Revelation 6:12-16 relates to the final destruction described in Isaiah 34 to the appearance of the Lord at the second Coming, where the wicked finally receive their reward. The sixth seal says,
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
- This is a picture of the one-and-only future second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- It’s shows the rescue, deliverance of God’s people.
- It’s shows the total destruction - for those left behind. There are no survivors!
- This is the end!
This passage, which is speaking of the exact same scene as 1 Thessalonians 4:14-5, asks a simple question:
"who shall be able to stand?” This of course is a rhetorical question: meaning
the answer is obvious. Well, it is obvious to those who don't have a theological agenda to impute into the text. No one that is left behind will survive the wrath of God that He pours out on the ungodly on this fateful final day. So rather than rewarding all those that attack Jerusalem by allowing them to inherit the new earth, Christ destroys them and their rebellion.
So as to remove any confusion over the full extent of those that will be destroyed who are left behind, the Holy Spirit says: "the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man." Obviously if a human isn't "free" they are "a bondman" (or a slave).
This reading correlates with Revelation 19 and graphically describes the same apocalyptic scene. It shows what awaits those left behind at Christ's Coming. The book of Revelation is like that. It is a recapitulation of events approaching the Second Coming and things that attend it. Here, when the reality of their awful doomed state finally hits them, the wicked hide from the One that has come to destroy. Like Noah and Lot's day, their day of opportunity is gone. Without exceptions, all outside the ark (Christ) at the catching away will be destroyed, whether bond or free.
Revelation 19:11-16 mirrors this passage,
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall shepherd them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Verses 17-18 says,
“I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. The loipoy (or
remaining ones)
those left behind were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”
- This is a picture of the one-and-only future second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- It’s shows the rescue, deliverance of God’s people.
- It’s shows the total destruction - for those left behind. There are no survivors!
- This is the end!
If you take this out of the Premil armory there is nothing left. The whole Premil doctrine hangs upon a thin frayed thread. It enjoys no other support in Scripture. It solely and exclusively depends on the correlation and chronology of the Rev 19-20, which clearly doesn't exist.
This passage, [the 6th seal passage] which is speaking of the exact same scene as 1 Thessalonians 4:14-5, asks a simple question: "who shall be able to stand?”
This writer shows us a great lack of understanding of end times scriptures. What he suggests in post after post is simply impossible.
In chapter 5, God introduces John the THE BOOK sealed with 7 seals. It is an EXTREMELY important book so John weeps when no one is found worthy to open the seals. (Perhaps he already knew that if the book could not be opened, Satan would remain the god of this world forever.)
Finally, after Jesus rose from the dead, someone is found worthy to open the seals. Then, John immediately in the vision (He is seeing all this in a vision) sees Jesus suddenly appear in the throne room where before (chapter 4) He had been absent.
Stop and think: WHEN was Jesus ever not in the throne room? That would be during the 32 years He was on the earth.
Stop and think: When was Jesus ever NOT qualified or worthy to take the book and open the seals? (It should be obvious.) All of eternity BEFORE He rose from the dead, Not God the Father, not God the son, not God the Holy Spirit could take the book and open the seals. That was written on the outside of the book.
No, it was ONLY after Jesus rose from the dead that He became worthy - so when in the vision someone told John to stop weeping because someone had been found, we know that Jesus had just risen from the dead. All this shows us that Jesus was ON EARTH at this time. It shows us John saw seeing a vision of the past also.
Next, Jesus suddenly appeared in the throne room. WHEN? Right after telling Mary not to touch Him for He had not yet ascended. He sent Mary off and immediately ascended into the throne room and John got to see the moment in the vision.
This is showing us TIMING: WHEN did Jesus ascend? around 32 AD.
When did Jesus send the Holy Spirit down? RIGHT THEN as shown in John and in Revelation chapter 5. What time then is John showing is when Jesus took the book into HIS OWN hands? It was around 32 AD.
WHEN did Jesus open the first seal? It was around 32 AD.
Why is this important? It shows us WHERE IN TIME John is in chapter 6. He starts at the early church.
SEAL #1: is to represent the CHURCH sent out.
Seals 2-4 are to represent the devil's attempts to stop the advance of the gospel.
Seal 5 is for the martyrs of the church age and WHERE THE CHURCH IS NOW.
The very next event John shows us after the martyrs of the church is THE START OF JUDGMENT: the start of the Day of the Lord or the Day Of His wrath.
WHEN then will the 6th seal be opened?
The answer is ANY TIME NOW.
Jesus will open the seal, come down to the air above the earth, and call up the saints; then RETURN TO HEAVEN with the saints to wait out the wrath of God on earth.
On earth, the Day of the Lord will have started.
The 70th week in its entirety is FUTURE.
All this shows us the total impossibility of a posttrib rapture.
In summary: Chapter 6 and the first seal is around 32 AD.
Seal 5 is for church age martyrs: happening NOW.
Seal 6 is future, but could be tomorrow.
In other words, the 6th seal cannot possibly be moved. It comes before the entire trib.