This Is How The World Ends

INTRODUCTION

Today we continue a series in the book of Revelation on how the world ends. God has been shaking things up here lately. A result of that shaking has been an overall increase in people’s interest for what the Bible says about how the world ends.

For the past three weeks we’ve been in Revelation 6 in a series entitled “Birth Pains.” It’s John’s description of the events that take place prior to the second coming of Jesus. Jesus describes them as the “beginning of birth pains.”

Today I want to conclude the series by looking at the sixth seal in Revelation 6 and how that fits with what the rest of the Bible says about how the world ends.

Review of Revelation 6

Revelation 6 opens with a picture of Jesus Christ, the lamb who was slain, holding a scroll bound by seven seals. The scroll represents God’s plan for how the world ends and with each seal that Jesus breaks there’s a corresponding event that takes place on the earth.

Seal One - Antichrist

The first seal was the rise and reign on the antichrist.

Revelation 6:2 (CSB)

2 I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.

He comes riding on a white horse (like Christ) but he’s not the true Christ he’s a false Christ. He has a bow without arrows. Some think that means he gains power without the shedding of much blood. As a master deceiver he goes from insignificance to great significance on the world stage.

We know from Daniel 9:27 that one of the things the Antichrist will do is secure a peace in the middle east between the nation of Israel and her enemies. But 3 and 1/2 years into that agreement the Antichrist will break the covenant and desecrate the worship of God in the temple at Jerusalem.

Jesus describes this event in Matthew 24:15-16.

Matthew 24:15–16 (CSB)

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.

Why are they fleeing? Because after this event a GREAT Tribulation is going to visit the earth. Matthew 24:20-21

Matthew 24:20–21 (CSB)

20 Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great distress, the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again.

So seal one describes the rise of the antichrist. He comes on the scene promising peace and prosperity but ends up delivering a world-wide catastrophe.

That’s what seals 2-4 describe in Revelation 6.

Seals Two/Three - War and Poverty

Seals 2 and 3 describe the political and economic fall out of this antichrist figure. We don’t have time to go into detail so let me just survey them quickly.

Seal 2 represents war.

John sees a rider on a red horse who comes to take peace from the earth.

Revelation 6:4 (CSB)

4 Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.

Seal 3 represents a famine caused by economic inflation.

This famine is most likely a result of the global conflict. Exorbitant inflation affects the basic necessities of life like bread. John sees a black horse with a rider carrying a set of scales in his hands.

Revelation 6:6 (CSB)

6 Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not harm the oil and the wine.”

The currency will be so worthless and prices so high that you work to eat (and you don’t really even do that if you have a big family.)

That’s why Jesus says in Matthew 24:19 “Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!”

Seals 4/5 - Death & Martyrdom

Seals 4 and 5 in Revelation 6 describe mass death and martyrdom of Christians.

The empty promises of peace and prosperity made by the antichrist have brought about war and poverty throughout the world. As Nero did with Christians in the first century I think the antichrist will use God’s people as the patsy. The convenient villain for the world to hate and prosecute for their woes.

Seal 4 describes a horsemen that’s given authority to kill one fourth of the world’s population: death

Revelation 6:8 (CSB)

8 And I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.

Imagine the scale of this death. There are close to 8 billion people in the world right now. 1/4 of the earth would be around 2 billion people. That’s like the US population times six.

It doesn’t say that 1/4 is killed. It says they’re given authority to kill 1/4 of the earth.Whether it’s 1/4 of the world geographically or 1/4 demographically we don’t know. Point is there’s a lot of death.

And from the fifth seal we know much of that death is targeted towards the people of God: martyrdom.

Revelation 6:9 (CSB)

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.

These martyrs cry out with a loud voice “How Long o Lord until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” The Lord responds by telling them to wait a little longer until the full number of martyrs is reached.

Matthew 24 Connection

One of the things I pointed out in the first week of this series is the connection between Revelation 6 and Matthew 24. What John describes as horsemen Jesus describes as the beginning of birth pains.

Matthew 24:4–8 (CSB)

4 Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. 6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these events are the beginning of labor pains.

It’s an almost identical description of Revelation 6.

Seal 1 - False Christs (Mat 24:5)

Seal 2 - War (Mat 24:6)

Seal 3 - Famine (Mat 24:7)

What about seals 4-5? Does Jesus have anything to say about mass death and the killing of Christians? Let’s keep reading.

Matthew 24:9–14 (CSB)

9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

It’s an exact parallel with what John describes in seals 4-5. Through unapologetic preaching and fearlessly facing death, this last generation of Christians finish the Great Commission.

The Sixth Seal

Once that happens - things begin to shift. That brings us to today’s key text: the sixth of the seven seals.

You can sense this in Revelation 6 because the source of the trouble begins to shift. In seals 1-5 the source of the trouble came through Satan and the antichrist. In the sixth seal the trouble comes from God himself.

The sixth seal is marked by cosmic signs and wonders.

Revelation 6:12–17 (CSB)

Then I saw him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of hair; the entire moon became like blood; 13 the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14 the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”

Wrestling Illustration

I heard somebody the other day compare this picture of the sixth seal with that of WWE wrestling. I was a big wrestling fan growing up so I thought it was great. Here’s the picture.

In seals 1-5 the world in general and God’s people in particular are just being pummeled by wrath of Satan. The antichrist and his ruthless administration are just beating the tar out of them. Kinda like a first year wrestler going up against one of the “big bads” like the undertaker or sting.

But one of the best parts of wresting is when a “big bad” is beating up one of the underdogs and then one of the world champion wrestlers comes out from behind the scenes to shift the momentum. I think that’s what seal 5 is about.

It’s like Hulk Hogan coming out from behind the curtains. The “big bad” doesn’t know what’s about to him him but as soon as Hulk Hogan enters the ring it’s Hulkamania baby! It’s over!

That’s what the 6th seal is. It’s a global recognition that God is here, Jesus is coming and HE’S NOT HAPPY!

Textual Notes

Did you notice the seven fold description of the people?

Kings

Nobles

Generals

Rich

Powerful

Slave

Free

The number seven in the book of Revelation is symbolically important. It means fullness or completeness. The idea is that EVERYBODY on the earth is about to be judged. Nobody is exempt.

The other thing I noticed about this seal is that none of the people who recognize the judgment of God repent. They’re not crying out to God for mercy. They’re crying out for the ROCKS to kill them.

So everybody on earth is going to be judged and nobody on earth has a desire to repent.

This is an indicator of how bad the rebellion against God will be at this point. People would rather die and go to hell than repent and submit to God.

Matthew 24 Connection

What about Matthew 24? We’ve seen parallels with seals 1-5 will there be a parallel with seal 6? Of course there is.

Right after Jesus discusses the abomination of desolation and the GREAT TRIBULATION that follows he says this:

Matthew 24:29–30 (CSB)

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Another close parallel with Revelation 6. There are cosmic signs and wonders that announce or “portend” the Day of the Lord and second coming of Christ.

Rapture in Matthew 24:31

So in each of the seals announced John we see a parallel in the teaching of Jesus. What happens after the these cosmic signs and wonders? According to Jesus there’s a gathering of his elect.

Many commentators see this as a reference to the rapture. After Jesus descends from heaven on the clouds with power and great glory he sends out his angels to gather people.

Matthew 24:31 (CSB)

31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

I know that was like drinking from a fire hydrant so let’s take just a minute and piece it all together. You’ve got various key events that must take place before Jesus comes again to execute judgment and establish his kingdom.

The first key event in my mind is the rise of the antichrist and the abomination of desolation. (Dan 9:27; Mat 24:15)

The second key event is the the Great Tribulation. (Mat 24:16-22; Daniel 12:1-3; Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 13:5-10)

The third key event is what I’m going to call the rapture or the gathering of the church to meet Christ in the air. (1 Thess 4:17; Mat 24:31, 39-41; Mark 13:27; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

The fourth key event is the cosmic signs and wonders culminating in the Day of the Lord.

Each of these four events are going to take place within or around a 7 year timeline culminating with the Return of Christ. Where you place these four events in the timeline of how the world ends depends on how you understand what the rest of Scripture teaches about these events.

I do not think there is any debate that these four events will take place (especially among those who believe these events are yet future.) The debate lies on when and how these events play out during the final seven years before the return of Jesus.

I want to spend the rest of our time discussing the key events, how different views situate them on the end of the world timeline and then close with a point of application.

Final Seven Years

First let’s discuss why I think we should situate these events on a 7 year timeline. (Not everybody shares that view)

The seven year timeline comes from my understanding of Daniel 9:24-27.

We don’t have time to work through that prophecy but it essentially predicted the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the life death and resurrection of Jesus and the ultimate rise and fall of a figure known as the antichrist.

Here’s the conclusion of the prophecy.

Daniel 9:27 (CSB)

He will make a firm covenant

with many for one week,

but in the middle of the week

he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.

And the abomination of desolation

will be on a wing of the temple

until the decreed destruction

is poured out on the desolator.”

CHART - Final Seven Years

This prophecy provides the basic frame.

There’s a covenant signed for seven years (1 week).

In the middle of that week there’s a breaking of the covenant and the abomination of desolation spoken of by Jesus.

That triggers a time of Great Tribulation and culminates in the day of the Lord and the second coming of Christ.

Rapture and Day of the Lord

We’ve already discussed the Great Tribulation and the abomination of desolation in past messages. But how are we to understand this thing called the rapture and the “day of the Lord?”

The Rapture

The key text for the idea of a rapture is found in 1 Thess 4:17.

Paul says that when Jesus returns and the trumpet sounds “the dead in Christ are going to rise first. Then....

1 Thessalonians 4:17 (CSB)

17 Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

That word “caught up” is the Greek word harpazo. It means to be taken away. In the latin translation of the Bible this Greek word was translated using the latin “rapturo” which is where we get the English word “rapture.”

The doctrine of the rapture says before Christ comes in judgment and to establish his kingdom on earth there will first be “catching away” of God’s people from earth to meet Jesus in the air.

Not only will we be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We will also be “changed” in that our mortal earthy bodies are exchanged to receive a new resurrection body like the Lord Jesus Christ.

The rapture is also referenced in Mark 13:27, Matthew 24:31, 39-41 and 1 Cor 15:51-52. I honestly don’t think there should be a debate that there IS a rapture. I think the debate is on WHEN the rapture happens.

Day of the Lord

The final block we need to discuss is biblical concept known as “the Day of the Lord.” There are countless Scriptures in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that speak to this occurrence.

One that ties into our passage in Revelation 6:17 is Joel 2:30-31

Joel 2:30–31 (CSB)

I will display wonders

in the heavens and on the earth:

blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

31 The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.

So we see at the end a description of our sixth seal. Sun goes dark, moon turns to blood. Notice WHEN do those things happen? They happen BEFORE the Day of the Lord. You could say they “portend” or “announce” that the day of the Lord has arrived. People get ready Jesus is coming!

Another key passage is Isaiah 13:6-9

Isaiah 13:6–9 (CSB)

Wail! For the day of the Lord is near.

It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

7 Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak,

and every man will lose heart.

8 They will be horrified;

pain and agony will seize them;

they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

They will look at each other,

their faces flushed with fear.

9 Look, the day of the Lord is coming—

cruel, with fury and burning anger—

to make the earth a desolation

and to destroy its sinners.

Here’s how Peter describes this day in the New Testament. 2 Peter 3:10-13

2 Peter 3:10–13 (CSB)

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness 12 as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. 13 But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Two Things

Before we move on I want you to note TWO things about this event called the “day of the Lord.”

First - the Day of the Lord is distinct and separate from the “Great Tribulation.” We saw this with the 6 seals. The Great Tribulation consists of the wrath of Satan poured out on the earth (particularly the people of God). The Day of the Lord is the wrath of God being poured out on the earth (particularly the people of Satan.) There’s a big difference.

The second thing you need to know about this “Day of the Lord” is that isn’t not a single 24 hour period. The Bible uses the word day sometimes as a 24 hour period but often it refers to a “season of time” and that’s the case here. We know this because certain events that transpire during the day of the Lord require more than a 24 hour period. (it lasts at least 5 months probably longer.

Timelines and Debates

Now we have all four of our key events in view. The rapture, the abomination of desolation, the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. Of these events I think there is no real debate.

The debate surrounds how you situate these events on the timeline of the final seven years. And it’s important because how you understand that question will determine how we understand the rest of the book of Revelation.

Before we lay out these four views I want to say something important.

Charity Towards All

I believe ALL FOUR of the views I’m about to show you can be supported by Scripture. I think it’s important we be charitable in our disagreements!

That means just because somebody disagrees with your view doesn’t mean they don’t love Jesus or don’t believe the Bible!

There is room in our church for ALL FOUR of these views I’m about to show you. The most important truth to believe is that Jesus is coming back bodily and will fully triumph over Satan and evil.

How he does that depends on your understanding of these key events. Each of the four views I’m about to show you are distinguished by where they place the rapture of the Church.

Pretribulational Rapture

The first view and by far the most popular view is what’s called a “Pretribulational” rapture view.

The Pre-trib view holds that Christians are taken out of this earth at the very beginning of the final seven years.

Chart - Pretrib

This is the view that was popularized by the famous “Left Behind” series (Tim Lahay and Larry B Jenkins). Scholars who represent this view include godly and humble people such as John Woodvoord, David Jeremiah and many other well known pastors of the past 50 years.

As you can see from the chart, there’s something really really attractive about this view. What is it? The church is removed from the earth BEFORE the antichrist and great tribulation.

It’s common for this view to not separate the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord (a place I disagree). They see the entire 7 years as the wrath of God being poured out on the earth and the church removed from the earth because of Scripture’s promise that we are not appointed to God’s wrath.

Biblical Support

There is biblical support for this view. In 1 Thess 1:9-10 Paul is commending the witness and example of the Christians there. He describes how they are known for turning from their idols and serving Jesus the true God. Their life is marked by a patient waiting on Jesus whom God raised from the dead and “who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thess 1:10)

Jesus also promised the overcomers in the church at Philadelphia that he would “keep them from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” (Rev 3:10)

Weaknesses of This View

There are others, however, who say that the rapture CAN’T be before or at the beginning of the 7 years because the Bible shows Christians going through the Tribulation.

We’ve seen examples of this in Matthew 24 and the fifth seal. But there’s also a passage by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 that plainly suggests Christians will see the abomination of desolation by the Antichrist.

There were teachers suggesting that the Day of the Lord had already come. Christians in the church were worried they had “missed the rapture.” So Paul writes this.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 (CSB)

1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come.

So you get the context? There were teachers saying “Jesus had already come back to get his church. Paul encourages them by pointing out TWO EVENTS that had not yet happened and needed to happen BEFORE the rapture and before the coming of the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 (CSB)

3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.

That’s the Abomination of Desolation! When does that happen on our timeline? It happens 3.5 years into the last seven years.

If Christians are around to witness the abomination of desolation then they cannot have been raptured out of the church before then.

Mid Tribulational Rapture

That leads us to the second view and it’s called the Mid-tribulational view. This view says that the rapture happens in the middle of the last seven years.

Chart - Mid Trib

Notice that this view separates the tribulation of the first 3.5 years with the tribulation that follows the abomination of desolation. I think this is helpful because it separates what Jesus calls the beginning of birth pains from the “great tribulation.”

This view submits that the church sees the rise of the antichrist (and perhaps the first 3 seals) but they are taken up at the midpoint or at the abomination of desolation.

They put the rapture here trying to preserve the idea that we will not experience the wrath of God. And since the tribulation gets really really heavy AFTER the AOD then perhaps the rapture happens at the mid point and not the beginning.

The major weakness with this view of course is that Jesus says nobody can know the day or the hour and this view gets extremely close to doing just that.

Moreover, when Jesus talks about the rapture in Matthew 24 he places it AFTER the distress of those days not on or before.

Post Tribulational Rapture

The third view is what’s called the Post Tribulational Rapture. This view says that the rapture happens at the very END of the 7 years and simultaneous with the second coming of Christ.

Some have pejoratively called this view the “yo-yo” view of the rapture. Because we are caught up only to come back down and live with Jesus in his newly established earthly kingdom.

The post-trib position agrees with Pre and Mid trib that we are protected from God’s wrath. They would just say we are protected from that wrath AS it’s being poured out on the earth.

We are not taken OUT of the world in the sense of the rapture. Rather we are sealed and protected FROM the wrath of God even as it’s being poured out on the earth.

They would point to the Exodus narrative of how God protected his people even as he poured out his wrath on Egypt. They were covered by the blood of the lamb and as a result they did not endure the wrath of God but were given mercy instead of judgment.

Certainly this view helps make sense of why there are still believers on the earth during the trumpet judgments. It also helps us understand the the death of the martyrs in the 5th seal.

The Pre-Wrath Rapture

The final view is what’s called the Pre-Wrath Rapture view. In my opinion this view draws on the strengths of both the pre-trib position and the post trib position while simultaneously avoiding it’s weaknesses.

This view says that the rapture of the church happens AFTER the Great Tribulation and BEFORE the Day of the Lord.

CHART - PRE-WRATH

As you can see from the chart, there’s a clear distinction between the beginning of birth pains, the great tribulation and the day of the Lord. I think those distinctions matter. We are exempted from the wrath of GOD but we are not exempt from the wrath of Satan.

According to this view Christians WILL see the rise of the antichrist and abomination of desolation. We WILL experience great tribulation and persecution described in seals 4-5.

However at some point after 6th seal and before seventh there will be a catching up of people of God that enables them to escape the coming of God’s wrath.

CHART - SEALS

That means that the church will NOT be on the earth during the trumpet and bowl judgments. Instead we will be with the Lord in the air as he begins to pour out his judgments on the earth.

CONCLUSION

Which view should you hold? That’s between you and the Lord. I think each of these four views can be scripturally support. I have honestly bounced between them all in the past several years.

In studying the book of the Revelation I’ve been drawn back to the Pre-Wrath position. I’ll try and show you this next week but I believe it perfectly fits the chronology of events in Revelation 6-8.

In Revelation 6 we have the Rise of the antichrist, the abomination of desolation and the Great Tribulation.

In Revelation 8 we have the sounding of the trumpets and the great and terrible day of the Lord.

Sandwiched between those two chapters is Revelation 7.

You have two events: the sealing of 144,000 Jews on the earth and

a great multitude of resurrected saints in heaven who had come out of the Great Tribulation. (Rev 7:14) I think that’s a reference to the rapture of the church.

Your View & The Bible

But don’t believe it because it’s what I believe. If you disagree with me don’t believe what you believe because somebody else said it.

Believe what you believe because that’s what the WORD OF GOD says. People of God flawed and make mistakes. The word of God is true and will never contradict itself.

Our understanding of God must not define the truth of the Bible, but rather the truth of the Bible must define our understanding of God.

Conclusion / Application

Let me say this as we conclude by way of application.

If it IS true that our generation may be THE generation to witness all of these things then it’s important that we BE READY.

We may be the last generation leading up to the Lord’s Return. Leading up to the end, the world is not just going to get better. It’s going to get worse. It’s going to get more and more challenging.

Is your love for Jesus the kind of love that will enable you to weather those kind of storms?

Is your faith a kind of faith that can weather the end of the world?

Do you even have a real faith in Jesus as Lord? If not, repent and believe.

Are you able to say with John at the end of Revelation. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus! That should be our rallying cry. We need to support one another. We need to love one another. We need to help strengthen one another. We need to build one another up and stop tearing one another down.

Don’t be part of the problem. Reject that spirit of the antichrist. Embrace the Spirit of Christ. And let us be the kind of people who are ready for the return of our great king.