Revelation Chapter 5

Rev 5:1, "And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals."

'The right hand', in the ancient world was always a place of power. Here it is a symbol of God's power and authority. Where does Matthew tell us that the sheep are going to be put? At the right hand, where nothing will happen to them without God's permission.

John saw in His right hand a scroll, not a book but a scroll. Remember what we learned about a scroll earlier, this scroll was sealed with seven seals on the outside and all seven seals had to be removed in order to read its contents and as one seal was removed, it had conditions that had to be met before the next seal was to be removed. The large scroll when it is opened after the seven seals have been broken and the conditions of the seals carried out, begins the day of the Lord, which is the most prophesied event in all of the Old Testament. The day of the Lord is God's final judgment upon the world and that is paralleled only with Noah and the flood, and God's complete destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. You must understand that the seals deal with God's purification of the church, so that it will be presented to the Father by Jesus without spot or wrinkle and this purification takes place before the wrath of God is carried out. When the church is purified, He removes the church because now they are worthy to stand in the presence of God. Then the wrath of God is poured out. An interesting fact you will observe as you move through the events before the scroll is open, to the events after the scroll is open. The fact is, there is a shift from the seraphim, who oversees the purification of the church, to the angels of God who will meet out His wrath on the world. So the shift is from the seraphim that protect the holiness of God to the angles of God whose purpose is to destroy every person who has the mark of the beast.

Rev 5:2-3, Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals thereof." And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

What this strong angel was proclaiming is, "who is worthy", the idea is who has the right, the authority to open the scroll and to loose its seals. John is building a case for us. Having introduced us to the one who is seated upon that throne in all His glory, who is worshiped and praised by the twenty four elders and the four living creatures, now has a scroll in His right hand sealed with seven seals and the strong angel wants to know who has the right to open the scroll.

A universal search of heaven, earth and beneath the earth is made, looking for a man who is worthy to open that scroll and to loose the seven seals but no one is found. Not only was there not found a man, who was worthy to open the scroll, there wasn't one found worthy to look upon the scroll. Now we all believe that when Jesus comes we are going to be changed and made like Him. If the rapture had already taken place before this, (as the pre tribulationist say) and the believers are like Him, why is it that not one of these glorified believers are even worthy to look upon that scroll? We know they are not worthy to open the scroll and we shall see why when we get to verse 9 but, should they not be worthy enough to look upon it?

Rev 5:4, So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.

Why did John weep? John weeps because he knows that if a worthy person is not found to open the scroll, God's purpose of judgment and blessing for the world will remain unfulfilled and Satan's power and authority in the world will continue as he uses the things in the world to come against Christ by coming against the church. In essence, the scroll allows the title deed to planet earth to be taken from Satan, who was given it by Adam, and given to God so all things can be restored to the way He planned it in the beginning. In the balance is: who is going to control this planet; is history going to come to a triumphant consummation; is the sin problem really going to be dealt with and is our salvation going to be consummated! Do you know what we have now in Christ? We have the down payment. We have the guarantee of your salvation. We have the Holy Spirit as the earnest expectation that what God has begun, He will bring to consummation. For this to happen the seals have to be unloosed and the scroll's events happen for this consummation to take place.

Salvation is progressive, at the moment you were born again you were saved from the penalty of sin, from that time until Christ returns you are saved from the power of sin, at His coming you will be saved from the presence of sin. If that scroll cannot be opened because there is not found a man who is worthy, then all is lost. If this scroll cannot be opened, then the ancient prophets of Israel whom he extolled, who spoke of a great and glorious future would have been in error. All of John's fellow disciples who by this time, (95 AD), according to church history had all been martyred for their faithfulness to Christ, died in vain. If that scroll cannot be open then Christianity and life itself is a dirty joke. So now you can understand why John wept, which means in the Greek that he sobbed with audible sobs.

Rev 5:5-6, But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

In the midst of his crying, one of the 24 elders commands John to stop weeping because the Lion of the tribe of Juda has prevailed. What is meant by calling Christ the Lion? Isn't He referred to as the Lamb of God? What is the difference between a lion and a lamb. The lion represents power, strength and judgment; the lamb represents sacrifice. Now it is interesting that when the elder tells John not to cry, he sees a Lion and not the Lamb, he sees the Lion because when the scroll is open it is the outpouring of God's wrath upon an unbelieving world. Acts 17:31 refers to this day. Because He was the lamb that was slain for sacrifice and raised in power, He has the right to be the Lion in judgment.

So when the elder sees who is worthy he sees the Lion not the Lamb. Now when John looks over who does he see, he sees the Lamb because if Christ had not been the Lamb he could not be the Lion. He had to judge sin at the cross, so that He could be the Judge of the world at the end for their rejection of the Lamb of God. Seven horns denote complete and perfect power. Seven eyes represent complete and perfect knowledge and insight, having perfect discernment referring to the perfect work of the Holy Spirit in protecting the people of God.

Rev 5:7-8, Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

After Jesus has taken the scroll from Him who sat on the throne, we have the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures falling down before the Lamb in worship, each having a harp, signifying praise unto God, and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. If the saints have already been raptured, why would their prayers be presented to Jesus here? Notice it is the prayers of the saints that are there, not the saints themselves. You know what some commentators say the saints on earth were praying? "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Under the persecution that is taking place their cry is "even so come Lord Jesus." Deity is about to invade humanity, God's will is about to be done on earth directly; He is going to step on the stage of human history, to accomplish His purposes and bring history to a triumphant conclusion. That is what the opening of the scroll is going to be all about. God desires His will to be done in His church right now and it is going to be done on the earth in the end. Yes things are going to get bad for the church during the tribulation, but if you are an overcomer you will win, it will not be a temporary win but it will be a win forever. That is why Paul tells us that we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. The worst that the world can do to you is kill the body, they cannot touch your spirit; the victory is ours.

Verses 9,10, This is how it reads in the, TAB. And [now] they sing a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on it, for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased men unto God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth!

Here we have the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures singing a new song. This song tells us why there was no one in heaven, earth or under the earth found worthy enough to open the scroll. It tells us that Jesus was worthy because He was slain; He was the sacrifice for sin; it is through Him that we have redemption and He is the one who has made us kings and priests unto God through His death and resurrection. These are the qualifications that were sought out when the search was made of God's creation, (heaven and earth), for a worthy man but of course there was no one. Thank God for Jesus, the God Man, without any sin in Him yet he became sin for us. He was slain; He was man's kinsmen redeemer who bought back man's lost inheritance. He was the sacrifice, therefore he qualifies to be the judge.

Rev 5:11-14.

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!"

13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

According to this passage there are an innumerable number of angels at God's disposal. The scene in heaven is that all the angels are praising God with a loud voice. Church you know that what is taking place in heaven, God wants to take place in earth. It is time we praised God with a loud voice from a heart of obedience, which is the only way to worship Him in Spirit, and in truth. It is time we worshiped Him on earth as He is worshiped in heaven, then we will see a manifestation of His presence and power.

Before we move into Rev. 6, I want to get into some things in Matt.24, because it will help us as we move on in our study.

Remember how the seals are placed on the scroll. In Rev. 6 we are beginning to open the conditions necessary to open the seventh seal to reveal the contents of the Scroll so the wrath of God can be outpoured upon a wicked world during the day of the Lord. For us to understand what is in this chapter we must look at the Olivet Discourse. The Olivet Discourse was limited in the questions it dealt with; it answers the questions the disciples had then it cuts off and doesn't go beyond that; it does not deal with the day of the Lord. The book of Revelation goes way beyond the Olivet Discourse and deals with the day of the Lord. In chapter 6 we will deal with all of the events in the Olivet Discourse. So what is in the Olivet Discourse? Christ had just talked about how the stones were going to be torn down from the temple, He has already told them that He was going to die and they were not going to have their king the way they thought. With that they had three burning questions: #1. When is the temple that has taken years to build going to be destroyed? This question is answered beautifully in Luke 21. #2. What is the sign of your coming? #3. What is the sign of the end of the age?

Jesus had already told His disciples in Matt. 13:36-43, that at the end of the age He will separate the tares from the wheat, He will put the wheat in the barn and then He will absolutely destroy all the tares. This destruction will take place during the day of the Lord. Jesus taught in (verse 30) that genuine believers should "allow both [the wheat and the tares] to grow together [within the kingdom of heaven] until the time of harvest [immediately prior to the beginning of the day of the Lord]; and in the time of harvest I [Christ] will say to the reapers [His angels], 'First gather up the tares; and bind them in bundles [in preparation] to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

In other words, before Christ comes to destroy the kingdom of darkness during the day of the Lord, first the reapers will separate the tares that have been planted by Satan in the kingdom of heaven (v.39) from the wheat. Then the wheat will be put into the barn--raptured before the wrath of God. Finally the tares will be "gathered up and burned with fire...at the end of the age" (v.40), paralleling the illustration of Noah and the flood given in Luke 17 & Matt. 24. Again, the tares are in the context of the "kingdom of heaven" (v.24), Christian "look-alikes" but not genuine believers. Only the angels of God can tell the difference. This is why the true believer is told not to make the separation himself, "lest while you gather up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them" (v.29).

So they said to Him, "When are you coming back and when are you going to destroy the world? They asked these questions because they knew that His coming and His wrath were interlocked. The day that He comes is the day that His wrath begins to be poured out. According to the book of Joel, Matthew, and Luke the sign of the end of the age will be in the sun, moon and stars. In response to these questions, Christ immediately begins to take them through the Olivet Discourse and He begins to develop something that we need to understand as we study Revelation.

Let's take a quick look at some things in Matt. 24 before we move on with our study of Revelation.

Turn to Matt. 24:3, Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

Here is where the questions are asked.

1. What shall be the sign of your coming?

2. What shall be the sign of the end of the age?

It is interesting to note that the disciples asked their questions in the way these specific events will occur--i.e., first Christ will return, and then God will pour out His judgment. Likewise in Matt. 24:1-29 Christ answers these questions in the order asked by the disciples. But in verse 30 Christ makes it clear that the signs will occur in the reverse sequence of the events; i.e., the sign of the end of the age actually precedes the sign of Christ's coming. It is essential to understand the order of this sequence according to how Christ taught this was to actually occur, so what we will do first is look at question 2.

Christ's answers to the disciples' questions are given along with one of our Lord's strongest warnings--a warning that every Christian who enters the seventieth week needs to obey with utmost carefulness. This warning comes at the end of Christ's explanation of the specific things that will occur before the sign of the end of the age is given in the heavenlies, and it is directed especially to those faithful Christians who have gone into hiding prior to the great tribulation, out of reach of demonic control over the earth. Antichrist will dispatch many false christs and false prophets, who will show seemingly divine signs and wonders that if God did not secure them in their faith, many of His own elect would be snared. Thus Jesus warned of that day, saying, "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold here is Christ,' or 'there He is,' do not believe him. For false prophets and false christs will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if it were possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. If therefore they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go forth, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them" (Matt. 24:23-26).

Christ's warning here is very specific. It is a warning to the church not to be deceived by the "great signs and wonders" that false christs and false prophets will perform during the great tribulation. He is telling them not to be deceived by any of these false signs no matter how impressive they may be. Wait instead for the real sign of the end of the age. Then and only then will you see the sign of Christ's coming.

Christ had just explained to His disciples that "when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet in Dan. 12:11, standing in the holy place...then there will be great tribulation, such has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. And unless those days be cut short, no life [of those opposed to the Antichrist] would have been saved." That is why Christ's warning was so specific, "Do not go forth...do not believe them."But with the warning comes the promise of Christ, "...but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short" (Matt. 24:22). Christ promises to "cut short" the great tribulation by Antichrist--not his forty-two-month time allotment, but his persecution of God's elect, including both the spiritual and natural lines of Abraham. Antichrist himself will continue on until he meets with complete destruction.

If the counterfeit signs created by the false christs and the false prophets will be stunningly impressive, what of the true sign that will mark the end of the age? In describing this sign, Christ begins by saying that this sign will occur "immediately after the tribulation of those days" He then goes on to quote the classic day-of-the-Lord passage in Isaiah, which explains that on this fearful day "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken (Matt. 24:29; see Isaiah 13:10). This corresponds to the day-of-the-Lord passage in Joel 2:31. In other words, from these passages we see that the sign of the end of the age is the same sign that the Lord gave to Joel, the same sign the Lord gave to Isaiah, and the same sign that Christ gave to His disciples so they would know when "the end of the age" was about to occur, when Christ would return to judge the inhabitants of Satan's earthly kingdom. We will see that it is also the same sign Christ gave John announcing the day of the Lord at the sixth seal. Thus there is total agreement in scripture as to what the sign will be and also to when the sign will occur--that is "immediately after the tribulation of those days" and " before the great and awesome day of the Lord." Christ therefore explicitly links together the sign of the end of the age, which occurs immediately after the tribulation (Matt.24:29) with the sign prophesied in the Old Testament announcing the day of the Lord, which will occur when the great tribulation is "cut short." Then in the next verse Christ explains the second sign--"the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky" (v.30) --will follow in immediate succession to the sign of the end of the age. The passage then continues to explain that after these two signs are given back to back, "then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory."

From this we can conclude three things:

First, the day of the Lord will be preceded by two successive signs--the sign of the end of the age and the sign of Christ's coming.

Second, both of these signs (and the events they announce) will occur when the tribulation is cut short.

Third, both of these signs are given before the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of the sky.

This conclusion is of major theological significance, for it clearly shows that the rapture will not occur until after the tribulation, at the point when the tribulation is cut short sometime during the second half of the last "week" of Daniel.

It is hard to imagine the stunning effect of this first sign--the sign of the end of the age. The bible uses the most dramatic language in numerous places to describe this sign which is, in effect, a warning of coming evil indicating that the day of the Lord is about to begin. The Lord repeatedly told His people of a sign that would announce the terrible day of vengeance, a spectacle in the heavens that will pale everything that human eyes have seen before. Those alive on earth at that time will see " the heavens tremble, the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness" (Joel 2:10). "And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth," the Lord says; "blood and fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes" (Joel 2:30.31). The major theme of the book of Joel is the day of the Lord and near the end of the message the prophet reiterates that when certain divinely preordained events transpire, "the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness. And the Lord roars from Zion" (Joel 3:14-16). Isaiah 13:9,& 10, also speaks of that day. In essence, the sign of the end of the age will simultaneously extinguish all natural lights in the heavens, plunging the earth into total darkness. This sign will also be accompanied by tremendous worldwide earthquakes, so that, "every mountain and island were moved out of their places" (Rev. 6:14). When that bewildering event occurs, unbelieving mankind will panic and desperately seek hiding places among rocks and in caves--because they will then know with horrifying certainty that the wrath of God, about which they had been so often and graciously warned, is about to commence. This is vividly portrayed in Luke 21:25,26. In striking contrast, however, those of the kingdom of God, the overcomers, will look up with great joy, knowing that their redemption is about to be consummated.

The unbelieving world will be oblivious to what God is doing. The world will have been warned by the third angel of their impending disaster if they worship the beast or his image. They will have been told that they will "drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger" (Rev. 14:10) And yet the warning, until it is to late, will go totally unheeded--in part because of Satan's "deception of wickedness for those who perish" (2 Thess. 2:10), in part because "God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness" (2 Thess. 2:11, 12). For these reasons most people will not take God into account at all. Having given there allegiance to Antichrist, they will bask in physical peace and safety and have a great sense of well-being, being completely unaware of what is about to happen, see (Matt. 24:37-39 & 1 Thess. 5:2,3).

But believers undergoing great tribulation, longing for the return of Christ and looking for the signs, must remember that the exact time of the day of the Lord is not known, even to the most godly and discerning of saints. It was not even known by Jesus during His incarnation and it is not known by the angels, see (Matt. 24:36). Christ explained to His disciples that "The days shall come [during the great tribulation] when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, look He is there, look He is here, do not follow after them. For just as the lightning when it flashes and lights up the sky, from one end to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day (Luke 17:22-24). Does this in any way suggest a secret rapture?

Now, what about the sign of Christ's coming? With the earth cast into utter darkness and the world still in terror at the sign of the end of the age, the second sign--the sign of Christ's coming--will immediately follow, see (Matt. 24:30). Just as the disciple’s questions linked these two signs together, so these two signs will be interlocked with each other, the first leading immediately to the second. First, all the natural lights in the heavens will be extinguished by the sign of the end, plunging the world into total darkness; and then in stunning contrast the darkened natural lights will be replaced by the supernatural brilliance of the sign of the Son of Man when He comes.

It is of course, the sign of the Son of Man, the sign of the coming of our Lord that all believers long to behold. But the sign of the end of the age must appear first--as a warning to the unbelieving world of the imminent day of the Lord's judgment, but also as the first divine evidence to believers, in hiding or directly undergoing the terrible persecution of Antichrist, that the return of the Lord and therefore their "rescue" is at hand (2 Peter 2:9).

After the natural lights are turned off all over the world, the supernatural light of God's holy splendor will return from the earth from the east, flooding the world with the radiance of Christ as He returns in power and great glory. Every eye on earth, even the evil eyes of the Antichrist and his wicked hosts--will clearly witness the return of Christ.

When Christ returns, He will come to judge all the citizens of Satan's unrighteous kingdom, all who have rejected His grace by taking the mark of the beast, giving him their worship. But also He will come to bring final redemption to the overcomers, by the means of the rapture before He meets out judgment.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, of the nineteenth century believed in these signs prior to Jesus coming back for here is a quote that confirms it: "I must leave this first point, concerning the terrible time [a time of fearful national trouble] when this precept is to be carried out, by just reminding you that, when the Lord Jesus shall come, the heavens shall tell us. There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars. ...Now I come to THE REMARKABLE PRECEPT ITSELF. Then look up, and lift your heads. ...let there be no looking down because the earth is quaking and shaking, but let there be a looking up because you are going to rise from it."

In his sermon entitled "The Joyful Anticipation of the second Advent" he says, "The great tribulation by Antichrist, first, then, there is a terrible time...a time of fearful national trouble, then the signs appear in the heavens, when the Lord shall come, the heavens shall tell us, there shall be signs in the sun, moon and stars. Then the rapture and the resurrection of the saints, our own eyes shall tell us, for they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory...look up lift up your heads...because the graves are opening... you will quit the grave never more to die." April 23, 1885.

Matt. 24:4-15,

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.

5 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

6 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8 "All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.

10 "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

11 "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

12 "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

13 "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),

Let me just list some things here that takes place before the great tribulation starts.

#1. False christs.

#2. Wars.

#3. Famines and earthquakes.

Then he makes this comment, "These are the beginning of birth pangs."

#4. You will have tribulation, and we will see that this is the great tribulation.

#5. Death, this is death to the elect of God because you are killed on account of Christ's name.

#6. A falling away.

#7. False prophets.

But He says, "the one who endures to the end shall be saved."

#8. The gospel preached in all the world.

#9. Abomination of desolation set up.

Verse 21, "Then there will be great tribulation..."

Verse 23, So for the elects sake those days will be shortened, now in its context, "no flesh", is referring to the elect of God. The Antichrist is not out to kill his followers during the tribulation, he is out to kill the elect of God, people that hold to the name of Jesus Christ.

Verse 24, We are told about the false prophets and the false christs that will perform great signs and wonders, that if it were possible the elect would be deceived. But, (v.25) says, "see I have told you beforehand." Now why is He telling them beforehand? So, if they are told that Christ is here or He is there, they would not be deceived into believing it, (v.26). "If" means it is not possible to deceive the elect because, they are told beforehand, so they know what they are not suppose to do. They are not to follow after the false prophets and false christs. If you, (the ones who He is warning, including the Church) do not believe this and follow these miracle workers you may be deceived into believing that these miracles are genuine and follow these false people. See He tells the elect to stay put until they see the true sign of His coming, which will be announced by signs in the heavens.

Verse 27, Would you not agree that the question asked by the disciples in verse 3, concerning His coming is in reference to the rapture of the believers? Therefore, this verse destroys any notion of a secret rapture where the believers are snatched away without anybody knowing it.

Matt 24:29-31.

29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

When is the sign of the Son of Man going to appear? Immediately AFTER the TRIBULATION! What happens before the sign of the Son of Man appears?

#10. The sun will be darkened.

#11. The moon will not give its light.

#12. The stars will fall from heaven.

These signs are the same ones given in Joel chapters 2 & 3; Isaiah chapters 2, 11 & 13; these signs indicate that the wrath of God is about to be poured out.

Verse 31, "Then, (after the 12 things listed above has happened) the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heaven." After the sign of the Son of Man appears in the heavens the things that will unfold are:

A. All the tribes of the earth will mourn.

B. Jesus will come.

C. The gathering of His elect will take place by His angels.

What a spectacular picture is painted here. The sign of the coming is tied to the sign of the end of the age. The sign of the end of the age turns off all the natural lights, the earth goes into blackness. The sign of Christ coming is, His glory shining from the east to the west. So into this blackness comes the glory of God as He dispels this darkness with His brilliant, glorious return.

Matt 24:36, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

We don't know the day or the hour that Christ will return, we only know that His coming will cut the great tribulation short, therefore it must be sometime within the second half of the seventieth week of Daniel.

Matt 24:37-42

37 "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

38 "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

39 "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

40 "Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

41 "Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

42 "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

The very clear teaching here is, that when Christ comes for His faithful church He is going to take one and He is going to leave one and the one that is left is going to go right into the wrath of God’s judgment, just as it was in the days of Noah. His coming is for the deliverance of His church and for the judgment of those who refused His offer of pardon. Luke 21 tells the believers that when they see these things begin to happen to lift up their heads because your redemption draws nigh. The consummation of your salvation is going to take place. So rapture and judgment happen on the same day, this is also clearly taught in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 to 5:1-11. When you go to 2 Thess. 2, again there is concern that the day of the Lord had begun and somehow they had missed the rapture, because they knew the two came together. Now lets get back to the book of Revelation.

We have seen that the first chapter was an introduction, the second and third chapters were a warning to the churches, the fourth and fifth chapter shifts to heavenly scenes, now to chapter six. This chapter gives a clear, progressive, chronological sequence of events. The first seal is opened, and certain events are said to unfold. The second seal is opened and more events unfold and it is the same with the third, fourth, fifth and sixth seals.