I was moving technologies the week of this lesson and lost most of my notes. What remains is the outline of the main points. If you have further questions about specific points, message me.
How Are You Facing Upheaval?
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 6
Ok, so before we jump into the passage today (which, fear not, we will do very quickly), let’s address some big picture items. (If you’re in a hurry, feel free to read the headings… :D).
Item 1: Do not freak out. This is where Revelation gets more intimidating. After starting with a seemingly complex vision in chapter one, chapters two and three provided us with really accessible portions of the letter (the letters to the seven churches). Then, four and five, though more complex, tend to be more easily understood. Chapter six shifts toward a pattern which will be repeated throughout the book, and is packed with images that are more difficult and frequently interpreted in many ways. However, this was given to us to be understood, so we cannot allow ourselves to be lost in the noise surrounding possible interpretations. We will try our best to understand to message, and when there are portions we cannot understand, it is most fair to just to prayerfully admit that. Albert Barnes made an excellent point on this:
“He does no service in a professed interpretation of the Bible who passes over a difficulty without attempting to remove it, or who, to save his own reputation, conceals the fact that there is a real difficulty; and he does as little service who is unwilling to confess his ignorance on many points, or who attempts an explanation where he has no clear and settled views.”
Item 2: Remember the language. We cannot forget that Revelation is a visual book. These are images. They are not always meant to be taken literally (which does not mean they are not real), but are John’s way of expressing (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) visions our human languages have no words for. Also, this language is steep in Hebrew apocalyptic language. Therefore, though we should not be “looking for codes”, we do need to understand that certain portions of the language would have been readily understood as symbolic to the original audience.
Item 3: Keep the structure/pattern in mind. Revelation, like much Hebrew writing, uses parallelism. It repeats certain truths to emphasize them. What we see happening in this letter in particular is usually called progressive parallelism. It’s important to understand this not so you can throw out a fancy word, but so we don’t get lost when we move through the letter. Events are repeated from different angels. That is why you will see the same types of things happening again and again. It is also why you will see the world destroyed more than once. We are getting several perspectives on the same events. Each time, however, there is also an intensifying of the events. The idea here is not one of chronology, but type (trying to read Revelation as a chronological recording of future events will result in some strange interpretations…because you will have multiple returns of Christ…etc). Many people will look at Revelation and try and pin down when exactly in history this or that event occurred or will occur. The problem is, as we’ll see in this chapter, many of these events will continue to occur until Christ returns. They are not just a signal event.
Ok, I apologize if that was unnecessary, but hopefully that sets the stage a bit. Let’s walk through the text.
This is all part of God’s plan to destroy sin and save us.
1a Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals,
1b and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
Seal Two: There will be war.
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Seal Three: There will be a despairing scarcity and lack of food.
5 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.6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart[a] of wheat for a denarius,[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
5 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.6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart[a] of wheat for a denarius,[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
Seal Four: There will be widespread death/calamity.
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 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.
Seal Five: There will be persecution of Christians.
9 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. 10 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 on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers[c] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 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.
Seal Five: There will be persecution of Christians.
9 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. 10 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 on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers[c] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
Seal Six: There will be universal/all-touching upheaval and destruction.
12 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, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 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, 16 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,17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Upheaval will happen until Jesus has saved all who will be saved. How will you react?
1. Do not be surprised.
2. Do not be afraid.
-This is part of God’s plan.
3. Do not major in the minors.
-Don't waste time worrying about the unknowable specifics of when instead of the certainty of why. This will happen until all who will be saved are saved. (THIS APPLIES TO YOUR SPECIFIC UPHEAVALS, AS WELL)
4. BUT, tell everyone about the place under the altar!
-It’s the only place of safety. (See Seal 5. Christians were symbolically "under the altar"--the place when the blood was poured!)
12 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, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 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, 16 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,17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
TAKE AWAYS:
Upheaval will happen until Jesus has saved all who will be saved. How will you react?
1. Do not be surprised.
2. Do not be afraid.
-This is part of God’s plan.
3. Do not major in the minors.
-Don't waste time worrying about the unknowable specifics of when instead of the certainty of why. This will happen until all who will be saved are saved. (THIS APPLIES TO YOUR SPECIFIC UPHEAVALS, AS WELL)
4. BUT, tell everyone about the place under the altar!
-It’s the only place of safety. (See Seal 5. Christians were symbolically "under the altar"--the place when the blood was poured!)
No comments:
Post a Comment