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SIXTH SEAL OF REVELATION
The Sixth Seal of Revelation contains descriptions of the "Wrath of
GOD", and it is often concluded that "His Wrath" starts
with the Sixth Seal being opened. This is very easy to conclude,
especially since the Sixth Seal descriptions include the mention of
"Wrath":
Revelation
6:16,17
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?
(Note: all quotation marks color and underlining in Scripture have been
added.)
BUT, the Sixth Seal is actually a summary of what is to follow and DOES
NOT RESULT in GOD's Wrath occurring prior to opening of the Seventh Seal
and the sounding of the first Six Trumpets!!
The Sixth Seal contains several examples which show it to be a summary
of the following events. Some of these examples are: (1) great
earthquake, (2) sun darkened, (3) heaven
departed as a scroll, and (4) every
mountain and island moved.
The "sun becoming darkened" is
mentioned in the Sixth Seal and actually occurs in the "Fifth
Trumpet". Part of the Sixth Seal is described in:
Revelation 6: 12
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;
Then, the "sun being darkened"
actually occurs in the "Fifth Trumpet:"
Revelation 9:1,2
And the fifth
angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from
heaven unto the
earth: and to him was given the key of
the bottomless
pit.
And he opened the
bottomless pit; and there arose a
smoke out of the
pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and
the "sun
and the air were darkened" by reason of the smoke
of the pit.
Another example is when the Wrath of GOD -- Wrath of the Lamb --
includes the "mountains and islands moving"
due to the "last Plague poured from the last vial". This is
also described in the Sixth Seal and is an event which occurs
later. This is seen in the Sixth Seal:
Revelation 6: 14
And the heaven
departed as a scroll when it is rolled
together; and
"every mountain and island were moved"
out of their
places.
And then, this event occurs as part of the last plague:
Revelation 16: 20
And "every
island fled" away, and the "mountains
were
not found".
The Sixth Seal prediction of the "heaven
departed" as a scroll was also in
Revelation 6:14 (shown above), but it
doesn't occur until a thousand years later and just prior to the "great
white throne judgment":
Revelation 20: 11
And I saw a
"great white throne", and him
that sat on it,
from whose face
the earth and "heaven fled"
away; and
there was found
no place for them.
The major factor in evaluating the Sixth Seal is to consider whether
some of the events could occur more than once. For instance, the sun
could become black more than one time and so could the moon become as
blood. But, "islands fleeing, mountains not
found, and heaven departed" are
not likely to happen more than once without some indication, in
Scripture, that they had been restored between such events.
The Sixth Seal reference to a "great
earthquake", which is shown back in Rev 6:12, could be
the same "earthquake" just prior
to the Seven Angels preparing to sound their trumpets (but is more
likely with resurrecting the Two Witnesses): Rev 8:5,6 (" ...
thunderings, and lightenings and an 'earthquake'
... seven angels prepare to sound.") or when the Two Witnesses were
raptured: Rev 11:12,13 (" ...they ascended up to heaven ... and...
a 'great earthquake'
..."), or when the Seventh Angel sounded: Rev 11:15,19 ("
...the seventh angel sounded ... and there were lightenings ... and an 'earthquake'
..."), or when the Seventh Angel poured out his vial: Rev 16:17-19
("... seventh angel poured out his vial ... a 'great
earthquake' ... city was divided into three parts ... the cup ...
of his wrath.")
Whether all these "earthquakes"
are the same isn't important at this point: it should be noted that ALL
of these "earthquake" activities
occur AFTER the Seventh Seal is opened and NOT when the Sixth Seal is
opened.
How this all can be -- it is shown in Scripture -- is presented in the
Section entitled "Sixth & Seventh Seals".
The whole concept of the Sixth Seal being a summary of some activities
to come later in the book of Revelation is reinforced by the verb tense
used by the Apostle John in his Sixth Seal narrative. The "aorist
indicative" tense of most verbs does not indicate an immediate
action. The timing is not necessarily immediate, but is, or will be a
reality. GOD's Wrath starting with the Sixth Seal can not be an
immediate certainty according to the verb tenses utilized.
Therefore, the evidence is very strong that the "Wrath
of GOD" is not started when the Sixth Seal is activated.
The "Wrath" activities come later.
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