Do Not Be Surprised When You Are Persecuted

Five seals of the scroll with seven seals (Rev. 5:1) have been opened by the Lamb. From the first four came the terrible Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. With the opening of the fifth the martyrs under the heavenly temple's altar cry out to the Sovereign Lord for vengeance. When will the Lord punish those who have murdered His beloved disciples? Be patient, He says and watch. Here comes the opening of the sixth seal.

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" - Rev 6:12-17 ESV

Scripture in the light of 1st century history

These are classical images from the prophets about the LORD's fierce anger loosed upon proud sinners. The sun, moon and stars will turn dark on the great and terrible day of the LORD.

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. - Isa 13:9-10 ESV 

Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders. - Isa 24:23 ESV 

When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD. - Eze 32:7-8 ESV

The Lord Jesus Himself foretold the persecution of his disciples. They were to be on guard for councils will condemn them, He warned, and they will stand before rulers to bear witness. And the gospel must be proclaimed to all nations (Mark 13:9-27). To speak of those events He borrowed the fearful symbolical language of prophets:

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. - Mar 13:24-27 ESV

The martyred saints beneath the altar are comforted as they hear about what was to happen to the seemingly invincible rulers of the earth's mighty nations.

So on to the opening of the seventh and final seal and the sealing of the great multitude, the 144,000, from every tribe of the sons of Israel. More on that in the next post.

And the application of this Word to all who believe in the Lord Jesus? Don't be surprised when the children of this world hate you and persecute you. Expect it. That is exactly what they did to our Lord Himself. Listen to words from the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 4:1-19).

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. . .  

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. . .  

. . . if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" (Proverbs 11:31) Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. - 1Pe 4:1-19 ESV

(A final note to this posting: The picture above is from a group of that teaches the Preterist View of the end times. Preterism denies that Revelation is a prophecy about the future. My readers may want to study that view, among the many interpretations of Revelation. As a Christian committed to the Lutheran Confessions of 1530, I must reject it. I'll have more to say about that in future postings.)

The Great Throne Of God

John takes us now with him through heaven's open door. Immediately, at once, straightway John is in the Spirit. He has used that expression in the beginning at Revelation 1:10. Guided by the Holy Spirit John will now provide warnings and comfort to all who read this important letter. As with other Jewish teachers, John avoids any description of God other than that evoked by symbols.

 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. - Rev 4:3 ESV

All he dares to say is that the great, majestic God is like jasper and carnelian.  The High Priest's breastplate had these stones, representing the twelve tribes named after Israel's sons. Jasper, representing Reuben, the eldest of Israel's sons, was first. In Hebrew the word is odem, translated into Greek as sardius. Carnelian, representing Benjamin, was the last (Exod 28:17-21). Jasper is a variety of quartz able to take a high polish, clear as crystal (Rev. 21:11). Pliny the Elder, who lived around the same time of the Revelation's writing, described Jasper "as being green and often transparent." Carnelian, on the other hand, is an orangish red quartz, used as the sixth stone of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:20).

What do these stones imply about God? Certainly John's first stone refers to the glory of God (Rev. 21:11). That glory was revealed to Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11:4, 38-44). This is the glory of Christ, the Word become flesh, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). God The same God who once said, "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3), has  shined in our hearts to reveal the Good News of God's mercy toward us all in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). As He once raised Lazarus, so He will now raise our mortal bodies and we will dwell with Him to all eternity (1 Cor. 15:20-26).

The second stone, Carnelian, seems to burn with a fire within. Carnelian is the sixth stone adorning the foundations of the New Jerusalem. It was among the stones of fire that covered the "king of Tyre" described by the prophet (Ezekiel 28:12-19). That difficult passage probably refers to the fall of Satan, say many. I will not try to interpret it here. I only suggest that Carnelian points to God's holiness that burns in wrath against sin and rebellious angels. The stone completes an apt description of the God of mercy and holiness.

Casting Down Golden Crowns

Around God's throne was a rainbow "that had the appearance of an emerald" (Rev. 4:3). The rainbow has been a sign of God's mercy ever since the universal flood. After that flood God promised Noah that even though mankind might once more fall into great sin, "never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." As a promise of His mercy the LORD declared, "I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant" (Gen. 9:11-13). The Greek word for rainbow, halo or radiance is iris. This is not the Greek word used in the Septuagint-Greek version of Gen. 9. Instead the Greek word toxon is used, the word for bow, suggesting that the LORD has hung up His bow in the clouds as a sign that His anger has subsided—at least for the moment. The storm has passed. No flood will come again.

Earthly rainbows reveal the entire spectrum of colors, but the heavenly one John saw had the appearance of an emerald. Green, of course, is the soothing color of meadows and forests. God's comforting mercy arches above and over His holiness and burning wrath. And so we are comforted by the holy, merciful God.

But there is more . . .

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. - Rev 4:4-7 ESV

We'll take up a discussion of these other thrones and the creatures around God's throne in the next blog.