Revelation Bible Study, Session 8, Seal Team 6

Revelation Bible Study, Session 8, “Seal Team 6”

Dr. Chuck Crisco

Introduction:

I call this message Seal Team 6 because in Revelation 6 we find the big picture vision of what will happen in the majority of the rest of the book. It is the vision of the breaking open of the seals on the covenant judgment of Judah, the divorce of Judah, and the establishing of the eternal kingdom. We can’t do each one of these so we will just touch on the some major ideas here.

I. Seal Team Six Is the Cumulative Judgements on Jerusalem

6 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. 3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

Revelation 6 5. Persecution (v. 9-13)

1. War (vs 1-2) 6. De-creation (v. 12)

2. International strife (v. 3-4) Mark 13:

3. Famine (v. 5-6) 1. War (v. 7)

4. Pestilence (v 7-8) 2. International strife (v. 8a)

5. Persecution (v. 9-11) 3. Earthquakes (v. 8b)

6. Earthquake; De-creation (v. 12-17) 4. Famines (v. 8c)

Matthew 24 5. Persecution (v. 9-13)

1. War (v 6) 6. De-creation (v. 14-27)

2. International strife (v. 7a) Luke 21:

3. Famine (v. 7b) 1. War (v. 9)

4. Earthquakes (v 7c) 2. International strife (v. 10) 3. Earthquakes (v. 11) 5. Persecution (v. 12-19)

4. Plagues and famines (v 11b) 6. De-creation (v. 20-27)

So then the question becomes, what were Matthew, Mark and Luke talking about? Were they speaking of a future that included the whole planet? Or were they warning of an event coming in THEIR lifetime?

Luke 21: 5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 6 “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” 7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”

8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them….10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. … 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

David Chilton’s commentary on Revelation reminds us of Habakkuk 3 and his prayer there speaks of God coming in judgment, shining like the sun, flashing with lightning, bringing pestilence and plague, shattering the mountains and collapsing the hills, riding on horses against his enemies, armed with a bow, extinguishing the sun and moon and trampling the nations in his fury. Which historically was simply apocalyptic language to describe the military invasion of Judah by the Chaldeans. Revelation 6 is the same thing to the same group of people, except that this time it is the Romans. II. The Fourth Seal of Four Judgments

The fourth seal speaks of a green horse being sent out, one that is of a sick color whose rider is death and is followed by Hades (the grave). Authority was given to this angel to bring four plagues upon the four cornered land: to kill with the sword, with famine, with death and wild beasts

These are the covenant curses listed in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. They are the same ones Ezekiel mentions: “My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts, and a plague to cut off man and beast from it!” (Ez. 14:21, Ez. 5:17)

III. The Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs (6:9-10)

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

This speaks of the souls of those who had been slain and are underneath or around the altar. This is the same OT imagery taken from the sacrificial system. The altar is not the mercy seat. The altar is the place where the sacrifices were slain. So do you know where the altar was? It was outside. And in the earthly temple when the lambs and goats were slain by the priests their blood would stream down the altar and form into a pool around its base and as this vision reveals it is the saints we are being slain whose blood is being sacrificed by those Jewish priests and leaders.

One of the things I want you to see is that the souls were not in the holy of holies. Spiritually Jesus represented them all in the holy of holies, but the souls were not technically in heaven, ie, in the throne room. So do you remember from Acts 2 where Jesus was for 3 days? Jesus had said into thy hands I commit my spirit, but where was his soul? It was in Hades, the abode of the dead. The altar was a symbol where they were under the altar. Under is also a symbol of Hades too. When Paul said every name that is named, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, he was referring to Hades. So at this point, people are still in Hades. That also means that if this is future, then no one has gone to heaven yet in the entire world yet.

Remember the persecution against the church is primarily coming from Jews. 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16, "14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon THEM to the uttermost."

Revelation 18:24, "In her was found the blood of the prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth [land]."

Commentator David Chilton says, “Like Cain, the “older brothers” of the Old Covenant envied and murdered their righteous “younger brothers” of the New Covenant. (cf 1 John 3:11-12)

IV. Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances (Isaiah 5:30; 24:23; Eze 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; Amos 8:9; Mic 3:6; Is 13:10)

12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold,[e] there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon[f] became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders,[g] the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

So if this were literal, then if the sky rolled up and every mountain and island fell, how exactly would there be any people to hide themselves?

In apocalyptic language, an earthquake is the de-stabilization of a country.

The sun becoming black simply represents great darkness and the inability to see the truth.

The whole moon became like blood and the stars falling to the earth, has to do with government, leadership, positions of power in the government of a state or a nation. The moon turning to blood would mean that there would be bloodshed for these leaders. The stars falling meant they would lose their positions. The moon and stars also represented the way that they told time… they used a lunar calendar and the stars were fixed points they would measure where they were in the year. So it meant that if the stars were falling, their time had run out.

The fig tree often represented Israel. That is why Jesus cursed the fig tree before going into the temple to turn over the tables. It was a prophetic sign that it was going to dry up and die. So when fig tree casts unripe figs to the ground it is because again time had run out. We know this is talking about the end of Judah, because this symbolism is used of Israel when they went into captivity in Hosea 10:6-8, Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; thorn and thistle will grow on their altars. Then they will say to the mountains: cover us! And to the hills, Fall on us.

Jesus quoted from Hosea to talk about what was coming upon Jerusalem when he said in Luke 23:27-30, “And there were following Him a great multitude of people, and of the women who were mourning and lamenting Him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and your children. For behold the days are coming when they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed. Then they will begin to say to the mountains: fall on us! And to the hills: cover us!”

V. Application/Implications?

Remember when Jesus said if you speak to the mountain and tell it to be cast into the sea it will be done for you? (Matthew 17:20; 21:21; Mark 11:23) Remember that the kingdom of Judah was often referred to as a mountain. Later in revelation Judah/Jerusalem is the mountain on fire, cast into the sea, just like Jesus said (Rev 8:8). It was about them praying for the persecution against them to be removed. That means we can still pray that same thing today.

There wasn’t an instantaneous answer to prayer. It took 40 years.