...On the day of the Lord’s anger… all the earth will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, indeed a horrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth. - Zephaniah 1:18
In last week’s sermon, Jesus - the Lamb of God - began breaking the seals of the scroll that’d He’d taken from His father. When He broke the first seal, the Tribulation began and the spirit of the Antichrist was sent to conquer the earth. The second seal brought warfare and violence, the third famine and economic upheaval, and the fourth pestilence and death.
The first 4 seals are unique. They are described as 4 horsemen who have come to wreak havoc upon the earth - riding a white horse, a red horse, a black horse, and a pale horse. They are announced by the 4 living creatures around the throne. None of the other judgments in Revelation are presented this way. I believe that the destruction brought by these horsemen will begin early on during the Tribulation, and persist throughout it - becoming more and more pronounced as it wears on.
In today’s message, Jesus will continue opening the scroll. We will discover what John saw when He opened the 5th and 6th seal. But before we do that, let’s begin by taking a closer look at the overall breakdown of the Tribulation...
I. DIVIDING THE TRIBULATION
The Tribulation is a 7-year period during which God will judge the earth and its inhabitants. Most eschatologists divide it neatly into 3 parts - the first half of the Tribulation (3 ½ years), the midpoint of the Tribulation, and the second half of the Tribulation (3 ½ years). The second half is commonly called “The Great Tribulation” because it will be more intense than the first half (Matthew 24:21). At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return with His church at the Second Coming to set up His earthly kingdom.
The Antichrist will rise to power during the first half of the Tribulation. At the midpoint, he will betray the Jews by violating the Israeli peace treaty that he’d previously signed (Daniel 9:27). The Antichrist will declare himself to be God, desecrate the Temple, and end all sacrifices and offerings made to the LORD. Then, during the 3 ½ years of The Great Tribulation, he will rule dictatorially over his kingdom, severely punishing anyone who will not worship him and submit to his authority.
This general description is helpful when trying to determine the particular timing of events during the Tribulation. By carefully studying the details of each passage, many (but not all) of the scenes described in Revelation can be reasonably placed in order. I will attempt to do this as we progress through this sermon series. That said, no one knows the order for certain...
II. THE FIFTH SEAL: MARTYRS (Revelation 6:9-11)
When Jesus broke the fifth seal of the scroll, John saw the souls of those who had been killed for their testimony of God “underneath the altar”. This statement reveals that there was an altar in the heavenly throne room. When animals were sacrificed in the temple under the Old Covenant, their blood was collected and poured out at the altar’s base (Exodus 29:12). The imagery used here describes the souls of these slain martyrs resting at the foot of the altar.
It is important to note that these souls had not yet been given physical, glorified bodies. This means that they were either those who had been martyred for their faith during the Tribulation (known as the Tribulation Saints) or prior to the beginning of the Church Age (known as the Old Testament Saints). Neither of these 2 groups had yet been resurrected (Revelation 20:4, Daniel 12:1-2). Though the identity of these martyrs is uncertain, they definitely can not be Christians because Christians were raptured prior to the Tribulation and given glorified bodies at that time.
These martyred souls cried out for vindication asking God in effect, “How much longer will You allow the persecution of Your people to continue?” The martyrs wanted justice and to see God’s enemies punished. The LORD gave each of them a white robe, symbolic of the righteousness of Christ. Apparently they had some type of intermediary, spiritual body. God told them to wait a little longer, until the full number of martyrs was completed.
I believe that many people will repent and trust in Jesus during the Tribulation, especially following the Rapture. Thousands will recognize the error of their disbelief. Though the Church will be absent, God will ensure that His message continues to go out. The Tribulation Saints will be heavily persecuted and many will be killed. Though this martyrdom will become more prevalent during the Antichrist’s reign, I suspect that there will be martyrs during the first half of the Tribulation as well. Therefore, it is impossible to definitively predict the timing of this event.
III. THE SIXTH SEAL: THE DAY OF WRATH (Revelation 6:12-17)
When Jesus broke the sixth seal, several natural and cosmic phenomena took place in short order. There was a great earthquake, the sun became black, the moon became blood red, the stars fell from the sky like figs from a wind-blown tree, the sky split apart, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Some read this literally and picture an eclipse, a meteor shower, a world-wide tremor, a tidal wave, and so forth. Others see this as a rudimentary description of a full-fledged nuclear war. Whatever it is, this judgment is extremely severe.
Everyone - from kings to peasants, from rich to poor, and from strong to weak - fled to the mountains to hide among the rocks and caves. They cried out, “Hide us from the sight of He who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” They collectively stated that the great day of God’s wrath had come. By this point, everyone knew these judgments were from God and that He was in control, yet amazingly they still refused to repent.
In my opinion, this traumatic scene pictures the Day of the Lord which takes place at the end of the Great Tribulation when Jesus returns to the earth. This phrase, “the Day of the Lord”, is used several times in both the Old Testament and New Testament. Some of these instances refer to a historic day in the past, while others point to a future occurrence. In every case, however, this expression involves God’s personal intervention, usually to bring about the utter destruction of His enemies. I personally believe that “the Day of the Lord” is best understood as a period of time (perhaps a few weeks or months) rather than just a single 24-hour day. It will include the fall of Babylon, the Battle of Armageddon, the Second Coming of Christ, and other related events at the end of the Tribulation and prior to the Millennium.
CONCLUSION
Before we wrap things up this morning, let me introduce a Tribulation Timeline that we will fill out as we progress through Revelation together. It is my own personal representation, and is certainly open for debate and discussion. The first 6 seals are shown on it thus far:
In last week’s sermon, Jesus - the Lamb of God - began breaking the seals of the scroll that’d He’d taken from His father. When He broke the first seal, the Tribulation began and the spirit of the Antichrist was sent to conquer the earth. The second seal brought warfare and violence, the third famine and economic upheaval, and the fourth pestilence and death.
The first 4 seals are unique. They are described as 4 horsemen who have come to wreak havoc upon the earth - riding a white horse, a red horse, a black horse, and a pale horse. They are announced by the 4 living creatures around the throne. None of the other judgments in Revelation are presented this way. I believe that the destruction brought by these horsemen will begin early on during the Tribulation, and persist throughout it - becoming more and more pronounced as it wears on.
In today’s message, Jesus will continue opening the scroll. We will discover what John saw when He opened the 5th and 6th seal. But before we do that, let’s begin by taking a closer look at the overall breakdown of the Tribulation...
I. DIVIDING THE TRIBULATION
The Tribulation is a 7-year period during which God will judge the earth and its inhabitants. Most eschatologists divide it neatly into 3 parts - the first half of the Tribulation (3 ½ years), the midpoint of the Tribulation, and the second half of the Tribulation (3 ½ years). The second half is commonly called “The Great Tribulation” because it will be more intense than the first half (Matthew 24:21). At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return with His church at the Second Coming to set up His earthly kingdom.
The Antichrist will rise to power during the first half of the Tribulation. At the midpoint, he will betray the Jews by violating the Israeli peace treaty that he’d previously signed (Daniel 9:27). The Antichrist will declare himself to be God, desecrate the Temple, and end all sacrifices and offerings made to the LORD. Then, during the 3 ½ years of The Great Tribulation, he will rule dictatorially over his kingdom, severely punishing anyone who will not worship him and submit to his authority.
This general description is helpful when trying to determine the particular timing of events during the Tribulation. By carefully studying the details of each passage, many (but not all) of the scenes described in Revelation can be reasonably placed in order. I will attempt to do this as we progress through this sermon series. That said, no one knows the order for certain...
II. THE FIFTH SEAL: MARTYRS (Revelation 6:9-11)
When Jesus broke the fifth seal of the scroll, John saw the souls of those who had been killed for their testimony of God “underneath the altar”. This statement reveals that there was an altar in the heavenly throne room. When animals were sacrificed in the temple under the Old Covenant, their blood was collected and poured out at the altar’s base (Exodus 29:12). The imagery used here describes the souls of these slain martyrs resting at the foot of the altar.
It is important to note that these souls had not yet been given physical, glorified bodies. This means that they were either those who had been martyred for their faith during the Tribulation (known as the Tribulation Saints) or prior to the beginning of the Church Age (known as the Old Testament Saints). Neither of these 2 groups had yet been resurrected (Revelation 20:4, Daniel 12:1-2). Though the identity of these martyrs is uncertain, they definitely can not be Christians because Christians were raptured prior to the Tribulation and given glorified bodies at that time.
These martyred souls cried out for vindication asking God in effect, “How much longer will You allow the persecution of Your people to continue?” The martyrs wanted justice and to see God’s enemies punished. The LORD gave each of them a white robe, symbolic of the righteousness of Christ. Apparently they had some type of intermediary, spiritual body. God told them to wait a little longer, until the full number of martyrs was completed.
I believe that many people will repent and trust in Jesus during the Tribulation, especially following the Rapture. Thousands will recognize the error of their disbelief. Though the Church will be absent, God will ensure that His message continues to go out. The Tribulation Saints will be heavily persecuted and many will be killed. Though this martyrdom will become more prevalent during the Antichrist’s reign, I suspect that there will be martyrs during the first half of the Tribulation as well. Therefore, it is impossible to definitively predict the timing of this event.
III. THE SIXTH SEAL: THE DAY OF WRATH (Revelation 6:12-17)
When Jesus broke the sixth seal, several natural and cosmic phenomena took place in short order. There was a great earthquake, the sun became black, the moon became blood red, the stars fell from the sky like figs from a wind-blown tree, the sky split apart, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Some read this literally and picture an eclipse, a meteor shower, a world-wide tremor, a tidal wave, and so forth. Others see this as a rudimentary description of a full-fledged nuclear war. Whatever it is, this judgment is extremely severe.
Everyone - from kings to peasants, from rich to poor, and from strong to weak - fled to the mountains to hide among the rocks and caves. They cried out, “Hide us from the sight of He who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” They collectively stated that the great day of God’s wrath had come. By this point, everyone knew these judgments were from God and that He was in control, yet amazingly they still refused to repent.
In my opinion, this traumatic scene pictures the Day of the Lord which takes place at the end of the Great Tribulation when Jesus returns to the earth. This phrase, “the Day of the Lord”, is used several times in both the Old Testament and New Testament. Some of these instances refer to a historic day in the past, while others point to a future occurrence. In every case, however, this expression involves God’s personal intervention, usually to bring about the utter destruction of His enemies. I personally believe that “the Day of the Lord” is best understood as a period of time (perhaps a few weeks or months) rather than just a single 24-hour day. It will include the fall of Babylon, the Battle of Armageddon, the Second Coming of Christ, and other related events at the end of the Tribulation and prior to the Millennium.
CONCLUSION
Before we wrap things up this morning, let me introduce a Tribulation Timeline that we will fill out as we progress through Revelation together. It is my own personal representation, and is certainly open for debate and discussion. The first 6 seals are shown on it thus far:
