Who Can Stand?

“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face 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 can withstand it?”

— Revelation 6:12-17

Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King,

As you open each of the seals on the scroll that determines and describes humanity’s conclusion and earth’s ending, each seal is God’s judgment on mankind. Humanity is receiving the end result of their sin; they are being handed over to their sinful nature.

This sixth seal is not only judgment upon the earth but a revealing of Your power and authority over creation, cosmos, and civilization. As You remove Your restraint from the earth, creation responds violently. A mega-quake shakes the entire planet. Mountains and islands are moved as tectonic plates are shifted. Romans 8:19-22 describes how “creation itself will be liberated from its bondage of decay. The whole of creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth.”

In the atmosphere, the sun is darkened, the sky is black, the moon appears red, and stars plummet to earth. The sky is rolled up like a scroll. For millennia, humanity looked to the heavens, seen as fixed and trustworthy, whether to guide them over an open sea at night or predicting their personal futures. Now the Lord of Creation demonstrates that the heavens are not eternal, but are subject to Him. Hebrews 12:26, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”

On the face of the earth, all of civilization will hide themselves in terror. They will attempt to escape the calamity coming upon the earth, but more so, they will attempt to escape the wrath of the very God they have denounced and refused all their lives. “What sinners dread most is not death, but the revealed presence of God” (Henry Barclay Swete).

Gracious Jesus, one day You will break each of these seven seals with Your nail-scarred hands, ushering in the final judgments upon this earth. On that day, I will stand but only because You have taken the wrath of God upon Yourself for me. I will stand and endure only because of Your grace and mercy upon my soul. I will stand only because You stood in my place. For that, O Lord, my heart overflows with gratitude, humility, and awe.

— In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!