Revelation 6:12b
12 And[kai] I beheld[eido] when[hote] he had opened[anoigo] the sixth[hektos] seal,[sphragis] and,[kai] lo,[idou] there was[ginomai] a great[megas] earthquake;[seismos] and[kai] the sun[helios] became[ginomai] black[melas] as[hos] sackcloth[sakkos] of hair,[trichinos] and[kai] the moon[selene] became[ginomai] as[hos] blood;[haima] KJV-Interlinear
12 And
I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and
the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like
blood; NASB
From the time that Adam
and Eve were in the Garden, Jesus Christ walked daily with them, but they were
still fooled and chose sin and failed.
From the time of their eviction
out of the Garden to the Flood, there is every indication of strong scriptural
influence.The conflict between Cain and
Abel demonstrated mans rejection of Gods sacrificial requirements (Gods work),
and the building o the Ark indicated mans rejection of Gods warnings and
salvation methodology.
After the flood, the time
of the Patriarchs, the time of the enslavement, the development of a nation, the
time of the Judges, the desire to be ruled by man rather than God, right down
to the time of the birth of the Savior, humanity failed terribly, even though
humanity had prophets and scriptures, and miracles galore.
After the First Advent,
humanity had only the written word, and the supporting ministry of the Holy
Spirit.No more prophets, no more
miracles, per se, nothing to guide man but faith and words written on a page,
and still man failed.
When the Rapture occurs,
then the Holy Spirit (the restraining ministry) will be removed from the world,
and sin will be allowed to run rampant with no constraints. Things will get really bad, as we have
already seen from the first four seals.
Throughout all of human
history, God has held everything together in one way or another, but humanity
has wanted to have things his own way, so with the Tribulation, humanity will
get his wish.And what do they say about
making wishes?Be careful what you wish
for!
I am sure that during
your life you have had encounters with people who have wished God away, or
presume that they can do things better than God. And here is the chance that everyone has
expressed – the Tribulation.
And how bad will life
get?
Well, we discussed it a
bit yesterday, but now for a more in-depth look at the symbolism in this verse
and the remainder of this chapter.
A great earthquake, ‘megas seismos,’ meaning
exceedingly great, mighty, overwhelming. And earthquake,
means just that, or a tempest or a raging storm. This term is in the feminine gender, and for
good reason.Have you ever encountered a
woman on the warpath?Well, if you have
been around for any length of time, then you know that among the females of the
species, the hormones can bring about such drama and attitude, that if you are
ever caught in the crosshairs as their victim, your life won’t be worth even
doggie doo-doo.
And under the leadership
of man, absent Gods restraints, the world will be in full rebellion.
The sun being black as
sackcloth of hair, is a reference to the rough apparel made of black goat hair,
and is worn when a person is in extreme mourning and grieving over the loss of
loved ones, or over the loss of ones situation.
The moon becoming blood red, is a reference to the total disruption of the normal
cycles of life.The moon is used to
chart and determine the calendar and the seasons, but when it is out of whack, then life is out of whack.
The moon normally is used to display love and contentment, but a
disrupted moon means sleepless nights, despair, anxiety, hopelessness
with both physical and mental pain. Even suicide is considered as normal if it
will allow ones escape from troubles.
And the troubles of the world will be immense.
And so John begins to
paint a picture of extreme, beyond imagination, gloom and doom.
This is not like losing ones job, or a home because of a storm, because you usually
have alternatives for help, whether insurance or savings or charities, or
family or some type of resource that can step in and help. In those situations the difficulty may be
great, but it is usually short lived or at least gives you a way out.
In the Tribulation, there
will be no help to turn to.Law and
order will be gone.Gangs will roam and
do as they please.Public services will
be in huge disarray and virtually ineffective.
Disasters will be worldwide.Laws
will prevent you from doing almost anything, and if you lose your
identification or papers, then you are screwed big time. And business and jobs will be hammered into
non-existence.
And, this is only the
beginning of the outlook on life that people will have during this the most
terrible period of human history ever.
John paints a picture of
a very high stress and dismal time, where hopelessness and helplessness will rule.
So, wouldn’t you think
that people would come to Christ in droves?
Some
will, most won’t.
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