By Ken Blue
Purchas my commentary on Revelation (232pages) https://www.opendoorbaptist.com/Bookstore/default.aspx
Events under the sixth seal parallel exactly with our Lord’s message in Matthew 24:27-30. Note especially Matthew 24:29. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” This matches Revelation 6:12, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;” The great earthquake is the one spoken of throughout Bible prophecy.
Notice also, the parallel between Matthew 24 and the six seals:
Matt. 24 |
The Seals |
Rev 6 |
|
| 4-5 | 1st | The falseChrist | 1- 2 |
| 6-7 | 2nd | Wars | 3-4 |
| 7 | 3rd | Famines | 5-6 |
| 7 | 4th | Pestilences | 7-8 |
| 8-28 | 5th | Martyrdoms | 9-11 |
| 29-30 | 6th | Signs in Heaven of Advent | 12-17 |
Haggai speaks of these events in chapter 2:6-7, “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.” See also Revelation 16:18. “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” See Zechariah 14:1-5. This is the earthquake that will change the landscape of Israel. It may restore the Dead Sea area to the former glory of the Garden of Eden. As we have said, this event is just prior to the Second Advent of Christ.Vance Havner said, “The most expensive piece of real-estate will be a hole in the ground.”
Up to this seal, the plagues and persecution has been man made, but at this point, the wrath of God is displayed. This is the Great Tribulation. At the Second Advent, all men will be reduced to the same level. Man will discover that his wealth, possessions, power, prestige, titles, and rank will be of no avail against the wrath of God.
In the first four seals, the Antichrist pursues the righteous Jews to remove them from the earth. The souls of those whom he martyred because of their faith are under the fifth seal. However, everything changes under the sixth seal, and the Son of Man returns in power and great glory to execute judgment on Satan and his followers.
The chapter ends with this question, “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (v. 17). The answer is given in the next chapter.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.