Teaching the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) Welcome to our service Please visit our website: www.livingstonesnewforest.org.uk

Revelation chapter 6 part 2 The day of God’s wrath Teaching the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) Revelation chapter 6 part 2 The day of God’s wrath Please visit our website: www.livingstonesnewforest.org.uk

What do we know of God’s motivation to judge? Leviticus 26 verse 14 and following (expanded in Deuteronomy 28) God is motivated to turn people back to Him Judgements will increase in severity until that happens Or until his mercy and grace has been exhausted Revelation follows the same pattern 6 seals and then a parenthetic chapter Pattern is 4 + 2 – interval – final example 6 seals then parenthetic descriptions creating opportunity to stay god’s hand Then 7th seal consisting of 7 trumpets 6 trumpets and parenthetic statement followed by 7th Trumpet releasing 7 bowls 6 bowls and final (shortest) parenthetic statement then final bowl after which God says, “IT IS DONE”

The 5th seal By this time a quarter of the world’s population is dead “The Day of the Lord” is used 20 times in the Old Testament and 3 times in the New Testament Acts 2 verse 20 – quoting Joel 2 verse 31 – sun dark moon like blood etc 2 Peter 3 verse 10 – heavens pass away with fervent heat etc. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 2 & 3 – similar. Also called “The day of God”, “The Great Day of the Lord”, “The day of Wrath” (Zephaniah1 verses 14 – 16 and other places) Matthew 24 verses 21 & 22 speaks of this time as a time of martyrdom. Very hard on human life!

The 5th seal The condition of these souls under the alter The Alter of Sacrifice – they had been sacrificed for the word of God and for their testimony They are referred to in the past tense, so almost certainly not those who lost their lives in The Tribulation Those referred to as the Great Cloud of Witnesses in Hebrews 12 perhaps, as well as Those referred to in Hebrews 11 verse 35 – Heteros: others of a different kind So all previously martyred saints who had both conviction and confession

5th Seal This is in step with Revelation 1 verse 9 (refers to suffering for the word of their testimony) Revelation 12 v 11 & 17 – similar Revelation 19 v 10 – testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy Revelation 20 v 4 – Martyred for the word In verse 10 they “Cried out with a loud voice” Appeal to the righteousness of God God is referred to as a righteous despot “How long oh Lord” – similar to Psalm 94 v 3 and Psalm 73

The 5th seal “Vengeance is mine” sayeth The Lord (Deuteronomy 32 v 35) God has always said He will take vengeance and we should not – it belongs to Him. Verse 11 brings them comfort White robes The position of righteousness Not made righteous, but declared righteous by God Rev Chapter 7 v 14 Robes washed in the blood of the lamb We are not righteous because we do right things Our righteousness is an act of God – He declares us righteous!

The 5th seal They should rest a while Part of their comfort Rev 14 verse 13 – those who die in the Lord shall be blessed and have rest. The rest who are yet to come from the tribulation will be fulfilled – in other words the number to be fulfilled is planned. Principle seen in Genesis 18 verse 20 when dealing with the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah. Fulfilled in Genesis 19 verse 12

The 6th seal World-wide catastrophe Panic Matthew 24 Jesus said to expect earthquakes Earthquakes currently very much on the increase Recent survey said 600,000 quakes in one year However – this is very different and has world-wide impact. Impacts in Heaven Sun – black – Isaiah 13 v 10, Joel 2 v 10 & 31 and 3 v 15 Moon - blod Stars – falling from sky – Matthew 24 v 29 Sky – rolled up like a scroll – Isaiah 34 v 1-8 and a bit more

The 6th seal Earth impacted Mountains removed Islands moved and removed Many believe this is symbolism (social and political upheaval) Some believe this earthquake is the same one as the others described in Revelation, so not accepting the chronological sequence Some believe it is the one described in Ezekiel 38 v 19 It seems clear that this earthquake is near the beginning of The Tribulation It establishes in the hearts of all men that the source of these things is God Himself

The 6th seal Panic All trying to hide Kings Leaders Great men Freemen Slaves All trying to hide All preferring death to this experience All realising that it is the day of God’s wrath. They doubt their ability to survive They leave a question for us to answer next time – “Who will be able to stand?”

Teaching the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) Welcome to our service Please visit our website: www.livingstonesnewforest.org.uk