Well, good morning, church. It's good to be back with you all.
Thank you for your prayers for me and for Beth and our family while we were away on sabbatical.
Our time was full of good rest and refreshment and good times of connection with one another and with God.
So we're very grateful for your prayers and for your support of us.
And we've been excited to hear, now that we're back, all that God has been up to over the past three months.
As we've heard stories of new members joining and new services being pioneered,
like the testimony service around Thanksgiving and new ministry opportunities being developed by the care team and others,
it's just been a great reminder that the work of God's kingdom is His work.
And that God has blessed this church with a great group of faithful elders and deacons and staff and ministry leaders and members.
What a good reminder that the work of ministry is our work, right?
Together, as members, every one of us.
So it's been a real joy to hear all the stories of how God's been at work through you while we've been away.
And I'm sure we'll hear more of them in the coming weeks.
We look forward to that.
Well, let me invite you to turn with me to the book of Revelation.
We will be looking at page 968 in the Pew Bible.
Go ahead and turn there with me.
Revelation chapter 6.
We're going to walk through Revelation chapter 6 today.
But before we walk through Revelation chapter 6, let me invite you to go on an imaginary walk with me.
Walk with me in your mind through an art gallery.
And this wing of the art gallery, in this wing, the curators have gathered all their depictions of the crucifixion.
If you've walked through, say, the Yale Art Gallery on Chapel Street, you'll know that most art museums have multiple works on the cross.
But now, take a look at those pieces with me.
Imagine a piece by an unnamed medieval artist.
It's very two-dimensional, and the faces are blank, almost forlorn.
Now, take a look at a modern piece by Salvador Dali, the great surrealist.
And you see Christ on a perfectly geometrical cross, almost soaring over the earth.
Last, take a look at the 16th century piece by Grunewald.
And beside the wounded Christ, you can't help but see John the Baptist with his finger just pointing, pointing.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Now, each of these pieces is about the same thing, right?
The same event in history, the death of Christ.
But each one shows it from a unique perspective.
Each painting draws out something important and meaningful that the others don't.
And what I want to suggest this morning is that the book of Revelation functions very similarly.
Starting in chapter 6, John is going to relay to us, his audience, a series of visions that God gives him.
Most of these visions are structured around the number 7.
Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls, and so on.
But each of these visions is giving us a portrait of the same thing.
They're telling the same story over and over again from a fresh angle, drawing out something new and important each time.
And I'd like to suggest that the event or the story that each of these visions is telling in its own way is the story of the church age,
up to and including the return of Christ.
As we saw way back in chapter 1, this book of Revelation is about what's to come.
What was to come from the first century when John was writing all the way to the return of Christ at the end of history?
What can the church expect as it lives through this age?
What will life be like as followers of Jesus?
And what will his glorious return mean for us in the world?
Now, one clue that this is what's going on in the book of Revelation,
that is that we have multiple visions, multiple perspectives of the same thing,
is that as you read through Revelation, you start to realize that the return of Christ in glory to save and to judge
is described multiple times.
If you have a Bible open, you can kind of flip with me.
In the vision of the seven seals in chapters 6 through 7,
we see the return of Christ depicted and described.
In chapter 6, verses 12 through 17.
And then as we go into the vision of the seven trumpets in chapters 8 through 11,
we see the return of Christ and his return in judgment described in chapter 11, verses 15 through 19.
And then in the vision of the sort of seven symbolic figures that we have in chapters 12 through 14,
we see the return of Christ described yet again in chapter 14, verses 14 through 20.
And so on and so on.
So as we read these visions, we're asking,
what does God want us to know about living faithfully in this age,
this last great age of redemptive history that we live in between Christ's first and second coming,
these last days, as the New Testament calls it?
How do we live faithfully and in hope in this age as we look forward to the return of the Lord Jesus in glory?
Now, perhaps you've heard different approaches to the book of Revelation.
As Matt mentioned, we're going to have a Sunday school class coming up where we kind of talk about different approaches
and where, you know, we've kind of come up with this one.
You know, this approach that will take a trinity over the next few months is one that many faithful Christians have taken throughout church history.
So it's not just something we've kind of like made up because it seems nice.
But if you're interested in learning more, you can come to Sunday school and we'll take a look at that starting on February 4th.
But I hope that you'll see that as we walk through the rest of the book of Revelation,
no matter which interpretive approach you take,
many of the spiritual lessons for us are the same today.
God wants us to know what to expect as we follow him faithfully in this world.
God wants us to know what spiritual dynamics are at work as we make this heavenly pilgrimage as his church.
And God wants us to know what future he has in store for us and for all of creation.
So let's pick up then in chapter 6 as the first of these visions begins.
Now remember, John has just been swept up to see the heavenly throne room
and the scroll of God's plan to deliver and to judge and to bring about his kingdom once and for all was brought forth,
but it was sealed with seven seals.
And the only one worthy to open that scroll was the Lamb who was slain, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He alone is worthy.
And the Lord Jesus took the scroll in chapter 5 and all of heaven rejoiced.
And then John shows us this in chapter 6, verse 1.
Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals.
And I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder,
Come.
And I looked and behold a white horse.
And its rider had a bow and a crown was given to it.
And he came out conquering and to conquer.
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say,
Come.
And out came another horse, bright red.
And it said, its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth so that people would slay one another.
And he was given a great sword.
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come.
And I looked and behold a black horse.
And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say,
A quart of wheat for a denarius.
And three quarts of barley for a denarius.
And do not harm the oil and wine.
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, Come.
And I looked and behold a pale horse.
And its rider's name was Death.
And Hades followed him.
And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence.
And by wild beasts of the earth.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
They cried out with a loud voice, O sovereign Lord, holy and true.
How long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell in the earth?
And they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete,
who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked and behold, there was a great earthquake.
And the sun became black as sackcloth.
And 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?
So as the Lord Jesus opens the seals,
what do we see?
Well, it's unsettling, isn't it?
For what we see is the unfolding of God's wrath.
That is, God's just anger against sin and evil and idolatry.
Now for most of us, I'm guessing, the idea of a wrathful God makes us uncomfortable.
Isn't God a God of love, we say?
And yes, God is a God of love.
There is no part of God, no attribute of God,
that isn't saturated with his eternal, triune love.
But imagine for a moment with me a God that wasn't also a God of wrath.
What if God wasn't a God who stood firmly opposed to sin, to evil, to injustice, to idolatry?
What sort of God would it be who didn't hate sin?
What if God saw murder and racism and exploitation and was simply indifferent?
That wouldn't be a God worthy of trust, would it?
Let alone worship.
In fact, that God wouldn't even be worthy of the name of love.
If you see your child being harmed or your friend being harmed,
you feel rightly angry and opposed to that, right?
You feel wrath.
You want it to end.
Why?
Because you love them.
No one would question in that moment if you were a loving parent or not,
if you were a loving friend or not.
No, they would see your opposition to sin and evil.
They would see it as the proper response of your love, right?
So it is, friends, with God, but to an infinite degree.
For God to be worthy of the name God,
He must be a God who's rightly opposed to sin and to evil.
He must be a God, yes, of wrath.
So it is unsettling, this picture.
But it is God as God truly is and must be.
Well, let's see then what this vision tells us about God's wrath.
First, in verses 1 through 8, we're told that God's wrath is underway now.
The first four seals pick up two threads of Old Testament imagery.
The first is from Zechariah, chapters 1 and 6.
In chapter 1 of the prophet Zechariah,
he sees a vision of four groups of horses of different color
commissioned by God to patrol the earth.
And in that Old Testament vision,
these patrols that go out,
these four different colored horses find that the world is at rest.
The world is comfortable,
even though these nations have trampled on God's people
and have despised God's name.
Then in chapter 6 of Zechariah,
four chariots are sent forth,
pulled by four teams, again, of horses of different color.
And presumably, those horses are sent forth
as symbols of God's judgment.
So that's the first Old Testament thread
that we see here in the first four seals.
That's where John's picking up this theme
of different colored horses going forth.
And it tells us that these four seals,
these first four seals are expressions of God's judgment against the world.
Now, the second Old Testament thread we see
is at the end of verse 8 in Revelation 6.
And there, John summarizes these first four seals.
He summarizes all first four of them like this.
He says,
Now, that list of terrible judgments,
sword, famine, pestilence, wild beasts,
that was the common way that the Old Testament would summarize
the terrible penalty for breaking God's covenant.
We see that in a number of places,
like Leviticus 26 or Ezekiel 14.
It's throughout the Old Testament.
Whenever it would speak of the consequences
of breaking God's covenant,
these were the terrible things
that would come crashing down on God's people.
And what ultimately was it in the Old Testament
that broke the covenant with God?
What was the great thing
that broke the people's faith and allegiance with Him?
It was idolatry.
Worshiping a God other than the true God.
Turning away from God
to worship and serve a created thing.
That was the ultimate breaking of the covenant with God.
So these two Old Testament threads suggest
that what these four horsemen represent
are the unfolding of worldwide judgment upon idolatry.
And friends, you don't have to be a scholar of history
or a current events buff
to realize that these terrible consequences
have been happening throughout the church age.
The second horse represents war and civil strife.
You know, just as Jesus said in Matthew 24,
there would be wars and rumors of wars the world over
as we awaited His return.
The third horse represents famine and inequity.
Verse 6 mentions a denarius,
which was a typical day's wage
for a typical day laborer.
And a quart of wheat was just enough
for one person for one day.
So a denarius for a quart of wheat
was basically just enough to get by
for one person for one day.
Three quarts of barley were sort of a cheaper grain,
but that was enough for kind of one family for one day.
So what's being described here
as this horseman symbolically holds scales in its hand
is that because of famine or exorbitant inflation or both,
these verses are speaking of people being forced
to live at a level that's barely subsisting.
It's barely sustainable.
Sadly, this verse also mentions oil and wine.
Now, oil and wine, unlike wheat or barley,
would have been products that only the rich could afford.
Most people didn't do oil and wine.
They did wheat and barley.
Only the rich could afford those things.
But notice, the rich aren't affected.
In other words, this is a description
of deep economic inequity.
The poor can barely survive.
The rich seem unaffected.
Doesn't that sound like a lot of human history?
And the fourth horse, representing death,
is sort of a pale color.
Probably, that word meant something like a pale green,
like a sickly color.
And many think that this horse represents pestilence and plague.
But friends, notice that there's a bit of a progression here,
isn't there?
You know, warfare in the ancient world,
if there was war, if there was civil strife,
you know, that would often destroy a lot of the local environment.
The crops would be destroyed.
They would be burned.
They would be ravaged.
So war would lead to famine and inequity and inflation.
And then in that status of war and famine,
often that was sort of the breeding ground for disease and for death.
But where does this progression start?
It starts with the first horseman.
And the first horseman at first looks kind of promising, doesn't he?
He's riding a white horse.
He's wearing a crown.
He's holding a bow.
So promising does this first rider look
that some commentators on Revelation have wondered
if this might be a picture of Christ riding forth to triumph.
But friends, it's not so.
That is not what we have here.
All four judgments are from God and the Lamb,
but this one's the most telling.
You know, all of us seem to recoil at the thought of famine
and war and disease and death.
But this first rider promises to conquer.
He promises to come and end all our earthly problems,
to win our battles,
to help our side triumph.
But what comes in his wake?
War and famine and disease and death.
When the lust for power and control,
when the desire to conquer drives us,
then we find that sooner or later,
the rest of these disasters follow in its wake.
Strife, inequity, and death.
And the terrible thing about the first seal,
this first horseman,
friends, is this spiritual reality.
Most often in this life,
God's just wrath against sin and idolatry
is expressed by God giving us over
to the very thing we want.
We see this in Romans 1.
How is God's wrath being revealed from heaven
at the present time?
The Apostle Paul says that because
we've exchanged the worship of God
for a created thing,
God's wrath is being expressed
by giving us over to the very thing
we say we want.
He lets us go.
And that's exactly what we see here
in Revelation 6, 1 through 8.
As humans, we want to conquer.
We want to end all our problems
through power and victory.
We want to see our side win.
So we exalt leaders or programs or policies
that will serve that conquering end.
But what's the result?
War and famine and death.
Now why does God hand us over in this way?
Why does God give us what we want
when the consequences are so terrible?
Why does He allow us to experience
all these things?
Well, there are a number of things
the Bible has to say about that.
But one reason God in His justice
allows us to experience
the consequences of our own idolatry at times
is so that we might lose
our confidence in those false saviors
and turn to Him in repentance.
And notice that the effects
of these first four seals
are divinely limited.
They were given authority
over a fourth of the earth,
verse 8 says.
Only a fourth.
God in His kindness
limits what human idolatry
and the lust for power and wealth
would wreck upon His creation.
He limits it to only one-fourth the effect.
Imagine if it were otherwise.
Can you imagine a world
with a 75% increase
in famine
and in inequity
and in disease
and death?
Only God's undeserved kindness
keeps this world
from falling
into utter horror.
And His kindness, friends,
is meant to lead us
to repentance.
The rich,
the powerful,
the boastful,
the ones who ride forth
conquering and to conquer,
they look shiny
and promising
and full of hope.
And a dark part of our hearts
might even want to be like them
and join them
in their seeming triumph,
whether it's social triumph
or economic triumph
or political triumph.
But friend,
there's no life
to be found there.
The only real life
to be found
is not in the path
of the conquering ones,
but in the path
of the crucified one
who came not to be served,
but to serve
and to give His life
as a ransom for many.
Jesus said,
it's only those
who lose their life
who will find it.
So, church,
let me ask this.
Are you tempted
to chase
after the world's power
and the glitz
and the glam
and the promises
of wealth
and power
of ease
and security?
I know at times I am.
But what if
God gave you what you wanted?
At the end of the day,
would it be life
or would it be death?
The Christians of John's day
would have been tempted,
I think,
to look at the Roman Empire
and believe the lie
that the Roman Emperor
and Empire
was the one
who could secure
lasting peace
and prosperity.
They'd be so tempted
to feel that allegiance
to Rome
with all its apparent
power and wealth
would lead
to an eternal day
for all of humanity.
But friends,
that was a lie.
And John was trying
to wake them up
with this passage
to not believe it.
There was only one
worthy of our affections
and our allegiance.
There's only one,
the Lord Jesus.
And these first four seals
show us a vivid picture
of God's wrath unfolding
as human idolatry
leads us to ruin.
And they warn us
to turn to God
from idols
and serve the Lord Jesus.
Now, turning to the fifth seal,
John's vision takes us
from earth
back to heaven,
back up to the throne room.
In the midst of all this
political, economic,
and social strife,
brought about
by God handing us over
to our idolatry,
we see the kind of next step
of John's vision here
and the second point
I want to cover.
We see in verses 6 through 11
that in the midst
of all of this,
the church
is not promised
physical protection
from evil
in this age.
We see there
in those verses
that Christians
are not immune
from the devastating effects
of war and famine
and disease
that run rampant
in a fallen world.
In fact,
more than not,
Christians become
the explicit target
of the world's
satanic lust
for conquering
violence.
You know,
you can visit a site
like Voice of the Martyrs
and see how this
wasn't just a reality
in John's day
as Roman persecution
began to rise
against the church.
It's been a reality
in every era
of the church
and particularly
in our own.
You know,
in the West,
we may not feel
the full brunt
of this violence,
but our brothers
and sisters
in the global church
do.
I just got an email
from Christianity Today
this week
citing some statistics
from a study
that was done
in the last year
saying almost
5,000 Christians
were killed
for their faith
last year
and almost 4,000
were abducted.
Nearly 15,000 churches
were attacked
or closed
and more than
295,000 Christians
were forcibly
displaced
from their homes
because of their faith.
That article
goes on to say
just shocking statistics
about the number
of Christians globally
that live
in areas
of heavy persecution.
In some places
it's like 1 in 5.
So brothers and sisters,
let's not pretend
that following Christ
is a ticket
to our best life now.
Especially if by best life
you mean
being wealthy
and powerful
and free of earthly cares.
Jesus promised us
the opposite.
In this world
you will have trouble,
he said.
You will experience
sickness and trials
and hardship and death.
Take up your cross.
and follow me.
You see friends,
the world wants to conquer.
But ours is the path
of the martyr.
As we are united to Jesus,
this is how we truly overcome.
We witness
through suffering.
That's what the word
martyr literally means.
A witness.
One who testifies
to something
so good
that it's better
than life itself.
And notice
that God says
really surprisingly
that this age
won't end
until the full number
of martyrs
is complete.
God strikes us
as very odd,
doesn't it?
We expect God
to avenge his people,
to make the violence
stop,
to rescue his church,
his beloved,
and bring her to safety.
And friends,
he will.
But until then,
there is a path
for us to walk,
to bear witness
through suffering,
to join our life
to the life of Christ,
and to walk the way
of the cross
that he walked.
To hold up
to the world
how worthy Jesus is
by clinging to him,
by trusting in him,
by obeying him,
even if the world
seeks to end our life.
You see,
the cross
and the resurrection
of Jesus
changes everything.
If I am united
to the crucified
and risen Jesus,
then losing
this physical life
doesn't steal
the most important
and valuable thing
I have.
My life
is hid
with Christ
and God.
He promises
that you and I
will share
in his resurrection.
Ultimately,
friends,
the world
doesn't hold
the power
of death
and the grave.
Though they try
to wield it,
they don't
hold
the keys
to it.
Do you remember
the vision
in Revelation chapter 1?
Who is it
that holds
the keys
to death
and the grave?
It's the risen
Lord Jesus.
And if we belong
to him,
not even death
can separate us
from the love
of God
in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
And look what John
sees in verses 9
through 11.
while the martyrs
await the final
resurrection
and the new heavens
and new earth,
where are they?
They're under the altar,
John says,
right there where the incense
of the heavenly temple
rises with the prayers
of the saints.
Again,
John's using
heavily symbolic language
to describe
heavenly realities.
In other words,
these saints
are right there
in God's presence
and they're given
a white robe.
A white robe
is a symbol
for Christ's righteousness
that they have.
That though the world
condemned them,
though the world
hated them
and clothed them
in black,
God overturns
the world's full verdict
and they're clothed
in white,
pure and without spot.
And notice
what they pray.
They pray,
O sovereign Lord,
holy and true,
how long before
you will judge
and avenge our blood
on those who dwell
in the earth?
They call out
for God to come
in perfect justice
and make things right.
Now,
pause there
on their prayer
and consider,
friends.
You know,
you read that prayer
for the first time
and at first
it sounds harsh,
right?
It sounds even
pretty violent.
It sounds like
they're thirsting
for revenge.
But that's not
actually what
they're saying.
They aren't asking God,
God,
when will I get
to go judge
and get revenge?
No.
They're entrusting
all judgment
to God.
God,
when will you
judge
and avenge?
Friends,
if you believe
in a God
who really does
oppose
sin and evil,
if you believe
in a God
of wrath
who will one day
judge with
perfect judgment,
it actually
releases you
from the burden
of having
to get
your own
revenge.
You know,
sometimes we think,
we think,
man,
how can you believe
in a God of wrath
and live a life
of peace?
How can you
forgive your enemies
if you think
that one day
God will judge
everyone?
But friends,
don't you see,
that's the only way
that you can live
a life of real
peace and forgiveness,
especially if you've
experienced
real wrong.
If there's no God,
if there's no
divine wrath,
if there's no
perfect justice
to come,
then it's up to you
to judge
and to make
things right.
you have to
balance the scales,
you have to
redress the wrong.
But of course,
as humans,
we can't possibly
do that with
perfect justice.
We always end up
paying back more,
we always end up
exacting more pain,
thinking that that's
going to finally
stop the cycle
of violence.
But it doesn't.
It does just
the opposite.
It increases it.
And round and round
it goes,
hurting and being
hurt,
killing and being
killed.
the only thing
that can get
our hearts
off the cycle
of revenge
is a full belief
in the perfect
justice of God
to come.
Friends,
He will settle
the scales.
We don't have to.
He will see
that every wrong
is made right.
He will see
that every wound
is healed.
He will see
that sins
are forgiven.
I know it
sounds counterintuitive,
but it's the
only real way.
If you're going
to live a life
of peace
in this world,
you have to
believe in a God
of perfect justice.
Yes,
you have to
believe in a
God of wrath.
And that's
where our passage
ends.
In the first
four seals,
we see the
outworking of
God's wrath
in this age
as idolatry
kind of takes
its effect.
In the fifth seal,
we see that the
church is not
protected from
evil in this age.
And then the
sixth seal,
we see,
third and last,
that one day
God's wrath
will be poured
out on rebellious
humanity once
and for all.
In verses 12
through 14,
John sees
the created
universe
starting to
come undone.
earth.
The earthquake
is a common
biblical image
for the
arrival of
God.
When God
showed up
on Mount Sinai,
the earth
shook.
And when the
Creator at last,
once and for
all,
steps into
His creation,
it's as if
the seams
of being
begin to
crack.
The holiness
of God
and the
Lamb are
so great,
the weight
of God's
glory is
so immense
that the
earth can
no longer
bear up.
And everything
that we've
trusted in
in this life,
our status,
our wealth,
our power,
our health,
our jobs,
our friends,
everything that
we use to
try to prop
up our
existence,
to keep
ourselves
distracted,
to think
ourselves good,
it all
melts away.
and the
seams
give way.
Before the
unbearable
holiness of
God,
friends,
none of that
will matter.
And just as
the creation
will be undone,
so will all
of humanity.
In verse 15,
John lists
seven types
of people.
Many of them
are powerful
and wealthy,
but not all
of them.
seven,
the judgment
of God
is the
great
leveler
of humanity.
Seven,
of course,
is a number
symbolizing
completeness
and totality.
John sees
that everyone
will stand
before their
creator
on the last
day,
and no amount
of power
or prestige
or wealth
and no amount
of religion
or good works
will matter.
You know,
it's funny,
sometimes in
our cynicism
we say,
you know,
if God wanted
us to believe
in Him,
He could just
show up
and make it
a little easier.
But what if
God did show
up?
What if the
sovereign Lord,
holy and true,
did show up?
in the presence
of such
blinding
holiness,
do you know
how we would
experience God
showing up?
How would we
as sinners
who've lived
our life,
who've lived
more of our
life chasing
idols than
giving God
the thanks
and praise
that He deserves,
how would we
experience just
the very holiness
of His presence?
Friends,
we would experience
it as nothing
but wrath.
Have you ever
walked outside
from a dark
room when the
curtains are drawn,
you know,
you kind of
step outside
and come right
into the sun?
For a moment
it's blinding,
isn't it?
The sun's just
too bright for
your eyes,
right?
Until they adjust.
But what if
not just your
eyes,
but your whole
life was exposed
to the God
who made you?
What if your
heart was opened
bare before
the God
who burns
brighter than
a thousand
suns?
Would we
all not cry
out like those
in verse 16
and 17?
Hide us.
Hide us
from the face
of the one
who sits on
the throne
and from the
wrath of the
Lamb.
For the great
day of the
wrath has come
and who can
stand?
Who can
stand?
Of course,
the answer
is no one
can stand.
Not you,
not me.
It doesn't
matter if you've
grown up in
church or this
is the first
time you've
ever been to
one of these
gatherings.
No one
can stand.
There's no
escape from
God and the
Lamb.
How could
there be any
escape?
God created
you.
He upholds
you in
being every
second.
You are
completely and
utterly dependent
on Him for
everything.
Friends, there
is no you
apart from
Him and
apart from
His choice
to keep you
and me
existing every
second.
There is no
escape from
Him.
There is no
hiding from
Him.
There is no
refuge from
Him.
But here's the
good news.
And it's the
only good news
that matters.
There is no
refuge from
Him.
But there is
refuge in
Him.
The only
hiding place
from the wrath
of the Lamb
is the blood
of the Lamb.
There's one
more Old
Testament echo
in Revelation 6
that's worth
pointing out.
And it's
actually right
there in
verse 16
where all of
humanity is
calling out
hide us.
And that
same cry
hide us
goes all
the way
back in
human history
back,
back to
the very
first humans,
to our
very first
parents in
the Garden
of Eden.
Adam and
Eve having
sinned against
God,
torn up
inside and
out with
guilt and
shame.
they hear
God coming
and they
try to
hide us.
And what
does God
do?
To their
fears,
He gives
them a
promise.
And for
their nakedness,
He makes
a sacrifice.
In the midst
of their
fear, He
promises that
one day,
from Eve,
a child
would be
born that
would deal
with Satan
and sin
and death
once and
for all.
And to
their nakedness,
He gives
a sacrifice.
He makes
a sacrifice
to cover
them.
And He
gives them
a picture
of how
that conquest
would happen.
Another
would die
so that
they could
be covered,
so that
their sin
and death
could be
paid.
And friends,
when the
Lord Jesus
came and
when He
healed the
sick and
when He
raised the
dead and
when He
calmed the
seas,
at the
end of
His
perfect
life,
He went
to the
cross.
And then
that ancient
promise was
fulfilled and
the sacrifice
was made.
Jesus,
the Lamb of
God,
went into
the darkness
of God's
wrath for
you.
He went
into the
fullness of
that wrath,
except He
was the one
human who
didn't call
out,
hide me.
For you,
He said,
take me.
He didn't
call for the
rocks to
cover Him.
He was
torn and
broken.
He bore
it all.
Why?
So that
His death
might cover
you.
So that
all who
trust in
Him in
this age
might be
safe when
the day of
perfect justice
comes.
How about
you,
friend?
when it
all comes
to light,
when the
trappings of
this world
fall away
and you
stand before
your Creator,
what will
be your
hiding place?
Take
Christ
now.
Bow
before Him
now.
There's
coming a
day when
every knee
will bow,
whether we
like it
or not.
But God
says,
bow now,
take me
now.
Come
find
shelter,
Jesus
says.
Come
find
shelter in
the Lamb
who was
slain for
you.
In the
next chapter,
chapter 7,
John will
talk about
all the
blessings that
come to
those who
trust in
Christ,
their
spiritual
safety and
security,
their peace
and home
with God,
their protection
through all
the trials
of this
life.
And then
after that
interlude of
chapter 7,
the vision
returns to
the seventh
and final
seal.
You can
skip ahead
to chapter
8,
verse 1
if you
want to
see it
there.
And when
that final
seventh seal
is opened
in 8,
verse 1,
what happens?
There's
silence.
A perfect,
silent
awe.
Awe and
reverence
before a
holy God,
just and
perfect in
all His
ways,
perfect in
love,
perfect in
judgment.
friend,
where will
you be in
that silence?
Will you
be near to
God in
love and
peace,
having found
shelter in
the blood
of the Lamb?
Or will
you be cast
out from
God,
having found
no shelter
from the
wrath of
the Lamb?
There's no
third option.
The great
day of God's
wrath will
come.
The Creator
will give
His final
no to
rebellion and
idolatry and
sin.
He will
redeem His
creation.
He will
rescue His
people.
So don't
let that day
find you
anywhere else
than in the
arms of
Christ,
who died
for you.
Let's pray
together.
Father,
we pause
in silent
reverence
before You.
Lord,
we confess
that we
don't like
to think
about justice
when it's
aimed at
ourselves.
God,
we want
justice for
the world.
We want
to see
things made
right and
healed.
Lord,
what hope
is there
for the
world without
perfect
justice?
hope is
there for
me when
it comes?
Thank You
that in
Christ You've
made a
provision for
justice to be
satisfied and
for us to be
forgiven.
Lord,
increase our
love and
our trust in
Christ as we
go forth
this week.
in Jesus'
name,
amen.