THE WRATH OF THE LAMB
Study of Revelation {art 3 of 7
SUMMARY
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At this point in the book of Revelation, the believers of Christ
have been taken to heaven (Raptured) and Jesus is about to begin
judging the earth. In this study we now read as Jesus opens the
seals. Each seal unleashes a different judgment. This study will
take us to the end of Revelation chapter 7.
THE SEALS OF JUDGMENT (CHAPTERS 6 -
7)
"Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the
throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His
wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" - Revelation
6:16-17
THE FIRST SEAL: THE ANTICHRIST (Rev 6:1-2)
"...and all the world marveled and followed the beast."
- Revelation 13:3
THE ANTICHRIST - Jesus opens
the first seal and we see the Antichrist revealed. The Antichrist
(which means an imitation of Christ,) will be a world leader,
hand picked and inspired by Satan, to wreak havoc on the earth
after the Rapture. This world leader comes to power, not through
war, but through a platform of peace. As Daniel 9:27 tells us:
"Then he [the Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant [a peace
treaty] with many for one week [seven years]"
WHITE HORSE, BOW, & CROWN - The White Horse
represents peace. As mentioned above, the Antichrist will seem to
be a man of peace, providing the world with solutions. The Bow
without arrows indicates he will take over the world through this
peace platform. Because this man seemingly has the answers, the
world will make him the leader of this "New World
Order", thus the crown. We will read more about the
Antichrist in upcoming studies.
THE SECOND SEAL; WORLD WAR (vs. 3-4)
"The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war
was in his heart." - Psalm 55:21
The world peace that the Antichrist brings to
the earth is short lived. The second seal is broken and World War
III is ignited. War continues throughout the Tribulation until
Jesus returns.
We currently live in a world in which technology is rising as
quickly as morality is falling. That's a terrible combination.
The only thing that saves us is that the Lord is restraining the
evil of the world. During the Tribulation, God is no longer
restraining the evil people of the world. The earth no longer
wanted God around so He allows them to do what they want to do.
The results, as we'll see, are devastating.
THE THIRD SEAL; FAMINE (vs. 5-6)
"...and it shall come to pass when they shall be
hungry. They shall be enraged and curse their king and their
God." Isaiah 8:21
As a result of this massive war, food
supplies will be decimated. People will not have enough to eat.
The term in verse 6, "A quart of wheat for a denarius; and
three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil
and the wine" is interesting.
A DENARIUS is equal to a day's wages.
A QUART OF WHEAT is about the minimum amount of food necessary to survive.
THREE QUARTS OF BARLEY is cheaper and has less nutrients and is usually fed to animals.
DO NOT HARM THE OIL AND THE WINE means that the elite will still be well off -- untouched by the war. Oil and wine represent luxury.
So what is happening is that it will take a days pay just to buy a days food. People will be desperate to feed their families. But the Antichrist and his people will be well fed.
THE FOURTH SEAL; THE RAVAGES OF WAR (vs. 7-8)
"They would have none of my council and despised my
every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own
ways, and be filled to the full with their own fancies." -
Proverbs 1:30-31
God is allowing man to do what he wants --
and man is choosing to destroy.
Verse 8 tells us that after the fourth seal is opened over a
fourth of the earth's population is killed through war, hunger
and disease. There are about five billion people on the earth
today. If one fourth were killed, 1,250,000,000 (1.25 billion)
people would be dead. This is a time like there has never been.
THE FIFTH SEAL; THE CRIES OF THE MARTYRS (vs. 9-11)
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His
ears are open to their prayers." - 1st Peter 3:12
During this time there will be many people
who will repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Remember that the people who accepted Jesus BEFORE the
Tribulation have been Raptured and are in heaven now. These
people are the ones who accept Jesus AFTER the Rapture. Jesus is
still giving people a chance to repent.
The problem they will have is that Christianity will be outlawed.
As we read in Revelation 6:16-17 the world is aware that this
judgment is coming from Jesus and since they can't kill Him they
kill His followers.
This fifth seal is the cries of those killed because they
accepted Jesus. They ask the Lord for revenge. Jesus tells them
to wait. Why? He says (in vs. 11) that they should wait until all
the Christians that are going to be killed are with them in
heaven -- then Jesus will avenge them.
THE SIXTH SEAL; NUCLEAR WAR (vs.
12-17)
"I will punish the world for it's evil, and the
wicked for it's iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance
of the proud, and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will
make mortal man scarcer than pure gold." Isaiah 13:11-12
Thank God we are forgiven through Jesus
Christ! The world has ignited the white-hot anger of God and they
are paying for it.
Now we come to the sixth seal (and the most interesting). It
seems that John is describing a nuclear exchange. It's logical
that if there is a war on the scale we have been reading about
here, that nuclear weapons would be used. Let's look at how it is
described:
THE SUN BLACKENED & A GREAT EARTHQUAKE -
Scientist tell us that if a nuclear exchange occurred, it would
set off a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The a
series of eruptions would send debris hurling into the sky --
blotting out the sun, moon, and stars -- nuclear winter would set
in. John, it seems, is witnessing the first nuclear war.
THE STARS OF HEAVEN - John is writing this
before bombs were even though of. So to him a series of warheads
coming down would appear to be like stars falling from the
heavens.
SKY RECEDING - In a nuclear explosion, the
atmosphere is rolled back unto itself because of the incredible
force. It would look as, "a scroll when it is rolled up
144,000 WITNESSES (7:1-16)
"Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest" - Matthew 11:28
In the mist of the darkness, there is hope.
The Lord puts a hold on judgment so that He can choose 144,000
Jewish virgins men to be His witnesses. These 144,000 serve as
evangelist, telling the world how they can, through Jesus Christ,
be forgiven. Jesus is still giving the world a chance to repent
and He is using this incredible group to accomplish His task.
Although they will go through hard times, they will have God's
special seal on them (vs. 3). No one will be able to kill them.
In verses 9 to 17 we see that these Witnesses are very effective.
John sees a great number -- too many to count -- in heaven with
Jesus. These are the people who have realized that they made a
mistake by not accepting Jesus before the Rapture and they make
sure that they accept Him this time. Jesus welcomes them with
open arms, wiping away every tear from their eyes. As we read in
verse 15 that they are special citizens in heaven, serving the
Lord Almighty.
WHY GOD HAS DELAYED THE TRIBULATION
" I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked" - Ezekiel 33:11
What we have read so far is a terrible, unthinkable time in world history -- and it's going to get worse. But Jesus doesn't want to judge us. He wants to forgive us, to fellowship with us. So He delays the Tribulation to give the world time to repent and turn to Him. But time is running out. As we read, Jesus will indeed judge the wicked. But, if you are not saved, He has given you time to change that. As Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 6:2:
"Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation"
If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord
and Savior, click here
Next: from bad to worse - The Tribulation continues! Read
Part 4