…those who have rejected Jesus…
They must now face the full wrath of God and His appointed Judge, Jesus Christ.
The absolute panic experienced by these wicked people doesn’t grip them because God is unjust…but because they know He will give them exactly what they deserve.
Seal #6 we have the classic images of the end times…
Earthquakes…
Sun turning black like sackcloth…
Moon appearing red as blood…
Stars rain down on the earth…
Sky rolls up like a scroll…
Mountains & islands shift from their places…
John used the most graphic descriptive terms he could to represent how severe these upheavals of both heaven and earth.
Today, we can imagine the geological & astronomical events that may cause such horrible events.
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. 1
In Acts 2 Peter stood up to preach on the day of Pentecost…and he used an OT passage that every generation needs to hear. Joel 2
The OT prophet Joel (835BC) warned the southern Kingdom Judah about the coming day of the Lord…when the sovereign God would judge the people and the nations who’ve rebelled against Him.
Judah was in chaos, disarray, they had turned to idols, relling against God…so Joel warned thm of God’s impoending judgment.
He wanted them to sit up and take notice.
Like every prophe cy…there was partial fulfillment…when Babylon came and took them into captivity…but it points ahead to God’s final judgment.
a. It was a stark & serious WARNING Joel 2:1, 10
Joel shares how God often uses nature and events like famine, plague, violent weather, invading armies, and celestial phenomena to get our attention (Joel 1:5).
Sometimes it works…sometimes it doesn’t.
Think of how BAD & DIFFICUL times…desperation and national and/or personal disasters or economic depression can either turn people’s hearts and focus back to God and His ways…or they can blind us from the truth and lead us further into despair.
b. But with the warning…Joel issued a CALL TO REPENTANCE. Joel 2:12-13
Joel prophesied that God’s judgment can be averted if people repent, fast, return to the Lord, and “rend your hearts and not your garments” (Joel 2:13-17).
c. Then he added this ENCOURAGEMENT…Joel 2:13
Acts 2 On Day of Pentecost Peter stood up to preach…and he warned the people that if they didn’t repent of their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah they would face the same kind of judgements.
In AD 70 a form of this judgement came on them with the fall of Jerusalem.
Revelation was written some 25 years after that and warns of a far greater far more severe day of the Lord that is still yet to come.
Revelation 6:15-17
Every kind of person…rich poor elite common…will cry out in dread hiding themselves like hunted animals in the cracks and crevices of the earth.
Rather than running to Jesus, the Lamb, into God’s merciful and loving presence by grace through faith they will flee from Him.
Instead of bowing before Him in worship they will bury themselves in caves in frenzy red fear.
The final question…Who can stand?
The only hope for sinners is the cross of Jesus.
This is where we need to understand the CROSS of Jesus…all of our sin was laid on Jesus
So God spent His wrath upon Him…
When it was done Jesus cried out “It is finished!”
The wrath off God was satisfied.
Then Christ rose from the dead and stands today as a living Saviour for all who put their trust in Him
The outpouring of God’s wrath was the greatest act if love this world has ever seen!
9 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Only those who have turned to Jesus and trusted in His forgiveness for their sins…
9 “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.”
Those who trust in what happened on the cross…
Those who stand of the grace of God before the time of judgement will be able to stand when God deals with the earth in this final period of great distress.
Jesus offers to you today the priceless gift of peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He stands ready to forgive you of your sin and give you His Holy Spirit
Only He is able too ave you from the wrath to come…and reconcile you to the Father.
He has opened the door to heaven! And He…only He is able to bring you in.
Are you trusting in Jesus today? Make sure that you are.
Let me ask you today: Where will you stand?
