Introduction
We come now to the longest section of this book, Revelation 6: 1-16,
which is a multi-faceted look at the end of this age, the Great Tribulation.
7:14 speaks of people who have come out of the great tribulation (read).
This term purposefully echoes Jesus' description of the period of evil
and judgment immediately prior to his return (read Matthew 24:21-22).
Over the next few weeks, I want to take a close look at some of the key
characters of this period, who have such symbolic names as “the dragon,”
“the beast,” “the false prophet,” and “mystery
Babylon.” But this morning I want to survey this entire passage and
note the overarching theme—that of God's judgmental and redemptive
activity.
God's Judgmental Activity
During this period, God is unusually active in judging the world. God's
judgmental activity is portrayed as a series of three 7-fold judgments:
the seal judgments (6:1-17; 8:1), the trumpet judgments (8:2-9:21; 11:15-19),
and the bowl judgments (15:5-16:21). It is not exactly clear (to me, at
least) how these judgments are related to one another chronologically.
There are three common views on this subject:
EQUIVALENCE: These judgments represent three ways of viewing the
same judgments—all ending with the return of Jesus.
CONSECUTIVE: These judgments are sequential, and the 7th seal
and trumpet judgments open the trumpet and bowls judgments, respectively.
PROGRESSIVE INTENSIFICATION: These judgments are staggered and
appear at nearly the same time, resulting in greater and greater intensification
until the seventh judgments occur simultaneously resulting in the return
of Jesus.
I'm not really sure which view is correct. The three sets of judgments
increase in intensity, and they seem to end with the return of Jesus—yet
the 7th seal and trumpet judgments seem to open the trumpet and bowls
judgments. The main point is that they describe God's temporal (distinct
from his final judgment) judgment on humanity, and that they end with
Jesus' return to defeat his enemies and establish God's kingdom.
This brings us to an important insight about these judgments—namely,
how God judges. Because God is sovereign, all of these events are ultimately
his judgments. But it is clear that some of them are active judgments
directly initiated by God, while many of them are passive judgments—initiated
by wicked people, but used by God for his purposes.
The Bible is full of examples of God's active and passive judgment.
The plagues of Egypt during Moses' day, through which God put increasing
pressure on Pharaoh, are examples of God's active judgment. The conquest
of Israel (by the Assyrian by Shamanesar) and Judah (by the Babylonian
Nebuchadnezzar) are examples of God's passive judgment. God permitted
these wicked rulers to do what they wanted to do, but used their actions
to discipline Israel and Judah for their rebellion—after which
God judged these rulers for their wickedness.
So also in Revelation, most of the Tribulational judgments are God's
passive judgment. He removes his normal restraint of evil and permits
wicked persons (demonic and human) to do what they want and to give
rebellious humanity what it wants. Paul's overview of this same period
makes this clear (read and explain 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10).
Before we turn to the question of why God does this, let's first look
at the Tribulational judgments themselves and see which are passive
(white) and which are active (yellow).
All but one of the “seal” judgments are God's passive judgment.
Read 6:1,2. This is evidently a description of the emergence of the
Antichrist to arise, as he sets out to conquer the world militarily.
This sets in motion a series of horrible consequences in the next
3 seals: worldwide war (6:3-4), famine (6:5-6), and death (6:7-8).
He also kills many of Jesus' followers (6:9), which is obviously not
God's direct judgment. Only then do we read of the direct intervention
of God (6:12-17) through a series of unique seismic and cosmic events
that signal the return of Christ and his direct judgment on his enemies.
It appears that most of the “trumpet” judgments are also
God's passive judgment. Trumpets 1-4 evidently record the devastation
caused by the Antichrist's (and Satan's) horrible rule over humanity:
land, ocean and aquifer devastations, and (possibly) nuclear winter
(8:6-12). Trumpet 5 records the unleashing of demons to attack humanity
(summarize 9:1-11). Notice that an unfallen angel “unlocks”
the pit that unleashes Abaddon (Satan or a demonic ruler). Trumpet
6 describes the “releasing” of an army to kill a third of
humanity (read 9:14-16). Only then do we read of the direct judgment
of God in the 7th trumpet to establish his kingdom and destroy those
who have destroyed the earth in this way (read 11:15, 18).
Only in the “bowl” judgments do we read of a terrible series
of (apparently) direct judgments by God on the Antichrist and his
unrepentant followers. The first five are a series of plagues on them
(16:1-9). The sixth is a passive judgment, by which the Antichrist
gathers the rebellious nations together for the final battle against
Jesus (16:12-16). The seventh describes God's direct judgment of “mystery
Babylon”—Satan's evil system (16:17-21).
SUMMARIZE: Most are God's passive judgment; while some (final)
are active.
This brings us to another important insight—why God judges. Why
does God judge passively through most of the Great Tribulation, and
why does he judge actively at the end? These two forms of judgment appear
to have distinct purposes.
God intervenes in direct, active judgment to destroy his enemies
in order to rescue the earth and humanity from destruction.
Why does God passively allow his enemies to do so much damage before
he intervenes directly?
Part of the answer seems to be that God is demonstrating the utter
folly of rebellion against him (the ancient lie that angels and humanity
need to be independent from God to be “free”). By permitting
rebels to have what they want, God demonstrates to the whole universe
and for all time that the only plan that does not end in total disaster
is his rule.
Another part of the answer is that God is working through these passive
judgments to polarize humanity so that as many as possible will turn
to him. Revelation describes just such a polarization. Many people
recognize that this is the hand of God, but refuse to repent and so
harden themselves irretrievably (RECURRENT PHRASE: “they did
not repent;” “they blasphemed God”). But evidently,
millions of others turn to God in part because they realize through
these judgments that there is no other answer. The other reason they
turn to God is his amazing redemptive activity during this same period
of time . . .
God's Redemptive Activity
At the same time that God pours out his judgment on humanity (in the
above senses) in an extraordinary way, he also acts in extraordinary ways
to reach out to people and invite them to come to his Son Jesus for salvation.
These same chapters describe at least four extraordinary ways God does
this.
THE MARTYRS: Like all tyrants, the Antichrist hates the followers
of Jesus because they refuse to worship him and his false religious
system (e.g., Rome, Hitler, Stalin, Mao). But as the arch-tyrant, he
evidently kills them in numbers that make these tyrants look tame. Read
6:9-11. These are evidently Tribulational martyrs (see also 20:4). God
promises that he will judge their killers, but urges them to wait until
the full number of martyrs has been killed. Why would God permit this?
Because, as church history has shown, “the blood of the martyrs
is the seed of the church.” The ultimate witness for Jesus is when
his followers actually die for their faith. This was true in 1st and
2nd century Rome, and it was true in 20th century China (STATS). God
is willing to allow many of his servants to be martyred so that unsaved
people will see the reality of their faith and turn to Jesus. How can
let his people go through this? Because he did it himself through Jesus,
and because he will more than make up for it in his eternal kingdom.
THE 144,000: During the Tribulation, many Jewish people come
to faith in Jesus. God raises up 144,000 of them (read 7:1-8) and protects
them from the Antichrist, apparently so they can evangelize millions
of people all over the world (read 7:9-10).
THE 2 WITNESSES: God raises up two extraordinary individuals
and supernaturally protects them for a 3.5 year preaching ministry centered
in Jerusalem (read 11:3). Many believe that these two witnesses are
none other than Moses and Elijah (see their unusual departures, their
appearance on the Mount of Transfiguration as a foretaste of Jesus coming
into his kingdom, 11:6 for similar miracles, and Mal. 4:4-6). The
Antichrist murders them, apparently demonstrating his authority over
Jesus—but then God raises them from the dead to heaven in full
view of the world (read 11:7-12). We may infer that many come to Christ
through their preaching.
THE WITNESSING ANGEL: God even sends an angel to proclaim the
good news to the whole earth (read 14:6,7). We should assume that many
people respond to this amazing witness.
All of this extraordinary evangelistic activity apparently culminates
in two “reapings” when Jesus returns. His angels “reap”
the ripe harvest of living believers by rescuing them and bringing him
into his kingdom (14:14-16), and they “reap” all unrepentant
rebels into judgment (14:17-19).
Christians disagree over the specific identity of these figures—but
the main point is clear. The God of the Bible, who will eventually judge
all unrepentant rebels, is also the God who cares about people, does not
wish for any to perish, and takes extraordinary measures to reach out
to them (2 Peter 3:9).
So What?
God's dealings with humanity during the Great Tribulation parallel the
ways in which he deals with each one of us individually.
“I am allowing you to go your own way and to experience the futility
of life without me.” How does God normally respond in this life
when we don't want anything to do with him? He lets us go our own way
in the hope that we will discover that all of our idols are empty, that
we can't make life work without him (EXAMPLES). This is the passive judgment
of God (Romans 1:18ff.).
“If you persist in your rebellion against me, I will reluctantly
sentence you to eternal alienation from me.” But there is a finite
time to change your mind about bowing to God. He will not allow us to
run roughshod over his universe forever. There will come a day when God
will enforce forever what we have chosen in this life. This is the active
judgment of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
“I love you and I am inviting you to come to me through Jesus.”
Even as he lets you go, God is hoping that you will come to your senses
and come to him. And he makes it clear that no matter how much you may
have rebelled against him, he is ready to forgive you and indwell you
and transform your life. This is why he sends his people to share with
you, pray for you, invite you to meetings like this, etc. This is God's
redemptive activity in your life (John 3:16). What are you going
to do with God's invitation?
Footnote
Copyright 2002 Gary DeLashmutt