Breaking of the Seal
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 15 viewsNotes
Transcript
As we traverse through this sacred book, The Book of the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Almighty
Alpha and Omega,
It is important that we understand all that is being detailed to us through the apostle John’s writings.
Keeping in mind as we go further, that he s trying to explain what he saw and heard to the those to come after him.
First, he is from the first century,
A time when electrical technology as you and I know it, didn’t exist.
A time when, they didn’t the encyclopedia, or the internet.
A time when there were no images to be displayed on a computer in order to show.
He had to try his best to describe what he saw, using common things of his time.
Having said that, without understanding the times in which John the Apostle lived and wrote this book,
Some of the events could be missed, that are important in understanding why certain things had to happen.
For example, in Revelation chapter 5 we read that John wept because no one was worthy to open the seal.
The story went from four living creatures to God sitting on His throne holding a scroll in His right hand.
Also we read that John wept because there wasn’t anyone worthy to open this scroll.
If we don’t understand the significance of this scroll, we’ll miss it’s purpose here.
So, in order to best understand this, let’s take a walk back further in history to the time of Ruth.
It has been said about the book of Ruth that it is a love story between Ruth an Boaz, but it has an underlying love story written in Blood for you and I.
You see, in the story of Ruth, her mother in law, Naomi’s husband and sons died in Moab during a time of famine in Israel.
Finding herself alone, advanced in years, she decided to return to her home land, Israel.
Only she’s been gone so long, there’s no way for her to claim her land back, or where to live.
Agh, But she understood the Levitical Law of the time,
Meaning that the land was required to stay in the family so long as an authorized family representative could prove his worthiness, could redeem the land in the family’s name.
So, her daughter in law Ruth vows to follow her back,
Ruth then meets Boaz and Naomi explains what that could mean for them if Boaz was to take Ruth as a wife.
Boaz could, then redeem the land back for Naomi and her family.
Hence, he was the Kinsman Redeemer, that saved Naomi.
Then last fast forward to the time of Jeremiah where we see this happening again,
In Jeremiah’s time, we find him in prison for prophesying that the Babylonians would soon take over Jerusalem,
And the property values plummeted due to the coming invasion.
8 Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. 9 So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.
This was done to prove ownership of the land and the authority and the right to claim the land after the foreign occupations and eventual destructions that were to come.
So, in the Book of Revelation, we see God sitting on His throne with a sealed scroll in His right hand.
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
What was the purpose of this and what does it mean?
When Adam was created, he was given dominion over all the earth, and the deed to earth, that Jesus had created.
But then he lost the deed through sin, to the enemy of God, the devil.
After the Rapture, in the presence of those saved through the blood of the lamb, in heaven
Jesus, was the only one worthy, legally authorized, representative to reclaim the land by opening the seals and proving his worthiness to reclaim the title deed to His creation, and planet earth.
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
Notice to our Catholic friends, that Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother is not mentioned as even present at this event, nor is she considered worthy to open the seals.
When the Jesus, the Lamb was set to break the seal and open the scroll, it says every creature worshipped Him.
You’ve heard me often say that “Even the blades of grass stand up at attention when His son rises every morning, for even they worship their creator.”
Chapter six of the Book of Revelation is referred to as the splitting of the Book.
Up to this point in history, Jesus has dealt with humanity as the Lamb of God.
But, after the rapture, and the beginning of Chapter six, Jesus deals with Humanity as the
a Lion,
After all He is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah
This is where many, especially in many of today’s churches, Jesus is preached as the kind humble, gentle good man who preached unity, love, etc.
What they miss are the chapters that follow from Revelation six and beyond.
We are going to get a picture so-to-speak of the wrath of the Lamb turned Lion.
Let’s begin as Jesus opens the seals, releasing the Famous Four Horseman of the apocalypse
1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Many believe this first of the four horseman described to us is none other than the infamous anti-Christ.
He has a bow but no arrows, meaning, it could be that he is a great communicator not requiring a weapon of physical damage. Bu conquering with his words or political prowess. Also the white signifying a counterfeit of Jesus’s righteousness.
3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
The fiery red horse some believe could mean communism coming from Russia, which could cause men to kill each other. Causing all sort of political and civil unrest etc.
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
This horse is black, with scales in hand. Bringing grief, death and mourning. The scales could also signify economic disasters, and famine. Probably caused by out of control warfare across the planet.
Where the daily wage, will be just enough for one person to eat the bare minimum, let alone what it takes to feed the family, widow’s or even senior parents.
But, somehow, it seems to point out that the rich will still have their oil and wine.
Terrible indicative of communism, if you ask me.
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
It says enough in this rider’s very name, death and Hades followed with him. Together they will kill 25% of the people on the earth, either by the sword, Warfare, Famine, Plagues that follow, and by the WILD BEAST of the earth.
That means that things will be so bad, food supply will be so bad, that even the plant eating animals may suffer causing them get sick or die in large quantities,
If the plant eating animals suddenly die off in large numbers, then the meat eating animals will turn to what ever flesh they can get.
If you mess around and get left behind, and caught in the tribulation, I sure hope you’re a fast runner.
Because event the beast of the earth might turn against you.
I don’t know about you, but I know I can’t outrun a mountain lion, or bob cat or bear.
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 testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Here is where things get tricky.
Who are the souls?
They are to be those martyred in the tribulation period.
Those who came to Christ after the Rapture and are murdered by the anit-Christ, and those who are offended by Christ.
But when they cry out asking God, how long before their blood is avenged,
After the white robe of righteousness is given to each one of them, they are told to wait patiently,
Until the number of them who were already martyred and those who were yet still to martyred was complete.
You see, I believe here is clear example that Christ will deal with those who are left behind in a different manner that those of us saved by His grace.
Don’t misunderstand me,
We are all saved by grace, and they will be too,
However, what I mean is, we repented and were saved through His grace by our faith.
Those who will be saved after the rapture, will finally repent only because, they will have been convinced of their need of Jesus
By realizing the missed the Rapture,
In other words, they will recognized at the moment after the rapture, that all that they had heard about Jesus and rejected, as a bedtime story or fair tales must’ve been true,
Therefore they will repent and beg to be saved.
However, at that point, it will not be FAITH that saved them, but their “Knowing”
Faith and knowledge are two distinct things.
We are saved through grace by faith.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
We don’t have any information on what Christ plans for that generation of people after this.
Meaning, what rewards, etc.
But they will not be spared the coming tribulation, as Noah was before the flood, or Lot before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Or how, you and I will be in the Rapture.
But next, at the opening of the seventh seal, we read, things turn from bad to worse still
12 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?”
Recently there was a massive 7.7 earthquake that shook the nation of Thailand, and Bangkok.
I watched in horror as the massive concrete buildings shook violently as the people street side ran in terror,
When we first moved to So Illinois from Chicago, in 2006, during our first couple of months here,
As were sound asleep one dawn when our house began to shake, and the old windows rattled.
Quickly turning on the news we found out that there’d just been an earth quake of 5. something.
We were about ready to pack up our stuff and run back to Chicago, thinking what did we get ourselves into?
Then last year, while waiting on a layover flight in Mexico City’s airport, returning from our mission trip to Mexico,
Our church group was huddled around some chairs in a corner as I laid on the floor of the airport, resting my head on my carry-on
The floor began to rumble and shake,
Twice that happened with in a few moments of each other.
Now, I know that part of the world earthquakes are normal, almost an everyday occurence,
But here in So, IL. not so much!
We were terrified because we didn’t have anywhere to run.
I can only imagine what those poor folks in Thailand went through.
But when this great earthquake happens, it’s going block out the sun, and change the color of the moon.
Because earthquakes don’t usually cause that effect, many scholars believe that this massive earthquake
Could be the result of the detonation of nuclear bombs as a result of wars and rumors of wars etc.
This would explain how the sun will be blocked out from the ash in sky, and would give the moon an eerie blood red color.
It can also explain why people will be hiding themselves in caves, as the stars start to fall from heaven.
Remember John is trying to explain what he is seeing without knowledge of what they are.
We in our day, can easily determine that what he thought were stars falling were the lights, and jet wash on myriad missiles falling from the sky and exploding on their targets.
It is interesting that at this point they are begging the rocks of the caves to fall and seal them in.
Instead of repenting of their wicked rejection of Jesus, they continue to call on their god,
“Mother Nature” someone said, instead of calling on the name of Jesus,
For fear of facing their creator.
So, it is very curious to this pastor, that the last humans on the planet will try in vain to hide them selves from giving an account of their sins before God almighty, while hiding among the created things of the earth, like a cave
Just like the first human did way in the beginning after sinning, he also hid himself among the plants of the garden when God came looking for him to give an account of his sin.
Are you hiding today?
Or are you ready to give an account of your sins before God.
If you aren’t and you are destined to be left behind, I sure hope you’re a fast runner.
Although, not even that will help you at that point.
