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Text: Revelation 6:12-17
Theme: The sixth scroll is broken ushering in the Great Tribulation.
A Christian martyr is a person who is killed because of their testimony for Jesus.
The late David Barrett of Gordon-Conwell Seminary, estimates that since the day when Stephen—one of first deacons of the church—was stoned to death there have been 70 million Christians martyred for the faith.
As the 5th Seal is opened the Apostle John sees the souls of those who have been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
He writes, “They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?””
(Revelation 6:10, NIV84).
The answer is soon coming.
God's response to the "how long" of the martyrs, is both immediate and final.
The imminent end of all history is pictured in the shaking of the heavens that, throughout the Old Testament, initiates the Day of the Lord.
Commentators have long struggled with the meaning of this seal.
Throughout Old Testament apocalyptic writings such a scene is the final act before the end of history, while here in Revelation more is yet to come.
With the opening of the 6th Seal, begins a period known in the Bible as The Day of the Lord.
It is not a single event, but a period that ushers in the end of the world and the coming of God’s Anointed One.
It is a time of terrible judgment upon rebellious men and nations, but a time of redemption for God’s Elect.
It is repeatedly spoken of by the Old Testament Prophets.
Joel, Haggai, Amos, Isaiah, Zephaniah, Ezekiel, Malachi, and Jeremiah all speak of this Day.
And in his Olivet Discourse Jesus uses the same catastrophic language.
‘“Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.(Matthew
24:29, NIV84)
The Day of the Lord begins with cataclysmic events.
It’s a time when the entire earthly order will be shaken.
Eventually, out of the ruins of judgment will emerge a new redeemed order which John calls new heavens, and a new earth (Rev.
21:1).
But before then, a catastrophic period will ensue that will last seven years.
The breaking of the 6th Seal introduces us to the beginning of this period.
The passage contains three simple points:
• The Cataclysm
• The Cry
• The Coming
I. THE CATACLYSM IN WORLD EVENTS
“I watched as he opened the sixth seal.
There was a great earthquake.
The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.”
(Revelation 6:12-14, NIV84)
1. many New Testament scholars and theologians and pastors believe that the Apostle John uses seismic language to describe the political, economic, and social upheaval that will occur shortly before our Lord’s Second coming
a.
I believe that societal turbulence may well be included in the events that transpire with the breaking of the 6th Seal, but the plain reading of the text clearly indicates an unparalleled natural catastrophe
b.
John speaks of a megas seismos—an earthquake of remarkable or out of the ordinary size and effect
2. natural catastrophes in the ancient world occupied with the same frequency and caused the same destruction and loss of life as they do now
a. we know that the cities of Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea—cities mentioned in Revelation 3:1-22—were all devastated by a powerful earthquake in the 1st century
b. some of the cataclysmic events of the ancient world must have, indeed, seemed like “world ending” events
ILLUS.
In 1645 BC —about midway through the Hebrew’s Egyptian enslavement—a volcano erupted on the island of Thera (now called Santorini).
Geologists believe it was the single-most powerful explosive event ever witnessed in recorded history.
When the volcano erupted explosively it literally blew out the center of the island, and the sea rushed in.
Many historians believe that Thera is the basis for the story of Atlantas—Plato’s city that sunk into the ocean.
But the volcano beneath Thera didn't just blow a massive hole into the island—it set the entire ancient Mediterranean world onto a different course.
Minoan culture, the dominant civilization in the Mediterranean at the time, crumbled within decades as a result of the eruption, changing the political landscape of the ancient world indefinitely.
Environmental effects were felt across the globe, as far away as China and even North America.
1) if you had been anywhere in the Mediterranean on that day, you may have thought the world was ending
c. some of the cataclysmic events of the modern world must have, indeed, seemed like “world ending” events
ILLUS.
The 1958 a megatsunami hit Lituya Bay, Alaska.
Sonny and Howard Ulrich—a father and his son—were on their boat fishing in the bay, and managed to survive.
On July 9 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the area, that triggered a rockslide into the bay.
One whole side of Fairweather Mountain simply gave loose and slide into the bay displacing the water.
The result was an initial wave towering 1,710 high.
To get some perspective, that’s the height of the Freedom Tower in New York City.
That’s a big wave!
The megatsunami that rolled through the bay was 300 feet high.
Because of the remoteness of the area, only five people died.
1) if you had been in the Lituya Bay on that day, you may have thought the world was ending
d. some of the cataclysmic events in our own state’s history must have, indeed, seemed like a "world ending" event
ILLUS.
If you had been living in southeastern Missouri in 1811-12 you might have thought the world was coming to an end.
Between December 16, 1811 and February 7, 1812, four earthquakes measuring between 7.5 - 8.8 on the Richter earthquake magnitude scale (and an estimated 2,000 aftershocks) devastated the Bootheel region of Missouri.
These earthquakes were so strong that they caused church bells to ring in Boston, and brought down chimneys in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The earth cracked open, and the stench of sulfur filled the air.
Geysers of sand and water called “sandboils” shot dozens of feet into the air.
After the February 7 earthquake—which those who experienced it referred to as “the big one”—the Mississippi actually ran backwards for several hours, and created two temporary waterfalls in the river.
The skies turned dark during the earthquakes, so dark that lighted lamps didn’t help.
Explosions were heard as earth fissures appeared up to five miles long.
1) if you had been in Hayti, MO in late 1811 or early 1812, you may have thought the world was ending
A. CATASTROPHE WILL BEGIN THE DAY OF THE LORD
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD."
(Joel 2:31, NIV84)
“All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
” (Isaiah 34:4, NIV84)
‘“Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”
(Matthew 24:29, NIV84)
1. these are just a few of the many other passages in the bible that connect natural catastrophe with the Day of the Lord, and the end of the world
a. our text speaks of a violent earthquake, the light of the sun blotted out, the moon having a red tinge to it, stars falling from heaven, and the sky splitting
b. the megaquake is so severe that mountains and islands becoming displaced
1) the topography of the Earth will be radically changed
ILLUS.
Some of you are old enough to remember one of the great natural disasters of the late 20th century.
In May 1980 Mt. St. Helens—a long dormant volcano in the state of Washington—erupted.
On a Sunday morning, the entire north face of the volcano was blasted outward, and in mere moments the height of the mountain decreased by 1300 feet leaving a two-mile wide crater!
An eruption column rose 15 miles into the atmosphere and deposited ash in 11 U.S. states.
At the same time, snow, ice and several entire glaciers on the volcano melted, forming a series of large mudslides that reached as far as the Columbia River, nearly 50 miles away.
Hundreds of square miles were reduced to wasteland in less than ninety minutes.
It was a reminder at just how quickly—and violently—the Earth’s landscape can change.
2. the apocalyptic events we witness with the opening of the 6th Seal reminds us that the entire universe will be affected, and the earth will undergo a complete and chaotic change
II.
THE CRY OF THE WORLD’S LOST
“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
16 They called to the mountains and the 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 their wrath has come, and who can stand?””
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