Part 4/9
Series: Revelation | Will the Church Be on the Right Side of History?
Read: Revelation 6-11, Exodus 10:1-20
The esteemed Dr. Charles Ryrie was my professor of Eschatology, the study of future events, in Bible college. When it came time for him to teach on the Great Tribulation, he would lay down on the stage and use His body as a makeshift timeline. It stands out to me because it caused everyone in the classroom to worry if he would be able to get back up. He was that old and frail. A fairly effective teaching tool, if only because it woke everyone up and got our attention.
Dr. Ryrie held that the Great Tribulation would be a literal seven year period of time with a break in the middle. There is, however, a great deal of differing opinions on the matter among scholars.
As I’ve already mentioned before, there are three major viewpoints about Revelation. The Preterist thinks that the Tribulation has already taken place in the time of the great persecution under the Roman emperors. The Idealist sees this as a general description of what happens throughout history to the people of God. A Futurist sees all of these events as happening right before the second coming of Christ. But, among the futurists, there are plenty of other divisions to consider. Ryrie saw the Church being removed in the rapture before the seven year tribulation period, some see the Church being raptured somewhere during the middle of the tribulation, and others see the Church going through the whole experience.
I wish I could take the time to give each point of view it’s own credible argument, but I think that we would end up getting lost in the weeds and miss the point of why John is writing about this Great Tribulation. There is a much clearer understanding of Revelation if we step back and look at what is unfolding at a much higher level, connecting all of the dots.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Beginning of the Tribulation
As Jesus starts to open the scrolls, we begin to see the world fall into disorder. The destruction is natural and it’s just about what you would expect if Jesus stopped holding the world together by His grace. Wars break out, and alliances fall apart. The economy suffers which lead to famine and plagues. This might appear like natural consequences, but they are the direct hand of God orchestrating the downfall of humanity who has rejected His mercy and His love.
The fifth seal is interesting, because it doesn’t bring a plague or a judgement down on the world, instead it shows a picture of the persecuted saints and offers an ominous prophecy that there is a particular number that must be reached before Christ returns. If you think this is difficult for us to hear, imagine how Christians who are suffering around the world for the sake of the gospel might feel. Why would Jesus give this to John, a persecuted Apostle, to write to persecuted Christians? Doesn’t he have any sympathy for his audience?
Throughout the history of the Church, the downfall of society has been blamed on Christians. It is happening today throughout the world and it is beginning to happen in our own culture. What John is showing us is that this is not something that should be avoided at all costs. This is a natural inclination of a fallen society. We as believers should expect to be persecuted and should learn from the many martyred Christians what it means to know Christ in His suffering and His death, so that we might be like Him.
The sixth seal shows us that the world is starting to recognize that they are under God’s judgement. As darkness covers the face of the earth, they cry out to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” This is a remarkable response, but will it lead to repentance?
Worship in the Midst of Suffering
At this point, there is a strange interlude. An angel comes to seal the people of God, 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel. The angel tells the four angels who are wreaking havoc, “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of God.” Some see this as a literal calling of Israelites back to the true faith. Because they believe that the Church will not be going through the tribulation period, they argue that God is returning to dealing with the nation of Israel, and thus giving them a chance to return to Him. It could mean that or it could be another parallel of the plagues in Egypt and the work of God to ransom His people out of slavory.
Either way, this section is a play on words because Jesus is breaking the seals to claim the world for Himself, but He is also placing His seal on those who have faith in Him. This secures them from the judgement of God, but it also carries the weight that no one can break these seals because Jesus is the only one who is worthy and He already died to ransom the world back to Himself.
This leads to a remarkable unfolding or praise in the throne room of heaven as a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language start to sing, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” We also get a little insight into who these people are, they are those who have suffered through tribulation and stand before Christ, eternally comforted, sustained, protected, and shepherded. This is the beauty and the promise of heaven. It is our hope that our best is yet to come.
One of the reasons this was written to us was to give us perspective on our suffering and the temptations of this world. We are prone to lose heart and give up, but we are called to persevere. We are tempted to store up our treasures on earth, where they are corrupted and stolen from us. But Christ tells us to store up our treasures in heaven, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then He will provide for us all that we need.
The Seventh Seal and the Beginning of the Trumpet Judgements
The seventh seal begins with a moment of silence, as the prayers of the people are gathered and hurled at the world, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” This starts the judgement of the seven trumpets.
The first four trumpets are grouped together like the first four seals, they ramp up the plagues with hail and fire, mountains being thrown into the midst of the sea, water being turned into blood, and made bitter by wormwood. Again, there is darkness over all the world.
What is significant about these judgements is the hidden messages for believers. The wormwood making the water bitter seems to reference the way in which the Israelites complained after God led them into the dessert. The mountain being thrown into the sea speaks about the frailty of this world as a foundation. Psalm 46 paints a similar picture, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way.” The message here is not so much for the world to see, but for us. What would we do if the world was ripped out from underneath our feet like a rug being pulled out from under us? Would we be afraid? Would we lose faith? Would we complain? Are we so invested in this world that our lives would fall apart if it was taken away?
A.W. Tozer describes this as our heart having roots, that grow down into things, and God is ripping out the roots so that we do not perish with the world, but it is a painful process. We would save ourselves a lot of heartache if we would learn to sacrifice everything, even our own lives on the altar of God, and take up our cross daily to follow Him.
This is followed by an eagle flying across the sky crying out, “Woe, Woe, Woe.” This is in parallel to the acknowledgement that God is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Then the fifth trumpet sounds and hell is opened and locusts like creatures torment the world. Then the sixth trumpet sounds and the four angles are released to kill a third of mankind.
So, do you think that mankind would repent now? No. Just like Pharaoh hardened his heart even after the ten plagues, so do those who have had the chance to see the power of God continue to reject it.
Sweet as Honey and a Tummy Ache
And right away we are drawn to speculate about all of these details of God’s judgement, “Are the locusts John is seeing actually Blackhawk helicopters?” No, John doesn’t want us to lose the forest despite the trees. He wants us to understand why He is writing this. He rushes us into yet another picture as an angel appears with a small scroll and starts to read. Just as John is about to write down the message he is stopped. It’s not important for Him to get all of the information recorded. Instead, he is told to eat the scroll, it will taste like honey but leave a bitter aftertaste in his stomach.
And just like that, we are given the chance to step back and see what everything we’ve been reading is all about. Jesus is answering the prayers of His people. He is returning to rule and reign over His creation. But the way Christ is going about it is difficult to swallow.
Jesus is allowing His people to be persecuted and martyred. He is destroying everything we once held dear. This is a heavy weight to realize. Why is Christ bent on destruction? Why is He allowing Christians to be destroyed?
I often wondered why God didn’t give Christians glorified bodies the moment they were saved. Imagine what we could do if we were not held back by sin or suffering? We would be like the two witnesses described in chapter 11. Again, this is a parallel about what happened when Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh in Egypt. Who are these two witnesses in Revelation? I don’t know, and that’s not the point. Look what they can do. They can breath fire and destroy anyone who comes against them. Surely that would be an effective means of witnessing. Why doesn’t Jesus give every Christian that power? Because it still doesn’t work. The people still don’t repent.
We have to stop imagining what we could do if we were perfect and had superpowers. We have to stop focusing on how we are going to change the world. We need to understand what Christ is doing to change us and how He is going about to accomplish His will in our lives.
Misconceptions about Suffering and Judgement
The point of suffering for the believer is to learn to surrender and be like Christ. Jesus suffered in obedience to God and died on the cross for our sins. Paul said in Philippians that He longed to know Christ, and the way to know Christ was through suffering so that we could glory in His resurrection. We go through our Christian life in a relatively safe and free society. We will do anything to avoid suffering. And while I would never suggest that we should go looking for trouble, we have to acknowledge the frailty of our faith in light of Christians around the world who are suffering for Christ.
Do you know what persecuted Christians are praying about? It’s not for the end of persecution. It is for boldness and courage to stand firm in the face of tyranny. We could learn a great deal from our brothers and sisters who are suffering in chains for the sake of the gospel.
I think that the reason we have such a hard time reading Revelation is because we have a number of misconceptions about God’s judgement.
First, we think that by trusting in God we have signed up for an easy life, but Jesus told His disciples that they would be hated, and blessed are the persecuted. Paul told Timothy that if you want to live a godly life, you will suffer persecution. Our best life is not now, it is promised for those who persevere and are faithful until the end. In the meantime, there is a reason for our suffering and Jesus is teaching the important lesson of surrender and the reward of obedience.
Secondly, we have grown too attached to the things of this world. We have built our hope in the treasures of earth and they are and will be destroyed and stolen from us. We are not living for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. We have allowed things to take the place of God and they are not fulfilled on their promises to satisfy our desires for pleasure. John warns us not to love the things of this world, but this world has invaded our life and we are too afraid to cut ties because it is uncomfortable and painful. Like the rich young ruler, we have turned away from Jesus because we love the treasures of this world more than the hope of God’s promises.
The Book of Revelation should scare us to see the world destroyed and everything in it. It should trouble us to see the suffering of God’s people, but it should also inspire us to live by faith and hope in what is yet to come.
If you’re reading Revelation and you are afraid, you’re doing it wrong. If you read Revelation and you’re not afraid, you’re doing it wrong. The final section of Revelation 11 shows the throne room of God again. Heaven is a peaceful place where there will be no more trouble, pain, or tears, but the throne of God is a stormy fury of wrath and anger. You should be afraid, but do not fear, for Christ has bore the wrath of God upon Himself in our place.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. This article is a condensed version of one of his sermons.