Revelation 6:12-17 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
The description of the sixth seal is longer. Two major things happen in this passage. The first is the cause and the second is the effect. The first is disturbance in the cosmos. The great earthquake would devastate the modern world. Our concrete cities would crumble. I think of places here in the Philippines. It would not take too great of an earthquake to devastate Manila and send it into chaos. I think of Baguio with its city build on the sides of mountains. An earthquake there would send all the houses sliding and crashing down the mountain sides. The sun is blocked, possibly from the dust of the earthquake. The dust may also cause the moon to change its color. This would have the affect of a major volcanic eruption which can change the climate of the whole earth. This earthquake is so big that the mountains crumble and islands are shifted, possibly up or down into the water. This will make modern movies look like child’s plan.
The effect of these cosmic disturbances is that the rulers of the world cower in caves. They acknowledge God but show no signs of belief or repentance. They simply cry out for relief. This is a common pattern: people say they believe in God but do not act on this. God is only one to complain to or to curse for their bad situation. To acknowledge the existence of God should lead to belief and repentance. But people are blinded and deceived. They think that believing in “God” is good enough. There are many people who believe in God but do not act on this. Their “god” is one of their own creation.
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