Who is able to stand?

Revelation 6 from the daily reading in the One year Bible

The First Seal—Rider on White Horse

Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” ² I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The Second Seal—War

³ When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” ⁴ And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

The Third Seal—Famine

⁵ When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

The Fourth Seal—Death

⁷ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” ⁸ I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal—Martyrs

⁹ When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; ¹⁰ and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.

The Sixth Seal—Terror

¹² I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; ¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. ¹⁴ The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

We often hear that these are unprecedented times. All around the world people are in fear and living with the consequences of the Covid pandemic. Currently in excess of 1,623,000 deaths have been attributed to the pandemic. Economies around the world have also been devastated by the political responses to Covid. In Matthew 24:4-8, speaking of the time before His return, Jesus says: “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”  Consider that what we are seeing and experiencing today is only the tip of the iceberg; merely the birth pangs of what will come before Jesus returns.

In today’s text it says:  Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.” When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Starting with the fourth seal, it says a fourth of the earth will be subject to death from violence, famine, pestilence and the wild beasts of the earth. To put it in perspective, the population of the world is approximately 7.8 billion. To date, in excess of 1,623,000 have died from the pandemic. One fourth of 7.8 billion would be 1,950,000,000. The references to the cost of wheat and barley being a denarius doesn’t sound like a hardship, but consider that a denarius was equal to a day’s wages. Imagine working for an entire day just to have enough to eat that day. In our present culture, we waste and throw away more than what will be available. We’ve seen the beginnings of shortages caused by the greed of people. What will we do when there is nothing to be had?

The text says:  When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. Again, in Matthew 24, Jesus warns that in the days before he returns we will see nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom; that there will be wars and rumors of wars. Our cities are now more violent than war zones. The word nations is the Greek word ethnos, from which we get our English word ethnic. These ethnic and racial struggles will continue and increase as we move closer to the end of the age. We will reap what has been sown for decades by the powers of the media and politicians, who have sown seeds of racial and ethnic division.   In John 14:27 Jesus says:  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.  The world offers peace to those who surrender, but their peace is a lie. They stoke the flames of fear and anxiety and offer peace through compliance.  Only by surrender and submission to Jesus can we have true peace; peace from fear and trouble. Philippians 4:6-7 says:  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The fifth and sixth seals deal with martyrs, those who are killed because of their faith and with natural disasters that will increase in frequency and magnitude as we near the time of Christ’s return. Jesus also speaks of these things in Matthew 24 so we should not be surprised to see them happening now as we enter or near the birth pangs before His return. The text says:  The kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”   The one who is able to stand is the one who has believed in Christ for salvation; the one who has accepted God’s gift of grace and redemption. Hebrews 4:16 says:  Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.   We need Him more now than ever and things will get worse before they get better. In revelation 3:20 the Lord says:  Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the revelation of Christ; the revelation and demonstration of Your love and grace. May the world come to know you as the lamb that was slain, before You are revealed as the conquering king and righteous judge.  Amen.