The Last Days
| |||||||
|
| |||||
Lesson 38 | 08/31/25
Revelation 6:12-17 | Who is Able to Stand? | Seal 6
We have come to the opening of the 6th seal, wrapping up chapter 6, as God continues to pour out His wrathful Judgements on the unbelieving world, Revelation 6:12-17. Who is able to stand in the presence of the Almighty God? That is the question that we must all answer... will I be able stand in His Presence? The only way anyone is able to stand before God blameless and unashamed is if they are standing on Jesus and covered by His blood.
In His Olivet Discourse in Luke 21, Jesus speaks of the signs of the Last Days which mirror exactly what John is describing in Revelation 6. Let’s read this Olivet Discourse starting in Luke 21:8-36.
Jesus answers the question that is asked in Revelation 6:17... who is able to stand before the Son of Man? The one who is looking to Jesus, v.28, 36; the one who is taking heed and not playing the harlot with the world, v.34; the one who is willing to stand for Jesus, even unto death, v.12-19.
Let’s look at this sixth seal again...
6:12-14) 12 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.
Joel 2:31- The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Isaiah 13:10- For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Isaiah 34:4- All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.
Amos 8:9- “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
2 Peter 3:10- But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
As each seal is being opened, it is unleashing Judgement on the world, but these are not one time events. These Judgements begin when the seal is opened and they continue through the entire 7-Year Tribulation period.
6:15-17) 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?”
Isaiah 2:21- To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
Hosea 10:8- Also the high places of Aven (idols and wickedness), the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Jesus even quotes Hosea as He is heading to His crucifixion. Luke 23:29–31-29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ 31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”
If they crucified the Messiah when the whole of Israel was green and expectant for the coming Messiah, what will they do when they are dried up.
These men are so stubborn, even though they know this is God, they still will not humble themselves.
6:17) For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?
But the unbelievers cannot. They are hiding from the wrath of the Lamb, are crying out “Who is able to stand?” The unbelievers are experiencing God’s wrathful Judgement, but what is God’s wrath?
God’s wrath is His Righteousness revealed to unbelievers
Romans 3:5–6-5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
Romans 3:21–26-21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Hosea 10:12- Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
To answer the question... Who is able to stand? Those who are in Christ and covered by His blood.
These unbelievers on the earth are being shamed away by the Righteousness of God, Rev 3:18. But God has revealed His Righteousness to us now through the Gospel. And those who receive Jesus through faith, receive His Righteousness and are made alive in Christ able to stand Holy and blameless in that Day in the Presence of the Almighty God, 1 John 4:17; Romans 4:5; 5:8-9, 24; Eph 2:8-9; 2 Cor 5:21.
PREVIOUS LESSON 37 ← GO TO → NEXT LESSON 39
In His Olivet Discourse in Luke 21, Jesus speaks of the signs of the Last Days which mirror exactly what John is describing in Revelation 6. Let’s read this Olivet Discourse starting in Luke 21:8-36.
Jesus answers the question that is asked in Revelation 6:17... who is able to stand before the Son of Man? The one who is looking to Jesus, v.28, 36; the one who is taking heed and not playing the harlot with the world, v.34; the one who is willing to stand for Jesus, even unto death, v.12-19.
Let’s look at this sixth seal again...
6:12-14) 12 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.
- Cosmic Disturbances
- Great earthquake
- Sun became black
- Moon became like blood
- Stars fall to the earth
- Sky receded as a scroll
- Every mountain and island moved out of its place
Joel 2:31- The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Isaiah 13:10- For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Isaiah 34:4- All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.
Amos 8:9- “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
2 Peter 3:10- But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
As each seal is being opened, it is unleashing Judgement on the world, but these are not one time events. These Judgements begin when the seal is opened and they continue through the entire 7-Year Tribulation period.
- Antichrist is revealed on day 1 and continues until Jesus comes back at the end of 7 years
- War, Famine, and Death will continue for 7 years
- Martyrdom will continue until Jesus comes back
- Global disaster and cosmic disturbances continue and will increase as the 7 years progress, Rev 8:12; 16:18-21
6:15-17) 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?”
- All unbelievers, small and great, rich or poor, slave or free hide themselves from the wrath of the Lamb
- Begging for death and crying out for the rocks to fall on them
- They would rather die, than submit to God.
- Even though they know this is the wrath of God, they still will not repent, Rev 9:21; 16:9-11
- They will hide in caves and the mountains to run away from His Wrath
Isaiah 2:21- To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
Hosea 10:8- Also the high places of Aven (idols and wickedness), the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Jesus even quotes Hosea as He is heading to His crucifixion. Luke 23:29–31-29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ 31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”
If they crucified the Messiah when the whole of Israel was green and expectant for the coming Messiah, what will they do when they are dried up.
- The unbelieving Jews will probably be some of the mighty men of the earth who have sided with the Antichrist and are killing Christians.
- They want all the power, and they do not want Jesus as King, Psalm 2.
- But they will not prevail. Jesus is King and He is coming to set up His Righteous Kingdom.
These men are so stubborn, even though they know this is God, they still will not humble themselves.
- This is the purpose of the Tribulation. Anyone who will not humble themselves will be cut low.
6:17) For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?
- The timing of God’s Wrath has been heavily debated. Some teach the wrath of God doesn’t start until after the middle of the week when the bowls start being poured out, Revelation 15:1, 7; 16:1.
- But verse 17 clearly states that the wrath of God begins at the start of the Tribulation.
- This phrase “has come” ἦλθεν, is an aorist indicative. It is depicted as a snapshot in the past.
- We could also translate this “came.” For the great day of His wrath came.
- Everything that has happened so far from the first seal is a result of God’s wrath on an unbelieving world.
- And we know from Scripture that His wrath will continue to come.
- We could also translate this “came.” For the great day of His wrath came.
- Only those in Christ who are covered by the blood of Jesus are able to stand in the presence of the Almighty God.
- As Christians, we have this confidence. We can come boldly before the throne and stand in confidence.
But the unbelievers cannot. They are hiding from the wrath of the Lamb, are crying out “Who is able to stand?” The unbelievers are experiencing God’s wrathful Judgement, but what is God’s wrath?
God’s wrath is His Righteousness revealed to unbelievers
Romans 3:5–6-5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
- Jesus is a Righteous God and He is coming to set up His Righteous Kingdom.
- God will reveal His Righteousness to everyone. The question is, in what manner will you be receiving His Righteousness?
- Through your own works?
- Or His work on the cross?
- God will reveal His Righteousness to everyone. The question is, in what manner will you be receiving His Righteousness?
Romans 3:21–26-21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Hosea 10:12- Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
To answer the question... Who is able to stand? Those who are in Christ and covered by His blood.
These unbelievers on the earth are being shamed away by the Righteousness of God, Rev 3:18. But God has revealed His Righteousness to us now through the Gospel. And those who receive Jesus through faith, receive His Righteousness and are made alive in Christ able to stand Holy and blameless in that Day in the Presence of the Almighty God, 1 John 4:17; Romans 4:5; 5:8-9, 24; Eph 2:8-9; 2 Cor 5:21.
PREVIOUS LESSON 37 ← GO TO → NEXT LESSON 39