Good morning. How are you all doing today? Awesome. I know many of you have asked already,
but I am feeling great. Thank you so much for the prayers. I got to tell it because
it's probably the cheesiest dad joke I could think of, but you know, after teaching the
four horsemen, it was the fourth one of plague and death that got me, took me out. All right,
some laughs, some laughs. All right, cool. All right. I am Pastor Nathan and I want to start by welcoming
anybody that is here joining us in our sanctuary for the first time or if you're joining us
online for the first time, we want to say welcome to all of you. This morning, we are
going to be continuing our study through Revelation by looking at the fifth and sixth seals in
Revelation chapter six, verses nine through 17. But we're also here in a day that is recognizing
Memorial Day. And in our text today, we're going to see a group of people who gave their
lives for the cause. And Memorial Day is a time where we take a moment to reflect and
to honor those who gave their lives for the cause and gave their lives in defense of this
country and our freedoms. And so I do want to take a moment just to say thank you to
those who have family members that they have lost, those that have given their lives the
ultimate price. My dad ultimately passed from complications that he got in his service.
And so we do appreciate those who gave that ultimate sacrifice for us. But we're also
gathered. Yeah, you could clap for that. Absolutely. We're also gathered here on Pentecost Sunday,
which is today. And Pentecost is that day we see in scripture, at least in the New Testament
church, where all of the believers were gathered together in one accord 50 days after his resurrection.
And we know that Pentecost was that day where the promised Comforter, the Holy Spirit, came
upon the apostles, empowering them, filling them with the Holy Spirit to accomplish their
calling and their mission to be lights to the world. And so as we study through Revelation,
because we're in a piece of Revelation where I'm like, how do I, how do I schoonhorn Pentecost
into the particular text we're in? And it's a little bit awkward, but the overall idea
here is as we're studying Revelation, this Revelation of Jesus Christ, the goal and the
point of all of this is that we would be people full of the Holy Spirit preaching the gospel,
telling people about the hope, the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. And then a part of
that is warning them of judgment to come on sin, that the judgment that's going to fall
on this world. And so I just pray today that the Holy Spirit would fill all of us as we're
here to hear his word and to study his word together.
But I have mentioned a number of times, and I will likely mention this many more times
before we conclude Revelation. I fully understand that there are numerous ways people interpret
this book. Most Christians agree on two things regarding the end times in the future, I think.
One of those is that the Old Testament and Jesus himself promised that there would be
a coming Messianic rule on earth. The second thing most Christians agree on is that Jesus
Christ is indeed coming again at some point, right? But past those two points, there's
lots of disagreement regarding the when, the how, and really the meaning, the interpretive
meaning of the things we study here in Revelation. And I probably should have spent more time
on this as we entered into the study of Revelation, but I just want to give just a brief overview
to kind of set the context of how we're approaching Revelation as we study through it, because
Revelation has historically been interpreted in four major ways. There's other variances
and nuances of interpretation, but there's four major ways that Revelation has been approached
through. And the first one is the Preterist view. And those that identify with the Preterist
view of Revelation hold the belief that none of Revelation is prophecy. None of it is prophecy,
but it is all a symbolic retelling of what happened in the first century. It's a symbolic
retelling of first century conflicts that have already happened. And so in the Preterist
view, all biblical prophecy concerning end times really has already been fulfilled in
the past. And so some people approach Revelation from that point of view. The second major
view that Revelation has often been interpreted throughout the years is the Historicism view,
which was once very, very popular. But actually today there's almost nobody that holds this
view of Revelation. But the Historicism view says Revelation is a symbolic telling of history,
the history of the church from the beginning of the church until now. The problem with
the Historicism view is now was a moving target, right? Because 100 years ago now was now,
and then it became then, right? And so the problem with this interpretation of Revelation
was that every generation would interpret the happenings of the world around them and
then look into Revelation and try and connect things. But the problem was is life moved
on and technology moved on. And so it was a difficult thing. The third one is the Idealism
view, which is the idea that all of Revelation is only purely and specifically symbolic of
the general struggle between good and evil. But none of it is prophetic, none of it is
historic, nor does it have any connection to any real times or events, past or present.
And then the fourth major view of Revelation is the Futurist view. And the Futurist view
says that Revelation does indeed speak of actual, real, literal future events prophetically.
Now in that you have three then major views of what is known as the Millennial Kingdom
of Christ, right? Which Revelation speaks of. You have people that are post-millennial,
which say, you know, there is no literal physical reign of Jesus for a thousand years. It's
not a literal thing. And these people tend to fall in the preterist interpretation of
Revelation. People that are post-millennial often say the world eventually will become
a predominantly Christian global government type of thing. And so they consider this this
golden age of human existence, the coming millennium. They don't interpret a thousand
years as a literal thousand years, but instead they say that this time of a Christian dominated
culture globally may or may not be a thousand years. And they kind of look at thousand years
as meaning just a long time. Then you have people that are all millennial. Oh, I'm sorry,
post-millennials then believe that Christ will return at the end of this golden age
to quash a final rebellion. People identify as all millennial say that there is no literal
thousand years or a thousand year reign period. And these people tend to identify as the idealism
interpreters of Revelation. All millennials believe that we currently today are living
in the millennial reign of Christ. This thousand year reign that Revelation talks about, but
they also say that thousand years is simply a metaphorical way to say a long time. And
so all millennials believe that Christ reigns as King in the hearts of his people. And that's
how Christ will reign during the millennial period. He's not here physically, but he reigns
in the heart of his people and he won't visibly return until the new heaven and the new earth
comes. And then you have pre-millennial people, which tend to identify with a futurist interpretation
of Revelation, which believes that Christ will physically return in the future to establish
a literal one thousand years of him reigning here on earth. And then with that, to make
it even more clear, you have four major views on the timing of the rapture of the church,
right? You have pre-tribulational understanding, which believes that the redeemed, the church,
will be raptured or taken up out of the earth prior to God's final judgment in the tribulation
time. You have people that identify as mid-tribulation, which believes that the redeemed will be
raptured up out of the earth at the halfway point in tribulation, three and a half years
into it. You have pre-wrath people who believe that the redeemed will be raptured up out
of the earth sometimes after the midpoint. So you might call these, instead of mid-tribulation,
two-third tribulationists, because they believe it's kind of after that midpoint. And then
you have post-tribulation belief, which is that the church, the redeemed, will be raptured
up at the very end of tribulation and then immediately boomerang back as they return
to the earth with Christ for the end of tribulation.
I share all that to say this. Since much of this hasn't happened yet, I don't believe
anybody can be 100% sure. Nobody can be 100% sure. Personally, I think it's arrogant to
claim so. If you spend some time on YouTube, you'll find many on all sides of the interpretive
debates of Revelation saying, I am right, the rest are wrong. You'll even find videos
where some even say you can't be saved unless you believe in a post-tribulation rapture,
which I was like, can you show me where in the gospel it requires you to believe in any
particular interpretive, revelational interpretation.
Now the real big issue is when there's opposing, contradicting viewpoints on things that haven't
happened yet, and all of those contradictory viewpoints claim to be 100% right. The truth
is that somebody is wrong. Somebody is wrong. But interpretations on these things are difficult.
Now I do lean as a futurist, premillennial, pre-tribulation interpretation of Revelation.
That's how I lean. That is my understanding in my studies of Revelation. But I saw one
other teacher said it this way, that he's panmillennial and pan-tribulational. And he
said, because we'll know when it all pans out. And that's kind of more, I guess, how
my heart lines up with these things. But the interpretation of these things, these end
time events, the tribulation, the rapture, all that, they are not salvational doctrines.
Okay? They are not things like who Jesus is, how we are saved, how we're going to get to
heaven. But rather they're issues and factors of when these things might take place and
what the final judgments of God might look like. And so we shouldn't divide over these
things. We shouldn't divide over these things. We shouldn't be claiming that those who interpret
these as of yet to happen events differently than us are somehow apostate or unbiblical
or dangerous. I believe that is a wrong way to deal with people who interpret these things
differently. But rather we should be able to discuss all of these things with mutual
respect, with love, because we're family in Christ. And so to those of you who are emailing
me and sending me messages and kindly, gracefully, that it has been done, those who disagree
with my interpretation of these things, I love you. I respect you. You are my brothers
and sisters in Christ. As I continue to study the book of Revelation, I think I understand
why you believe differently than I do about these things. I just don't agree with you.
That's it. I just don't agree with you. And I'll add that at least at this time, because
as I study and as these things unfold, I may come to a different understanding. But I just
simply don't agree with you. That is all. I don't hate you. I'm not leading Hosanna
into the pits of hell. But as the pastor of this church, I am and will be teaching this
book from a futurist, premillennial, pre-tribulation view. That's how we're going to be approaching
the teaching of this book. And whether you agree or not, I think we both can agree that
according to chapter one of Revelation, we are all blessed by the reading of the book
of this prophecy. And so I pray that you would be blessed with that. I will try and address
differences in interpretation as we move forward and as time allows, but my prayer is that
all of us, regardless of our stance of these things that haven't happened yet, regardless
of our stance on that, we would all be motivated to preach the gospel today. We would all be
motivated to go and tell people about Jesus today, to see people get saved today, so that
whenever, however the rapture happens, they'll be there for it. And whenever, however the
millennial kingdom of Christ comes to be, that they would be there for that. And whenever
you think the second coming of Christ is, that they would be ready for it as a saved
child of God. That is the point. That is the goal. But more than anything, that we would
have a clear vision of living for Jesus Christ in our lives today. Okay? All right. So this
morning with the fifth and sixth seal, we're going to be looking at those who suffered
the wrath of man, giving their lives as martyrs for the cause of Christ, contrasted with those
who suffered the wrath of God for their rejection of Him. That's what we're going to be looking
at in the fifth and sixth seal this morning. And we will be looking at these things from
a futurist, premillennial, pre-tribulational perspective. And again, if you just say, I
think that is completely wrong, then approach it like we're in a college class doing a survey
of all of them and we just happen to be surveying the pre-tribulation view. Okay? But with that,
let's pray and then we'll get into some worship. Father, we love you. God, we do thank you,
Lord, that even in the body of Christ, Lord, when we come to issues that are tough to reconcile,
Lord, where we come to issues and differences of interpretation of prophecy and future events,
Lord, that God, through the Spirit of Christ that fills us, that indwells us, Lord, we
are still able to come together to love one another as brothers and sisters in the body.
Lord, God, your word is very clear about the things we can't differentiate in on, Lord,
the things about who you are, who Jesus is, God in the flesh. Lord, about how we are saved,
where it's not on our works, it's not on what we do, but it is purely through the shed blood
of Jesus Christ and our faith in that work. That God, it's those things that draw us together,
it's those things we don't waver on, Lord, but there's other things that we should be
able to have discussion about, to speculate about, to get into the word and to see what
says what and why. But Lord, most importantly, I pray, God, that in our world today, that
Lord, your Spirit would work in us to be people who are filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ,
empowered to go out and do the work you're calling us to do. Lord, not all of us are
evangelists, but we're all called to do the work of an evangelist. And may we be people
who take every opportunity, Lord, to share our faith, to share the hope of Jesus Christ
with those that don't know you, that are in the world today. That God, regardless of what's
to come into the future and the timing and the chronology of all of it, Lord, that they
would be saved, that their eternity would be secure. And so Lord, I pray, God, that
you would encourage us and motivate us, Lord. And specifically today as we look at what's
possibly to come for those who come to know you during the time of your wrath, Lord. God,
that we would be encouraged to share now, that people would be spared from the wrath
to come. But Lord, we want to worship your name because this entire study is about knowing
you better, is about knowing you more, is about proclaiming the glory of who you are,
God. And so be praised. Be blessed, Lord. We love you. It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
I've got a lot of ground to cover, so if I end up talking fast, I apologize in advance.
But we are in Revelation chapter 6, starting in verse 9. And it says, 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. They cried out with a loud voice,
Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth
and avenge our blood. So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a
little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and
their brothers and sisters who were going to be killed just as they had been.
You know, at this point in Revelation, we've looked at the first two parts of the divine
outline given in Revelation chapter 1, verse 19. And if you remember what it told us there
as Jesus was speaking to John, he says, therefore write what you have seen, which is chapter
1, the Revelation, the picture of Jesus Christ glorified. And then he said, write what is,
which is the church age that we looked at through chapters 2 and 3. And then he said,
write what will take place after this. And so that three-part outline, I believe, gives
us a picture of what Revelation looks like and that what takes place after this began
in chapter 4 on. And so what we've seen so far in this book is the churches throughout
the ages addressed by Jesus one at a time to deal with the issues that they have during
their existence here on earth. And then we saw, according to a pre-tribulation understanding
of Revelation, the church, the body of believers that exist today prior to the judgment of
God falling out on the earth, represented by John, caught up into heaven as God said,
come up here. We also saw as John was caught up into heaven, he saw the 24 elders present,
which represent the entire body of Christ, the entire body of the redeemed that are there
in heaven with John prior to tribulation falling upon the earth. And we saw that group of people
all together worshiping God, casting their crowns down at the feet of God, praising Him
specifically for the salvation that was granted to them through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Then we saw that the Lamb of God stepped forward to take a hold of the scroll, having fully
paid the price of redemption for everything, all of creation, redeeming everything from
the curse that came upon it through sin. And now the deal done, the transaction complete,
the time has come for Him to then reclaim what He has reclaimed in that scroll or what
He has ownership of. And so the time of long-suffering grace, which is the church age, has ended.
And the time of judgment and tribulation has come. And so as He begins to break these seals,
and that'll move into the trumpets and the bold judgments, we see that there is a purge
of wickedness from the earth that begins called the tribulation period, which is a seven-year
period referenced prophetically by Daniel where God will pour out His wrath on sin.
He will pour out His wrath on those who reject Him. He will pour out His wrath on a sinful
world. And so that all started here in chapter six with the breaking of the first four seals,
which we looked at as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. And you had that first seal,
which was the white horse of deception and false peace. Now there's numerous different
understandings of this. Some people think that first horse is Jesus. Others believe
that it's Elijah. And there are some reasons, and in good reasons people interpret it that
way. However, I do believe that it's a picture of the Antichrist released upon the earth
to start to bring his deception upon the nations. And so as God allows the Antichrist to step
in to deceive the nations and to conquer initially through an apparent peace, He effectively
is the picture of God finally giving the world what it wants, which is anything but God to
rule over them. And then that led to the red horse of war as this false Christ, this counterfeit
Jesus, this Antichrist plunges the entire world into warfare and bloodshed. And we saw
how that led to the black horse of famine, which was scarcity and the result of war,
and then ultimately the pale horse of sickness, disease, and death. Now these first four seals
represented by these four horses are both a chronological and kind of an overview picture
of what's going to take place throughout the entirety of tribulation. But an important
detail I think specifically coming from the interpretation as I understand it is that
all of this is observed by John and the church represented by the 24 elders from heaven,
for they have already been caught up into heaven because 1 Thessalonians 5, 9 where
Paul was speaking of the tribulation to come, he said, God did not appoint us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so in verse 9 we see that this
fifth seal is opened. And it says, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been
slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony that they had been given. So
as John is in heaven observing the unfolding of these events, watching the Lamb of God
break these seals on the scroll that he then purchased or he had purchased and seeing these
four horsemen go out and just stampede across the earth, he now looks and sees a specific
group of people in heaven where he is at. Now the natural question is who are these
people, right? Well it gives us some clues in the description there because it tells
us that they're under the altar having been slaughtered for their testimony and slaughtered
because of the word of God. Now off the cuff on just the general looking at the scripture
this could be representative of those from all time, all human history who have been
killed because of their faith in Christ. We get that because that word testimony there,
it says that they were slaughtered for the word of God and the testimony that they had
given. That word testimony in the Greek is martyria. We get our English word martyr from
this word. And so this word testimony is about, it's the idea of speaking with direct knowledge
about something in a way that results in death. So the testimony, it's speaking, it's a witness,
being a witness of something and speaking about it in such a way where you get killed
for it. And that's why this word martyr in the Greek is rendered testimony here because
it's talking about having a witness that ends up in death. So these people are martyrs for
their faith and it could be just people from all time but there's another possibility that
falls in line with a pre-tribulational rapture and a futurist interpretation of revelation
because if you hold to or if you see or at least acknowledge a pre-tribulational rapture
perspective that naturally raises some questions in your mind as you're interpreting this book
of revelation. And one of those questions is if the Christians and the church collectively
are gone from the earth during tribulation, can people still get saved? And if people
can still get saved during this time, what happens when they do? Well the answer to the
first question, it is my belief that yes absolutely they still can. People still can get saved
during tribulation even though the church and the Christians are gone. They missed the
opportunity to do so during the age of grace but yes salvation is still available during
the tribulation period. Now you might say but wait Pastor Nathan, didn't you just quote
1 Thessalonians 5, 9? Didn't you just quote to us that verse that says God did not appoint
his children to wrath? And this is one of the critiques of a pre-tribulational understanding
of revelation. But if you go to 1 Thessalonians 5, 9 and you look at that word appoint where
it says God did not appoint his children to wrath, that word in the Greek is tithami.
It means to consign someone to something. The idea is to cause or to make to be or to
make to experience something. That's what that word appoint means. So when we read 1
Thessalonians 5, 9 and we say God did not appoint his children to wrath, the idea there
is God will never cause us, make us, consign us to go through his wrath. That's what the
word says there. But that doesn't preclude us from choosing to do so. That doesn't preclude
us from choosing to deny him now before tribulation comes and then to be suffering through that
time where he's pouring out his wrath on sin on the world to then in that time be able
to find ourselves crying out to God. Tribulation does not preclude the opportunity for someone
to be saved. And so when we say God did not appoint us to wrath, he doesn't make us go
through his wrath. He doesn't cause us to go through his wrath is the idea. So with that
understanding these people that are under the altar here represented by this fifth seal
could be what is known as tribulation saints. This is one of the understandings of who these
people could be. People who were saved during the tribulation period. And the idea comes
from the chronological understanding of these seals. You see it's my understanding that
the seven seals and the seven trumpets and the seven bowls are 21 chronologically building
judgments upon the earth. Now there is some overlap and there are some that represent
kind of an overview of things but I believe there's a building intensity in the judgments
of God on the earth during the tribulation period. And that is because a part of his
judgment on earth during the tribulation period is to wake man up. Is to wake us up and say
listen you need to be saved. God is real and God is judging sin and call out to him. And
so these judgments get worse and worse and worse as the time period goes on. Now others
interpret that as these seven seals and seven bowls and seven trumpets. They're just a
retelling of the same seven things. That is another interpretation of revelation. But
chronologically we see these first four seals already opened. So the tribulation has already
begun. The tribulation is started and then we come to this fifth seal. So it's after
these first four seals are opened we come to these saints that are under the altar.
Now this interpretation sees that during the tribulation with the church being gone and
the Christians raptured out prior to the tribulation falling that a new generation of believers
will rise up on earth during this time. And these are people who will end up not believing
the lies of the Antichrist. They will end up not believing in what the one world government
and all that is saying at the time. Although they are living in a time where the entire
earth is under direct control and influence of the Antichrist. And so as these judgments
that God is levying out against a sinful world fall some will indeed end up crying out to
God for salvation. God please save us. And you might think well how does the gospel go
out if the church is gone if the Christians are gone how is the gospel going to go out
during this time. Well there's many ways that the gospel goes out during tribulation. In
chapter seven which we're going to be looking at next chapter seven is like a parenthetical
between the sixth and seventh seals right. It's kind of like like like. Meanwhile you
know as the movie does you know. And so in chapter seven it tells us about the hundred
and forty four thousand Jewish evangelists who will preach the gospel. Now I know some
somewhere are going to be disappointed because these are not the Jehovah's Witnesses who
are sealed and the only ones going to heaven. All right. These are Jewish evangelists and
so they're preaching the gospel during the tribulation period. In chapter 11 we're going
to read about two specific witnesses who gain a worldwide audience preaching the gospel.
In chapter 14 we read about an angel it says tasked with quote announcing the eternal gospel
to every person on earth. And so the gospel is going out during this tribulation period.
And then on top of that even with the church being gone the church having been raptured
out the testimony that you and I have as Christians here today will remain. I mean we're going
to be gone but our Bibles are still going to be here. So if you're a note taker if you're
jotting stuff down in your Bible that that's a testimony of your walk with God and your
understanding your growth of him. Christian books will still be around at least for a
time Christian magazines Christian websites YouTube channels right. All that's still going
to be out there for a time while the church is gone. One of the things we've done here
at Hosanna Pastor Gary did this years and years ago is in the back of the church there
we have the at home ministry room and in that room is a little like treasure chest looking
looking thing on the ground there. That's actually what we call our rapture box. And
so the idea is that that when the church is raptured we're taken out and people are starting
to wander into our building going where all these Christians go where Hosanna that they
might find this box to crack open and guess what's inside that box your testimonies. And
if you've never taken the time to write down your testimony of what God has done and who
he is and write it down for someone who doesn't know the Lord who might be asking questions
when we're gone write it put it in an envelope and go drop it in the box because that's what
it's there for. And so the idea is that the gospel is still going to go out it's still
going to be prevalent during this time. But these martyrs that are under the altar here
in Revelation six they're apparently different than the twenty four elders who represent
the church in heaven. The twenty four elders it says are already in heaven seated around
the throne of God prior to any of the seals being opened. They were already there. But
these ones are appearing on the fifth seal under the altar and it specifically pointed
out that they are under the altar having been slaughtered because of the word of God and
the testimony that they had given. And this happens after the tribulation starts. It's
an important detail to me. They weren't Christians who just died of natural causes. They weren't
believers who died in some some car accident or anything like that. It specifically tells
us that they were slaughtered. That word slaughtered doesn't mean just killed. It means targeted.
It means someone who was targeted and killed mercilessly with great prejudice hate and
anger. So there's a specific group of people after the tribulation started that had been
targeted for what the word of God and the testimony they had given about it. So the
picture is that after the church was gone they had gotten saved somehow come to faith
begin to share that faith and preach that faith and they were then targeted for that
and killed. This idea of being under the altar it's a picture we get from the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament when the priest would kill the sacrificial animal there was an altar
where the blood would be poured out and the blood would be poured out at the base of the
altar under the altar and that blood being at the base of the altar was a picture of
the sacrifice that was poured out there. And so these saints being under the altar the
idea is that their very lives their very blood was poured out for the cause of Christ. They
were a sacrifice for the cause of Christ during this tribulation period. And so I see these
saints as a different group of people than the church. We're called the saints today
right so some people see a confusion there but there's a difference I believe I see it
in Revelation between the church and these particular saints under the fifth seal. A
couple of the reasons for that is Revelation tells us that during the tribulation period
the Antichrist is allowed to make war against the saints and it tells us that he prevails
against them which we see these martyrs here that were slaughtered for their faith. But
before this time period back in the Gospels Jesus says I will build my church and the
gates of hell will not prevail against it. And the idea is that God's people aren't going
to be just wholesale slaughtered during this age of grace. Now yes martyrdom does happen
now but it's going to be taking place in a far different way during the tribulation period.
If these people under the fifth seal aren't the church because the church is not on the
earth during tribulation period but instead people who get saved after the tribulation
started people who then are falling to the forces of hell so to speak then it makes sense.
But again I do acknowledge that martyrdom is not a future only concept right martyrdom
does happen today people die every day for their belief in Jesus Christ but those who
come to Christ during the tribulation period are going to face a time of persecution never
seen on earth. Persecution on Christians for being Christian it's something that has been
growing in the world today for centuries and it is still growing today especially in the
United States. Right believers in the United States Christians and Christianity is more
and more seen as an enemy of the state. We're the bigots we're the narrow minded we're the
hateful we're the intolerant. You know in our culture today it's okay to be spiritual
just not Christian with a strict biblical worldview. Be spiritual all you want just
not Jesus. Just not he's the only way for salvation don't you dare say that and the
persecution against those who believe in Christianity it's getting worse. According to the Institute
of Religion and Democracy in Washington DC there's been more martyrs in the 20th century
than in every other century combined since the time of Christ. Between 1950 and 2010
it's estimated that 70 million believers were persecuted or put to death simply because
they believe in Jesus. And you might think that's terrible but the picture and it is
but the picture is that during the tribulation period the persecution will be much worse
because it's going to be overtly publicly aggressively prevalent. It's going to be government
supported and mandated. It's not going to be just in third world countries it's going
to be in every country as people have turned to see Christians as the problem for everything
and they will be aggressively targeted. It won't just be you're losing your business
it won't just be you can't make cake it won't be just you can't have a flower shop it'll
be you can't even exist. And we see this picture here in Revelation. Now verse 10 it says they
cried out with a loud voice, Lord the one who is holy and true how long until you judge
those who live on the earth and avenge our blood. This is another reason why I don't
believe these people represent the church but rather a different group of believers
because in the age of grace in the age we currently live in the church age that we currently
exist in believers are told to pray for those who persecute you. We are told to love them
to turn the extra cheek to give them your cloak to go the extra mile right those who
persecute us for our faith we are commanded in this age to love them and pray for them
and interact with them that way but these particular believers who likely died during
this age of vengeance and wrath they're not praying for them they're saying God when you
gonna take them out God when you gonna harm them when you gonna judge those who murdered
me that word avenge there when you gonna avenge those avenge our blood that word avenge literally
means when you gonna give them what they deserve. And it's a different attitude than what we're
called to with those who persecute us here in the age of grace. Now verse 11 it says
so they were each given a white robe and they were told to rest a little while longer until
the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who
were going to be killed just as they had been. So there's already the notice there that there's
gonna be more of these martyrs during this time. Now a white robe the white robe that
they were given we've seen throughout scripture and in Revelation specifically that the white
robe often represents the righteousness as we are clothed with in Christ we're clothed
with the righteousness of Christ right. It's a picture or a reminder of their salvation
being secure right. We're under the altar here we've been killed for our faith mercilessly
I mean brutally when are they gonna get what's coming to them when are you gonna take them
out. And the first thing he does is give them this white robe like look your salvation is
secure you're saved you're safe. But then he goes on to say look judgment is company
is coming right. There's more of you that that have to go through this before the end
of all this it is coming it is happening as you speak and be patient just be patient is
what he tells them. But it's an interesting contrast this first section this fifth seal
to what then takes place under the sixth seal which we're gonna look at next because what
we have here is the martyrs in heaven crying out avenge us God avenge us. But then that's
contrasted with mankind on earth who is still experiencing these judgments crying out to
the mountains for salvation not crying out to God not looking to God as almighty but
instead crying out to creation and we see that in the opening of the sixth seal. Look
at verse 12 with me he says 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 the
stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by
a high wind the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up rolled up and every
mountain and island was moved from its place. Pretty horrific description of what's taking
place here on earth right. But it's interesting because you have the creator of the earth
the creator of the sun the creator of the moon the creator of sky the creator of space
the creator of the stars now literally begins to shake things up on earth. To shake it free
of all the filthy corruption that clings to it right. He gives that idea of the figs fallen
from a tree as it's shaken by the wind. Now as the sixth seal is opened it opens there
with an earthquake right. This is the first of three major earthquakes we read about in
Revelation and we know or maybe you don't know but earthquakes have been increasing
in intensity over the last hundred years. There are more earthquakes today worldwide
than there were a hundred years ago. It's getting worse it's ramping up if you will
to something. I remember the Northridge earthquake when I was in seventh grade right. We were
getting ready in our morning and then all of a sudden us and all of our desks went up
and then all of us in our desks went down. And then the teacher said get under the desk.
What was that going to do? I never quite understood that you know I get fallen stuff but anyways
it was a big earthquake you know and there's been many more earthquakes and people have
been asking for years when's the big one right. When's the big one coming the big one that's
going to level everything and well you know I think it's during tribulation. That's when
the big one's going to come. That's when it's not just going to be localized but it's going
to be worldwide. It says a violent earthquake. That word violent specifically means surprisingly
remarkable in magnitude. It's going to be an earthquake where everybody's like wow that
one was a big earthquake right. It's going to be surprisingly remarkable. And so this
earthquake is going to happen shaking up the earth and then it says the sun turned black
like sackcloth made of hair and the moon became like blood. And so again John is recording
what he is being shown here from heaven about what is taking place down on earth in the
creation the physical creation of reality. And so the sun turning black like sackcloth
you know. The idea is that it's just not shining anymore. It's like almost an eclipse if you
will but it's just completely black. And the moon becoming like blood is the idea of the
moon turning from its shining the sun to this red kind of opaque look. But this idea has
been foretold several times in scripture as something that would happen during the end
times in Joel chapter 2 verse 31. He said the sun will be turned to darkness and the
moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Now some of you here
or maybe watching online or watching this later are going to be like aha Pastor Nathan
didn't you pay attention to that it said before the great and terrible day of the Lord. How
is the sun and moon. How is this taking place during the tribulation period if it's before.
Good observation great observation. But if you go and you study the Hebrew that word
before there means in the presence or in the face of. It's like saying I stand before you.
It's not a reference to time. It's not a reference to chronology. It's a repositional reference.
It's like saying the sun turns to darkness and the moon turns to blood in the presence
of the great and terrible day of the Lord. So it's a picture again a prophecy of what
is happening during tribulation. Again in Joel chapter 3 verse 15 it says the sun and
moon will grow dark and the stars will cease their shining. The Lord will roar from Zion
and make his voice heard from Jerusalem. Heaven and earth will shake earthquakes. And then
again in Isaiah 13 verse 9 it says look the day of the Lord is coming. And I've mentioned
a few times in past studies that the idea of the day of the Lord that word day is referring
to a time period. It's not necessarily only referring to a 24 hour period but it's referring
to the time a time period which I believe is the whole tribulation time. So the day of
the Lord is coming. Cruel with fury and burning anger to make the earth a desolation and to
what destroy its sinners. Indeed the stars of the sky and its constellations will not
give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shine. I will
punish the world for its evil. So what is exactly happening to cause the sun to go dark
and the moon to become like blood. What is exactly happening to cause those things. It's
speculative. We don't know. Right. Some go it's going to be some type of atmospheric
conditions. Some think there's going to be a prolonged eclipse during this time. Some
have even speculated no there's a hydrogen explosion which changes the way things look
in the sky. Others speculate that that during this tribulation period especially following
the violence of the Red Horse of War that there might be nuclear detonations on our
earth and so the consequences of a nuclear winter might be causing issue atmospheric
issues. Ultimately we don't know. But in verse 13 he says the stars of heaven fell to the
earth as a fig tree drops its unright figs. That was cool timing though right. Right.
I was about to be like hey props lighting people that was pretty good timing there the
stars fell. Okay. So the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unright
figs when shaken by a high wind the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up
and every mountain and island was moved from its place. So the stars falling from heaven
could be meteors. The idea of meteors hitting the earth you know because one I mean even
in recent history we have near misses all the time right which it's funny when you're
looking at the scope of space and they go oh my gosh we had a near miss. Really how
close was it like a billion miles away. I guess in the context of space that's close
right. But you know the idea of this could be the stars from heaven falling could be
meteors is because when we see a meteor streaking across the sky what do we call it. A shooting
star right. It's the idea of these glimmering lights in the sky and so but you know historically
you know in the last hundred years or so 130 years there's only been really a couple large
meteors strike the earth and even in that nothing's actually hit the earth they've
just been a couple that entered the atmosphere which could be precursors of what it's talking
about here in 1908 there was an event called the Tunguska event and it was actually a meteor
that entered the atmosphere in a remote part of Siberia in Russia. Now this meteor is thought
to have been about 120 feet of cross so you think from the stage to the back of the foyer
is the diameter of this meteor. They estimated to be about around 220 million pounds but
in this event this meteor entered the atmosphere and exploded in the air just a few miles up
from ground level. The force of this explosion leveled trees for hundreds of miles in every
direction and it killed hundreds and hundreds of reindeer and that's why all the Christmas
presents were late that year right. No but in 2013 most recently there was another meteor
over Russia which I don't know what it is about Russia but you know there was a meteor
that was that was estimated to be the size of a like a median income family home right
so maybe like a 15 to 2000 square foot type of place type of type of house was the idea
of this and it entered the atmosphere traveling 11 miles per second and it blew apart 14 miles
above the ground so it didn't actually strike but the force of the explosion released energy
equivalent to 440,000 tons of dynamite. The shockwave blew out windows and damaged buildings
in a 200 square mile area. Okay to give you an idea of that from here to Las Vegas is
200 miles so now go 200 miles up 200 miles across 200 miles back windows and buildings
damaged from the explosion of this meteor breaking up and that was just one meteor one. So when
we read things like every mountain and island moved from its place you could start to imagine
the possibility of this if the earth was struck by multiple meteors as the results of tectonic
movement and the impacts of these meteors worldwide would cause a great upheaval in
the earth itself. Now the whole concept here of the sky being split apart like a scroll
no idea I don't know so I was trying to you know get an idea of some of the interpretive
elements of this and nobody really has a good understanding of that so something is going
to happen in the sky where the sky is going to pull apart in some catastrophic event as
a part of this but I don't know exactly what that is so I'm not going to elaborate but
we might imagine that experiencing and observing these types of catastrophes would cause everybody
to repent right. Meteors striking the earth, skies splitting open, mountains being moved
you know all this stuff having meteors falling I mean you would think people would somewhere
go hey I heard of a book somewhere that talks about these things happening and oh my gosh
right you would think people would just repent everywhere but no some will but for most a
stubborn callousness will still remain look at verse 15. Then the kings of the earth,
the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful and every slave and every free person so everybody
like a whole mix of all people hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains
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 because the great day of
their wrath has come and who is able to stand. As I've mentioned a couple times that you
know this is all the judgment of God on sin and all the world but through all of this
tribulation all this judgment even poured out God intends these judgments to shake mankind
awake to wake them up so that they would call out to him for salvation but most still refuse.
Instead of calling out to God for salvation we see them there calling out to the gods
of their own making specifically the mountains and the rocks. The idea the pictures that
instead of calling out to almighty God they're calling out to the creation instead of calling
out to the creator they're calling out to the creation that's around them saying rocks
mountains please hide us and as revelation goes on and as these judgments get more intense
and progressively more intense we see mankind just hardening his heart more and more and
more and that hardening is deliberate that hardening is on purpose it's outright rebellion
it's a refusal to repent a refusal to accept God and that's one of the most insidious effects
of sin. Now the reason I think they're hardening their hearts and stuff and the reason I think
this is a deliberate and on purpose outright rebellion against God because look at what
it says there. They said to the mountains and 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. The sixth seal
shows us that they know who is behind these judgments. They know who is behind these judgments
they recognize that what is taking place on the earth is the result of God the father
the one seated on the throne and God the son the lamb who is slain they recognize who is
judging the world and yet they still not they still won't repent. Now I want to take a look
at verse 17 and close on this real quick because in verse 17 it says they're calling out and
it says because the great day of their wrath has come and this is just a small point and
I welcome different views on this and stuff but for my for my pre wrath and mid trip and
post trip friends again who I have the greatest respect and love for as family a lot of times
in the conversations of those particular interpretations I see that that there's an attempt to reconcile
first Thessalonians 5 9 which says we are not appointed to wrath they try and reconcile
that against a pre trip interpretation of the rapture of the church by saying God's wrath
isn't until the bold judgments and that's one of the common interpretations of a mid
trip or a pre wrath interpretation of tribulation the rapture of the church. They say well yeah
first Thessalonians says we're not appointed to the wrath but the wrath isn't until the
second half of the tribulation the wrath isn't until two thirds of the way into the tribulation
and even some go so far as to say well you know everything before the bold judgments
the trumpet judgments and the seal judgments those are actually Satan's wrath it's Satan
pouring out his wrath on earth and mankind and all that but I have a problem with that
because again let's read verse 17 which is the sixth seal long before the bold judgments
the people on the earth say the great day of their wrath has come not is coming not
will come but has come and it says the great day of their wrath whose wrath God on the throne
and the lamb not Satan in the sixth seal the people on earth acknowledge that the wrath
of God has come is here has arrived and when has it come here at the beginning of tribulation
not the end not the halfway point not the two third point and this is part of why I
believe that the entire seven year tribulation is the wrath of the lamb the entire seven
year tribulation is the wrath of God on earth not just the second half not just the last
third but the entire seven years and it's just I see it very plainly right there in
scripture and it's many the one of the many reasons why when I read first Thessalonians
five nine and I see that God has not appointed us to wrath I believe that that means that
we are then raptured out and taken before the seven year period of tribulation which
is the wrath of God and so I am pretty confident in saying that God did not and will not consign
in a point cause to be or make his church which is the saved before tribulation go through
his wrath the wrath of the lamb which is the entire seven year period of tribulation now
on the other hand some just struggle plainly with the concept of God's wrath altogether
right so I'm like how could a God of love a God who is love possibly do this to the
earth how could a God who is love manifest possibly do this to the people on the earth
how could he do that well we have to understand that God is holy God is holy he is perfectly
holy and we have to recognize that his response to sin which is the antithesis of his holiness
is wrath his perfect holiness responds to sin with wrath it wants to eradicate it it
wants to do away with it it wants to kill it completely it's a part of God's nature
sin and what it does is such an affront to the holiness of God that wrath is the natural
response God is truth the Bible tells us he is just the Bible tells us he loves justice
the Bible tells us and so those who choose that which is an affront to him that which
is a complete offense in every possible way to his very nature those who then choose that
and reject his offer of grace and mercy and forgiveness well they're going to fall in
line fall under his wrath as he pours it out on sin but with that his love requires that
he does what most benefits his creation right God's attributes his character everything
about him they're complimentary they're not contradictory and so yes God hates sin he
can't ignore it he can't turn a blind eye he can't be like oh well it's okay he can't
do that he has to deal with sin but at the same time he loves you he loves me he loves
every single person out there that he created that are created in the image of God that
doesn't yet know him that are enslaved to sin that say I hate God but at the same time
I don't believe in God right which has always confused me but God loves him so much that
he gave his son to die for their sin so that the penalty would fall on Jesus that wrathful
penalty would fall on Jesus and you know if someone in the world today says I reject Christ
they're rejecting their only lifeline they're sentencing themselves to judgment and so when
people go how could God do that he didn't do that they chose that like a just judge
he has to enact the penalty for the crime and he's done everything he could to say let
me let me give you a way out and yet people are still going to say no I don't want your
way out I refuse to believe in you and then when he goes okay but judgment is going to
fall and they go I don't care I hate you and then judgment falls they have the audacity
to go I can't believe you did this I can't believe you got and he's like I tried I tried
so many times to tell you and so when someone says how could a loving God judge I respond
with how could a loving God not judge sin to be truly loving I believe is to desire
the best for others and if God's love and his patience and his kindness and his goodness
if none of that has worked in the life of one of his creation and judgment letting judgment
fall is the only final thing that might bring back a sinner a sinner from the edge of eternal
damnation then of course he would let judgment fall of course he would let judgment fall
on that person that they would repent that they would repent but if not even then his
perfect justice will still be done and it will be right you know Jesus freely took the
judgment of our sin on himself freely he did that so that his justice would be fully satisfied
right the penalty for the crime was was fulfilled but he did that while being able to grant
forgiveness and grace and mercy to us and receive us into his family now that's why
Jesus stepped into the place of that wrath and now in this age of grace we have the opportunity
to not have to face the future wrath of God as he pours it out on this earth yes there
will be some that choose the future wrath and they choose to live through the terrible
judgments of tribulation and yes I do believe that some will come to Jesus during that time
and some in their ignorance will go well I'll just wait as soon as I see the stars fallen
from the heaven then I'll believe but if you're unwilling to believe today what makes you
think you're going to believe then is the opportunity there yeah I believe so I believe
so but you don't have to face that time you can attain salvation today today so my question
to every every person here and those watching online I mean I think there's someone out
there you know you sense Jesus trying to get your attention this morning and maybe it's
the all the earth shaking to come is that is that possibly waking you up to your status
before God today you realize and I'm not saved you're realizing I'm not his child you're
realizing that I don't have a relationship with God a saving relationship do you see
the seriousness of sin and what will happen when God's time of patience runs out it's
going to be horrible do you see what will happen to those who reject the offer of salvation
that Jesus offers today the truth is is you can be forgiven today for all your sin you
can be saved today now in this age of grace before judgment falls I believe he is speaking
to you and so I just ask please listen respond to him now let's pray father God we trust
you God as we look to these future events and try and interpret what they could mean
God again we know there's we see through a glass darkly but God we know you're coming
back we know there's a time of judgment coming on the earth we know there's a time when you're
just going to be done and you'll have to start pouring out your justice the judgment on sin
and even in that Lord I believe you're doing that with an eye to anyone who would call
out to you in that process would be saved but God today we have an opportunity for salvation
to not have to wait until the literal creation around us is being shaken up and torn apart
Lord to get saved in this age of grace and yes it's getting worse and yes it's getting
darker Lord but today is nothing like it's going to be then God the Lord I pray that
the picture of your wrath on sin would be a motivator to someone hanging on that they
would realize how seriously you take sin God and that they need salvation today so while
we're praying with eyes closed and heads bowed I want to give you an opportunity here in
this room to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior to step into that saving relationship
to avoid the wrath of God that is to come on sin but to be washed clean of your sin
instead forgiven set free filled with the Holy Spirit of promise enabled to live a life
that glorifies God that has meaning that goes beyond this earth in this time because this
earth will end and so if you're in this room or if you're watching online and God has been
speaking your heart and you need to receive him this morning I just want you to raise
your hand where you're seated and say yeah I want to receive Jesus Christ this morning
I want to be saved I want to be forgiven God bless you anybody else God bless you too anybody
else in this room God is speaking to you this morning he's been speaking your heart all
morning about how much he loves you and wants to save you from the effect of the sin that
enslaves you and the Bible says all you got to do is call out to him put your faith in
him you will be saved and so anybody else in this room just raise your hand where I
could see it I'm going to pray with you in a moment to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior God bless you if you're online watching us obviously I can't see you but
just let us know in chat I would like to receive Jesus Christ today and pray with me in a moment
here anybody else is we're just closing all right those of you that raised your hand even
if you didn't or if you're online and I can't see you I just want you to pray this prayer
with me say Father God I believe you're God I believe you came to this earth and you died
on the cross for my sin I believe you paid the penalty for my wrongdoing and I thank
you for that and in that I receive the free gift of salvation to be saved from the wrath
of God that is to come on sin in the future and to be saved from the effects of sin now
thank you for loving me so much thank you for saving my soul fill me now with your Holy
Spirit that I would be empowered and enabled to go out and to tell people about you to
share with them the salvation that is available to them and to warn them of the judgment to
come for those who deny you I give my life to you in every way teach me to live for you
in Jesus name. Amen.