Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:29-31-NKJV).
I’m continuing here where I left off last time with our looking at the opening of 7 seals on a scroll in God’s right hand in Revelation 6. In Revelation 5, God, as Creator and owner of all that is, is seated on His Throne with a scroll in His right hand. That scroll is His title deed to earth, by which He is preparing to regain earth’s control from Satan and his emissaries.
The scroll contains the contents of the book of Revelation starting with the breaking of the 7th seal in Revelation chapter 8 and continuing through the rest of the book of Revelation. In the scroll are 7 trumpet judgments and 7 bowl judgments which occur sequentially after the scroll is opened, during what the Bible calls the Day of the Lord.
The Day of the Lord is a period of time when the wrath of God is displayed in full force against Satan, and the nations and men who are working with his scheme of darkness to completely overtake and rule this planet for good. it is important to note that the church will not be here during the Day of the Lord.
None of the events beginning with Revelation 8, which is the beginning of the Day of the Lord, can begin until the scroll is opened. In Revelation 6, Jesus, the resurrected Lamb, has taken the scroll from God’s right hand and is breaking each seal one at a time. As each seal is broken, events occur.
Last time we looked at the first five seals. The first seal when broken revealed a rider on a white horse, which denoted false Christ’s appearing, most notably the AntiChrist. The breaking of this seal begins the time period frequently called the tribulation, or better called Daniel’s 70th week (see Daniel 9:27), which lasts for 7 years.
The second seal when broken revealed a rider on a red horse, denoting war breaking out. The third seal when broken revealed a rider on a black horse which denoted famine and hyperinflation. The fourth seal when broken revealed a rider on a pale green horse which denoted disease spreading as a result of war.
The fifth seal, when broken, begins a period of martyrdom of Jews and Christians under the reign of the antiChrist. This is three and a half years into the seven year peace treaty he oversees between Israel and their enemies. The breaking of this seal begins what Jesus termed the great tribulation : For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (22) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:21-22-NKJV).
Many Christians have been taught that we will not be here for any of the time of what is called the tribulation. I taught it that way for many years. But if you look thoroughly at the whole of the Word of God on the subject, it looks as though believers will be here to see the rise of the AntiChrist and the breaking of the seals around the scroll. Believers will see the AntiChrist break His covenant with Israel and begin a massive campaign of killing Jews and Christians. And that means that Christians will be here during the first part of what is normally called the tribulation. The sixth seal is the sign for us that the rapture will occur very soon.
Some time after the AntiChrist is revealed and then begins this mass slaughter of Jews and Christians three and one half years into his reign, the sixth seal is broken. I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon 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, 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?"( Revelation 6:12-17-NKJV).
These cosmic disturbances occur with the breaking of the sixth seal, and are a sign to the world that Jesus Christ is returning to withdraw His ambassadors (Christians) to heaven before the Day of the Lord begins.
One day, we will get up in the morning and notice that the sun is not as bright as it is normally. Then we will notice that the moon and stars in the nighttime sky seem darker than normal. It looks as though we will be here to see this event. These cosmic disturbances will occur to let believers know the rapture of the church is coming very soon. They are a sign to us to get ready to go!
When you get up one morning, and the sun is darker than normal, and then at night the moon and stars don’t give their normal light, you will know then that Jesus is about to return to snatch you away from the hell that is about to take place on earth!
Notice that in Revelation 7, between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals around the scroll, two things happen. First, Jews that will actually go through the terrible judgments during the day of the Lord (which begin in Revelation 8) will be sealed so that they will be protected from harm during that terrible time (Revelation 7:1-8).
Then, in Revelation 7:9-17, we see a multitude which I believe are the raptured saints of God are found in heaven before God’s throne : After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, (10) and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"(Revelation 7:9-10-NKJV)
I’ll end this article with the scripture found at the beginning. Jesus also talks about what happens after the breaking of the sixth seal in Matthew 24. The sign of His return for us believers in the rapture of the church is these cosmic disturbances. The way the world events are rapidly transpiring, we could see the fulfillment of these scriptures in the not too distant future!
Once the peace treaty between the AntiChrist and Israel is signed, then you can figure on 4 to 5 years (we just can’t know for sure the time length between AntiChrist breaking covenant and the rapture) of significant change and degrees of hardship before this cosmic disturbance event occurs. But, during that time after the AntiChrist appears, expect a tremendous moving of the Holy Spirit worldwide!
The rapture of the church will occur before the Day of the Lord judgments begin which are shown in Revelation 8-10. Christians will escape the wrath of God as He judges Satan and those who follow him on earth.
Now is the time for us to get ready for a huge change of events worldwide as the earth prepares for the AntiChrist to be revealed and these 7 seals to be broken in Revelation 6-8. Jesus wants us to consecrate ourselves to Him so that His power can flow through us in an unhindered way.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:29-31-NKJV).
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. (29) And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (30) "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (32) And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls (Joel 2:28-32-NKJV).
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